Hitting the glass ceiling: firsthand accounts

We know that gender discrimination in the workplace exists. We saw it in the Ellen Pao case, we’ve seen it for years. Women still make 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. Women hold only 11% of the executive positions in Silicon Valley…the list goes on.

AJ+ put a call out for women who have experienced gender discrimination in the workplace to come forward with their stories — and we got a surprisingly robust response. Women everywhere are experiencing subtle — and sometimes not-so-subtle — cases of sexism, and they’re sick of it.

For the sake of anonymity, we’ve changed these women’s names. We were able to confirm where these women worked, although their first-hand accounts have not been independently verified. These stories, told in the first-person, are just a few examples of the gender discrimination that many people face in the workplace.

Let’s start with Linda.

Linda worked with private, wealthy donors to raise money for a nonprofit school.

Abby, who wrote for an online travel publication, interacted with her higher-ups and colleagues via a virtual workplace.

Leslie, a manager at a tech company, shares her story.

Finally, a story from the legal industry of all places.