What a way to deflate your joy in what should have been a very special day/memory! Wouldn't it be nice to be Sabrina (the teenage witch) and be able to pop back to that moment in time and have the chance to tell that prof just how his comments made you feel? "Listen bub; I worked hard for this diploma and no one, including you, is going to diminish my sense of accomplishment today. I am a woman and darn proud of it!"

Two different ways of viewing the same behavior exists not only in salary negotiations. Some examples: When a woman gets mad, she's "PMSing"; when a man gets mad, he's being forceful. When a woman asserts herself in the household, the man is seen as weak and woman as "wearing the pants in the family"; when a man asserts himself, he's seen as appropriately taking charge of his domain. There are many more examples.

We can thank our male dominant western culture for all of this. I do think though that we are making strides towards more equality. The younger generations are far more open to allowing the genders to blend together. There's hope for the future!