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Gender discrimination
Gender discrimination research paper
Gender discrimination research paper
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Introduction Since 1900, the share of women in the U.S. labor force has tripled, and it continues to rise (Macionis, 2015). However, according to a study by Koch, Konigorski, and Sieverding (2014), when placed in a job interview situation, women who interact with subtly sexist men tend to perform worse on areas in which women are negatively stereotyped, such as math. This may make is difficult for women to enter professions which are dominated by men, including engineering or corporate management. The theory that will be explored in this paper is conflict theory, specifically gender-conflict theory.
Current Trends in the Data Koch et al. (2014) worked with 99 German students of the University of Heidelberg and found that stereotype threat
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These men were not overtly sexist, which showed that “even subtly sexist behavior may trigger social identity threat in women” (Logel et al., 2009, p. 1090). These studies may suggest that in male-dominated fields there are typically unwelcoming environments for women. Male-dominated fields include such prestigious professions such as engineering, building trades, architecture, lawyers, physicians, and corporate managers (Macionis, 2015). This may result in inequality between men and women as women face the additional challenges of sexism and stereotype threat to succeed in professions in which men …show more content…
Feminists fight for equality and, therefore, demand that they are treated fairly. They may call out others for being sexist, which may result in the person who was called out forming an aversion to the feminist. Even so, feminism slowly but surely brings about change, which is evident in the previously mentioned fact that the women workforce in the U.S. has grown considerably in the past 100 years. Thus, the social conflict theory holds completely true.
Social Responsibility The entirety of society holds some form of responsibility in overcoming the inequality women face in male-dominated domains. It is the responsibility of everybody, but especially those who are already successful in such professions, to remain neutral and avoid sexism when speaking to women peers or subordinates. In addition to this, each individual must make a decision about whether or not to practice feminism or consider themselves a feminist. If a majority of people fight for equality for women in the workforce, there may be a result that consists of an increase of women in more prestigious fields. This can be a very positive thing for society because it allows for new ideas and perspectives in those professions, which can create progress. Overall, society can benefit from
The author explores some stereotypes based on what types of jobs are more women’s type of jobs or more manly jobs. Careers such as carpenters and truck drivers are all almost exclusively male jobs, whereas careers in nursing or secretary work are all almost exclusively a woman’s type of work. Since the 1970’s, women have made head way into male dominated jobs. However, the author states that even though women have made it into male dominated jobs, this is not true for the reverse situation. The woman type jobs are still almost exclusively women’s jobs with men making little entry into them.
Sexism is a highly talked about issue read about online, seen in the news, and experienced in the day to day lives of many. The importance of this issue can be found in many writings. Authors such as Sandra Cisneros, Linda Hasselstrom, and Judy Brady have all discussed the topic of sexism in writings and how they affected their lives. Although each writer addresses the issue of sexism, each author confronts a different type of sexism; the kind we are born into, the kind we learn growing up, and the kind that is accepted by society at the end of the day.
Sex Discrimination in the American Workplace: Still a Fact of Life. (2000, July 01). Retrieved from National Women's Law Center : www.nwlc.org
Unfortunately, our society is still very much a patriarchy. In general, men still hold more positions of power, and women are expected to fulfill the stereotypical roles of "wife" and "mother" over that of "breadwinner". Men are reluctant to give up their power in society as well as in the home, and by encouraging a woman to take her husband's name, society is encouraging a symbolic relinquishing of power from wife to husband. There are different schools of thought on why society perpetuates this behavior. One view is that of structural-functionalists, who believe that the organized division of labor by gender maintains a society's efficiency. They believe that when one knows his or her role in the family, family bonds are then strengthened. It is similar to many Christians' line of thinking that man should serve God, woman should serve man, children serve their parents. In turn, God provides for man, man provides for woman, woman provides for children. A man in this line of thinking may feel that once a woman takes his name, she is under his care, just as any future children that are born with his name.
In my opinion, sexism has been part of our society for so long that it is instilled in women at an early age that they will not and cannot have the same mobility as men. This plays a major role in women’s lack of upward mobility in academia and other professions. This research is significant to society because in order to reduce gender disparities, we must fully understand their origins. This is an issue that affects all professional women and urgently needs to be addressed. It is important to move beyond professional structures that are more beneficial to men than women....
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission chart shows a decrease in gender discrimination since 2012, and remaining at a constant 29% of cases filed at the end of 2015. A straightforward approach is used to propose gender stereotypes by naming, identifying, and understanding the context. An example on how gender stereotyping comes into place, nurses are usually females, and you don’t see as many men in the healthcare field working as a nurses because it is for women. Gender discrimination comes in play when harm is applied to an individual. A woman may want a job that portray the role of a man, and she is discriminated against, and The Equal Employment Opportunity states what laws are being
Society has always retained deeply rooted stereotypes in all aspects of life. Whether it is prejudice due to color, creed, or gender, we cannot ignore the differential treatment of specific groups that occurs daily in our world. Although much has been done to alter our views on such matters, can we really suggest that society as a whole has undergone a true metamorphosis and emerged a completely unbiased community? When discussing the topic of gender, we can clearly see a major change in recent history concerning feminist issues. One could say that the idea of feminism began with the women's suffrage movement. This enduring battle for equal rights ended with the addition of the nineteenth amendment granting women the right to vote. Since then, major strides have been made by women striving to prove themselves equal to their male counterpart. When we look at the role women play in the 21st century, it is hard to imagine the world as it was in centuries past. But how much have we as women truly gained? Are we really equal to men? Do we completely benefit from this feminist movement and lose nothing in the process? I am of the opinion that, while its fundamental goals were of good intent, feminism has created several major problems in today's society. I believe feminism has reached a stand still and the movem...
