pryncess527
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 26, 2013
I thought this was an interesting quandary for the Dis. I included the same options FiveThirtyEight provided its readers in the poll here.
Welcome to Survey Says, FiveThirtyEight’s advice column. In each installment, our two advice-givers will take a reader question, debate what he or she should do, and then survey a panel of people about what the best course of action is. Need our advice? Send us your quandary!
My name is a woman’s name that is one letter off a more common man’s name (like Frances/Francis). I frequently receive mail/email to Francis. Sometimes this is a typo, but sometimes it is a case of mistaken identity. Unless they’ve used the honorific Mr. or Ms., I don’t know whether the other party thinks I’m a man or knows I’m a woman. I don’t care either way, but frequently the other person does, particularly in professional contexts.
The obvious solutions aren’t available. My middle name is androgynous (thanks, Mom and Dad!), so including it in my signature line or address block won’t clarify matters. Using a photo has proven more problematic professionally than the ambiguity. Ms. Frances Smythe in my signature line would be too precious, and my proper title is Dr. anyway. Can you think of a tactful, professional way to signal that I am a woman in professional correspondence, when it shouldn’t matter but often does?
Further complicating matters, Francis gets more professional invitations than does Frances, but when people expecting Francis meet Frances or hear her voice, they do tend to be quite put out and nothing further comes of those invitations. In case you were curious, it does seem that Francis is considered more accomplished than Frances despite being exactly the same person with exactly the same CV. Mine is a very competitive field. My name is relatively unusual. I’m established enough that changing my name is not an option. — Frances
Full article:
https://fivethirtyeight.com/feature...-assuming-im-a-man-how-do-i-tell-them-im-not/
Welcome to Survey Says, FiveThirtyEight’s advice column. In each installment, our two advice-givers will take a reader question, debate what he or she should do, and then survey a panel of people about what the best course of action is. Need our advice? Send us your quandary!
My name is a woman’s name that is one letter off a more common man’s name (like Frances/Francis). I frequently receive mail/email to Francis. Sometimes this is a typo, but sometimes it is a case of mistaken identity. Unless they’ve used the honorific Mr. or Ms., I don’t know whether the other party thinks I’m a man or knows I’m a woman. I don’t care either way, but frequently the other person does, particularly in professional contexts.
The obvious solutions aren’t available. My middle name is androgynous (thanks, Mom and Dad!), so including it in my signature line or address block won’t clarify matters. Using a photo has proven more problematic professionally than the ambiguity. Ms. Frances Smythe in my signature line would be too precious, and my proper title is Dr. anyway. Can you think of a tactful, professional way to signal that I am a woman in professional correspondence, when it shouldn’t matter but often does?
Further complicating matters, Francis gets more professional invitations than does Frances, but when people expecting Francis meet Frances or hear her voice, they do tend to be quite put out and nothing further comes of those invitations. In case you were curious, it does seem that Francis is considered more accomplished than Frances despite being exactly the same person with exactly the same CV. Mine is a very competitive field. My name is relatively unusual. I’m established enough that changing my name is not an option. — Frances
Full article:
https://fivethirtyeight.com/feature...-assuming-im-a-man-how-do-i-tell-them-im-not/
