Macho practices towards women in the workplace || Newspapers (Arabic)

Al Akhbar newspaper published a report on various forms of exploitation and violence that face women at work ranging from harassment, to intimidation, demeaning comments by male colleagues such as advising women to stay home with their children rather than come to work or emphasizing that women’s assets are their looks rather than their competences or using denigrating comments such as referring to “women’s hormones”, etc….

The report cites a number of cases such as that of a 31 year old employee who, after several years of work, applied for promotion only to be told that her request is being considered but is contingent on her not having children again.  Another is a 35 year old employee who pointed out to her manger abusing women employees in two different ways, either through overworking them or through flirting with them.  The worker in question also quotes her employer’s comments on women in general such as his acid comments on marriage age, period, and relation with husband, etc…  Other women talked about their negative experiences after being promoted to lead a team of essentially men, while some others shared their negative experiences of working in legal offices where they are only given office based work.

The report quotes sociologist Azza Sharara who notes that women’s presence in the work sphere often provokes men who find this to be a threat to their masculinity and masculine gender identity.  As such, women workers are seen to have challenged their socially ascribed roles as mothers and have overcome their social inferiority, according to the same author who notes that intimidation and harassment are men’s attempts to put women “back in their place and within their biological and reproductive roles”

Source: Al-Akhbar 2 February 2013