Out of the blue, I get a call from the Department of Labor. The officer tells me they received a complaint, accusing me of gender discrimination. Apparently, my treatment of the male and female employees is extremely unequal.

I'm left feeling utterly bewildered.

Out of compassion for my employees, I give the female employees paid leave during their periods and pregnancy. I also give the male employees the benefit of a family support allowance.

I've never discriminated against anyone because of their gender, and neither have I ever mistreated any of the employees.

But then, I proceed to see the social media post that has gone viral.

"A certain company gives male employees an additional allowance of a thousand dollars a month! Male and female employees are given different treatment!"

Having caught on right away, I call a staff meeting and announce, "All of the company benefits have been canceled. You will only receive the basic benefits listed in your employment contract."

Everyone goes up in arms.

Even as I clicked into the comment section, I still couldn't believe it.

In just a few short hours, many employees from the company had come forward with anecdotes of their own to confirm the news.

The top comment read, "The last time we had an opening for the manager position in our department, I clearly had higher qualifications and more experience than my male coworker on the same team. However, in the end, he was the one who got promoted.

"My boss even tried to gaslight me, saying the position was more suitable for a man, and that she'd definitely consider me next time. Well, it's been ages now, and I've gotten absolutely nothing!"

The comment was utterly ridiculous to me. I knew who wrote it—Roxy Hunt, from the sales and marketing department.

Back when the company was selecting someone for that position, I'd been very clear about the reason for my decision.

The market segment for that role was primarily aimed at male consumers. It involved frequent and unpredictable business trips, and the industry had a heavy drinking culture.

Above all else, there were safety concerns to take into account. I'd told Roxy that I wanted her to think it over carefully. She took my advice, weighed the pros and cons, and voluntarily backed out of the selection.

Afterward, I felt bad for her, so I personally compensated her with a full set of smart home furnishings. I also promised her that a year later, the company would expand into a new cosmetics market that targeted female consumers. Once that happened, she would be put in charge of the project.

Well, the expansion was already in motion, and the official announcement was set to go out tomorrow.

I glanced at the promotion notice that my assistant, Ingrid Chase, had handed to me earlier, and dumped it in the corner.

Plenty of other employees had voiced their agreement in the comments.

"What can you do when you've got a female boss who caters to men? Last time the company headquarters in Brigshire organized a training, a bunch of us women slaved away for two weeks, barely getting any sleep, just to boost our performance. But in the end, the company still sent a man.

"I questioned her about it in person. She claimed the bunch of us were at the age where we were starting to have kids, and it wouldn't be worth it for the company to invest too much into us. According to her logic, women like us come with an expiration date for when our value gets diminished!"

Her words were sharp and cutting, striking a chord with many in the online community. However, in reality, I had never said those last two lines.

This particular employee was the one who always talked about how she and her husband had been trying to conceive for over a year without success. She'd only just recently gotten pregnant, and the training in Brigshire was a grueling process that included an overseas assignment of at least a year.

Taking her situation into account, I chose someone else.

I thought I was looking out for her, but she didn't appreciate it in the slightest.

More and more people began sharing how they'd been discriminated against as women in the workplace—including Ingrid.

"It is what it is. A female boss is always going to be far pickier and more demanding. When she goes on business trips, even making a restaurant reservation for her turns into a whole ordeal for me.

"She picks on everything! Yet you never see her criticizing the men. She spends all day chatting and smiling along with them. Honestly, it's disgusting."

Once I read Ingrid's claims, my heart turned cold.

When Ingrid first came in for an interview with the company, she'd been rejected by the hiring team. I was the one who sympathized with her. She was having a hard time finding a job as a fresh graduate, so I insisted on hiring her.

In the blink of an eye, five years had passed.

In private, I treated her like a younger sister. Whatever I got for myself, I got one for her, too. I'd given her plenty of designer bags and clothes.

As for the incident she'd brought up, it occurred when she followed me on a business trip. I'd specifically instructed her to book a halal restaurant since our clients were Muslim. Yet, she'd messed up and even served pork to the client.

