So, what exactly am I talking about?
hi·er·ar·chy
ˈhī(ə)ˌrärkē
noun
a system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other
according to status or authority.synonyms: pecking order, ranking, chain of command, echelons
“In the corporate hierarchy, Curt is about six levels below the CEO.”
“A taxonomic hierarchy of phyla, classes, orders, families, genera and species.”
Hierarchy is a word I’ve had occasion to use, but don’t like what it represents. “Us against them.” Distasteful or not, it’s a fact that almost everything runs according to hierarchy. Our lot in life is determined by where we stand.
I spent almost 20 years in the corporate world (1970s – 1990s), working clawing my way up the ladder. As a woman, it took me twice as long to get half as far as my male colleagues, all the while working harder and earning less money.
So, even though we were supposed to be equal, the men were higher on that proverbial “food chain”. It’s my fervent hope this situation has improved in the meantime.
Class distinctions are also still evident. The rich look down on the middle classes, who look down on the poor, just as the bourgeoisie looks down on the proletariat. I’ve seen this with a few of my own wealthy clients.
It’s obvious they view me as nothing more than a servant to do their bidding, expecting me to be “on-call” at all times. What offends me the most is when they try to negotiate a lower price. Seriously?!
They don’t think the service I’m providing (taking excellent care of their pampered pooches) is worth the (highly reasonable) price? Chump change to them, but to me, it’s another bill paid.
One such client had a Bull Terrier who ran right through my closed screen door as soon as she came in. The first words out of this millionaire’s mouth were: “I hope you don’t expect me to pay for that!”
If my dog had done that, I’d be apologizing profusely and insisting on covering the damage! Thankfully, these highbrow cheapskates are few.
The majority treats me well. If you respect yourself, then chances are, so will (almost) everyone else.
FUN FACT:
“HIERARCHY” stems from Greek hierarkhia and hierarkhēs ‘sacred ruler’ (hierarch).
The earliest sense was ‘system of orders of angels and heavenly beings’.
Have you ever been treated shabbily because of it?
Looking forward to your comments!
Originally published Apr. 9, 2015 for the #AtoZChallenge theme “Favourite Words”.
Updated Feb. 20, 2020.
MORE FROM THE BLOG:
LATEST FROM INSTAGRAM:
Follow THE DOGLADY’S DEN on WordPress.com
Discover more from The Doglady's Den
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
34 thoughts on “HIERARCHY: WHERE DO YOU STAND?”
Great post with a lot that makes me think, Debbie. First, if I were fortunate enough to have you to care for my dogs, I would not be cheap about it. As for hierarchy, in my house, I think I stand above Franklin, who stands a little above Penelope. But I don’t know. I wish I could ask them what they think. People usually treat me with respect–now. It wasn’t always true. I was “lesser than” when married to X, and I HATED it. If I said the same thing he said, most people disregarded it. He could also say something absolutely insane and most people would believe him. He speaks and acts with authority and he has degrees and knowledge of certain areas that lead to people showing respect for him and, I guess, for the most part not caring if what he says is absolutely wrong. The guy in the White House reminds me a lot of X.
Love,
Janie
Hi Janie, I would love to look after Franklin and Penelope for you. 🙂 Thank goodness you are free of your X and have regained your self-esteem! He does sound a lot like your current president. 😛
A Woman …. with children now , when younger, wanting children at some point….. Half-English in France …. with higher education In businesses full of reactionary males with Lower level of education, no interest in other countries or cultures, or even women who didn’t want children. Expected to get coffee, do photocopies, ideas criticized before opening my mouth. Work late, because the bosses were out all afternoon having business dinners. Being punished for falling pregnant after a year in a new job, over worked.
A Writer ! What a joke ! Have I read you ? You don’t have anything to do all day, and you only do what you enjoy ! How about keeping house, three kids, laundries, shopping, cooking, with a husband away on business trips most weeks … and a day job for 5 years to pay for the house.
Here ‘s my rant and rave for the week. thank you for the opening Debbie.
The corporate world has not improved much from the old boys’ network of yore; it seems. I’m sorry you were discriminated against so severely!
Not quite sure how to take this:
“A Writer ! What a joke ! Have I read you ? You don’t have anything to do all day, and you only do what you enjoy !”
Were you addressing me, there? (You are reading me, now. 😉 ) Writing/blogging and photography are my hobbies. Retired from the corporate world (actually, forced out!), I do operate a home-based business that can be challenging at times.
I can’t imagine having three kids, keeping house and a full-time job all at the same time. That makes you a superwoman in my eyes. 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post, Susan. Have a good weekend!
