This post will get the comments rolling.
Sexism
The 2007 Gender Gap list by the World Economic Forum put Italy at the bottom of the European heap and way down at number 84 on a world list of 128 countries.This is the country of veline and vallette and very, very few women in politics.
Although actually my most recent encounter with male assumptions about what women can and cannot do, came from a Brit living in the US. His assumptions about Italian males, brought him to assume that I, a woman, would have difficulties working as a coach with a group of males in a business performance area. So does that mean that this job should, by fault, go to a man?
And who is being sexist here?
a domani,
E
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Transforming international living into personal and professional progress
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- Elizabeth Abbot
- In Rome for over half my life, I have adapted, but continue to grow and strive to thrive. It is a process, but it can be fun. As a Coach and Cross-Cultural Trainer, I help international professionals, their spouses and their organizations move from survive to thrive. Living in a different cultural environment can be a catalyst for personal and professional progress
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- interexpat
- italy: beyond the obvious
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A few books to share on Italy and Italian Ways
- Saving Rome, Megan K. Williams (short stories)
- Mother Tongue: An American Life in Italy, Wallis Wilde-Menozzi
- La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind, Bebbe Severgnini
- An Italian Education, Tim Parks
- Italian Neighbors, Tim Parks
- The Italians, Luigi Barzini
- The Dark Heart of Italy, Tobias Jones
- A Concise History of Italy, Christopher Duggan
- Italian Cultural Studies: an introduction, Editors: David Forgacs and Robert Lumley
- Italy and Its Discontents: 1980-2001, Paul Ginsborg
- A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics 1943-1988, Paul Ginsborg
- The New Italians, Charles Richards
A few books to share on crossing into other cultures
- Homeward Bound, Robin Pascoe
- Studying Abroad / Learning Abroad. J. Daniel Hess
- Cultural Intelligence: Individual Interactions Across Cultures, P. Christopher Earley and Soon Ang
- CQ: Developing Cultural Intelligence at Work, P. Christopher Earley and Soon Ang and Joo-Send Tan
- Cultural Intelligence: People Skills for Global Business, David C. Thomas and Kerr Inkson
- Communicating Across Cultures, Stella Ting-Tooney
- American Cultural Patterns: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, Edward C. Stewart and Milton J. Bennett
- Figuring Foreigners Out, Craig Storti
- Cross-Cultural Dialogues, Craig Storti
- Riding the Waves of Culture, Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner
7 comments:
OK I'll start. It's bad here! Thank god I'm a guy. For crying out loud you also get judged so much on your age too. I don't look my age so everyone assumes I don't have the experience necessary to do my job. UGGHHH...
Dear Jeff, thank God you are a guy? Do you pray this daily?
Though it is tough being female in the world in general, I still love it. The struggle continues, but it can also be fun. Pat
This topic is endless. I was a young manager in Italy at 28 years old and did encounter a sort of sexism in working with Italian males... a kind of "pat on the head" mentality like, "isn't that cute? She's playing manager" and always lots of comments from the men on my outfits (how cute you look today) etc. But I dressed really conservatively and didn't like drawing attention to myself. I never got used to how men ogle women or size them up. It's a lot more overt than in the States. So the list is no surprise!
I must add though, that after the initial B.S. I received, once the Italian men I had to work with saw that I was serious, responsible and capable, I honestly got respect and didn't have to be aggressive to do so. I think you just have to get over maybe the initial "shock" they might have over the fact that a *gasp* woman is in the position. It's not as common in Italy, apparently. Of course, unless you have certain "talents," or so I've heard... ? Apparently all women in TV and politics aren't there for their brains. What do you think, is this true??
I've heard Italian men (and women) make these comments about how various successful women 'slept their way to the top' (actually they put it a bit more crudely than this) and I think that's terribly sexist. I have a female friend who has been very successful at an Italian company through sheer hard work and intelligence and she gets all these comments about how she must be sleeping with the boss (she's not). It's truly awful.
When I worked at an Italian company it was almost all women - only one man - it was great. :)
Interesting. I've actually had experiences with Brits being rather pleistocene in their attitudes when they let their guard down - though they're also masters at applying a veneer so it doesn't usually show. At least Italians are more what-you-see-is-what-you-get.
To anonymous,
Exactly my point.
At least with the Italians you can deal with it up front. With the Brits (and Americans) you have to wade your way through all the politically correct language to get there.
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