Female-only offices relieve workplace pressure

The World Bank estimates that women account for 45.8 percent of the labor force in the U.S. Despite our near-equal presence, many women still don’t feel comfortable and confident in the workplace.

This lack of assurance does not stem from our ability to succeed at our jobs, nor does it come from inadequate devotion to our work. The unfortunate but accurate fact is this: It can be hard for women to grow professionally in offices run by men — in offices with an absence of female role models for them to look up to.

This summer I had the privilege of interning with the National Women’s Health Network , a women’s health advocacy group in Washington, D.C. As one might expect, everyone on staff at the NWHN is a woman — it’s not like many men apply to write blog posts about vaginal rejuvenation surgery.

Working in an office of all women and an industry dominated by women, even for just three months, has forever changed the way I will operate in professional environments.

I have never felt uncomfortable working in offices run by men, but I have felt timid. Throughout my college experience, I’ve held six different internships. At almost every workplace, I have found myself in a space where I was the only woman. I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but in those situations, I usually felt intimidated, and this intimidation barred me from sharing my ideas or opinions. Instead, I usually remained silent and agreeable.

I consider myself a strong woman who has little doubt in her professional skills and abilities. Still though, I’ve been spoken over in meetings and had rudimentary topics mansplained to me by my even less knowledgeable male colleagues. I have to admit, it gets tiresome to have to talk a little louder in groups of people, and go above and beyond to prove that my intelligence is on par with everyone else is in the room.

It’s not as though these men purposefully try to silence me or hurl their condescension at me. I’ve always been generally well respected, but there remains an unspoken division between males and females in the office and an indescribable sense of hierarchical status.

It’s like there is an invisible bubble around women, limiting us in what we are willing to say and do. I didn’t even realize this bubble existed around myself until this summer, nor did I realize just how much I’d been restricting myself and my ability to grow.

Every woman needs to experience female-only communities and workplaces — not because we can’t survive in a male-dominated world, but because we all deserve the chance to flourish without restraint.

This summer, I found myself more willing to share risky ideas, more comfortable asking for what I needed and more clearly respected and valued. I found myself taking initiative on projects and succeeding with fervor.

When I came back to Gainesville in August and started working again at the office I’ve been at for nearly a year, I found that the professional character traits I developed this summer did not fade away. Despite still being one of the few females in my office, I came back with a newfound indescribable confidence.

I cannot stress enough the importance of female-only communities. Even though society as a whole and the professional world has made leaps in terms of tolerance and equality among genders, slight divisions will always exist. This is why we all deserve a chance to grow confident in comfortable and encouraging environments.

The opportunity to grow professionally with the support of other women is something that must be preserved and emboldened. This community can come in many forms. It might mean working in an all-female office, attending Women’s Student Association meetings or volunteering at a women’s shelter or community center. Whatever it means to you and wherever you find it. Please, please, embrace it.

Abigail Miller is a UF journalism and political science senior. Her column appears on Fridays.