I have also found that there are many males who simply do not want to listen to woman because she is a woman and they feel that they are above her and that she does not know or can not know more than they do. After all everyone knows that a woman has a smaller brain.
Culturally I know you are right Sahara that some just do not think women should have a voice much like a child. I am just glad my dad did not teach me that way.
We do still live in a male dominated society but that is changing very fast and ladies are being taken more seriously.
Yes women are showing that they have a voice and they are using it as the ride up the corporate ladders. I know that I still work with some who still live in the past and can not handle a woman in a position above them.
I work with men like that as well. I even work with women who prefer to be surrounded by men when working, and seem uncomfortable taking instructions from female superiors. One co-worker in particular ignores direct instructions given to her by her female supervisor, and during performance appraisal time, she marches into the manager's office (who happens to be male) and demands excellent ratings.
Anyway, my point is if some of us as women cannot seem to give due respect to women in authority, how can we expect men to afford us with same?
I hear about women who can not seem to listen to authority from their female supervisor all the time. My wife works for a large company and she is a supervisor. I hear all the problems she has with her female workers listening and I can tell you she has more problems with them than her male workers. Makes what Lynette is saying sink home more. I do think some women are making it harder for themselves to be taken serious.
Name: Lynette
Comments: Maybe one of the reasons why men don't take women seriously is that most of us can't seem to separate our personal life from our professional life. I myself have to warn co-workers when I am going through Pre-menstrual syndrome. I also heard a manager describe women as too emotional to work with, and prefers to work with men (he can't express this in public though because it conflict with the Equal Opportunities Act)
I think a lot of it is society. In the past women held high places in government and ruled whole countries with power. People looked up to these women and feared them. There are women who run countries still, but in some parts of the world women have been looked down on for years. This affects the way women act and the way people treat them.