Today is International Women’s Day.
So what, I hear some of you ask. Well, a few years ago, I probably would do too – amazing what a spot of growing up can do for a bloke. In many ways its a sad indictment that it’s necessary for such a day to exist at all.
Well, today, something rather remarkable happened in my workplace: I didn’t get offered an internal job to the next level of management. Not that remarkable? Perhaps. But ten, or even five years ago in the same place, there would probably have been a different outcome. Two candidates, roughly similar experience, one male, one female. In my industry (science), this is precisely the point in the hierarchy that the roughly 50:50 m/f split falls sharply. The level above that position, for example, there are 10 positions, 9 of them held by blokes in their late 50s. I’m in my mid 30’s, hardly a set-back for me to be worried about long-term, and finally good to see a level or meritocracy slowly seeping in to the old boys’ club.