Scarleteen

I have a job and at this job I work alongside women. I want to talk to these women more, but the workplace seems to require greater care when interacting with women than more casual settings. I feel too worried about doing the wrong thing to do much of anything. To this end, I'm looking for a book or other resource that could help clarify "the rules" of interacting with women in the workplace (and maybe just in general? but I guess one problem at a time). What do they enjoy, not enjoy? What behavior on my end is good and bad? What problems might I, as a male, need to navigate as I interact more with these women in this setting?

Hi there, Joe. Welcome to the boards!

Women are not a monolith, and so you're not going to find anything accurate that suggests they are. What women do or don't enjoy in any capacity simply varies, as is the case with a group made of billions of people! The long story short is that the way to treat women at work is to treat them like human beings, something that should seem simple, but which, unfortunately, has continued to be a real issue with a lot of men at work when it comes to people who aren't men at work. I'm glad you're invested in doing this well. <3

We have a few articles here that I think will help you out with what you're looking for, and I can also suggest a couple books, as well.

Here on the site:
• https://www.scarleteen.com/read/abuse/s ... you-can-do
• https://www.scarleteen.com/read/sex-sex ... d-flirting
• https://www.scarleteen.com/read/abuse/s ... hould-i-do

And those books, most of which are written by women and more *for* women than men, because I think that's the best way to get the real-deal inside scoop in the most honest way:
• Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit
• Feminist Fight Club by Jessica Bennett
• You Should Smile More: How to Dismantle Gender Bias in the Workplace by Dawn Hudson , Cie Nicholson and Mitzi Short
• Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace by David G. Smith and W. Brad Johnson