Open Thread: Has Your Freelancing Career Been Affected By Discrimination?
Posted December 20, 2009 in Open Thread 29 Comments »
Freelancing can be challenging. Most freelancers struggle to build their businesses. They fight hard to win and keep those first few clients.
That initial freelancing struggle can be made even more difficult if discrimination enters into the picture.
Recently, a popular male blogger made a startling confession on Copyblogger. It turns out that “he” was actually a woman using a male pen name for her blog and for her business.
What was this blogger’s reason for adopting a man’s name? Apparently, the blogger wished to avoid some of the discrimination that women face online.
The specifics of that particular blogger’s story have already been discussed all over the Internet, so we won’t go into any further detail on this blog. However, the incident did get us wondering about something else, namely this:
How prevalent is discrimination in the freelancing world?
Do you feel that your freelancing career has been affected by discrimination of any kind? Do you know of a freelancer who has been discriminated against? Have you had to take any specific steps to overcome discrimination?
Without making any specific accusations, share your story in the comments. Also, share any tips that you may have for those who are currently facing discrimination.
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 19 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts
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29 Comments
Craig Scott
December 20th, 2009 at 8:45 amIsn’t that meant to be ‘adopted a man’s name’? ;)
Luke
December 20th, 2009 at 8:59 amI believe discrimination is often made up by those who feel like they are victims of it. Stop worrying about you, and start worrying about the client, and how you can get the best results for them. In my experience, most clients don’t care if you’re black/white, male/female, fat/skinny, ugly/good looking, they only care that your services will make them more money that it will cost them.
Keep the focal point there and the few clients who unfairly dismiss you will be the ones missing out.
crazy wabbit
December 20th, 2009 at 9:20 amI totally agree with Luke, the ones that need an excuse or always want to play the victim, just because a random act of discrimination happened to their similar profile, be it color or race etc… I say we are in the year 2010 and we live in a smaller world with multicultural background all over the planet. If they are discriminated it is because of someones ignorance that made them feel this way.
Also religion and business does not mix, just like religion and politics does not. So for example having religious scripts incorporated into their logo for their company logo is not a good idea.
The most successful people, may it be race, religion or whatsoever pay no attention to these things and focus on being successful and move on.
Meryl K Evans
December 20th, 2009 at 9:49 amI’m fortunate I’ve made a career out of freelance writing in spite of my profound deafness. 20 years ago, it would’ve been an impossible task. The Internet and its technologies make made it possible for me to pull it off.
I do tend to avoid in-person meetings and events because I fear my imperfect speech and lipreading abilities will shatter the image I project online without any barriers. My writing speaks for itself. I met someone for lunch (we met in Twitter and discovered with lived within a mile of each other). I thought we had a good lunch, but since the meeting — she doesn’t connect with me as often. It could be my imagination (which can run wild in such situations).
Lisa
December 20th, 2009 at 10:21 amI have lost work because some people think I’m less dedicated. But it was more because I’m “just” a mom doing design working from home, rather than the fact that I’m a woman. Somehow when people find out that you’re a mom working from home, you’re deemed as less dedicated and professional than a man (and a dad) who works from home.
That said, I’ve worked for a web firm where an older manager argued with me over a raise because I was going to use it for “manicure money.”
James Chartrand - Men with Pens
December 20th, 2009 at 10:23 amMan/woman thing aside, there’ve been several times that I’ve heard some interesting things:
“But he’s Canadian. He can’t even spell right.” – in reference to our use of colour/behaviour/labour which I have trained myself not to use.
“But he’s French, isn’t he? I want someone who understands English.” – in reference to my half-French blood in a dual-language country and bilingual province.
“If you’re Canadian, I’m not sure you’re the person for the job. I don’t think you’d be able to represent our target market well in your writing.” – in reference to a gig for sales copy to promote an ebook on blogging.
“We’re located in England. We really wanted someone native, because we feel they’re going to do the best work for what we need.” – in reference to a gig on sales copy. The client came back four months later asking for help after paying two natives for bad copy.
I can go on and on.
For those who believe discrimination of all types and sorts doesn’t exist, I strongly suggest that you look at the world around you. I’m stunned at the number of people who’ve become complacent and believe that the 21st century is egalitarian and open-arm welcoming to all.
MARY E ULRICH
December 20th, 2009 at 11:31 amAny single blog post that causes so much open discussion is a gift.
The discussion on discrimination forces each of us to look into our hearts and minds. Individually and collectively, we need to face our fears, prejudices and our actions. Some of us will make BIG changes like analyzing our own attitudes, behaviors and awareness of the issues. Some of us will make small changes like using initials or non gender-specific names…). But every one of us will be changed by the dialogue.
Our society is built on competition, scarcity, and the concepts of winners and losers.
It’s an ugly truth that each of us discriminates against other people–hopefully not on purpose, hopefully not to hurt others to benefit ourselves.
My personal take-away goal is to try to transform my tiny piece of the world to value diversity and interdependence.