The company nearly lost a business deal worth ten million dollars because of that.

As a result of that incident, the board of directors at the company headquarters wanted to replace me. I had to put up with the pressure and promise the company that I'd bring in 100 million dollars in profit this year. If I failed, I would resign voluntarily.

The only punishment I gave Ingrid for her mistake was docking one month's salary. Not long after that, she came to me in tears, saying her mother was sick, and the family was in urgent need of money.

Without asking any questions, I gave her 50 thousand dollars. I didn't ask her to pay me back either.

Having recalled all of this, I turned off the screen and set my phone aside.

I was in the stairwell when I saw a small group of employees gathered in the office lobby. They were discussing the viral news about the company.

"Let's see how long that hag, Nicole Emerson, can keep acting all cocky in front of us now. I heard that she got a call from the Department of Labor."

"Thank God! All I want is for the company to replace her with a man as soon as possible. At least he won't treat us female employees badly."

"Same here. Look at the tech company downstairs. They have a male boss, and the female employees get amazing benefits! They even provide free painkillers and sanitary pads."

Zach White, a male employee who hung out with that group of female employees a lot, chimed in, "Honestly, I'd love to work for that company too. The male employees even get gas allowances."

Roxy, who'd been the most fervent contributor to the discussion, lit up at that. She immediately said, "Then let's all work together to bring down that hag.

"If we submit a joint complaint to the company headquarters, they'll definitely send someone fair to take over—a male boss who treats everyone equally."

Ingrid had just picked up some documents and was about to head upstairs.

Upon hearing what the group said, she turned right back around, pulled everyone close, and whispered, "There's no rush. Let me tell you some insider news. The company headquarters has issued an order. Our branch office must hit 100 million in profit this year. Otherwise, the hag is out!

"There are only two months left until the end of the year. As long as everyone slacks off a bit, there's no way she can meet the target. When the time comes, the company headquarters will definitely send her packing."

"Agreed!"

"Let's go on strike!"

"We won't lift a finger!"

Everyone was all fired up, convinced they could already see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Leaning against the wall, I took a deep breath. I could finally see clearly now.

I'd been with the company for eight years. Having climbed my way up from the bottom, I knew all too well how difficult the workplace often was for women.

Therefore, once I was put in charge of this branch office, the very first thing I did was submit an application to the company headquarters. Despite strong opposition, I secured two days of paid menstrual leave per month and paid maternity leave for the female employees.

Worried that male employees would find it unfair, I deliberately introduced a family support allowance for the men as well.

Yet somehow, in their eyes, this was proof of gender discrimination—that I was giving a special allowance just for men.

Well, if that was going to be the case, so be it. I decided to become the "villain" they pegged me to be.

When I came out of the stairwell, the discussion came to an abrupt halt.

"I'm calling a full staff meeting in ten minutes. Notify all the employees," I said. "I have an important announcement to make regarding some adjustments to the company benefits."

Ten minutes later, for the first time, the entire company filled the conference room.

Roxy wore a gloating smile as she loudly chatted with the people around her.

"I told you guys, didn't I? Only an official complaint to the authorities will scare these greedy senior executive types. Now everyone's going to get an additional thousand dollars a month!" she declared.

"You're the best, Roxy. And since it's all about gender equality from now on, does that mean we male employees get paid menstrual leave as well?"

"Of course! I definitely considered everyone's best interests."

For a moment, Roxy was soaring high with everyone lavishing their praise on her.

I didn't stop them. I simply took the microphone and calmly said, "I've carefully reflected on the recent online discourse. It's true that I didn't fully consider every employee's perspective."

Many people were already smiling in smug satisfaction.

"After careful consideration, I've come to a decision. All of the company benefits have been canceled. You will only receive the basic benefits listed in your employment contract."

All of the smiling faces stiffened, and the employees broke into an uproar.

