Thank you for writing this Laureli.  It is spot on. Hopefully it will encourage companies to work on customer service with those employees who are rude or condescending to their customers.  It also takes a degree of self-examination for individuals to identify their own personal biases and be able to rise above those in a professional manner. To those who feel like condescension is universal, and not a gender specific thing you just don't know until you walk the proverbial mile. It happens.  All the time.  But in my personal experience the construction, medical and automotive industries are some of the worst. To be fair, there are also lots of wonderful women and men who work in those industries that rise above it and offer excellent customer service.