Bright, talented, enthusiastic, their enthusiasm and passion for business often irritate those who rule in a world of strict corporate rules. Psychotherapist Fatma Bouvet de la Maisonneuve tells the story of her patient and, using her story as an example, draws conclusions about what prevents women from climbing the career ladder.
It was our first meeting, she sat down and asked me: “Doctor, do you really think that a woman can be infringed at work because of her gender?”
Her question struck me as both naive and important. She is in her early thirties, has a brilliant career, is married, has two children. «Living soul», it exudes the energy that interferes with sleepy souls. And to top it off — the icing on the cake — she’s beautiful.
So far, she says, she has been able to bypass banana peels that were thrown at her feet to make her slip. Her professionalism overcame all slanders. But recently, an insurmountable barrier has appeared on its way up.
When she was urgently called to her boss, she naively thought that she would be promoted, or at least congratulated on her recent success. Through her persuasion skills, she managed to invite a very big boss known for his inaccessibility to a client seminar. “I was in a fog of happiness: I could, I did it! And so I went into the office and saw these stern faces … «
The boss accused her of making a professional mistake by not following the established procedure. “But it all happened very quickly,” she explains. “I felt that we had contact, that everything would work out.” From her point of view, only the result mattered. But her bosses saw it differently: don’t break the rules so easily. She was punished for her mistake by taking away all her current affairs from her.
Her mistake was that she did not obey the strict rules of a closed, traditionally male circle.
“I was told that I am in too much of a hurry and not everyone is ready to adapt to my pace. They called me hysterical!”
The accusations brought against her are often associated with the female sex: she is passionate, explosive, ready to act on a whim. Her mistake was that she did not obey the strict rules of a closed, traditionally male circle.
“I fell from too high a height,” she confesses to me. “I won’t be able to recover from such a humiliation alone.” She did not notice the threatening signs and therefore could not protect herself.
Many women complain about this kind of injustice, I tell her. The same actors and about the same circumstances. Gifted, often more intuitive than their superiors. They skip milestones because they are obsessed with achieving results. They venture into audacity that ultimately only serves the interests of their employer.
There are no warning signs in my patient’s behavior. She came simply to find a benevolent listener. And I answered her question like this: “Yes, there is indeed discrimination against women. But things are starting to change now, because it’s impossible to deprive yourself of so many talents forever.»