A reader asked our Work Friend columnist: "I work in a small office (nine employees) with a tight-knit, friendly culture. I am a 32-year-old woman. The principal of the firm is a man in his 60s who is generally well intentioned. I know he holds progressive values, and is not an outright misogynist. But the thorn in my side is that he exclusively addresses (and makes eye contact with) my male colleagues (with whom I am at equal 'status,' organizationally) when we are in a group. When we are one-on-one, he can make eye contact with me, but if there is another man in the room, I feel invisible — we will go the entire conversation and he will not look at me once. This feels particularly egregious when he looks at my male colleagues while responding to a question that I asked. This happens multiple times a day, and it is wearing on my self-confidence. Should I mention this perhaps subconscious habit to him, or just let it go"
