Gender Bias at the Bank

A few months ago, I went to get my hair cut at the local shopping mall, and the female hairdresser engaged in some small talk with me.

"So do you live in Oakville with your parents?" she asked, as she washed my hair with shampoo.

"No, I actually live in an apartment by myself. Well, with my two cats," I answered.

"And you can afford it? As a teacher?" she asked, bewildered.

I didn't really know how to respond. I don't think a male teacher would have been asked the same question, and this really irked me. This is just one of the ways in which women are prejudiced against in our society, even in our progressive Canadian one. Entering the workforce and official "adult life" I've been shocked, in 2018, how many difficulties and biases I had to clear up and overcome just because I am 1) a young millennial and 2) a woman.

Another example: When I went to the bank today, the financial advisor asked me no less than 3 times if I shared my account with a husband or parent. After saying no all 3 times, I was bombarded with questions about my job as a teacher, why I was working two part-time jobs instead of one full-time, and how I was not qualified for a line of credit that I had already been pre-approved for. The fiasco took one hour to clear up, and still the advisor looked at me with suspicion.

In an era where both men and women usually need to work in order to survive and thrive, why does so much financial discrimination still exist? Why have I been told that I should just "marry rich" instead of seeking to advance my position, start my own business, or sell a book? There is nothing wrong with the "traditional" nuclear family idea, where a woman stays at home as the caregiver and the man goes to work as the breadwinner, but it is sexist to presume that all women should stay inside the home just because it's the "norm" or "the way it always has been." There is also an increasing amount of single mothers, and young women who are unmarried and need to make ends meet.

And yet...because I occupy a traditionally "female" job as a teacher I feel like I am constantly underestimated, or needing to prove myself. Of course, I know it must be even more difficult for women of colour, and I don't neglect the fact that men are also prejudiced against in our unfortunately sexist society as well. However, all I can share are my own experiences, and my advice: when a woman tells you that she owns a house, or a car, or has a business, don't respond with "Really!?" and never assume that she has to have a loaded husband to afford it.

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