A former female colleague and I were talking. She went much further in her career than I did, made more money, got promoted, etc. etc. and it was well-deserved. Meanwhile I got married, had two kids, and inherited some money when my parents died. I never was able to put in the time at work that she did. She recently reached a ceiling at work and got laid off. I am still working in a job several tiers lower. We have an equal amount of money saved to invest and I still have medical benefits. How is this fair? What message does that send to women?
I don’t think that’s sexism - that’s life - some people have it easier than others. Men get laid off too.
You only have an equal amount because of inheritance. If you remove that from the equation and compare apples to apples, she got a lot more benefit from her seniority, as it should be. I don't think where you are vs. where she is is the result of sexism. She put the time in, she advanced. There is more risk the higher you go, and she ran full on into that risk. You're somewhat "safer" at a lower level (though no one is truly safe). None of these facts seem the result of sexism to me.
I agree with this unless, OP, you are saying that she was underpaid for her level.
I'm saying she was terminated and had she kept going she would have earned more than I inherited. 20+ years of working in finance and she came out equal to someone who just "got lucky" and got married? I still think it's not right.
She only came out equal because of your inheritance. She put in 20 years, your parents put in a lifetime and you go the benefit. That's just pure luck that you got an inheritance. It's not sexist, it's just luck and life. The termination may or may not have been sexist -- hard to tell on these facts. Could have simply been ageist, which is rampant in certain industries (and equally wrong, imo).
I agree but it’s not a woman thing, and trust me plenty of things are. this is just not it. Sucks to suck.
I'm certain that getting married gave me equal if not greater footing . The figure we share is solely my own inheritance and 401k. My husband has money too. This is how society rewards women for putting men ahead of their own careers.