Job-scene - Male-dominated/Chauvanistic? (Seattle, Redmond: real estate, health insurance, how much)

[aiownk]

Hi there. I've been reading the multitude of posts and have been very impressed with the details given.

My thing is that my fiance and I are thinking of moving up to the Seattle area from the SF Bay Area. I have a friend that lives in Kirkland who has been up there for just over a year now and has had been experiencing what she terms as chauvanism in the workplace. Basically, what she's finding is that once people (ie. in the workplace) find out she's married, in her mid-30's (she looks like she's just out of college) with no plans to have kids, she gets the cold shoulder. So far she's had a ton of interviews, but only one solid job - where they treated her like crap and she was way over-qualified for the job so she ended up leaving it after a few weeks. Fortunately, her husband has a good job so they don't need the money, it's more that she's working to help meet others that she was hoping she'd have something in common with.

Anyway, the reason I'm telling you her story, is that I'm hoping that the same thing doesn't happen to me. I'm in the finance field - accounting/financial analyst - with like 20 yrs of experience (and my bachelor's degree) and I'm hoping that I can find a decent job when we move up there. Can anyone tell me about the corporate culture up there? Or all the companies different? Coming from the Bay Area there are different sub-areas that have different cultures - the East Bay is more laidback with more flexible hours and really nice people, but less opportunity vs the city life is nose-to-the-grindstone, long hours, longer commutes, but larger salaries and more opportunity.

Also, I'm an animal-person - I have a horse, 2 dogs, a cat and a bird - but not into kids, so I'm wondering where the people without kids hang out? And where do the animal-lovers hang out?

[SeattlitefromNC]

Originally Posted by aiownk

Or all the companies different?

Yeah, every single company is different.

Without knowing what field your friend is in, it's hard to answer the question. I can see people in a more traditional field behaving in such a way, but not the tech industry (which is probably the biggest industry in Seattle). Of my friends in the tech industry, I'd say that 75% fit the profile that you described -- deliberately forgoing children, yet married.

[CityGirl72]

I'm a mid-30s woman in the Finance field too, I have not had anymore male centric companies more than I have had in other cities. It's tough uphill climb, but I find that in the interview process it's not that competitive. But the pay is definitely less, I can tell.

[aiownk]

Ok, that definitely helps...she was in hedge funds down here and was trying to get in there, but also looking at commercial real estate research and analysis...so I was thinking it was probably a really specialized field that was male-dominated. One thing she said was they asked her all sorts of questions during the interview - like if she was married, plans for kids - that sort of thing - that would be completely illegal to ask down here in CA.

So the tech companies are where the childfree mostly are employed...cool...I love tech, unfortunately I haven't ventured into Silicon Valley - too far for me to reasonably commute - to get any industry experience.

How much less is the pay, if you don't mind me asking? Here, accounting is in the $55-65k range with financial analysts in the $70-$90k range. Of course, that would be higher in the city (SF), but I prefer the 'burbs. :-)

[CityGirl72]

I hire FAs, and I hire in at 60-65K, if that helps.

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by aiownk

Ok, that definitely helps...she was in hedge funds down here and was trying to get in there, but also looking at commercial real estate research and analysis...so I was thinking it was probably a really specialized field that was male-dominated. One thing she said was they asked her all sorts of questions during the interview - like if she was married, plans for kids - that sort of thing - that would be completely illegal to ask down here in CA.

They shouldn't be asking it here either.

[Ira500]

Dog lovers hang out at the many off leash areas around. Marymoor Park in Redmond has one of the largest in the country, it's like a Doggie Disneyland, and there are other really nice ones around as well.

[jayhawkfan96]

As someone with a lot of HR experince, your friend should never volunteer that information during the hiring process. Under federal EEO laws it is illegal to ask about a applicants personal life. As far as the overall chauvinistic feel? Unfortunately that is not at all geographical. It exists everywhere. Just look at Senator McCain's comments about women needing to increase their education level and experience. And yes I realize that was only part of the message and slightly out of context, but it still shows the fundamental belief of a lot of people about women in the workplace. And this comes from a white male.

[tudorjason]

Having just graduated with a degree in HR, I agree with jayhawkfan96. Unless your friend is specifically asked by an interviewer of a prospective employer about her family for reasons such as paying their part in health insurance or something that is somehow related to the job, the interviewer doesn't need and shouldn't know personal information.