Many years ago in my career, in the late 1990s, I had a supplemental title of “Jr LAN Administrator” at a job I had in NYC. We had a main IT person, but because of my love for computers, I slowly took on the more menial tasks involved with my company’s server room, including dealing with the hardware, adding new users on the network, creating all the backups, ordering and setting up new desktop computer equipment. Since then, I have earned the moniker “IT Jaynee” in most of my jobs because it eventually becomes known that I’m a whiz on computers and know my way around (or can figure my way around) most technology.
Heck, even at home my kids defer to me when it comes to dealing with home technology questions and 9 times out of 10 it is Denis that accidentally hits “record all” on the remote and can’t figure out how to cancel the eventual recording of 20 episodes of local news (I kid, I kid (no I don’t this has happened many times (but he IS good at technology, he just doesn’t like it as much as I do))).
At my current job, when I mentioned that I had once built my own CAT-6 cables in a cost-effective effort to hardwire some of our TV/stereo equipment and free up our wi-fi (which sucks (thanks, Comporium (not))), I once again became IT Jaynee. And I’m mostly fine with that. My company has many offices all over the country, but all of our IT folks are housed in IL and FL. None in NC. But fortunately, most of the time I have no problem working in the cold room, swapping out ports when necessary, troubleshooting computer issues, and setting up new desktop equipment for new employees.
My only issue with being IT Jaynee at my current company is that for some reason our IT department refuses to give me the time of day, refuses to respond to my questions, and then completely disregards any diagnosis I make on equipment that needs repair.
Let’s talk about some issues we’ve been having.
Our conference room for the past 3-4 MONTHS has had an issue with the connection between our overhead projector, our desktop and the AV switching unit. After a MULTITUDE of testing on my part, I determined it was the AV switching unit that was the problem. However, I deferred to the head of our IT department and asked him repeatedly to confirm via remote access and then order the new unit if he also determined it was the AV switching unit. A few weeks go by, and we continue to have issues, and follow-up emails from me go ignored. At one point a little over a month ago I was working with Head IT Guy via phone to fix our projector camera that was having unrelated issues, and reminded him of our AV Switcher issue. He said he’d look into it. More weeks go by and my follow-up emails continue to get ignored.
On Wednesday I sent an email to Other IT Guy about a different issue (which I’ll talk about in a moment), and at the end of the email I said, “Hey, when you come to our office, I’ll want you to look at our projector/desktop/AV issue.” A few minutes later, the Head IT Guy – INSTEAD OF CALLING ME – calls someone else in the office to talk about the projector issue. And because our office is a fishbowl, I heard the entire conversation as my co-worker explained what’s happening – you know, all the information I’VE ALREADY TOLD HIM. When she got off the phone, she said, “Hey, Other IT Guy is going to remote in to figure out why it’s not working.” I said, “He doesn’t need to. It’s the switcher. I already told them this. Several times.”
AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED? Go ahead. Guess – because I know you’ll guess it correctly.
I got the following email about 30 minutes later: “Looks like it is the AV switching unit that is having an issue.”
OH YEAH? YOU THINK SO?
via GIPHY
And don’t get me started on random boxes being shipped to our office. Last month I received a random equipment delivery – in Other IT Guy’s name, not mine – and despite many, many emails asking what it is and what I need to do with it, I have YET to receive a response. After being ignored for a month I emailed Head IT Guy and STILL have no idea what I’m supposed to do with whatever equipment is in that box. So I guess that’s just going to sit in my desk area until something critical fails here in our office and they realize we had the equipment the whole time. And believe me when I say I have saved EVERY EMAIL I have sent requesting information.
