Los Angeles Woman Landed a Real Estate Job. Then Her Female Boss Asked to Look at Her Dating Profile: ‘You’re Really Attracting a Certain Kind of Guy’
Women have glass ceilings to shatter in corporate America. But contrary to popular assumption, women who’ve managed to climb their way to executive positions won’t always treat their female employees with grace and fairness. Paizley Laura (@paizleylaura), who once worked for a female founder, said that she felt discriminated against at work.
At the time, Laura dropped out of college and moved to Los Angeles, California, when she was just 20. Although she previously worked in food service, like this lawyer did in his youth, Laura was still new to corporate America. Her first job involved being a receptionist for an agency, and across the hallway, there was an office that looked quirky.
It had ping-pong tables and an open floor plan—essentially, a young millennial’s dream workplace. Laura was in luck when the company opened up the position for real estate assistant, which she eagerly applied for. She got a callback and interview from the HR head, but Laura recalled that even the HR lady didn’t seem thrilled to have her in the room.
A cold entry into corporate America
When asked what her strengths and weaknesses were, Laura said that the interviewer didn’t seem satisfied by her answer either.
“Wow, interview 101: turn a negative into a positive,” the woman from HR allegedly told Laura at the time. Then, she wrote something down on the paper, which to this day, Laura is still curious to know about.
Despite the frosty reception, Laura got into the company.
“I just always felt like there was a different lens on me,” Laura said. She claimed that her bubbly personality didn’t seem to mesh well with, in her words, “the standard corporate girl.” It got to the point that during her first year working at the company, she was the only employee uninvited to an annual convention.
But Laura believed that she was good at sales and trusted herself. Perhaps her ability to trust her gut while working in real estate is one of her greatest assets, just like this woman from Nevada who made the right call to leave a sale after sensing danger on a property. Self-belief is crucial, especially when working in a male-dominated field like real estate.
Her female boss loved her, but not for long
She would eventually leave that company, go freelance, and get into a breakup. Her life was chaotic and she was grappling with the changes coming her way. Then, the former CEO of the company she left called her. He offered her the same position at a different company he was working for. Laura said that she knew that the female founder of that company was “a difficult woman” to work with.
However, the pay was good, and Laura felt like her skill set matched the role, so she agreed. At first, the founder seemed excited to see Laura get onboard.
“To no one’s surprise, the tone changed pretty quickly,” Laura said. She told TikTok that she was once called into the HR office for wearing a spritz of perfume and wearing a certain outfit another employee had worn.
Then, the founder asked to see Laura’s dating profile in the presence of other employees.
“Wow, you’re really attracting a certain type of guy, aren’t you?” the woman allegedly said as she was scrolling through Laura’s photos. She recalled being uncomfortable with her boss casually remarking on her dating profile, especially with her new coworkers present.
It seems that nobody has stood up for her either. Laura mentioned that because they were all paid well, nobody in the office could do anything about their founder’s behavior. Because the environment in the office devolved into toxicity, Laura eventually got to work from home. The founder allegedly didn’t want her around unless she could be there for an in-person meeting.
What Laura didn’t know was that one TikTok video would eventually push her to leave.
She left after one TikTok and went all-in with her business
She was at home and recorded a TikTok where she joked that she didn’t want to work anymore because she wanted to be a frog on a pond. It seemed like a harmless skit, and it even got five million views on TikTok. Because of her video’s virality, she got more sales from her small business, which she was running at the side.
Then, she got a call from the CEO who got her into the second company. Laura said that the man started berating her over the TikTok she posted, accusing her of “hating” her job. At this point, she was in tears.
“I got to the point that I was sent an email with what can be best described as a riddle of a severance package,” Laura claimed. She further stated that the package was designed to fire her over TikTok, but Laura refused it and stood her ground.
“This is clearly retaliation. I have everything documented. If you want me out of the door, this is the amount of money you need to pay me.” Laura hit send on the email, and the company agreed. Now, she runs her small business, Peach Honey, full-time. Laura said that she managed to turn her venture into a seven-figure online business with a thriving audience and community.
“My corporate experience is a big lesson on how not to be as a founder, especially a female founder.” Laura said that her team is mostly comprised of women. She also made it her mission to foster an environment of care and support for her employees. From Laura’s perspective, they don’t just work for her but with her.
“If you’re a young woman experiencing this, let this be your sign that it has nothing to do with you,” she said. It seems that despite her cruel experience in the corporate world, Laura has chosen a different path.
(featured images: Paizley Laura)
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