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What's the Most Sexist Thing You've Heard At Work?

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March 3, 2011

Our post about the ongoing sex discrimination class action against Wal-Mart — Women: Do You Work Just for the Sake of Working? — generated an overwhelming response. The stories of women involved in the case, Dukes v. Wal-Mart, struck a chord with many of you. The women reported that managers had said things like:

  • "Men are working as the heads of their households, while women are just working for the sake of working."
  • "Men are here to make a career and women aren't. Retail is for housewives who just need to earn extra money."
  • "You're a girl, why do you want to work in hardware?"
  • "Find a husband to settle down with and have children to relieve... work-related stress."

Outrageous, right? But just as outrageous were the many things readers reported they'd been told by bosses and managers during their own careers. It all goes to show: sex discrimination is alive and well in many American workplaces.

What about you? What's the most sexist thing you've been told or witnessed while at work?

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