Is He Engaging You Correctly?

Some men will discourage you from sharing work-related ideas with them because they want you to believe that doing so is dumb. They don’t want you to see the bright side of this move though. You, the woman, are sharing an idea with a man because it will let you play on the same page as him, receive new ideas in return, or get integrated in his network.

Women including the educated women are being harassed in many ways nowadays; and, one method includes retarding integration by not giving her any idea about one’s network. Women need to learn how to look out for warning signs so that they may call it quits before any further harm is being done. Here are some examples:

Is he making you play lower than your level by staying quiet or sharing less?
Does he pretend to ignore your comments while secretly writing them down?
Does he expect you to just say something to make him feel better?
Does he dodge your requests to help you connect with someone useful? Is he always working towards a “No” somehow?
Does he make you feel emotionally numb somehow? He can do that by holding back information from you when you feel that he shouldn’t. You will develop a feel about this if you have known the guy for long.
What exactly does he offer in return and how often?

Once you are done analyzing all of this, write down your answers on paper along with the names of everyone involved. Keep your answers safe so that you may decide your next move. Don’t stay near men who are stopping you from moving towards a position or recognition. They are doing this by saying or doing things that waste your time. For instance, they might say something as dumb as, “Take some rest because you can’t change how you think and react” or “Did I hurt your feelings? Maybe, sleep on it and take rest often.” They are also indirectly signaling to the rest of their network that it is okay to isolate you. Don’t give them a chance!