Amber Weinberg
December 20th, 2009 at 11:51 amAlthough I don’t think I’ve been discriminated personally, I once knew a great developer who lost a potential client because the client found out through his facebook profile that he was a fan of Glenn Beck. How ridiculous was that?
Unfortunately ignorant people find it hard to look past sex, race, religion, and politics to see the great work or business behind it. While I’m wary of people using racism or discrimination as an excuse or crutch, I know it’s still prevalent on the religion on politics side, more so than sex and race.
It makes me wonder, because I’m an ultra conservative myself, if I decided to do the same thing as the guy above and not work with anyone who didn’t share my political philosophy – would I have very many clients or even my business left?
People should look past these things. While some discrimination is good (i’m not hiring you if you’re a murderer no matter how great your portfolio is) for the most part we should look past this personal bias and keep it professional.
Damian
December 20th, 2009 at 11:52 amI recently got the biggest freelance contract of my career, and I knew it was going to be a difficult — but doable — job. I wrestled over whether or not to tell the company’s point man on the project that I had bipolar illness, because it can affect my work at times.
This was such a big job…I decided to be upfront. Normally I don’t feel the need to mention it. But I waited to say something until a couple weeks into the job.
Wrong choice. Despite the fact I had made three mock-ups for them and had done significant work on a demo that they were happy with, they eventually hired someone else to finish the work.
In so many words, they told me they were “uncomfortable” working with someone with mental illness. It was obvious when they ignored my emails and calls after I had confided in them about my situation.
I got one final email that said, “Sorry to hear” (that’s verbatim) and they paid me about 1/8 of what I would have earned. I should have kept quiet, but I just wanted to be honest in case anything (e.g., med change) would have affected my sleep schedule or work.
Now I’m feeling depressed but still feel like I did the right thing.
Amber Weinberg
December 20th, 2009 at 12:00 pmAlthough I don’t think I’ve been discriminated personally, I once knew a great developer who lost a potential client because the client found out through his facebook profile that he was a fan of Glenn Beck. How ridiculous was that?
Unfortunately ignorant people find it hard to look past sex, race, religion, and politics to see the great work or business behind it. While I’m wary of people using racism or discrimination as an excuse or crutch, I know it’s still prevalent on the religion on politics side, more so than sex and race.
It makes me wonder if I decided to do the same thing as the guy above and not work with anyone who didn’t share my political philosophy – would I have very many clients or even my business left?
People should look past these things. While some discrimination is good (i’m not hiring you if you’re a murderer no matter how great your portfolio is) for the most part we should look past this personal bias and keep it professional.
Amber Weinberg
December 20th, 2009 at 12:05 pmLaura, I don’t know why, but my long comment went to the spam folder. I think it discriminated against my comment. ;)
Deb Ng
December 20th, 2009 at 12:15 pmHas my career been effected by it? No. Not my freelance writing career. Though I can’t compare man vs. woman as James was able to, I can tell you no one has problems with my rate. Recently I did have two potential clients tell me they couldn’t afford my rates and ask me to go lower. When I didn’t they accepted my price, anyway. Someone once told me he didn’t want to hire a writer he wanted to hire a WAHM, but I just didn’t bother with him. Being a woman hasn’t hindered my career at all.
I do see little inadvertent bits of sexism in the social media space – I wrote about this last week at FWJ so I won’t be too redundant -For example, silly things like lists of “Top Bloggers” filled with males and then “Top Female Bloggers” to counteract all the complaints of bias.
However, no. I don’t experience sexism as a freelance writer. I even know of a couple of clients who prefer to hire women because they find them more reliable.
Catherine Azzarello
December 20th, 2009 at 12:51 pmThe calendar year of 2010 has not eliminated discrimination. The wage gap between men and women still exists. Age discrimination is often well-disguised by businesses during reorganizations and layoffs.
For freelancers, there’s little protection. As James/Jamie mentions, jobs will or will not be awarded based on ridiculous stereotypes. The flip side is, as a freelancer, you accept or reject jobs based upon your own criteria.
Working online does help level the playing field. And with more professionals working out of their homes, I no longer feel the need to pretend otherwise.
Have I been discriminated against as a freelancer? Maybe. Have I been discriminated against as an employee? Yes. Though discrimination still exists, I see it as diminishing. I don’t worry about my daughters having to dance around a desk to keep some lecherous male boss at bay.
Fabio Wasques
December 20th, 2009 at 1:12 pmI believe that freelancer begginers, like me, are a little discriminated, at least here in Brazil. I’m not talking about discrimanation by skin colour, gender or anything like this. We can be discrimanated by the simple fact that we are freelancers, and some clients feel free to:
- take to mutch time to pay;
- believe that they must have discounts;
- believe that we are wrong, and they are right;
- think they are some kind of God and we’re here just to serv them;
- etc, etc, etc…
By everything that I read in a lot of blogs, all around the world, I believe that these are communs problems that all freelancers must pass by… and to me, this is a kind of discrimination, isn’t it? I mean, client’s behavior is different when he contract an agency, or something like this. It’s not a question about feel like victim, but a question of how our image is culturally fixed in person’s mind.
