After I was hired for my current job, a lot of people worried about a petite woman managing an all male (and somewhat older) construction crew. There was one of the senior crew members who kept referring to me using the language of the Native American community that employs me. I would tell him that I didn’t know what in the heck he was calling me and wondered if it was something derogatory. Several of the Native American crew members reassured me that it wasn’t anything bad, but would never tell me what he was saying. I was finally free from worry and felt greatly honored when one of the native elders heard the crew refer to me with their ‘special name’ and told me, “I can tell you’ve gained much respect with your men when they call you Boss Lady.”

~ Bonnie