In the hopes of not seeing the Brenda Seymour incident blow over as if that sort of thing is uncommon, and in hopes that enlightenment can change perpetrators’ ways, The Overcast is running a 3-part series March through May about the subtle and overt ways people have been marginalized in the workplace based on their gender.

It’s clear from internet comments that a portion of the province can’t see the difference between “having a little fun at work,” or “being a jovial Newfoundlander,” and belittling a woman in the workplace.

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“I’m in my 30s, married, and work in a professional field. One day while having lunch with a male co-worker in the cafeteria of a government building we ran into a current Cabinet minister who called me “Duckie” and then asked my co-worker if I was his girlfriend…because in 2016 why else would there be a woman in the workplace?”— ANON

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“In the music industry, there are big differences in the way men and women are treated. I once had a recording gig with several other men and while the engineer called each one of them by their names I was addressed throughout as “Gorgeous,” and offered comments on my appearance. It might seem like an innocent thing to do, but really it’s an effective way of dismissing someone’s talents and marginalizing them as being primarily “pretty to look at.” Later he tried to add me to Facebook and I was disgusted at the thought of him going through my pictures. Nothing about it felt professional. I remember thinking, I’m here to do the same job as everyone else and I deserve the same respect of being called by my name. But I didn’t say it. Now I would.” — ANON

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“I’m a male who lives and works predominantly with women, but my unique technical background regularly places me among older white, male trade-workers. In various workplaces and different industries I’ve witnessed rampant sexism and prejudice of all kinds, mostly in this province. Comments about women happen mostly when they aren’t around, out of some bizarre form of ‘respect.’ Older men (60+) seem to say more comments about gender and are more likely to say a harassing comment directly to a woman. In a normal day-to-day situation, defined gender roles are the most common form of discussion – I’ve had countless comments about my wife’s success in keeping a good home because I bring well-prepared meals (often my own). Similar comments go on about others partners, that if something is going well it must be because they keep their wife “in line.” These are genuinely seen as compliments. I guarantee if you were to [ask] previous coworkers and employers, they would perceive their workplaces as respecting gender merely by virtue employing women and their keen ability to shut up when women are in the room. Based on my observations over my past 10 working years, the majority of men I’ve worked with have made joking or marginalizing comments about women and generally see equality in the workplace as a matter of compliance.” — ANON

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“Being treated as a secretary/assistant by your male boss even though your male co-workers could help with those tasks, being expected to do all the “women” roles around the office - making the coffee, organizing parties/events, cleaning up, etc., having to be “nice,” because if you’re not nice, then you’re a bitch. The most shocking thing I experienced: when I got a new boss and he asked me about a female co-worker. When I tried to politely explain that we didn’t get along well (she was well known in the office for lying and manipulating), he simply said “I’ve worked with women before.” I was so shocked and disappointed, I didn’t know how to respond. He had only worked there for a couple of weeks but I already knew it was going to be an uphill battle for respect.” — ANON

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“My boss and a colleague joked, in front of me, about taking me in the woods behind where we were working and gang-raping me. I feel like I don’t need to say much more than that.” — HOPE

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“In my experience, as a woman under 30 who has already worked in several different fields and workplaces, sexism almost always intersects with ageism. In my early 20s, this was especially apparent. In one professional office environment in my early 20s, I felt routinely belittled for being both young and a woman. A man, who wasn’t quite a co-worker but who I sometimes had to interact with in meetings and for different projects which overlapped, made me very uncomfortable with looks and comments, but even more with how he disrespected my work space and personal space. I recall one time when he barged into my office unannounced while I was meeting with someone, interrupting me for some clerical question regarding dropping off mail for another man in the office (as if I was his secretary or receptionist, when really we were peers and I had no role in assisting) and went so far as to put his hand on my back while I sat at my desk. I felt routinely uncomfortable, as if I had to apologize for daring to be a woman, 23, and in this role. It was this routine undermining of my autonomy and personal space, and ageist disrespect of me as a peer, which was overtly gendered but not always explicitly “sexual,” which led me to promote using the term “workplace gender harassment” to more inclusively describe the belittling, often rather subtle, behaviour women deal with every day.” — ZAREN

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“When I started my career, my first boss asked me to marry him or sleep with him pretty routinely. He was a bit unhinged and I routinely told him to stop speaking to me, get out of my office, or go get help. I was with government then and thought it very unlikely he would retaliate or that government wouldn’t back me if he did. Twenty three years later, in a new job in the private sector, my boss started putting his hands on the small of my back when I was entering a room. It enraged me, way more than the unhinged guy. But having moved from the public service to private industry, I no longer had the confidence that my job would be safe if I said something. Touch is very powerful and so not okay for people in positions of power to use.” — ANON