I am located in Minnesota and work for a company of 80+ people. Every year, there is this annual trip that the president of our company plans. It is out-of-state. The president only invites men on this trip. A couple of women talked to HR a year ago(including me) about this particular trip and mentioned that it wasn't fair. What we thought was wrong was that they left in the middle of a work week, leaving all the work to be finished by the other people. I could understand if this trip was taken during the weekend or after work hours.

Well, this year, it happened again. The only difference was that the guys tried to keep it "hush, hush", but it slipped out. Most of the guys didn't even mention they would be gone until the last possible minute this time. Keep in mind, only men were invited again, and it wasn't just senior-level men. Some of the guys invited have only worked at this company just under a year and aren't nearly as senior as I am.

I did speak privately with my HR person about this matter and documented an email asking her to let me know how she plans on resolving this issue. She got a little agitated with me. Her response verbally was "maybe you should plan an all-girls trip". It has been over a month and I believe there will be nothing done about it. I do feel it is unfair because my male counterparts are rubbing shoulders with the boss-man on a mini vacation. Please tell me if this is discrimination?

If this is a trip they take that isn't work related, as in just a bunch of guys that work together take vacation at the same time and go someplace, there isn't anything you can do about it. What they do on their own time is up to them.

Now if this is a business trip that the President selects only men to go on, then you have a different story.

I agree, if this was a trip that wasn't during business hours, what they do on their own time is their business. But in this case, the trip was during part of the week - thursday and friday - during work hours. And those men left at the last second without proper notice...they did this to try and keep it quiet from everyone else. There are a couple men in the office that didn't go on the trip because they felt it was wrong that women aren't invited. By the way, our company employs roughly 85 people.

When they gave notice is irrelevant. Obviously the President approved the time off and that is what counts. You still haven't shared if this is a business trip or a personal trip that happens to be with coworkers. Are these guys using vacation time to go or are they getting 2 "extra" vacation days?

Unless your demographics are massively skewed, in an organization of 80+, even if a few guys didn't go that's a lot of your workforce. Were all the guys invited or just some of them?

Taking the trip isn't necessarily discrimination in and of itself, but it could demonstrate a bias in favor of men over women in more general terms. Are there other ways that men are preferred over women where you work? Or is this just a quirky thing that bothers you?

It was a "fun" trip where the guys go have tons of drinks and go skiing. I do not think business was the main focus. Some of the guys took it off as Personal Time Off, while others did not. I didn't ask each individual man if they were invited, but know that most of them were and I know that no woman was invited. I'm sure it works this way...if you are "buddies" with certain people then you are extended the invitation. I get along great with all the people I work with. I just didn't like having to work over the weekend, because we were short-staffed and in the middle of a huge project. I needed to cover projects at the last second for the people who went on this trip. I was also told by my HR person that I was not the only person that came to her about this situation.

In this case, it is extremely unlikely that it would be found discriminatory. If those who are friends want to get together and go on a trip, they may. It seems not every guy is going, and not just because they disagree with the principle. It may be annoying and a poor move for morale, but it is legal. HR can't dictate what folks do with their personal time.

If it is creating a problem in getting a project out the door or getting work done, then you need to address that with your supervisor or someone higher up the chain. Perhaps even the President. But poor timing does not make it illegal or discrimination, nor would I approach it from the angle of what is "fair". Explain that with so many out at the same time it made it difficult to get project XYZ done.