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https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://medium.com/the-springboard/the-time-i-took-a-job-from-a-man-89a2e4187c31>
"Back in the mid-1970s, I got my first “proper job.” Before that, I’d worked at
various Boston restaurants, partying and avoiding growing up.
A waitress who worked with me told me her sister had a good job with a company
which was looking for female sales reps.
I had no selling experience and no idea what a sales rep did, but I followed up
anyway. I interviewed and got the job. I felt thrilled to have insurance and a
company car. That I’d be working for a major tobacco company didn’t deter me.
Public opinion did not turn against these companies for a few years.
I didn’t smoke, which the company considered a plus because I wouldn’t be
“smoking the stock.”
As naive as I was, I had no clue what I was getting into. I didn’t know that
men traditionally did these jobs. Hiring women sales reps was a relatively
recent development. It dawned on these companies that it would be good for
business and women could put up posters and restock shelves, as well as men.
With zero street smarts, I didn’t understand that driving around with a car
full of cigarettes and cash made me a potential target for robbery. Most of the
time I was driving around alone, calling in on stores. Fortunately, nothing
ever happened to me, though I came close twice.
There were a few other female reps, and we’d bond whenever we ran into each
other at the various distributors where we’d pick up stock. The men always
outnumbered us. The guys made comments about our looks. Smacks on the butt were
common, and we learned to put up with it. If we complained, they’d make snide
remarks about our “not able to take the heat.”
One day, when my manager rode along with me, he informed me that a group of
male sales reps had voted me as having the “prettiest face.” They voted for
another girl as having the “best body.” I think he expected me to gush at the
supposed compliment. I felt deeply offended, but I didn’t want to show it. He
waited for my response, but I didn’t say a word.
I had all kinds of adventures. Boston in the '70s was wild. But my favorite
memory is the day I walked into a small mom-and-pop grocery store on a side
street in South Boston, aka Southie."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