Please read with speech marks, what people now say to me about being a writer. Sorry about that Debbie. No technical mishap, entirely my fault.
Hardly a superwoman, very vulnerable. But life has a way of forcing you to done an armour to protect yourself from the outside world. I embraced the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, it really helps build confidence , brick by brick.
True, we all have our defence mechanisms. 🙂 By “Superwoman,” I was referring to your ability to raise three children, run a household and hold down a fulltime job all at the same time. I couldn’t do it!
…and write, my eldest daughter offered me a keychain when she was 10 with a cute cat and super maman written underneath. I cherish it.
As I said, Superwoman! 😀 Lovely gift.
Thanks for clarifying, Susan. I obviously misread your comment. 🙂 Don’t you hate when people make assumptions? NOBODY truly knows what is going on in anyone else’s life.
I worked in commercial construction as an onsite project coordinator. Talk about a mans world. Fortunately, the men I worked with were all about teaching me AND making sure I got my raises and bonuses equal to the men around me. Interestingly enough it was a woman who looked down her nose at me. We were building a hotel. She was the owner of the door company that won the bid. I worked in a job shack – big trailer – with the project managers. The door lady walked in and was looking for one of the managers. I told her I could help. She got really pissy and said TO ME, you’re just the phone girl. I need the Senior PM. – Perfect. – She was an idiot to me for the whole project. At the end of projects, a walk thru is done and punch lists are made – things that need to be taken care of before opening. – The look on her face was priceless when she saw me come thru with my clipboard… She wasn’t too happy about having to rehang 137 doors at her cost but oh well, what do I know about how many inches a door should be away from bathtubs in master suites… I’m just the phone girl. – Also. I would’ve totally added your door cost to the bill for that rich client. People can be such jerks.
Thanks for sharing your story, Karen! I am surprised it was a woman giving you grief, but you certainly showed her! ? You’re just the phone girl??! GRRR! That brings back memories of the men I worked with calling me the “parts girl” when I was the Parts Dept. manager. Assholes! ? As for that ignorant client, I declined to take his dog thereafter and just wrote it off as a learning experience. Had I added the cost of the screen to the bill he would have refused to pay it, anyway.
“Don’t expect me to pay?” My answer would have been along the lines of, “You should find another provider. Neither of you are quite safe here anymore.” That way, if they were smart they would leave, and if not they would say, “Is that a threat?” and you’d say “No, but how safe can you be in a home with a hole in the screen door?” BTW Scrappy did this more than once, even took the door off the tracks a couple of times.
Good answer Chris! 🙂 What I said was I wouldn’t be able to take his dog anymore because she was too destructive. Who needs clients like that? Another dog did the same thing and her owner paid for the repair without hesitation. I guess Scrappy must have seen something irresistible to barge through the screen like that! Hope he wasn’t hurt.
This is even worse in some countries where the status and money difference is thrown in your face. . That millionaire is one arrogant fellow. Where are his manners. I hope you charged him for the damage.
Thankfully for me my workplace had been supportive and respectful. I am a software engineer and the only female developer in the team for a couple of years now. The difference in gender equations is sometimes glaring when we attend meetings with larger audience. Very few women in technology team.
Hi Raj; Yes, I guess we North Americans are fortunate in that class distinctions aren’t as pronounced. And yet, we still have our assholes like that arrogant millionaire. 🙂 Charging him for the damage would have accomplished nothing since he refused to pay. I did decline to take his dog ever again.
I’m surprised there are so few women developers, but congratulations on your engineering degree! Probably not that many women have one of those, either. I’m glad your workplace is so supportive! Thanks for sharing your experiences.
What a great post for reflection and food for thought. Back in the early 80s, I was “let go” as a graphic designer at an ad agency because I was a woman and my husband had a good job. They kept my counterpart, a man, because his wife didn’t earn as much as he did. It had nothing to do with talent or job performance. They literally told me this! I probably could have sued, but at that point, I didn’t want to work there anymore. Although I’ve never encountered the rudeness of someone with affluence, I can imagine something inappropriate coming out of my mouth. I’m secure in who I am these days and don’t think anyone could make me feel inadequate or “less than” regardless of what they would say or do to me. I would just look at them with pity. Hope your weekend is wonderful. xoxo
You definitely could have sued, Lisa. That’s deplorable! 😮 And, I agree with you. It’s the other person’s feelings of inadequacy that causes them to act superior. It doesn’t affect my self-worth either, and I do make my point. When the man uttered his refusal to pay for the damage, I told him his dog wouldn’t be allowed to stay with me anymore because she was too destructive. I did keep her that one last time, though, for her own sake. The owner was on the way to the airport and had no alternative place for her. The dog shouldn’t suffer because of her ignorant owner, so I “rose above”. 😀 Thanks for sharing your story! Happy weekend to you.
