To Change or Not to Change: What professional form do we take in the midst of changing expectations?

A recent panel I attended here at the School of Public Health featured speakers from various fields in clinical dietetics. All five were women. They spoke about their typical work days, what was most rewarding about their jobs, and what it was like to work directly with patients to get them the proper nutrition they needed. Their stories were fascinating and immensely diverse, highlighting the plethora of career paths one could choose within clinical nutrition. However, one thing that all five panelists agreed upon was the difficulty faced not only as a dietitian but as a woman working in a hospital setting. Though it is improving, dietetics has not always been well-respected as a vital part of patient treatment. This disregard is exacerbated by the fact that most dietitians are female and many of the prominent doctors in major hospitals are male and adhere to an “old school” viewpoint, as one panelist put it, creating a somewhat patriarchal work environment where female nutrition experts find it difficult to earn the respect and the ears of the doctors.
 
One panelist suggested that a way she was able to assert herself in this setting was to learn the medical jargon used by these “old school” doctors. She found that learning to communicate with them in their own language helped gain and maintain their attention, and convince them that what she was saying and doing really was important. This brings up an important question regarding gender equality in the workplace: do we attempt to change our own speech patterns, behaviors, and mannerisms to fit better into the traditionally male-dominated world or do we try to change the norms of the work environment itself? Ideally it would be the latter, but when we are trying to establish ourselves in the work force right now, at a time when the goals for gender equality have not yet been met, how do we address this? What role do we, as young professional women, take in this time of change?
 
This question reminded me of a segment on NPR radio I had heard some time ago in which a doctor of linguistics addressed the widespread criticism, or, as she put it “prejudice,” against upspeak in women’s voices. Upspeak is the phenomenon of vocal tone rising higher at the end of a sentence, and it is quite common especially in women. It is often, consciously or subconsciously, associated with unassertiveness and a lack of conviction in what is being said. When asked about how women could address this prejudice, I found this expert’s answer very interesting: She said that the way women “should” meet any prejudice like this is an individual choice. Whether we try to change and adapt ourselves into a form that will be respected in the current environment, or whether we attempt to change our surroundings instead is a personal decision. We should do what we feel is best for us.
 
What I struggle with is the dichotomy between meeting immediate needs (like fitting into the workplace now) and creating a better work environment in the future for ourselves and the women who follow us. How do we advance ourselves in our unequal world while simultaneously working against inequality? I suppose the answer is some kind of balance between the two, but I imagine it is a difficult one to strike. Have you ever thought about this or dealt with it directly? If so, please share your comments below!