I joined this Client ( a big bank ) side project in May ( as a contingent worker and the only female developer in the team ) and this male colleauge ( has been on the project an year longer and is a FTE ), who has otherwise been helpful during my learning curve, keeps “requesting” me to “help” him do all the mundane work a developer needs to do to see their changes thru ( like :- fix builds, update new pipeline in config projects, deploy changes, retire older versions, check logs , follow up on email with QA and others etc etc ). Of course he does his code changes and talks to business directly but most other things not so prolific things he asks me to do for him .... I didnt even realize and kept on doing it since I joined.... only recently started seeing the pattern ... and while sometimes he may actually be busy most other times he’s not . So he’ll ask me to “help” him and then chit-chat with other teammates or head to the gym or lunch or leave for the day etc . I have more than a decade of experience and I hate being treated like a personal secretary.... but I’m not sure how to bring it up cause he does it very covertly and politely .... also he has more power in the team than I do considering he’s been there longer and is a FTE .... I don’t want to create ruckus over it but I don’t want to be treated like this anymore ... how should I approach this so I can make it clear I can’t be treated like this and also not make things worse because I complained about something “seemingly” harmless. PS - Not sure if this adds to the case but the only time in all these months that he asked me to grab lunch was when all the men he usually goes out on lunch with bailed on him.
I think you're trying to force this situation to be a gender thing.
I wouldn’t if he was going around asking the men to do the stuff he only asks me !!
Because sexism in tech is so rare?
Start with by sharing this with your manager. Also, you should create on-call/on-point rotation in your team where everyone gets turn doing this nonsense boring work. You shouldn’t be doing it alone. Best thing would you be you recommending to your Manager about thi.
Thanks .... but why would my manager believe me a newcomer and a contingent worker instead of believing the full-time employee who has been there any longer than I have
It’s all about how you present it with the data — you’ll have to take risk if you want to fight and win
He's making use of your contingent status. Try working up towards FTE. Things will change.
There are male contingent workers in the team as well but he never asks any of them to do all the stupid work… He even tags me in emails and asked me to do stuff in front of everybody… Like “please help me bounce the server”… “Please help me in deploying the changes I did “
All business relationships are supposed to exchange favours. You need to start asking him to do things in return. Or find a way to say no, or suggest one of the other males on the team.
All the other replies aside. This is the best advice.
Don’t help him.
What secretaries fix builds and log dive? You are trying really hard to push the secretary narrative. Maybe push back on the shit work, unless you are twiddling your thumbs waiting for tasks?
Seriously ??? I’ll have to explain to you what an SDE’s job description comprises of ?? And whats the intelligence scale of each of those activities ?
You sound like you have a great attitude, no wonder people give you great work.
Draw a line dude. People, heck kids, take advantage of you, with as much they can get away with. Male or female, you got to watch out. A colleague of mine was like that... I had to recommend his termination a few years down the road because he was an equal opportunity offender to any one & everyone he could take advantage of.
I agree that not all bad people are men and that not all victims are women… But in my situation it is that way and this man does not ask any other man to do the stuff that he asks me to do