Hello Debbie,
I know I probably could have, but I was young and not very savvy about these things in the 80s. I’m sure they would have denied it and come up with some sort of performance excuse. Water under the bridge. I went to work for Offutt AFB as a civilian employee for their Moral, Welfare and Recreation department and made quite a positive impact revamping their communication procedures. Had a great time and learned a lot about life. Everything happens for a reason. 🙂
Sounds like you were much better off, in the end. 🙂 As they say: “Every cloud has a silver lining. “
Yes, been there while I was trying to climb the corporate ladder. The “gal or girl” was expected to make coffee for meetings and such. Those big coffee urns weighed more than I did. Methinks this still happens in some workplaces.
My last and final job was great except for the salary gap. At least they had a large break room with a Keurig coffee maker and even provided free nibbles. Can’t have everything, I guess.
The term “girl” makes me gag! Talk about disrespect in the workplace. 😛 Thankfully, nobody ever asked me to get coffee, but some male colleagues referred to me as the “parts girl” when I was the department manager. GRRR! The salary gap is unfortunate and women are still behind today, it seems. 🙁 I can just picture you struggling with that oversized urn, Eugenia. 😀 Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I worked in a mans world. I was a deputy sheriff. They tried to put me in my place but it didn’t work. I became a sergeant and then a lieutenant. When I tested for lieutenant I tested with both males and females. I was the one promoted. So I never felt like a second class citizen in the workplace. I survived this hard career by this philosophy…lead, follow or get out of the way. I worked for me as it did for many others.
Have a fabulous day, Debbie. ♥
I love your story, Sandee! That’s quite an accomplishment. ??? Law enforcement seems to be more enlightened now than the corporate world, which still smacks of “old boys’ club” discrimination. Thanks for adding your experience to the post. 🙂
I haven’t had a good hair day since 1971 just sayin’
Not sure what hair has to do with hierarchy, but a lot of successful people are bald. 😀 Thanks for dropping in, Paul.
I know a few people who complain about the price of a haircut. I want to tell them to cut their own d— hair. As if the local hairdresser doesn’t have a life too.
In my last career I was one of the three top officers. When I got the job, one of the people making the appointment asked me if they could reduce my salary because I was a married woman and had someone to support me. I laughed and told him no, I was doing the same job as the last person so why should I make less. That was 1988. I fear that nothing has changed.
Penny-pinching misers are miserable, selfish people! 😛 Your employer had some nerve, asking you to take a pay cut! 😮 I’m glad you stood your ground. So happy to be out of that rat race! 😀 Thanks for sharing your experience, Denise.
Hi Debbie – I used to own a bull terrier -‘my baby’ – I’d have been mortified for my dog, let alone anyone else’s door. People are extraordinary … and yes I’ve been at the lower end of treatment – I cope by holding my head up, and being reasonable … the way I continue to go on. Life is challenging … but we need to laugh it off and get on with living reasonably and not bullying our way – a form of poor self esteem. Cheers Hilary
Fortunately, the dog was fine – nary a scratch. 🙂 I agree, “rising above” is the best way to handle obnoxious people. Thanks, Hilary! 🙂
Hi Debbie, first I LOVE your graphics here! I can relate about being a woman in the workforce in the 80’s where it was male dominated industry. One of my first jobs I learned that man before me made twice the money because he had family to feed! Then I went to a company with a union and we were all on the same pay scale. I still think this stuff continues today. I hear you about the clients and I’ve let go of some that were too time consuming. We all live and learn, right?
I’m glad you like the graphics, Lisa. I have this little addiction to Canva. 😀 The unions are great for wage parity but a bit lacking in other areas (e.g. skill and merit don’t count for anything – it’s all about seniority. Hubby was a union rep for many years, so it’s a familiar subject.) Thankfully, there are only a few clients I cut loose, and this guy was one of the first! 😛 Thanks for coming by. Heading to your Paypal scamming post, now. I use it for a lot of website purchases, so it caught my eye. Cheers!
What a rude client that was, the owner of the Bull Terrier! I hope he learnt better by the time he left.
He was an arrogant S.O.B., for sure! I declined to take his dog again because she was a lot of trouble. Whether he learned anything or not is debatable. 🙂 Thanks for coming by!