I'm a Woman working in a Profession that's easily 95% male (the official stats have it in the mid 80s depending on the Study, in practice it's higher).

So rather than write a long complicated Question I'd like to offer up one particular example of how I've benefitted Professionally from relationships I've been in. I have one particular skill that very few of my colleagues share.

I was demonstrating it recently to a (rare) female colleague and she became incredibly annoyed with me. She knew that I'd been thought it by a man that I had been in a relationship with for a short time (in fact it wasn't even much of a relationship). She pretty much accused me of trading sexual favors to get him to take the time to teach me (never mind the fact that it took me months to learn even apart from his instruction).

This is something I've always done with Men I've been in relationships with, if I feel there's something I can learn from them, then I'll try and get them to teach me. I've almost always dated Men I can engage with professionally.

Now in a way she has a right to be annoyed (incidentally it doesn't help that she consistently dates losers) because if I wasn't able to do it, the company would have to send someone else on the course (perhaps her) to learn it. As I know how to do it, they don't have to and just gave me a pay rise instead.

I'm happy, the company is happy, he's happy, she's pretty pissed off (we had a bit of an argument about it) actually some other guys are pissed off as well.. but then what can I do. I don't feel I did anything wrong by getting him to teach me.

Now from a Feminist view I've already got various negative responses on how I engage with men. I'm curious (maybe I'm a touch Masochistic) to hear responses from Men.

I've posted this in a diifferent form, in the Ethical Reddit. Hope that isn't breaking any rules