authenticity in the workplace is a privilege

At one point, I believed that being your authentic self in the workplace is something that we should be able to do, but I took a step back and reconsidered.

The first point that is most important, that only a very small number of people get to be their authentic selves in the workplace, but as women, this something we could only ever dream of.

Throughout the course of history the guise of our existence within the workplace has been defined by men. Initially, the definition came in the form of the types of jobs we could do, how high up the ladder we could go and even if we were allowed to work after getting married.

Then it moved into the era in the 80’s of women having to be more like men in order be accepted whether it was in behaviour and dress.

And even now in 2022, we are still seeking to find the balance of what it means to be authentically us within the workplace. I think about dress codes and there is one that will always stick with me, which was ‘open-toed shoes’ weren’t allowed and I still remember being scandalised at seeing a colleague in not only open-toed shoes but wearing strappy sandals. I didn’t think about it in terms of self-expression, but in terms of breaking the rules.

The rules which have mostly been created by men for women. For women who are indeed brave enough to show up as their authentic selves, the workplace just isn’t ready for it and in many cases doesn’t want to be ready for it.

It easier to work with a group of people who are the same rather than those who are different, so with each group of women who have joined the workforce, the more constrained they have to be in order to fit.

Authenticity in the workplace shouldn’t be a privilege it should be a given, but corporate setting was created to be exclusive and not being allowed to ourselves is a deliberate manoeuvre to remind us that we do not belong and do not fit.

Until we get to that point, there will always be an implicit reminder that women are not meant to be here and until we deconstruct some of these hidden mechanisms, we won’t be able to achieve meaningful change.

Who else is with me and wants to see it too?

#genderequity

#womenintheworkplace