New Girls' Network

I’m having a tough time dealing with my administrative assistant. She rarely responds to my emails, dawdles on the simplest of assignments, and on occasion has been outright rude to me. I’ve conferred with a few of my male peers, and they’re perplexed. They’ve always found her to be helpful, efficient, and cordial. What gives? […]

My contributions are barely acknowledged in meetings. My male peers seem to have no trouble getting people on board with their ideas, but my opinions just don’t seem to hold the same weight among my coworkers. How can I make my ideas stick? Your challenge here is two-fold. On one hand, Prove-It-Again! bias is holding […]

Co-written with Katherine Ullman. So you or your partner is pregnant. There are plenty of important decisions to consider: what will be the little one’s name? Will you share the name with friends and family or keep it a secret? What about gender? Do you want to know? Do you want others to know? Will […]

My male colleagues have no problem broadcasting their achievements, demanding raises, and requesting promotions. But when my female colleagues do the same, they become the topic of gossip—they are “arrogant,” “inflated,” or “full of themselves.” I produce good work, but I feel like my coworkers are passing me by because no one seems to recognize […]

None of my supervisors seem to pay attention to—or at least remember—my accomplishments. My male coworkers don’t seem to have this problem. But when I try to remind my colleagues, I just see all these “who do you think you are?” faces staring back at me. What can I do to get recognition without looking […]

Men at my organization seem to get away with everything. One male executive is such a terror that his competent support staff has been quitting in droves, but he’s still one of the more respected people in our company. A female colleague recently took to task an associate who had made a very serious mistake, […]

I’m fortunate to work at a company that offers flexible working arrangements, and since the birth of my first child, I’ve worked from home part-time. I’m still a committed employee producing high caliber work, but I’m being given less challenging assignments, and my supervisor no longer discusses the possibility of advancement with me. I really […]

Some of my male colleagues frequently make sexist remarks about other women in the office. Their comments really offend me, and I don’t like keeping quiet. But I’m not sure of how to confront my colleagues without upsetting them and making the situation worse. How can I respond effectively? We hear you! The idea of […]

I often find that I suggest a good idea in a meeting and it is ignored or overshadowed by the rest of the conversation. Later, someone suggests my idea—or an idea very like mine—and that person ends up with the credit. What can I do to make my voice heard? It sounds like you’ve had […]

  Dear My “Not-Manager” is a Jerk, This is a challenging dilemma especially since you are an intern and thus the lowest of the low. But do not despair! I would suggest you might try a humorous approach first — make a little sign with a picture of headphones on it and beside it write […]