Project Manager Fed Up with Being Called Receptionist: AITA for Wanting to Correct Coworkers?

A project manager in a male-dominated workplace is tired of getting “receptionist” jokes dropped into group emails like she’s the office door greeter, not the person running the projects.

She’s been at the company for seven years, hired as a project manager, with a bachelor’s and a master’s, and her pay is on par with the top GC. Still, coworkers keep calling her “the receptionist” or “secretary” in messages when they’re talking about her, and the owner seems totally oblivious.

Now she’s debating whether to correct people directly or bring it up to management, because being paid well is not the same thing as being respected.

Original Post

AITA for wanting to correct coworkers who call me a receptionist? I work in a male-dominated industry and have been a project manager at my company for 7 years.

I have both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, and I was hired specifically as a project manager. My pay is comparable to our top GC who has an architecture background.

However, several coworkers occasionally refer to me as “the receptionist” or “secretary” in group messages or emails when talking about me. It doesn’t happen constantly, but often enough that I notice it.

The owner of the company seems oblivious. When I mentioned it to a couple coworkers (women), they told me I shouldn’t care because the owner doesn’t really care about titles and that I should just focus on the fact that I’m paid well.

But it still bothers me because it feels like I’m not being taken seriously in my role. I’m considering correcting people directly or bringing it up to management.

AITA for caring about this and wanting to address it?

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This is similar to a woman choosing her own money goals over bailing out her brothers’ bakery.

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It’s the kind of thing that starts as a “small” label, but when it keeps showing up in group messages, it starts to feel personal fast.

The owner’s “doesn’t care about titles” vibe would be annoying enough, but hearing two coworkers tell her to shrug it off makes it land worse.

So the real drama is whether she corrects them in the moment, knowing the same people who downplayed it might suddenly act like she’s being difficult.

And once she’s considering management, it turns from workplace banter into a question of who gets to define her role, and who thinks she should stay quiet about it.

What's your opinion on this situation? Join the conversation!

She’s not asking for a gold star, she’s asking to be called what she actually is.

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