This past week, I was working a conference out of town. Not attending one, actually doing to the work to make it happen. I wore professional dress on the plane the way there because I immediately had to go into a board meeting when I arrived. Then the next day, I wore professional dress for 16 hours while I worked. Slacks, blouse, blazer both days.
On the final day, I wasn’t working the event. I had to go to the airport early and so I wore a tank top and clean athleisure joggers and a sweater. I stopped down early to have breakfast so I didn’t have to charge the company money for breakfast at the airport. I was eating in the tank and joggers outside the room with the attendees and was not working in any way.
I flew home, logged into work, and had a meeting with my boss. As an aside to our meeting, she mentioned that her boss was at the event and saw me that morning and was concerned about what I was wearing. He had been assured I was not there in a professional capacity and was just getting food before the airport, but he was “concerned about my reputation” because of how I was dressed.
At first I thought it was funny and a little embarrassing. But I can’t stop thinking about it and the more I think about it, the more I see that is straight up misogyny to believe that two days of impeccable professionalism could be destroyed by wearing a tank top and that I’m not the problem here, the hypothetical person offended is the problem and my boss’s boss is the problem for believing that my dress was the problem and not the perception of the hypothetical person.
So now I don’t know what to do (other than never dress casually at work ever again), and I don’t know if I just let this go as another example of being a woman in a professional environment held to a different standard, if I talk to my boss about it, or if I would talk to her boss about it (who is, of course, the highest-ranking person in our organization).
What would I even say? How do I frame it, assuming I bring it up at all?
“Concerned about your reputation”? Because you were in a tank top and joggers?
Yes, it’s misogyny. I can guarantee you that if he saw a male colleague in an equivalent outfit at breakfast, he would not tell that person’s boss that he was “concerned about his reputation.”
First, men’s clothes don’t trigger the same judgment in people who say this kind of thing. Second, if he did think your male coworker was too causally dressed for breakfast, he’d relay it as, “Tell Bob to dress for work when he comes down to breakfast,” not as “concern for his reputation.” But I don’t think he’d even say that because men’s clothes just don’t provoke the same paternalistic judgment.
That said, is it worth saying something? It’s hard to say without knowing a lot more about what your boss is like, what your boss’s boss is like, what your relationships with them are like, how much you like your job, and how much capital you have and are interested in spending.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with going back to your boss and saying, “I’ve been thinking about Cecil’s comment that he was ‘concerned for my reputation’ because I wrote sweats and a tank top to breakfast, and I’d like to clarify whether the expectation is that we’ll all dress for work when leaving a hotel after a work trip.” There’s also nothing wrong with saying, “I’m skeptical that he would have expressed the same concern about the reputation of a man eating breakfast in sweatpants.”
But is it worth addressing? Eh. Maybe I’m just worn out from Dealing With It All, but I’d probably only bother if your boss passed it along in a fairly serious way, but not if the tone was more eye-rolling / “Cecil said this ridiculous thing to me.”
After losing my job six months ago, I have been on the hunt. It has … not been very successful. I have pivoted to expand beyond my industry and include my ever constant fallback of restaurant work. Everything I do and have been trained in is in public-facing customer service.
I also mask. It’s personal and nobody asks about it, but after so long my family seems to believe that it is because I am masking that I am not getting anywhere.
While I am no lawyer, I feel at this point it falls into disability/perceived disability discrimination, but to quote my family, “It’s only discrimination if they tell you about it.”
I want to work. I want to get back to helping people. Do I risk physical and mental distress for this? Am I the problem?
It’s possible that it’s the masking.
It shouldn’t be; in an ideal world, the assumption would be that if you’re masking, you have a private medical reason for it (for example, that you’re immunocompromised and need to be especially careful). But it’s also true that now that most people don’t mask, it may bias some interviewers against you, either consciously or unconsciously — whether that’s feeling like they’re not “connecting” with you as well when they can’t see your face or because they have Feelings about people who mask in general. And there are people who weren’t virulently anti-mask a few years ago but find it weird now that most people have stopped.
Still, though, if you’re going to mask on the job, you might as well screen out employers who will have a problem with it up-front.
It might go over better if you acknowledge it in some way. “Apologies for the mask, I’m being careful right now” or “Apologies for the mask, I still need to be careful” are both true and don’t give much away as far as private medical info, but provide some context. (Obviously you don’t need to apologize for taking a medical precaution; this would be a social nicety to acknowledge that there is a barrier preventing them from seeing your face.)
In brief: Following a splendid Memorial Day in Houston, we are going to see the brief return of potentially heavy rainfall on Wednesday. Note that these storms may hit during the morning commute. The weekend looks warmer, and mostly rain-free.
Look back at last week
Before we look ahead, I wanted to briefly review our rainfall totals last week, from Sunday morning to Sunday morning. Most areas along and south of Highway 59/Interstate 69 picked up 3 to 6 inches of rainfall whereas inland areas were more in line with 2 to 4 inches. For much of the region (excluding areas south of the region) the bulk of these rains came on Saturday, when there was flash flooding.
