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I work at a bank and I am usually the only female on most of my projects. I work very hard, but when the time comes to recognize my efforts and contribution, the majority of the credit goes to the male co-worker on the team. I am very frustrated and want recognition from my boss. What should I do?
This is very typical but not limited to the workplace, and I found that in my career you need to find a fine line between speaking up for yourself and pounding the table with ego. Men have no problem doing this, and it is accepted practice for them to be vocal about their accomplishments (some of it happening behind the scenes and some of it right in our faces). I have found that if I have done something that I feel made a significant contribution, I made sure that I identified it in a professional way to my superiors by either email transmission or a face-to-face meeting. Then there is no mistaking claim for the job and its merits, and it is documented as well. Sometimes, due to the constraints of management, they literally are not aware of the contributions made by individuals and therefore rely on others to qualify the efforts.
Men have no problem speaking up for themselves - we should not feel it should be noticed without our intervention and should not feel discouraged by management's acknowledgements of others, as it is our responsibility to speak up for ourselves and in doing that proves we deserve the recognition. If after doing this you still receive no recognition, then I recommend documentation of all your efforts along with a meeting to discuss the situation in a professional manner with management.
Susan Green is a Senior Managing Director with a bulge bracket investment bank. Ms. Green has had a very successful career and has been in the financial services industry for more than 25 years. She lives in the New York tri-state area and has two wonderful children. Ms. Green is happy to answer questions as they relate to careers in finance.
About the Author:
Susan Green is a Senior Managing Director with a bulge bracket investment bank and a mom of two kids.
