Suspicious

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Clarissa

March 15, 2012

Am I wrong in feeling uncomfortable that the two people told to coordinate a party in honor of a retiring colleague are both the youngest faculty members and female?

I’m seeing a suggestion here that women are somehow supposed to be in charge of the social aspect of things and I don’t like that at all.

There is absolutely no other reason why anybody could possibly assume that I make a good party planner other than my age and gender. I’m an intensely unsociable autistic who shudders at the idea of a party.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore the retiring colleague and wouldn’t mind organizing the party. But I don’t want to be assigned any duties based on my gender.

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14 responses to “Suspicious”

David Bellamy

March 15, 2012

That could well be. When I was a young assistant professor, I was once asked if I would ask my wife to coordinate a party for a visitor, if I recall correctly. She did, and it never happened again, but it was weird.

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1. bloggerclarissa
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  The other female colleague who was asked to do this has a newborn baby. I don’t think she will have much time or energy for party organizing. This makes very little sense to me.
  
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E (The Third Glance)

March 15, 2012

Well you said some other things here… as youngest faculty members means you probably haven’t had to do the party responsibility thing yet, so it’s “your turn” some might say. And of course, there’s the assumption that younger people are more vivacious in general (ahahahahaaa). Or maybe they assume that you’re organized (you seem to be, but I don’t know you in real life, obviously, so can’t make that conclusion), so you’d be good at planning. Or maybe it was assumed that if you like the faculty member (which you say you do), that you would do a good job of honoring them?

I know it’s frustrating to be assumed to be good at something based on your gender. All I’m suggesting here is that there are many alternative explanations as to why you in particular were asked to plan this party. I’m actually betting on the first one. Are there any new, young male faculty who would have fit the “2 youngest and/or newest faculty” criteria?

And maybe it is a stupid assumption based on your gender. But you know what they say about assumptions…

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1. bloggerclarissa
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  Yes, there is a male faculty member who was hired with me.
  
  I think this could have been handled differently by asking people to volunteer to organize the party. Why assign something like this?
  
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  1. Pen
    
    March 15, 2012
    
    It seems strange that anyone would be told to organize the party, rather than asked if they had the time/willingness to do it.
    
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    1. bloggerclarissa
      
      March 15, 2012
      
      “It seems strange that anyone would be told to organize the party, rather than asked if they had the time/willingness to do it.”
      
      – I know!
      
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Dame Eleanor Hull

March 15, 2012

OK, if there was a man hired when you were, then that’s a little off. I was going to say it might be a chance for new people to get some “service credit” without having to shoulder a regular, recurrent meeting or similar. At LRU, we try to give newbies “one-off” service obligations (do it once and you’re done) rather than heavier-duty recurrent service commitments.

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1. bloggerclarissa
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  I serve on committees both at the college and at the university level and even chair a university level committee, so extra service is not what I need.
  
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Stringer Bell

March 15, 2012

Wait till the farewell party ends. I have a feeling the male professors will continue socializing and having a good time, leaving the women to clean and wrap things up.

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1. bloggerclarissa
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  We don’t have this kind of women at our department, thank God in heaven. 🙂
  
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2. Profesor F-B
  
  March 16, 2012
  
  Sorry to say that the last time I was in one of the department events, the only male professor present (I don’t remember if Clarissa was there) aka me 😉 , was the one cleaning the food and utensils left by the students.
  In relation to the assignment, what I don’t understand is why the people who has been there the longest, and therefore know better the retiring person, weren’t asked to do this! Sorry, but if you guys need help with something let me know. In fact, you guys should let everybody know, so it doesn’t fall all on your shoulders!
  
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  1. bloggerclarissa
    
    March 16, 2012
    
    “Sorry to say that the last time I was in one of the department events, the only male professor present (I don’t remember if Clarissa was there) aka me , was the one cleaning the food and utensils left by the students.”
    
    – Yes, it would never occur to me that things need to be cleaned up. 🙂 I haven’t cleaned anything anywhere in such a long time that the cleaning instinct has died. 🙂
    
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Z

March 17, 2012

We have 3 retiring faculty and the university organized a party for the man and not the women. I raised this and offered to help organize one for them and I am still waiting for anyone else to pipe up.

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1. bloggerclarissa
  
  March 17, 2012
  
  “We have 3 retiring faculty and the university organized a party for the man and not the women. ”
  
  – How bizarre.
  
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