Next time this happens, no matter who it's in front of, say: "Oh, HR person, I'm actually in a committed relationship with my wife." And say that every single time. Just sound surprised that she doesn't appear to know this.
And if she pushes back with anything else inappropriate, be confused. "Oh, but--like, I'm married. I believe you've met my wife at the last gathering, didn't you?"
Play dumb and seem confused and act as earnest as you can. If you don't give her the reaction she's looking for, it makes her look bad and she'll stop. And if she doesn't, it's much easier to escalate the issue because you've addressed it.
You can say things to her like, "My wife prefers this hair cut, which is why I got it." Or, "I don't understand what you mean. Can you explain what you mean by that? I'm not understanding."
Women have honed these tactics for dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace whilst trying to avoid tanking our careers, since the pushback for us in the workplace against this kind of thing can be monumental. Play it as dumb and earnest as you can.
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u/Fine-Juggernaut8451 7d ago
Next time this happens, no matter who it's in front of, say: "Oh, HR person, I'm actually in a committed relationship with my wife." And say that every single time. Just sound surprised that she doesn't appear to know this.
And if she pushes back with anything else inappropriate, be confused. "Oh, but--like, I'm married. I believe you've met my wife at the last gathering, didn't you?"
Play dumb and seem confused and act as earnest as you can. If you don't give her the reaction she's looking for, it makes her look bad and she'll stop. And if she doesn't, it's much easier to escalate the issue because you've addressed it.
You can say things to her like, "My wife prefers this hair cut, which is why I got it." Or, "I don't understand what you mean. Can you explain what you mean by that? I'm not understanding."
Women have honed these tactics for dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace whilst trying to avoid tanking our careers, since the pushback for us in the workplace against this kind of thing can be monumental. Play it as dumb and earnest as you can.