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As a topic that exists in today 's society I chose to conduct two separate interviews for my writing class on "Gender and the workplace" , I interviewed Brittany Smith , who’s a women supervisor for GM (General Motors). As well as a Johnnie O 'Bannon, Who 's a manager for General Motors. Their “Experiences” differs between gender and workplace plays a major role on both women and men, and although O 'bannon and Smith doesn’t experience the same things everyday at their workplace, they have had similar experiences, used to work as regular employees before actually moving up, and has had related issues in the past, so it seemed like they have a good understanding of gender roles and work places. As it turned out, they both had bad experiences …show more content…
I told them this and they said that there were many difficulties moving up into higher seniority because the different types of gender, workplaces and etc., but that the differences were significant as well I indicated that I was primarily interested in getting the perspective from a women and men.
Throughout the interview, Both of my interviewers explained to me how effective gender and workplace can affect a person, and this was the part of the interview I found most surprising. Both party 's said that the more discriminated they were helped them work harder. I mentioned I thought this was what people experience when they both want a higher position at work, and both said it can be very challenging to move up when you 're affected by discrimination, and that the main focus with moving up in a higher position is having a positive attitude and overlooking
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They both agreed it can be difficult tasks sometimes for the opposites to attain, because people often find workplace objectives easier than others. One example they gave me was that if a women was put in charge at a work place she would have the same authority as men in charge, he or she might say, “The gender of the leader plays the same role rather they are a men or women . In order to be a leader people have to look up to the choices you make, you must be a great role model overall” This is good because it is getting across points that women and men play the same roles as leaders. A person would not say , “I am a man I can do a better job then you because you 're a woman! If you think can do a man 's job you 're the man .” For discrimination, this is considered "Bias” because it relies on a myth. However, O 'bannon agrees that women are definitely able to do a man 's job. Some people still may believe a women cant do a job like a
Throughout life there will always be obstacles to overcome. Whether it be personal, work related, or just trying to figure life out. There is not one person who is immune to these things. Unfortunately, there is not one person who is immune to discrimination either, which is why we, as human beings, must make a greater attempt to recognize the differences every individual has to offer, and embrace whatever it is to it’s full potential. Many feel the pressures that womanhood presents, for instance. Not to say there isn’t burdens that are exhibited with manhood, but there still remains some hefty barriers on the road to 21st century equality. It is a fact that men are met with greater confidence in the workplace, while women remain severely underrepresented
I am the type of person that likes to feel as important as the Caucasian male sitting next to me on the train. I am a small person compared to my coworkers and many would agree that a loss prevention officer job is no job for a female who is less than 5ft tall. I once was denied a job opportunity because of my height and gender; yet when I was given the chance, I proved that my gender and height could do the job even better than my male coworkers. Now I am one of the top ten in the company when it comes to shoplifting case productivity. I did recognize that inequality and prejudices existed as I was trying to get the job, but I also did not let those barriers affect me, just because some doors may had close along my path, it does not mean that I was less nor good than the person who got their first.
Sex Discrimination in the American Workplace: Still a Fact of Life. (2000, July 01). Retrieved from National Women's Law Center : www.nwlc.org
There have been studies, debates and misconceptions on the differences between men and women. One area of importance is how our personal needs affect our behavior/ performance in the workplace. According to Maslow Hierarchy of needs there are basic needs which must be met before moving to the next level of need. These needs affect men and women positively and negatively.
The "glass ceiling" has held women back from certain positions and opportunities in the workplace. Women are stereotyped as part-time, lower-grade workers with limited opportunities for training and advancement because of this "glass ceiling". How have women managed their careers when confronted by this glass ceiling? It has been difficult; American women have struggled for their role in society since 1848. Women’s roles have changed significantly throughout the past centuries because of their willingness and persistence. Women have contributed to the change pace of their role in the workplace by showing motivation and perseverance.
