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Toronto Woman Lyndsay Kirkham Live Tweets Alleged Sexist Conversation Of IBM Execs

Woman Live Tweets Alleged Sexist Conversation Of IBM Execs
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The next time you have something incredibly sexist to say about women in the workplace, think before you speak. Better yet, check to see if the person sitting beside you has their Twitter account open.

On Monday, Toronto editor and coder Lyndsay Kirkham live tweeted alleged sexist remarks about women in the workplace, when she sat next to two men and a woman who she said were IBM executives, according to the Daily Dot.

At a Toronto restaurant celebrating her birthday, Kirkham began live tweeting everything she heard, which included the sad realities of how women are perceived in the business world.

She claims the execs made statements about why they don't hire women, how they only like to look at mature women who don't have kids, and how, "apparently IBM doesn't like hiring young women because they are just going to get themselves pregnant again and again and again," she tweets.

And yet, Kirkham says it got worse. She told the Daily Dot the execs also started listing women with children who currently worked for the company and the time they were expected to take off after having a child. (In Canada, women are legally given 17 weeks of maternity leave from their jobs, as well as an additional 35 weeks of parental leave to split with their partner if they so choose.)

Taking action into her own hands, Kirkham also tweeted she would send IBM's HR department photos of the execs, as well as a transcript of what she had heard. She received an overwhelming response on Twitter with people both ashamed and frustrated with how women are seen in the tech sector.

This year for International Women's Day, the theme focused on encouraging advocacy for women's advancement, including in areas of science and technology. The 2013 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Canada 20th when it came to wage equity and political empowerment as a whole, noting a lack of female entrepreneurs and women in tech start-ups.

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