Classic Series - Women at Work in Panama

The theme of my classic series is slowly winding down but not before I post this baby:

Women at Work (In Panama)

Being a woman in Panama has it’s ups and downs. I have been lucky so far. I focus on the ups, but the downs are very VERY visible. We as women cannot leave our houses and walk to our cars without getting whistled or hissed at or yelled at by some random road worker or security guard. It took me some time to get used to it but now I walk on confidently as if I hear nothing. It’s funny though…sometimes these guys get so determined to get your attention that when you don’t give it to them they literally start to get upset and scream at you. That’s when I laugh to myself because they honestly think that we like it or something. Gimme a break!
Anyway, moving on…

So I walk into work the other day and being the new year there is a lot of talks about new contracts for everyone. As a foreigner here, my paperwork and Visa stuff is different than that of any Panamanian woman so I tend to ignore the rumors. I learned the hard way that there is a difference between listening and not reacting to rumors and ignoring them altogether. Note people: Rumors should always be heard….just so you know. Whether you want to believe or act on them is entirely up to you…but listen to them damnit!

I chose not to listen to rumors until I was quite literally dragged into the conference room by my elbow by some random person who seemed to be lurking the hallway in search of women to drag in this room. After a few “what the hell”’s and a desperate attempt to free my arm, I realized it was a loosing battle when I saw what was IN the conference room. It looked like a medical lab was set up. “Oh are we getting flu shots?” was my natural response. At that point the lady laughed while strapping my arm down and pulling out this giant seringe (this is also where i should let you, the reader know that I don’t do well with needles). “No….you are getting a pregnancy test.” she said….then I really started laughing. “YEAH RGHT! THAT’S A GOOD ONE!” I roared….but stopped abruptly when I realized that she wasn’t laughing with me. It was also at this point when I realized that all the equipment was in fact to draw blood.

“TELL ME YOU ARE JOKING” were the next words to come from my mouth. She smiled and went on to take a bunch of blood from my arm…..but I wasn’t smiling. I wasn’t whining either…in fact, I think it is safe to say that the whole thing bewildered me to the point where I didn’t know what to say. I sat there with an open mouth and dumb look on my face as she seriously drew blood from my arm without any hesitation.

She did it as casually as if she was picking lint off of my sweater. Like, there is no way I would mind or have any objections to what she was doing. I mean, jesus man, to get a cotton swab of saliva from my mouth in the states or Canada you would need a search warrant! But here in Panama, getting a sample of blood from all the women in the workplace to test for pregnancy is a no-brainer!

I walked out of the conference room stunned. I asked other women I work with if they had the same experience and they laughed at me for making such a big deal about it.
“Sure” they said…”We all have to get one before we get our contracts. I mean, there is no way they would contract us to work if they knew we were pregnant. Why does this shock you so much Jen? I mean, what is the big deal?”

With wide eyes I dropped the subject and walked away. PEOPLE!! THIS IS SOOOO Illegal on SOOO many levels where I come from! I mean talk about discrimination! HOLY JUMPING BEANS BATMAN!! They won’t give a woman a job here if she is expecting a child??? Amazing! Thank god I didn’t fuck around and get pregnant here, cause that would have been my ticket out of here!

Anyway, i know this might strike up some controversy for anyone who reads this but man….I was floored at the idea. Am I alone??