Gregory, Raymond F. Women and Workplace Discrimination: Overcoming Barriers to Gender Equality. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
For instance, another one of my interviewees was a 36-year-old black female who currently works as a social worker and stated that they were no significant differences in opportunities between genders. However, she stated that she would be working in healthcare soon and has heard of issues pertaining to the rate I which men are paid as opposed to the women employees. The 21-year-old Hispanic male interviewee told me that he works at a non-profit organizations and the Executive Director makes the place safe and equal for all if the workers. The International Labor Organizations demonstrates that most women work in health and social services, where as only 42 percent work in scientific and technological fields. In places where women are more common, there might be any differences in opportunities, whereas a place where more men are common there might be. It goes back to the “male and female dominate”
Gender, as socially constructed differences between men and women and the beliefs and identities that support difference and inequality, is also present in all organizations (Gender & Society). It has been known that most women have continued to stick to the traditional jobs because it is just easier to do so. They do it to avoid any hardship in the work place and discrimination when applying for a job or working for a company. Non-traditional careers and jobs for woman are hard to find and when hired woman are segregated to the wage gap. Class relations in the workplace, such as supervisory practices or wage-setting processes, were shaped by gendered and sexualized attitudes and assumptions (Gender & Society). For example, in the work place managers were almost always men; the lower-level white-collar workers were always women (Gender &
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.
In conclusion, if women are brave enough to destroy their own barriers and are with people that really help them, women can attain successful in the workplace; moreover, they will see less sexism in their workplace. In the past, women fought for the right to vote, and they fought for civil rights. Now, women and other people can fight to eliminate discrimination against women in the workplace. The United States fought for the right to eliminate discrimination many times such as after the Civil War and the World War II, and now as a country people have to fight to eliminate the discrimination against women in order to be called “The country of Freedom and Civil Rights.”
I choose to ignore discrimination against women and believe that it does not always occur. Furthermore, my beliefs are that any discrimination that may occur could have been a misunderstanding. Thus, this may affect my counseling relationship because women who come to me and explain that they have been discriminated against may think that I may dismiss them as it just being a misinterpretation on their part. Although, I do value women and see them as strong and independent for forcing on their careers, my clients may not feel comfortable discussing their concerns and issues with
These traditional roles and consequently women’s identities have been formed and maintained by the workplace, therefore understanding any gender differences in labor requires an examination in this light. Grant and Porter remind the researcher that the concepts of male and female are not independent relationships of the workplace, but have been strongly influenced and determined by the relationships of male and female in society at large.
Men are traditionally seen as being in the "supervisor" position in the home. They are the heads of the household, the breadwinners, and the women are behind the scenes, like the threads that hold everything together. The same can be said about the workplace. Men tend to hold administrative positions, while women usually have the positions that support the administrator. They are the secretaries and assistants that do the work for their male bosses and prepare things for them that later on only the administrator may receive credit for. " ‘Where,' asks the Englishman who is prominent in social welfare, 'are you're men? We see their names on the letter-heads of organizations, but when we go to international conferences, we meet almost entirely women.' 'Our men-oh, they are the chairmen of boards, they determine the financial policy of our agencies, but they leave the practice to women. They are too busy to go to conferences.'" (Mead 304).
There are many different ways in which women are discriminated against in the workplace. The exclusion of women altogether solely due to their gender is a now rare example of how women are discriminated against. Although women have gained overall access to the workplace, sex discrimination still persists in additional ways. There multiple examples of potentially unlawful gender discrimination that women face. Hiring and firing are the first two problems women often face within the workplace. An example of this is woman applying for a job in which they have experience and excellent qualifications, but are not hired because some of the company's clients are more comfortable dealing with men. Woman often get told that they are laid off or fired due to company cutbacks and reorganization, even though a man in the same job with less seniority than the woman gets to keep the job.
Gender bias has a long history and continues to occur in the workplace today. Research indicates that women remain significantly disadvantaged and mistreated compared to men in the workforce. How do the disparities of hiring, promotion, and salaries affect women in the workplace?