But here’s the piece de resistance from this week. It was recently determined that our local server is dying and needs to be replaced. Other IT Guy purchased the new server and ancillary equipment and had it all shipped to our office (but again, not to my attention – he put his own name as the recipient on the boxes). On Monday a voicemail was left ON SOMEONE ELSE’S office phone by Head IT Guy apologizing for not keeping me in the loop. He then proceeded to describe each piece of equipment, as in “It’ll be a white and about the size of a Mac Mini, if you know what those are. They are about 2″ high and 6-7″ square and resemble a…” It was during this description that I scornfully told my co-worker to delete the voicemail from her desk phone.
As part of our server swap out, on Wednesday we had a tech come in (not from our IT department) to install some equipment in our cold room. I did not supervise, I did not ask what he was installing – I merely gave him access to the room and walked away. Once that guy was gone I got an email from Other IT Guy with instructions on how I WAS TO DO THE INITIAL SERVER SWAP TESTING. After reviewing the pitiful instructions, I realized that it would involve installing the new equipment in the server rack, figuring out what other equipment was installed, setting up a new VeloCloud and then getting everything connected for a test run ahead of the server swap. And my only guidance was a very poorly created Word document of only very basic instructions.
About an hour later I got an email from Head IT Guy saying that he had talked to someone else in our office (NOT an IT person) and that THAT guy would do the server swap setup and testing. A guy that has NO IT experience is now going to do it. Because the woman who HAS IT experience in her past felt that it was beyond her scope due to LACK OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION and that it required someone with much more IT knowledge to complete the task.
And again I say:
And do you know what happened yesterday morning? Non-IT guy got on the phone with Head IT Guy, who then basically walked through the entire process to get the server set up complete. The entire office (because of our fishbowl layout) got to hear Non-IT Guy receive detailed step-by-step instructions on how to install and configure the new equipment. And I sat at my desk, positively gobsmacked at the realization that instead of offering that same courtesy to ME, Head IT Guy decided that perhaps a man would be better suited to do it even if he had no experience.
And so that’s where the title of this post comes in. Is this all because Head IT Guy doesn’t appreciate that a woman might know a wee little bit about his job? Am I getting ignored or disregarded because their egos can’t handle the fact that a woman might actually know that it’s the AV Switcher but hasn’t been given the tools or $$ to just fix it herself because everything is tied in remotely to our main servers in our IL office? Is a task being given to a man with no IT experience simply because the woman refuses to do it because it needs to be done correctly and she hasn’t been given the proper information or tools with which to do it?
In my current experience, yes. It is absolutely a woman thing. If it happened just one time, or even two times, I’d probably overlook it. But this has been systemic from the time I was given the unofficial title of “IT Jaynee” at my current job. And it drives me CRAZY.
I would take this up with the head of your office. Let him know that the IT department is wasting time and money because they will not work with you to sort our IT issues. Tell him you don’t know why they ignore you, but that it is costing the office both time and money for them to talk a total rookie through a job just because the won’t send the instructions to someone who knows how to do the job. That wastes time in YOUR office and in the IT office. I wouldn’t mention the woman aspect of it unless you boss presses for it. After all, you don’t know for sure it’s about you being a woman. Make it about wasted money and time and that should get his attention. Then let/ask him to take it up with whoever is the boss over the IT department, and let him tell IT that YOU are the IT contact in the office and that they should talk to YOU about all things IT and nobody else. That’s my advice, anyway. (I loved the response that you had finished your LAN Admin job when he was still in diapers! I’ve had to use that line with people occasionally who ask for help, then promptly want to argue with me that the fix won’t work (they won’t even try it). So I gently advise them that I’ve been in IT longer than they have been alive, that I had my first personal computer before they were a twinkle in daddy’s eye and that I built computers from component parts while they were learning how to fill a diaper.)
I did tell one of the leaders in my office, who was very unhappy about what took place. I also plan to tell one of the office managers when she gets back into the office next week. In the end, it worked out because the equipment was installed, and the test was successfully completed. So IT will consider it a “win” that it was done with minimal hassle. But I’ve definitely let it be known that I’m frustrated with how IT treats me in general (or doesn’t treat me, really, since 90% of the time they ignore my existence).