I was working with a vendor recently and became unsatisfied with their progress on my job. In an effort to better understand what was going on, I asked clarifying questions. What I got in response was a long, condescending email that didn’t address what I asked, but instead was an education on the industry and all that I don’t understand about it. He copied in a bunch of my colleagues too.
Undeterred (and a glutton for punishment) I replied all and pressed further despite the mansplaining. At this point my morbid curiosity had to extract answers. A few more mansplainy emails later, he admitted a mistake that had been his which lead to the confusion. It turned out, the problem wasn’t my ignorance. He missed an email and dropped a ball.
We all miss emails and forget things. We are all running fast and juggling a lot. Moms realize we are imperfect and try to be understanding, forgiving people. But one thing working moms can’t stand is mansplaining.
Help your people understand mansplaining using the amusing (but very helpful) chart above created by Kim Goodwin. You can read her full explanation in this July 2018 article published on BBC.com Mansplaining, explained in one simple chart.