Inzlicht, Michael. Stereotype threat: theory, process, and application. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.
Sexism is a major factor in the workforce.Today male and female have a hard time breaking into the opposite gender dominated fields. This has happened because of the media, it has showed us that male have certain “right” jobs, as well as female. Female still dominate traditional female professions like cosmetology jobs are 92.9 percent women working them(Wolfe). If a man were to get into cosmetology they would most likely be judged for having that job, because we stereotype that they can't have a feminine job. Women have a harder time getting into high level positions. “Women make up only 21 of the S&P’s 500 CEOs,” (Berman). This has happened because the media has set in place stereotypes that it is wrong for women to have high level positions. It is getting better, in 2013 women chief financial officers increased 35 percent at large U.S. companies from 2012 (Frier and Hymowitz). The job market for men and women is still unfair but it is starting to get equal.
Women are faced with extreme pressure and alienation in their career fields, and on average earn less than men. Men, on the other hand, face similar pressure, while underachieving compared to women academically, and facing more dangerous occupations. Clearly, this system benefits no one. Michael Kimmel illustrates this point in “A black woman took my job': Michael Kimmel argues that it is in men's interest to work for gender equality.” The title itself emphasizes how the fight for gender equality will benefit both genders. He discusses how sexism is harming men by narrowing their worldview (2). Slaughter, Ullman, Kaplan, Dorment, Knestaut, and Miller all agree with Kimmel to some extent. They all agree gender equality does not exist. When all these perspectives are brought together, it becomes clear that it is in the best interest of both genders that the fight for equality is still pursued. Hopefully, one day women will earn as much as their male counterparts and be equally represented in both careers and intentional unemployment, and men will be attaining higher education goals and employed in less dangerous occupations, and both genders will be relieved of some of the pressure to dedicate 100% of their time to both a career, and a
Throughout history, women have remained subordinate to men. Subjected to the patriarchal system that favored male perspectives, women struggled against having considerably less freedom, rights, and having the burdens society placed on them that had been so ingrained the culture. This is the standpoint the feminists took, and for almost 160 years they have been challenging the “unjust distribution of power in all human relations” starting with the struggle for equality between men and women, and linking that to “struggles for social, racial, political, environmental, and economic justice”(Besel 530 and 531). Feminism, as a complex movement with many different branches, has and will continue to be incredibly influential in changing lives.
Gender stratification limits women’s achievement in their lives. In term of jobs, women continue to enter a narrow passage of occupations range. Compared to men, women often face greater handicap in seeking job because the higher income and prestigious jobs are more likely held by men. In the workplace institution, men are also prior to a faster promotion. There is a case where women were allowed to get promoted to a more advance posi...
“Statistical research by Catalyst demonstrate that women account for 46.7 percent of the U.S. labor force” (Evans, 2011, p.62), but gender bias continues to distort employers hiring decisions intensifying the challenges women endure in the workforce. Controlling bias has been a goal of American society resulting in federal, state, and local laws preventing hiring discrimination in the workplace. There is a natural tendency for superiors to prefer to work together with members of the same sex or hire applicants close to their age. Male leaders are likely to hold stereotypes about women that influence employment decisions not based on an applicant’s ability, but rather categorization. Management often perceives male applicants as the only candidate or the best fit for the job, even though the position does not require masculine characteristics. Koch et al. (2015) highlighted that highly qualified women are seen “just as competent as men” however; these women are still unlikely to be hired over their less qualified male counterparts. Laws prohibit prospective employers from asking women about family responsibilities outright, nevertheless this subject often surfaces during the interview process. As a result, hiring personnel pass over experienced female candidates when they suspect women struggle between the conflicting demands of family and career responsibilities. Men have quite different roles and responsibilities regarding family giving the...
Even though society has distorted the ideals feminism was founded upon, some of the remaining true roots still hold true. While women are gaining equal opportunities in society, they need to not diminish the importance of working together with men to form a functional society. The widespread idea of quotas needs to be analyzed. People should be accepted into college or hired for a job because they are the most qualified, not because of their sex. Society has demented feminism as a harmful dogma because it has been an excuse, almost a cop-out by women who do not want to work for their acceptance. Both men and women need to realize the necessity that exists for each other to make society work.
The differences between women and men are not solely biological. Our society’s culture has established a set of unwritten cultural laws of how each gender should act, or in other words society has ascribed a stereotype. Men’s gender identity has been one of masculinity, and masculinity is defined as referring to a man or things described as manly. What does manly mean though? Is a male manly if he is “Mr. Fix-it”, or the jock, or if he sits on the couch on Sunday watching football? This latter statement is a stereotype of men, that has been around for decades, and is current as well, but starting with the 1960’s a man’s role started to change, despite the stereotype not changing to accommodate it. For the past 40 years one can see how men have taken on roles stereotypically ascribed to women, such roles including being the “stay-at-home mom”, which we can find an excellent example of in the 1980’s film “Mr.