Photo: Andrey_Popov / Roman Samborskyi / Shutterstock
Why is this still happening?
By Amanda Hartmann — Written on Mar 12, 2022
A husband went to Reddit recently, furious over his wife facing blatant sexism at work.
Unsure about what to do to help, he went to the subreddit “r/antiwork,” where users share work struggles and try to help each other out.
His wife was turned down for a raise because of her husband’s salary — and told the men need it more.
She is a graphic designer in a marketing firm, and he says she is great at what she does.
Her husband goes on about all the glowing reviews from her boss, adding that she has gotten a raise before at this firm as well.
This year’s review ended differently, however. While she still had a good review of the work she was putting in, her salary would not be reflecting that this year.
Her boss expected her to rely on her husband’s salary.
She was told that everyone else was getting a salary increase but she would not be receiving one, despite her exceptional work.
According to her husband, she asked why, and her boss said, “There's only so much in the budget for salary increases, and since your husband is an engineer and makes good money, you don't need it, unlike the men here.”
When her husband heard that his own salary was hindering his wife’s success, he was shocked and understandably more than a little angry.
“That’s so f***ed up,” he said, later adding, “I do make good money, but that’s not a reason to sell her short.”
She can’t exactly quit her job there either.
When her husband recommended she quit her job with the marketing firm for a workplace that respects her more, she wasn’t convinced. According to her husband’s post, “she’s worried that could take a long time.”
He shared that they live in a relatively small city where graphic design work is not easily found, so she is likely correct that it would take a lot for her to find another opportunity in the proper field, let alone a company that respects her.
The husband ended the post with no more answers than he began, musing that he might be more upset than his wife over everything and confessing that he needed to rant on the unfair situation.
However, while his wife may have become accustomed to such sexism at her work, that doesn’t mean she should be forced to put up with it.
Users on Reddit devised a sneaky — and amazing — plan to force the company to reveal its true colors.
Several users suggest that the wife send an innocently toned email to “ask for clarification” about the raise.
Based on the outrageous reasons they gave her in person, they point out some equally outrageous questions to put up for them.
Not only might this point out the flaws in their logic, but if she manages to pass it off as completely innocuous and non-threatening, she could have evidence in writing of their blatant discrimination in the workplace.
Meanwhile, fellow graphic designers rallied to help his wife find a new work opportunity.
Several graphic designers made themselves known in the comments, stressing that just because they live in a small city did not mean that all opportunities were lost!
The graphic designers stressed that many of their best opportunities were found remotely, one explaining that she has a great position in an east coast company working remotely from the west coast.
Another graphic designer, meanwhile, stressed that they manage make six figures virtually, designing for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.
So, while the situation may look rough for our original graphic designer right now, she may have several possible paths to choose from, which is inspiring to see; far too often have cases like this kept women from getting the salaries they deserve, it’s time to see if we can’t finally make that come to an end.
Amanda Hartmann is a writer and editorial intern at YourTango who writes on news and entertainment.