“All I hear and see all day are men speaking their opinions, and I give mine in the same exact manner, and you would have thought I had said something offensive.” -excerpt from Jennifer Lawrence’s Essay
If you haven’t taken the time to read the essay Jennifer Lawrence wrote after discovering ALL of her male coworkers were payed higher then she was, I think you should. Yes, there is some language in this, but the meat of her argument is spot on in my opinion.
Having worked at a high level in corporate America, to now negotiating with potential sponsors and event organizers as a female athlete, I can relate to much of what she says. One recent example: I had gone back and forth with an organization about an issue, but I never got anywhere and felt like I was being ignored. A male archer brought up the same issue, and it was fixed 5 mins later, no questions asked.
Like Jennifer, in the past I tried to keep my mouth shut and not ruffle feathers, but this past year I’ve tried to change that and stand up for myself and others. I can’t say the response I’ve gotten has always been favorable, but as my mom always said, “you can’t complain if you didn’t do anything to try to fix the situation.”
I want to be clear and state that I don’t expect everyone to agree with me or my opinions, but I do ask that they respect them. What I’ve found so many don’t realize is that the fact that I am giving you my opinion in the first place means I respect you. Would I take the time to make a phone call, write an email or run the numbers/scenarios, if I didn’t value you and your position? Heck no, I wouldn’t waste my limited time. Let me say this again, it’s not a matter of male vs female, its a matter of equally respecting ALL human beings (this same argument can definitely be used in other cross sections of the population).
I’m sure this post is going to add to the list of people that dislike me, but I’m hoping to start the dialogue. Why, bc someone has to. I want to inspire the next generation, and I can’t do that simply by sitting back and being quiet. So my questions for you are the following: What did you take away from the essay? Is there anything you learned about yourself reading it? Leaving blame out of it, what can you and others do to improve this situation in the future?
Equestrian events, Iditarod, auto racing . . all dangerous, physically demanding sports that have women and men in direct competition.