So no lady, you can not look out for yourself. Because of bias and the good old boys club. Diversity programs are designed to fight that bias.
Not my experience. When I was in that situation, horrors of all horrors, when I brought the matter to their attention, white men agreed with my point and put things right. You can say I was lucky, you can say it was my abilities, but I never needed government help, and the men and women I worked with (and for) needed the government to do any fighting for me. Not only that, there has never been anyone to fight against. Most people have a natural inclination towards fairness. Perhaps you don't and believe no one else does either? How much government help have you personally needed throughout your life that you believe everyone else needs it, too?
By the way, because genealogy is a hobby, I no for a fact no female ancestor of mine ever stood for any man patronizing or disrespecting her. In my very humble lineage, women owned small businesses as a sideline for other accomplishments. They were executors (when history books in error tell us, women couldn't be executors). They sailed across the ocean on their own, traveled the wilderness on their own (when history books tell us that women couldn't travel on their own that she had to go where her husband was. Tell that to one of my female ancestors who told her husband he could stay in the colonies if he wanted, but she was sailing back to England. On her own.
Again, how much have you had to depend on the government or someone else to stand up for you? Don't you ever find that having to always find someone else to fight your shadow battles for you belittling? Don't tell this lady she can't fight. She has--and so have ladies before her. Don't be so patronizing.