Grateful

Posted by Arianna Haven in English 2 - Pahomov - A on Sunday, November 23, 2014 at 5:54 pm

My male boss finally agreed to give me the pay raise I asked for 5 months ago.

I told him how grateful I was for his help in sorting it all out.

He said to me, “If I wasn’t married, I would ask you to show me how grateful you really are,” followed with a small chuckle.

I stared at him.

I couldn’t tell if he was serious.

I wanted to ask him how he could live with himself. How he sexualize his employee like that. Why he thinks that he can say anything to women, like we have to accept every ugly remark that spews out of his mouth. I want to ask about his wife, about his children. I want to tell him that, when men say things like that, it encourages their sons to do the same. And it encourages their daughters to accept it. Like it is something that cannot be changed. An endless cycle where women aren’t to blame. By letting our children to conform to these rules we are only perpetuating a prejudiced system. A system where feminism, is this radical theory that women are actually humans. We teach boys to grow outward. To grow as big as they can. While we teach young girls to grow inward, to make space for their man. Because apparently there isn’t enough space for both of us to shine. Contrary to popular belief, a woman doesn’t need a man to survive. A woman without a man is just as crazy of a notion as a fish without a bicycle. Equality shouldn’t be a concept we hope for our grandchildren to know. It needs to be a necessity. Something that we cannot live without.

I wanted to tell him that women already make 77 cents to the dollar that men make. And that we don’t need his harassment to make up for the lack of zeros on our pay check. And that my co-worker, John, has only been working here for three months - but he has already gotten twice the amount of promotions I have gotten in three years. I want him to feel the fear of going into my male boss’ office, uncertain if my lips will be asked to do things other than give a sales pitch. I want to tell him that I wore my deepest cut business suit to my job interview, because I knew it would it would appeal to him. I cannot wait to see the day where people do not base my intelligence off of my wardrobe.

I want to tell him no. I want to tell him stop. I want to ask him why.

But instead of saying any of that, I just smile, and walk away. I try to stop my hips from swaying, because I know he is looking.

Comments (6)

Cameron Samodai

Oh, and my source, with other sources too: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2014/04/09/president-obamas-persistent-77-cent-claim-on-the-wage-gap-gets-a-new-pinocchio-rating/

Cameron Samodai

I really liked this monologue, because I think it highlights the important issues of harassment and women's rights. Secondly, it prompted me to do some research regarding your claim that women make 77 cents for every dollar men make. This is a flawed statistic, based purely on median income for men and women, assuming that women and men work identical hours and identical jobs. It's not as simple as that. Information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that when looking at weekly wages, the gap becomes 81 cents to the dollar, and the hourly wage gap is 86 cents to the dollar. However, it should be noted that the gap is considerably worse regarding part-time jobs, where women make 72.4 cents to the dollar. It is interesting to also note that unmarried women make 96 cents to a man's dollar. In conclusion, I don't really know why I felt the need to write this much. There is very obviously an income gap between women and men, and women are far more likely to face workplace discrimination than men. Clearly, these are problems that need to be rectified with either legislation or a drastic change in societal thinking.

Otter Jung-Allen

Frighteningly realistic and perfectly paced. It was easy to read and the ending was top notch. Especially liked this line: ¨ I want him to feel the fear of going into my male boss’ office, uncertain if my lips will be asked to do things other than give a sales pitch. I want to tell him that I wore my deepest cut business suit to my job interview, because I knew it would it would appeal to him.¨ Thought it was extremely human and very well written. GREAT job!

Arsenio Gomez

I really like the realist scenario that you used. I understood the message that you were trying to get out that women deserve equality too. I also like the ending of the story it had unique ending.

Aaron Watson-Sharer

I think this is A+ work. I enjoyed the motivation and cause for writing this. I will never understand how it is for women to have to take in unwanted standards but I really enjoyed your passion. I enjoyed how you wrote about a boss at work in a realistic scenario where the mn has leverage over the woman but she does not take any of that. I enjoyed the writing, this was greatly written, especially with dialogue.

Ali Driggers

I really like this. I love the message. I love the character. Women deserve equality and respect. That also includes not being sexually harassed. The boss was wrong for what he said. He didn't even say he was joking!! The woman at that job should be treated better, and should get more promotions. And should be paid as much as the men. CEOs and bosses should not get away with this behavior. It should be addressed. I have a question. Is this based off any experience you had, or somebody you know has had? Because this is very realistic! It's like you have had these emotions and these experiences! I love this monologue. I think the nation needs to hear this message. It is ridiculous that this stuff is treated as ok. He should not have said it. He also should have said he was joking, and apologized after saying that. And he should have gave her equal pay. Women are human beings, and they deserve to be treated as such. Not objects, not robots, but people. I love this monologue, it's realism, it's depth, and it's message. I can't stress it enough!! She should file a lawsuit. That man should think about what he said, and how he has treated her. This happens way to much in America. Excellent monologue.