Estimated rainfall totals for last week from our mid-May storms. (Pivotal Weather)
These rains were largely beneficial for most areas. As the Houston region enters the hottest part of the year, with the highest Sun angle, our soils are largely drought-free. It is a great position to be. You may also note on the map above that areas south of Houston, along Coastal Bend, also received healthy rainfall totals last week. This has had a beneficial impact on one of the two main reservoirs that provide water for Corpus Christi. Although Choke Canyon has largely been unimpacted, Lake Corpus Christi is now 14.7 percent full, an increase from 8.7 percent full a month ago. This will provide the region a little more time to sort out its severe water shortage issues.
Tuesday
If you enjoyed Memorial Day—and it ended up being a rather nice holiday for outdoor, sunny activities—today should be similar. High temperatures will push into the upper-80s, with partly to mostly sunny skies. Winds will generally be light, from the southeast at about 10 mph with slightly higher gusts. Rain chances are low, perhaps 10 to 20 percent. Rain chances increase tonight, especially after midnight.
Wednesday
An atmospheric disturbance will move into the region overnight on Tuesday from the west, and likely push an area of storms through the region early on Wednesday. At this point I think the best chance for widespread showers will occur between 4 am and noon on Wednesday in Houston. Flooding is possible, of course, but for most of the region accumulations look to be between 1 and 2 inches. This should be manageable, but definitely worth monitoring given that these showers and thunderstorms are likely to move through during the morning commute. Highs on Wednesday will likely top out at about 80 degrees, with lower rain chances likely during the afternoon and evening hours.
NOAA rain accumulation forecast for now through Wednesday. (Weather Bell)
Thursday
We can expect some lingering showers on Thursday, but coverage and amounts should be significantly less than on Wednesday. Skies will turn partly sunny and highs likely will push back into the upper 80s.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
We probably will see high temperatures rise to about 90 degrees beginning on Friday, and lasting through the weekend. This is on par for this time of year. Skies look to be mostly sunny on Friday, with partly sunny conditions on Saturday and Sunday. With dewpoints in the low- to mid-70s we’re getting there in terms of summer-time humidity in Houston, but just know it can get worse than this. (And it will, hah). Overnight lows will be in the mid-70s. Some rain chances return later on Sunday, although they look iffy to me at this point.
Houston should hit 90 degrees for a couple of days this weekend. (Weather Bell)
Next week
Rain chances rise to start next week, and there is some evidence that a weak front may approach Houston. Anyone betting on a cool front in June is probably a fool, so I’m offering no guarantees here. But there is a chance that some slightly cooler and drier air arrives later next week. If so, it would definitely be a bonus. We’ll see.
Faculty at Harvard University voted to set limits on the number of A’s awarded to students, citing the need to curb grade inflation. What do you think?
“A’s should be reserved for the students with the most exceptionally rich parents.”
Jessica Sadler, Grocery Pricer
“I didn’t know grades even went above C.”
George Rennert, Sediment Researcher
“You don’t have this problem in a sticker-based grading system.”
Top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner arrives at the French Open on a 29-match win streak, having recently swept six consecutive ATP 1000 titles and completed the Career Golden Masters. The Onion shares everything you need to know about the four-time Grand Slam champion.
Height: 8-foot-6 (with tennis racquet on head)
Opacity: 37%
Pre-Match Ritual: Watching instructional tennis videos on TikTok
Europe is baking under unseasonal heat that is shattering temperature records, including in the United Kingdom on Monday, and prompting government warnings after deaths were reported at amateur sports events in France.
TORONTO – Facing backlash for alleged abuse of the TFW program during record unemployment, coffee chain Tim Hortons has vowed to reduce foreign hiring just as soon as they find a legal means to treat Canadian employees like human chattel. “Tim Hortons is an iconic Canadian brand, whether our employees come from Sudbury, Chilliwack, or […]
I came across a carnivorous friend from home while out walking in Japan! Roundleaf Sundew can be found in parts of Asia, North America, and Europe! It eats bugs by enticing them with sweet sticky globs on their leaves, and once an insect gets stuck, they use enzymes to break down their meal and extract ammonia from them (an adaptation for thriving in nitrogen poor soils!)
PEACH CREEK, KY—Taking an opportunity to firmly reiterate their stance that it weren’t their intention, America’s simple-minded bumpkins issued a joint statement Monday confirming they don’t mean no harm to nobody. “We don’t wish no ill ’pon nobody, no sir,” said bumpkin spokesperson Billy Lee “Bubba” Toddums, his beefy hands limp in the pockets of his denim overalls as he rocked on his heels, chewed a stalk of wheat, and outlined his community’s continued mission to keep mindin’ their own dern business. “We’re simple people just tryin’ to make our way in the world. Whatever goings-on occur with them other folks is between them ’n’ God. We ain’t tryin’ to make a fuss ’bout nothin’ .” At press time, Toddums amended the statement to include a public appeal for assistance in removing the pig-slop buckets that had just become stuck on their heads.
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