"What? How can you cancel our benefits? I haven't even paid for my son's private tutoring this month!"

"I haven't taken my menstrual leave yet. I was counting on it to get a break for some fresh air this month!"

"How am I supposed to pay my car loan if I no longer have the additional thousand dollars in family support allowance?"

By then, I'd walked out of the conference room. I wasn't the least bit interested in seeing their reactions.

Roxy rushed into my office immediately. Her face was pale.

"This is retaliation, Ms. Emerson! We only asked for gender equality in the workplace—not a blanket cut to all the benefits!"

"I think a blanket policy is the fairest way to ensure equality," I responded evenly. "What's the matter? You have a problem with that?"

Gritting her teeth, Roxy stormed back out of my office.

Ingrid didn't look all too good either. "Ms. Emerson, I got my period today. I'm not feeling well. I need to take the afternoon off to go home and get some rest."

In the past, no matter how busy things were at the office, I would've approved her leave request immediately.

Truth be told, I knew she used those two paid days off to visit her long-distance boyfriend.

I'd set up the paid menstrual leave benefit to help the female employees anyway, so I never interfered with how Ingrid used her days off.

However, that was no longer the case now.

Nodding, I said matter-of-factly, "You can take the rest of the day off. Just make sure you complete the leave application like the rest of the male employees. Your pay will also be docked, just like theirs."

Ingrid's lips parted. In the end, she could only bite her lower lip in reluctance and reply, "Got it, Ms. Emerson."

A couple of days later, a shipment of new printers that the company had purchased arrived.

Unsurprisingly, Roxy came to my office once more to grumble.

"Ms. Emerson, the men have no sense of chivalry at all! They only moved the printers for their own offices. None of them is willing to help the women. How are we supposed to do it ourselves?"

In the past, I would've arranged for a few male employees to help and give them a couple of movie tickets or gift cards afterward.

Whenever that happened, Roxy would make snide remarks, both openly and behind my back. She would say I was deliberately giving the male employees special treatment—that I was playing favorites.

Looking at her now, I calmly stated, "The company now operates on absolute gender equality. I believe the female employees are more than capable of moving a printer by themselves. Also, in the future, please don't come to me with such minor issues."

Roxy was left speechless. Since she knew I wasn't going to budge, she turned around and snapped at the women waiting outside the office. She said, "Ms. Emerson said to move the printers yourselves!"

The female employees weren't the only ones feeling the burn. Even the male employees, who thought they could just hang back and reap the rewards as well, started to voice their dissatisfaction.

"Ms. Emerson, aren't we all supposed to be part of the same team? Lucy is also in the sales and marketing department, and she's always been a good negotiator. All I did was ask her to spend a few minutes talking to my client, but she refused to help me! Isn't she being a bit too cold-hearted?"

"Like I said, the company is prioritizing gender equality now. I won't interfere in these matters," I replied curtly.

After getting this month's KPI numbers, I went back to my office. I knew that during this period, many of the employees had it out for me. They'd collectively decided to slack off, hoping to use that as leverage against me.

Unfortunately for them, I didn't care at all.

If the performance targets weren't met, no one would be able to keep their job.

As the end of the year approached, everyone panicked after receiving their salaries.

"Why did I only get a little over four grand this month? That won't be enough for me to cover my mortgage payment!"

"And I've got credit card debt to pay off! If I don't pay it, it'll be considered overdue next month."

Roxy's fingers clenched around her pay slip. She rallied everyone, saying, "Let's call the company headquarters right now! That hag must've failed to meet the profit target and used our money to cover her own ass!"

Within a couple of days, the company headquarters sent down a male executive, Justin Sawyer, to conduct an inspection.

Everyone assumed I was about to be replaced. They threw themselves into their work, trying to boost their sales performance—just to leave a good impression on Justin.

Thus, at the company's year-end summary meeting, Roxy, as the employee representative, walked up to the stage with a smug expression.

She pulled up a company-wide performance report onto the projector screen. Her voice was brimming with excitement.