Can Women Be Sexist?
It’s been 20 years since Melissa was unceremoniously banned from the “popular” table at Woodrow Wilson Junior High School, but she still worries that cliques and rumors are hurting her reputation. A stylish blonde vice president at a New York investment bank, Melissa felt an icy chill from some of her female colleagues when she was promoted. At first, she thought she was being paranoid, but that changed after a disappointing encounter in the office bathroom. “I was putting on some lipstick, and I overheard two of the analysts gossiping about me from behind the stalls,” Melissa recalls. “They said, ‘The only reason Melissa got the job is because she is sleeping with Jim.’ They went on and on about how my skirts are too tight and my heels too high, and they said that I flirt with my married boss. Obviously, none of this is true — I worked very hard to get the promotion and am more than qualified for the job. “In addition to pissing me off, the comments just make me sad because I thought