My opinion, my reality.
Nicole Foster
December 20th, 2009 at 2:01 pmI haven’t been discriminated because I’m a woman, but I have been because I am 17. They do not believe I can be professional. I’ll prove them wrong one day though ;P
Stevie Cannes
December 20th, 2009 at 2:24 pmThere was this one time. I was 18 and knew that people won’t trust me with their project so I had to lie about my age (I knew I was better than half of the design graduates out there). Upon completion of the project, the client said it was the best work he’s gotten in years. That’s when I told him how old I really was. The look on his face showed signs of disbelief and I knew that if I hadn’t lied, I would never have gotten that job.
Laura Spencer
December 20th, 2009 at 2:24 pmGreat discussion here!
A special thanks to all those who shared their personal experiences.
I have to admit that this is not something that I have given much thought to, until this past week.
My situation may be different, however, because the majority of my clients come from word of mouth type referrals or from people who have known me for a while.
Kaonashi
December 20th, 2009 at 6:25 pmLOL@ those of you who are insisting that “those pesky days of discrimination are over and done with and anyone bitching about it is simply making up excuses!”
No. While it’s less blatant, there are people who will still hire based on personal biases (be it racial, religious, medical or political). You can’t control what others do, but you CAN control how you deal with it. Personally speaking, any client who didn’t hire me based on any criteria other than job performance and project fit is a client I’m better off not having in the first place.
Naomi Niles
December 20th, 2009 at 10:03 pmI’m a woman and I’m 28. I have a soft and slightly higher pitched voice. I’ve had more than one client/potential client tell me that I sound like a teenager over the phone.
Discrimination? I wouldn’t go that far. But, I’m sure it gives them a certain idea of me that is not totally correct.
Crystal
December 20th, 2009 at 10:49 pmI haven’t necessarily felt man vs. women discrimination in freelancing yet (wish I could say the same for previous jobs!), however I have heard comments about how women can’t be good programmers, and many others assume that I’m mostly a designer rather than a developer because I’m a women. Not that this is to impose design is a lesser career choice, but I definitely sense gender roles in creativity vs. logical careers. I usually hear these things ‘behind my back’, or when others aren’t aware I’m in the room/present.
The biggest thing I’ve been discriminated against is my age however, like many have already mentioned. Despite several years of experience, people expect someone who’s 19 (when I started freelancing) to be inexperienced and unprofessional. I found out that many of the clients who agreed to work with me only did it because they thought they could get a cheap deal out of it, and I didn’t deserve what I was charging for myself. (Even I thought I was charging a bit cheaply, it’s amazing that most tried to push me lower!)
Prejudice is definitely out there, no matter how others try to hide it. Those that say there is very little prejudice because its nearly 2010 are most likely in a position where prejudice doesn’t happen to them. It’s out there. It may be a bit more ‘under the rug’ than it used to be, but it’s definitely there. Whether it be age, gender, race, and however subtle or out there it may be, it’s there.
Jo
December 21st, 2009 at 5:01 amGreat topic, I think it is so very important to discuss these types of issues. As a gay woman I have had moments in the past where I’ve had a few discriminatory comments thrown at me in the work place. But now as a freelance web developer I’m fortunate enough to selectively choose my clients and who I want to work with. With new projects I generally pick up attitudes very early on a relationship and decide if I want to go ahead from there. Luckily the majority of my new clients are initially a little surprised to hear that I am married to woman, but they get used to the idea fairly quickly.
Star
December 21st, 2009 at 10:22 amSo if we do think someone isn’t selecting us for a job because of a certain factor, we should just lie?
Meryl K Evans
December 21st, 2009 at 10:31 amHere’s another unique situation. Back when I still worked in the corporate world, I took a promotion that didn’t work out. I had no way of moving out of the department, so I had to look for a new job. While interviewing in person, I struggled whether to tell the manager that I was three months pregnant (obviously, not showing yet). I didn’t want to hurt my chances because the job was such a great fit and I knew I’d be happier and be able to contribute more.
But I’m such an honest person and besides — if they hire me, they will find out. So I told her near the end of the interview. She was happy for me and I got the job. I stayed with that company for seven years until I struck out on my own.
Todd
December 21st, 2009 at 11:14 amIn my opinion, personal details, mental illness or physical handicaps are private matters and definitely not an employer’s business to know. Any issues a person might have, they should feel no obligation to share them with someone who signs their pay checks. If something comes up that interferes with the work, “family emergency” is all they need to know.
Being a white male of average looks and healthy appearance, I don’t feel like I’ve personally experienced anything I would consider real discrimination, however I did miss out on a freelance gig once because I wasn’t Jewish. But it was probably because I wasn’t all that up to date on current events in Israel. I wasn’t too phased by it though, The job wasn’t going to be very fun – High pressure, short deadlines. I think I dodged the bullet on that one.
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