Not that long ago I attended a social function with a mix of friends, acquaintances and professional colleagues. Not so formal an event that it required cocktail attire, it was also not something as loose-hipped and free-flowing as a tailgate party.
At one stage as I was exiting a conversational grouping I felt the need, as people do, to provide an explanation as to why I was extricating myself from the conversation. So I opened my mouth and said “Excuse me; I need to find the little girl’s room.”
As soon as the words left my mouth I wanted to slap the shit out of myself.
Little girls’s room? Really? Did I truly just say that? Had I just infantilized and downgraded every woman present?
But then I got thinking. Perhaps, like many other things, we can take the social stigma associated with the phrase “little girl’s room” and use it to claim our power.
Look…most every man is terrified of the ladies room; to them it’s a mysterious wonderland filled with fainting couches, powder puffs, and baskets overflowing with free feminine hygiene products. Pondering the possibilities of what happens in this sanctum is as perplexing to them as the female reproductive system itself.
But maybe we have an opportunity to turn this enigmatic porcelain-and-tiled bastion into a venue of power. I say we take a stand – in office buildings and corporate offices around the globe – and begin hanging out in the ladies room. Let’s schedule meetings in there. Insist that a small conference table be set up in the lounge area; replacing the circa-1989 tweed couch that was provided as a resting spot for the menstruating gals.
We could rule the world if we insisted on conducting all our business in the ladies room. No boys allowed. Girls only.
The good old boys in the C-Suite won’t invite you to the annual golf outing? Screw ‘em; YOU get to hang out in the LADIES ROOM!
About the Author: With 25 years of HR Management experience, Robin Schooling, SPHR, has worked in a variety of industries. In 2013, after serving as VPHR with a Louisiana based organization, she left corporate HR to open up Silver Zebras, LLC, an HR Consulting firm. She blogs at HRSchoolhouse and you can follow her on twitter at @RobinSchooling where, on football weekends, you can read all her #whodat tweets.
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1 Comment
I really liked how this article was written – so open and I totally would have said something like that and felt the same way. But I feel sad about the divisive message. Let me be clear – I hate the boys’ club. I hate feeling left out and looked down on for being a woman, but I don’t think the answer is creating something separate to exclude men. I think the answer is working to create a culture of inclusion and equality, regardless of gender. I think real power is being confident enough to go up against a divisive culture and work to create collaboration, rather than to create a separate culture based on gender exclusivity.