There are a lot of pros and cons about being a woman in a male dominated field like technology.
One particular thing has been on my mind this week is the idea that kindness can be perceived as weakness.
I am the woman who walks into the office with a smile on my face. I usually say good morning to everyone I pass. On Mondays I ask how your weekend was or I ask how your day is going. I try to be the person who shows genuine interest in the person behind the job. I do this because it’s naturally my personality, but additionally I think being friendly makes me a better teammate. It makes me a better employee.
They say people’s happiness in their job has more to do with who they work with then what they do. Sometimes people spend more time with their coworkers than they do their own family. I always thought why not be kind to one another?
Unfortunately, some people think kindness is a way of covering up the fact you aren’t as smart or ruthless or competitive or [insert good business adjective here]. People have always made assumptions about me. Asking what part of HR I work in or a professor asking if I was in the right class.
They will try to hand me the busy work or pass me over for the challenging assignments.
At times, I questioned if I wasn’t acting “professional” enough. I quickly realized I was looking at things all wrong. I am not the one making a mistake here. Others jumping to conclusions or treating me differently were the ones at fault. Doing good work AND being kind will only benefit me in the future.
For those in the back that need me to repeat: do not mistake kindness for weakness. For all the other naturally friendly, kind people out there like me. Keep doing you. Don’t let others scare you from being exactly who you are. Smiles and all.
