Women at Work.

I hope everyone had a fabulous bank holiday weekend, pity the weather was so poop for most of it.....yesterday was gorgeous though and instead of wallpapering (yikes) I sat on the swing in my back garden and soaked up some sun.  Mr Beastie said I need to sun my bump a bit as the glare from its whiteness almost blinded him....cheeky bugger!
Well, back to the reality of my temporary desk at work again *YAWN*.  Thankfully, the man sharing this office has decided to 'look after me' and brought in a BIG tin of chocolates to keep me happy/quiet.

It's got me thinking though about how differently people are towards me now that I'm pregnant and no longer of any use to them!  I work for an aerospace company and, up until April, was running the analytical department, (lab full of technicians).  Lots of the chemicals we use are harmful to unborn babies so I had to move out of my office which wasn't a problem, just meant the logistics of running the lab would change.
My boss at that time already made it clear that women and industry did not mix well, often making comments about how I should have done something differently had I been 'smarter'.  My pregnancy seemed like a golden ticket for him to remove me from my department altogether, (even telling my technicians not to contact me - even via e-mails), and place three, yes THREE men in there to each cover an aspect of my role.

It's not just this 'gentleman' though, everyone has changed towards me and it's only now I realise how fickle working relationships are.  If people can't benefit from being nice to you then they will simply ignore you, not even say good morning.  It certainly was a shock to the system! 

Fortunately, something else changed too.  My attitude towards my career and being successful.  All it took was two blue lines on that pregnancy test to change my life forever.  Everything I worked for just seems so pointless now....who cares what car you drive or what your job title is, it simply doesn't matter.

For now I mark each day off my wall chart, read my book and tippy-tap on the computer...smiling away to the world as my baby kicks happily in my tummy.  I feel like I'm surrounded by a protective bubble and nothing or no-one can penetrate it and influence my wee world :)

It's still a bit shit that women in industry lose out at work if they choose to have children. 

Oh well, another mini Twirl for me....only 59 working days to go.