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Chinwe was very excited at the news she got, she had been called to resume as the Assistant Manager in an oil firm. As she sat by her table in her new office on the first day, she reminisced about her experience at a former job she missed.
9am was the time she was given to be at the interview. She got there by 8:30am, trying her best to mind her business while every other person was finding comfort among themselves by asking what they all felt the interview questions would be like. For Chinwe, all that kept crossing her mind was the question “I hope I am doing the right thing leaving my current place of work”. One after the other, they were called into the room and everyone came out hopeful.
When it was her turn, immediately she entered the room, she quickly browsed through and noticed 5 people. Four men and a woman whose looks almost made her miss her steps. One after the other they began to ask her questions and every time it looked like they were satisfied, the only woman in the room would want another angle to the response. Well, she didn’t think anything bad about the idea “she is only being thorough and that is understandable” not until the interview was over and the woman said “Working here is beyond being pretty, I hope you have more to offer us than your pretty face.”
Her eyes were teary; she managed to respond “Yes Ma’am, I promise I will do my best” to which she responded “I have heard that several times”. Chinwe walked out of the room feeling so bad and wondered why she should be judged by her looks while her cv was well put together as said by the other interviewers and even her qualifications met up to their requirement (at least, that was what she was told when she later called an insider to find out.)
Chinwe wasn’t shocked she never got called back and when she asked who among the panel wasn’t ok with her, her guess was right…and you can guess who too.
Her office phone rings, interrupting her reflections, it was her current boss, an amazing woman who has fast become her mentor. “Chinwe, have you checked through the files? Was there any error” she asked and Chinwe responded “Yes ma, I have checked, we are good to go”. “Well done dear, I am proud of you” her boss said and got off the phone.
“What a world” Chinwe said, “Today I work with a boss who is now like my guardian angel. I am glad I did not conclude that most women on the board have a tendency to be mean, that would have been too hasty a generalisation because she doesn’t represent all women and secondly, my current boss isn’t any bit like that.” Different strokes, different folks, same gender different attitude…life oh life!
Kemi Ajumobi
