Hi Claire,
I did not say that all men do this or that it always happens, I specifically said “on a regular basis.” Depending on the industry sector and on the specific company, this may be once a year, once a month, once a week, or daily. The point being that in many industries/companies, unfortunately these are not simply super-rare, isolated incidents.
Ironically, I could apply the same lens to your second paragraph, by quoting your paragraph: “If you assume that all men are going to judge you based on looks and not ability, and if you assume that all men are going to believe your credentials are unimportant…” and responding “That’s a pretty damning generalization, don’t you think? Some women will assume that men only care about looks, but that’s not always the case.”
;-)
Fundamentally I agree with you. Some women, whether because of past bad experience or because of what they hear, may be overreacting. And some men are pigs who treat women like sex objects. Neither of these is a good thing.
