I've always been competitive.
A fighter.
A little bit of a feminist in my formative/younger years (A title I don't really wish to be associated with nowadays, due to a lot of negative connotations)
And something I have always found interesting is that whilst I can remember defiantly informing people in my life that girls had all the same opportunities as boys; nobody really believed me.
An interesting notion; since as far as I have felt growing up, things have in fact been EASIER for me as a girl. Or at least, a lot less competitive.
In a generation fighting for gender equality, I have found myself able to rise above, probably more than I deserve, on the basis of being a girl.
Attending a Private School on a scholarship because I was a girl (and the not-so-recently boys school turned Co-ed were able to award scholarships to girls ahead of boys)
Being chosen for jobs over men with the same (if not better) qualifications based on the desire to "increase gender equality". However so many less girls apply. In fact, girls just don't do what I do. (mostly)
Which is another thing, I've never really felt that I was confined into doing something based on my gender (I can't cook, and I daresay I will not be a "stay-at-home" mum) but I have noticed that so many people around me have.
I don't feel like studying a maths major is all that "boy" specific, and yet there are so few girls that do it. Stranger yet was the number of girls who applied for a job in Assurance at PwC. At my assessment centre I was one of four girls (in a room of 24) and the only Caucasian. I didn't even realize I would be walking into such an advantage but I was. Company's are so focused on trying to make gender equality, that I feel I've barely had to try to be offered jobs, not saying that I haven't tried. I have.
Maybe I have unintentionally tried hard expecting it to be more challenging for me than the boys around me, and have in fact just been experiencing the benefits of my struggles. It definitely doesn't feel that way though, not in the slightest.
I guess I should take this win whilst I still can, since my desire to one day have children is definitely going to hinder my career a lot more than my male counter parts. Guess that is one reason I am pushing my career so early, able to have a good grounding before I need to take 12weeks - 6months off for children. But then again, maybe I'm wishing my life away.
That's my tidbit for today (actually this blog has been a couple of days in the making I just keep forgetting to finish it to post).
It all stems from something a friend said to me. We were in a stats lecture, and the lecturer gave an example of experimental design and mentioned that "maybe for example, males are more likely to get a job than females", and my friend lent over and said "Well not at PwC" and I guess he was right. I got the job, and he didn't. He is a better student, and from our reviews, a better worker too. It doesn't really makes sense to me that I would be more what they were looking for than him, but then again, I might be selling myself too short (a quality more common in women than men, and a contributing factor in the difference in pays for men and women in the same careers - interesting tidbit)
I guess I just need to ride the wave whilst I still can - take all opportunities life is willing to give me. I've always been one to want to do things myself, be the person who knew things (go against "Its who you know, not what you know") but I've learnt as time goes on, that I am just denying myself the same thing everybody else is doing, and for what? my Pride?
Whoops, side tracked. Should probably write a new post all about that!
I think that is enough food for thought for now
xx
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