‘One of the managers at work has made it clear that he feels women archaeologists cause problems on site in terms of welfare facilities and that they are less capable of dealing with difficult situations with clients.’
‘A lot of organisations employ men they have worked with therefore it becomes a situation of jobs for the boys. Also there are situations where the male workers are listened to more than female workers just because they are men, when actually the female workers would have come up with an equally suitable resolution.’
‘My work involves a lot of travel, and staying away from my home. It has meant I have not had a serious relationship for the last four years.’
‘During an excavation where I was present as a specialist, my word was taken into less account than the male specialist. That could actually have been due to my age, being foreigner or sex.’
‘I did my undergraduate degree in Canada, where gender neutral language was emphasised. When I came to the UK to do my graduate work it was not ever discussed, and my fellow students who had done their undergrad work in the UK had no idea what gender neutral language was and thought it extremely bizarre that I should care about such an issue.’
‘Having to live separately from my husband re. job opportunities means I have no ‘home life’ on a day-to-day basis. It seems easier for women to follow their man than for men to follow their woman, although I am not sure that my organisation could have any direct impact on this.’
‘It took me several years to get a job after completing post-doc; there is more nepotism with males, who tend to get helped into jobs/postdocs etc’
‘No, because I haven’t had kids. I was hoping to at one point, and an employer who very much wanted me to work for him said that it was out of the question that I work part time or work from home. I’d have chosen kids if it had been an option.’
‘I have always loved working in archaeology, I feel I have been treated fairly and promoted and paid purely according to merit. I think archaeologists are some of the most broadminded accepting people you could hope to work with. However there are always going to be individuals who will be sexist be they men or women, but I think we should get on and improve the lot of all archaeologists rather than creating a problem where I do not believe one to be.’
