My latest rant - Shame. It's the only cure I think....

Take it for what it's worth.

I have witnessed and heard first-hand accounts of countless situations where women are taken advantage of by men in a business transaction. I won't bore you with too many details, but these incidents included insurance companies unnecessarily writing off a woman's vehicle to avoid paying a repair claim; car dealerships not offering the advertised interest rate, sale price or free options to a women that were offered to a man; various types of maintenance service fraud; etc.

There are cultural biases that account for much of the unfairness that exists even today between men and women, but that doesn't let people off the hook. I often wonder if the only way to fight against people who blatantly abuse their position, especially against women, is to shame the offenders. Maybe the victims should publicize their stories - with details. Women need to rise up against men who take advantage of the situation by telling their stories to people who have the means to publicize the incident. That could mean calling the consumer rights journalist at the local TV or radio station, blogging the story or passing the story to a prominent blogger, and so forth.

Who knows, maybe this will get some men to think twice. Maybe it won't. But at least when you do a web search on these types of situations, the incidents will identify the major transgressors and hopefully steer potential business elsewhere.

End rant.