Much has been said about Vice-President Mike Pence statement in 2002 (when he was in Congress) that the only woman he would have meals with just her is his wife. Same for meeting in an office.
This has some difference reactions.
Some said that is being sexist, because it deprive female colleagues a chance to network on a more individual basis. Those same people say that perpetuates an "old boy network" in which men hang our after work creating tighter bonds that help them advance their careers to the exclusion of women.
Also, if a woman had some concerns she wanted to share with a co-worker, it would be hard to do so when other people would be listening in. So not having a private meeting in an office would be hard for those women.
to learn more about such concerns, read
Karen Turner, “Some congressmen won't be alone with women staffers. They don't know how damaging that is.,” Vox, March 31, 2017
http://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/3/31/15136548/congress-sexism-mike-pence-vp-billy-graham?yptr=yahoo
A woman who once worked as a secretary for Mike Pence during his Congress days said she never had a problem with Pence not having one-on-one dinners because he rarely socialized with staff (of either gender)outside of work hours. She also mentioned Pence was easy to work with, appreciated her efforts and listened to her concerns.
Read more at
Mary Vought, “I worked for Mike Pence. Being a woman never held me back.,” Washington Post, April 1, 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/04/01/i-worked-for-mike-pence-being-a-woman-never-held-me-back/?utm_term=.afdb00139c5c.
Others mentioned that Mike Pence is a conservative Christian with a reputation to upkeep. People from such backgrounds would be devastated by rumors of affairs, rumors that can be started because someone took a picture of man talking to a woman that's not his wife.
I mentioned about how damaging such paranoia about adultery is from those 2 blog posts from 2012
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-paranoia-over-adultery.html
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/09/paranoia-over-adultery-part-2.html
Others also mentioned that it's probably protection from allegations. It's the idea that if a woman was in an office alone with a man, she might be upset at something he said, and would exaggerate to make him seem worse than he is. Being that it's just two people in the office, there would be no other witnesses. Nobody around to say "no, he didn't do that at all"
On the flip side to that, I remembered one woman on facebook saying that if she was a cab driver, she wouldn't want male costumers, being that she had been date raped by a former co-worker who walked her home. She didn't report him to the police. Many times, rape happens where only the victim & predator were present, so there are no other witnesses, making it a "he-said, she-said" that makes guilty verdicts hard to reach.
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AS for me, most of my workplaces have been environments where women outnumber men, So I had office meetings where it's just me & a female supervisor. The only thing that happened was a professional conversation.
I've also had meals where it's just me and a female co-worker. Again, just a professional conversation and idle chat. Nothing more.
Being that I don't drive, I have accepted car rides with females that I worked with or volunteered with. The only thing that happened was just talking story until the ride was over. Nothing happened after the ride was over.
A younger version of myself would've made jokes of "oooh, they're about to have ....................". But I'm a mature adult now! I know & respect other people's boundaries.
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However, the rules are stricter in the education world between teachers and students.
If there is only one student in the classroom (which can happen during recess or after school), it is strongly suggested (and many times required) that the door be opened. This is mostly to prevent gossip and allegations.
Also, teachers are not allowed to accept students in their cars, again to prevent gossip and allegations.
Sometimes on the bus, I do see my students there and we talked. However, bus are public spaces where there are witnesses, so the potential for BS allegations are greatly reduced. Same thing if I see my students at the mall or the park. That being said, I have never arranged such meetings, it was just a coincidence that we see each other at the same place.
