A guy called Martin Schneider did an email experiment to find out how differently women are treated to men after one of his staff kept getting a shitty time from a client.

Stick with this all the way through to the end because it’s worth it. A tale of gender and discrimination in 24 parts.

1.

So here’s a little story of the time @nickyknacks taught me how impossible it is for professional women to get the respect they deserve: — Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

2.

Nicole and I worked for a small employment service firm and one complaint always came from our boss: She took too long to work with clients. — Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

3.

(This boss was an efficiency-fetishizing gig economy-loving douchebag but that’s another story.) — Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

4.

As her supervisor, I considered this a minor nuisance at best. I figured the reason I got things done faster was from having more experience — Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

5.

But I got stuck monitoring her time and nagging her on the boss’ behalf. We both hated it and she tried so hard to speed up with good work. — Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

6.

So one day I’m emailing a client back-and-forth about his resume and he is just being IMPOSSIBLE. Rude, dismissive, ignoring my questions. — Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

7.

Telling me his methods were the industry standards (they weren’t) and I couldn’t understand the terms he used (I could). — Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

8.

He was entertainment industry too. An industry I know pretty well. — Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

9.

Anyway I was getting sick of his shit when I noticed something.

Thanks to our shared inbox, I’d been signing all communications as “Nicole” — Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

10.

It was Nicole he was being rude to, not me. So out of curiosity I said “Hey this is Martin, I’m taking over this project for Nicole.” — Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

11.

IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENT. Positive reception, thanking me for suggestions, responds promptly, saying “great questions!” Became a model client. — Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

12.