San Francisco Chronicle

Sardonic tips for women in the workplace

- — Emma Heath

Need help being taken seriously as a woman in the workplace? Try pasting a mustache on your face, to seem more “man-like”! That’s just one of Sarah Cooper’s recommenda­tions in her new book, “How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings: Non-Threatenin­g Leadership Strategies for Women,” which she plans to read and discuss at the Bindery on Sunday, Nov. 11. With chapters like “Harassment: How to Be Harassed Without Hurting His Career,” it’s part a spoof of self-help guides, part scathing satire of the dysfunctio­nal gender dynamics that pervade many office spaces. Cooper’s minimalist drawings, recognizab­le from her 2016 book, “100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings” and a plethora of online cartoons, aid any woman in need of “gender-neutralizi­ng” her resume or figuring out what hairstyles to avoid at work (spoiler: all of them). "How to Be Successful” is both a sardonic critique and a exasperate­d sigh male comedian-illustrato­r in audience. on the this face double Occasional­ly, of an bind. reflects ever-imagined “How seriously the to Be doesn’t Successful” mean, she isn’t writes for men, in the but that book’s introducti­on, that she could avoid the “fear that my book would be successful and that it would hurt men’s feelings.” The event is open to all ages, but be forewarned that Cooper’s visit will feature “mature themes.”

 ?? Scott R. Kline ??
Scott R. Kline

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