If you don't mind, I'll share a few thoughts. There was a time when it was thought sinful for a woman to be a teacher because she would be teaching young men. The same thing happened in the medical and science fields. Men saw it as a threat for women to enter those vocations. Slowly but surely women persisted who felt called to those areas of service and most of them gladly maintained their femininity around the men folk and displayed a measure of respect toward their male peers, fully aware that any misconduct or attitude would completely undermine their ultimate goal--be given the chance to participate. They were thankful to just be there and worked hard to prove they had value and something to bring to the table. (This same parallel can be seen among the races as black parents and students worked to have the privilege to attend schools, colleges, upper level jobs, etc.) As the flow of females increased in the work force by necessity tenure moved them toward the top--especially once WWI and WWII happened. There were big problems when the men came home from war and insisted the women step down to a lower level so the men could have the upper tier of work. Others thought the women should return home and had no business remaining in the work force--regardless of her experience, value in a company's cycle of growth, etc. Over the decades women have come to hold positions of responsibility and authority that were considered unthinkable when I was a young girl. It's been amazing to watch.
What irks me to no end--I despise it--is to see a woman in a position of responsibility and/or authority that flaunts her gender, expects her gender to take her places that her skill set or lack of competence won't, or talks down to or debases a man just because her position is above his. Come to think of it, this sort of conduct is despicable in both men and women.
I've often pondered the story of Deborah and Barak. There's a reason she rose in favor in the eyes of all Israel. She actually became a judge of Israel. Judges 4:8 "And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go." Judges 4:4 calls her a prophetess.
Then there's Huldah, the prophetess in II Kings 22:14 "So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college
and they communed with her." See also II Chronicles 34:22
Miriam, Aaron's sister, is called a prophetess in Exodus 15:20
Luke 2:36 mentions Anna as a prophetess.
Jezebell called herself a prophetess (Rev. 2:20) and Noadiah was apparently on the wrong side of the fence also in Neh. 6:14 as far as being in a position of responsiblity and authority but abusing it. So in Scripture you see it happening both ways--women being highly respected and sought unto by the men, and those who utterly shamed the female role.
I really think the issue is maturity for both men and women who are able to value and respect each other when their roles seem to be reversed.
Please do not misunderstand, those men and/or women who absolutely do not feel they can position themselves under the opposite gender in a work related setting or in close proximity do not in any way indicate a lack of maturity by default. Quite the contrary--it takes a lot of hardwork, determination, sweat, blood, and tears to go the entrepreneurial route.
I didn't set out to be the administrator of a small Christian school. The Lord GOD literally drew me to the dyslexia ministry, dropped His answer for it in my lap, and then led me to found the organization. He called me to start the ministry for high school dropouts in 2001. That positions me as teacher for young adult men and women every time class meets. Now I can look back and see how purposefully He was preparing me all along the way from my point of salvation between 4th and 5th grade to be ready to follow Him in each of these endeavors, but I wasn't looking for any of them. All 3 have cast me into "a man's world". I could have gone anywhere and named my price as a secretary because of my skill set, experience, and expertise coming out of college. I chose not to because I didn't want to have to deal with the drama, stress, and temptations I'd heard come with the job of working that closely with a man who was not my husband. Going straight into the educational field allowed me to focus on children, though early on I was teaching high school teen young men. In spite of the fact that I had an inherent fear of men steming from my 18 years of growing up, by God's grace I was able to hold my own in the classroom, learn that validating the young men's masculinity and talking straight to them no differently than I did the girls allowed me to earn their respect, not demand it because I was their teacher. Then God gave me 4 boys, and I learned even more of how to relate. I wanted my boys to be healthy, Godly men. Today, all those years of training and readjusting to the male gender are what allows me to sit across the table from many teen young men, college age males, and adult men seeking help for dyslexia without fearing them, but able to look them in the eye, speak truth to them, challenge them, and provide the help they are seeking. For sure I pray every time I meet with a new client--male or female. I think I pray extra when meeting with the males because it's so easy to feel inferior to that gender. I want Christ to be seen in me so that I can do what's He's called me to do. Feelings of inferiority or superiority would totally sabatoge the entire appointment with males.
Because I'm glad to be a women and don't try to cloak my femininity in psuedo masculinity, I've found that in the professional world, though some men may challenge me, knowing who I am and whose I am provides the strength to stand tall with meekness and humility of spirit. I can let the Lord take care of the rest. If a man has a problem with me as a woman at a professional level, it will have to be his problem; I do my best not to make it mine.
