She refused to hire me because of my gender.

My interviewer was a middle-aged woman clad in plaid pajama bottoms and a band shirt with a hole near her armpit. Her hair was piled into a messy bun atop her head, and she burped as she reached out and shook my hand. She didn’t excuse her belch, and her hand was sweaty. I stood there, frozen with a mix of horror and disgust as she released my now damp hand.

She grabbed an open bag of Cheetos from the register and told me to follow her. She led me to the mall’s food court and burped once more when she sat down. “So, the pay here is 7.25. I can’t afford to give you more,” she started.

I wasn’t sure how to react, but my need to be polite kept me seated. Maybe she wanted me to leave. “That’s fine,” I mustered, but it wasn’t.

“To be honest, too many women work here. We sell stuff for men too, and we need a male associate to help them,” she said as she wiped Cheeto dust on her shirt.

I blinked, shocked at what she’d said. She’d known I was female when she received my application. She’d also been the one to call me to set up my interview, so she’d heard my voice. I couldn’t understand why my gender was an issue after I’d shown up for the interview.

Maybe I’d done something that annoyed her, and she was only using my gender to dismiss me. I knew I couldn’t have failed the interview because she’d never asked me anything. I’d also never shopped at her store, and I was new to the area. The only reason she could have for disliking me was that I’d overdressed for the interview.

I opened my mouth to thank her for her time, but before I could say anything, she asked me a question. I was dumbfounded as she asked me a round of questions about my work ethic. I thought maybe she had changed her mind and was going to consider me, so I answered her. About ten minutes later, she doubled down on her stance instead. She even asked if I knew any men who would be interested in working there.

I hadn’t wanted the job after I’d realized I’d be making so little money, but I felt weird because she’d mentioned my gender. I’d never been denied an opportunity because of my gender, at least not openly. I was angry that she’d wasted my time and my gas money.

I remember telling some of my friends and them telling me what she did was illegal and that I should contact the EEOC. I probably should have, but I was young, so I wasn’t thinking about the other girls and women who would apply for the job. The only thing I saw was that I’d wasted time and money to be rejected from a minimum-wage job.

About two weeks later, I received a call from her. I thought she was going to offer me a job, but she asked me to come in for an interview. I reminded her I already had, but she’d decided she only wanted to hire a male. She replied by saying that I needed to come in for a second interview, so I told her I was no longer interested.

She did call me one more time, but I didn’t pick up the phone. I wasn’t sure what I would have said to her if I had answered. It was insulting that she’d wasted my time, so I refused to allow her to waste it again.

Although the situation with her was horrible, it taught me that I shouldn’t let anyone waste my time. If I ever find myself in a similar situation, I plan to leave because I refuse to have my time wasted again.