It's ingrained. Women undervaluing women.....

[canetoad]

I needed an AC adaptor for a twin sata HD dock. Easy - 240v ~12v. 1.5a.

Being a Sunday and I'm in a small town, couldn't find one anywhere. Final stop was a charity shop, where I would imagine they are throwing out hundreds of such adapters. Rather than listen to my request, the otherwise lovely volunteer offered to .... "ask a ......

I cut her short. "Ask a man?'

I took this poor, middle-class woman to the cleaners in a very nice way. She would have been late forties. "We've been using computers since the 70s", I said, "Despite my white hair and wrinkles I have over fifty years experience. Why would you ask a man?"

She had the grace to apologise for an unconsidered reponse, went out back and returned withing one minute. "No, nothing".

I guess the 'man' had no clue either.

[lunatica]

1. I I've run into a lot of clueless men

I even married a couple of them, though that didn’t last long. Happily single now, fixing my own problems and doing it pretty well.

[elleng]

2. Ditto

[Ms. Toad]

3. Since you cut her off, how do you know she wasn't about to say

ask someone who knows more about electronics, computers, etc.?

While I know what you are talking about, I'm pretty sure I can find quite a few folks (a mixture of age, gender, race, etc.) who wouldn't know - and who - when asked that question - might suggest asking someone who might know more.

[canetoad]

4. Experience.

Not one year's experience repeated 60-odd times but the sum total of over 60 well-considered years.

Please - go look for the few examples of an old woman with knowledge of electronics.

[Ms. Toad]

9. I'm not suggesting it doesn't happen.

What I am suggesting is that you were reacting to a stereotype by assuming what was about to come out of her mouth next - in the same way the engineers I worked with as outside counsel believed they could pull the wool over my eyes because I was (1) female and (2) over 50 (at the time - I'm 66 now), and (3) an attorney - all of which suggested to them I was likely to be ignorant about software. That ended the moment I called them on their lies as to how the software worked - because I had read the code and knew they were lying to me.

I am certified to teach computer programming in the public school (and have been since the late 70s), I can run circles around everyone in my family as to computer knowledge, and can run circles around all but one of the dozen or so IT employees at the University where I taught for the last 9-10 years. I am also currently one of the top 3 students in my computer science class (playing at the moment, but it is likely I will tuck another bachelor's degree under my belt in a computer science/engineering field - since there were a grand total of 3 computer science classes available when I earned my first bachelor's degree. and I took then all). I am well aware of the assumptions which are often made about women.

I'm just suggesting you made the exact same assumption about the woman you encountered, since you cut her off before she could complete her thought.

[Layzeebeaver]

5. This thread confuses me.

Disclosure. I’m a man. I know electronics. But not because I’m a man. I know people (across the sexuality spectrum) who know technical and non-technical things way better than me. I also have met folks with good and helpful hearts who are functional idiots.

Which woman in this scenario is undervaluing the other?

Was the shop assistant going to say “Man” or “Manager”?

Having not been there to witness it, there are way too many ways to misinterpret the words and intonation.

Regardless of our individual experiences or internal prejudices, it’s always good to express a little empathy to start with. Just my two cents and my questions.

[piddyprints]

6. I'm with you.

Well, I’m not a man. But I agree that there is some confusion about which woman is being undervalued.

[Raine]

10. I agree plus the OP seems to be devaluing the woman who attempted to help

her. The OP cut the woman off assuming she was going to say something that perhaps she wasn't going to say at all.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. I feel like this story doesn't say what you think it does.

[lark]

8. Yes, it totally is ingrained in our culture.

I grew up with a woman with 8 sisters and I had one sister and we always valued women. I was shocked when I started working at all the women who devalued our sex, who talked shit about other women as a generality. I was always defending women and women friends/sisters from these attacks. Women are every bit as smart, collegial and hard working as men.

[XanaDUer2]

11. Kick nt