The recent Star article "Why I Wish I Were a Guy" raised all kinds of discussion in my circles.

The article is filled with some stats (worth knowing) that shows even in North America, there are gender gaps. While Mallick doesn't show the upside of how far women have come, she certainly doesn't bash the other side. She simply, with some tongue-in-cheek humour, points out that it's still easier to be a guy in the working world. I believe that's true. Having even a guy's name has often provided me with an advantage. Stupid eh?, but true.

But the title and last lines of the articles seemed to be all anyone read - a shame really because Mallick raised some excellent points.

I'll add one - as much as others may view our gender as holding us 'down'... we hold ourselves down as well:
* We self-select out of opportunities, perceiving (rightly or wrongly) that we're not qualified/don't have the time/wouldn't be considered.
* We don't talk about our accomplishments freely.
* We can take things too personally in the workplace.
* We can try too hard to be one of the guys instead of showcasing our own unique strengths.

I've been in enough situations where I believed that being a guy would have made all the difference. Yet, I don't want to be a guy. But I do understand the sentiment.