Sexism, Racism And The Glass Ceiling

Sexism is a human ideology that has created a definite border between males and females—making one of more importance than the other. This mentality has, over the years, made sexist remarks and actions a normalcy in today’s world. The thing about sexism is that it is not something that only affects our social interactions, but every aspect of our lives—including the business/corporate world. A perfect example of this is the concept of “the glass ceiling,” defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary as “an intangible barrier within a hierarchy that prevents women or minorities from obtaining upper-level positions.” Basically, the glass ceiling is an invisible yet unbreakable barrier that keeps women from advancing in the corporate world, regardless

The way we interpret the physical differences that we, as a society, make are created by the social requirements that enable them rather than the simple, undeniable fact of racial differences. In other words, society—more specifically the social world—gives us tools particular to both our period of history and our culture, which we then use to comprehend and see race in human beings. But what is race? Many have tried to find an understanding of what it is, but all attempts resulted in the “impossibility of providing a definition” (Garner, 2009). We believe we’re entitled to say who belongs in what race, yet, when analyzed, the kinds of assumptions that create each category are incorrect. We consider race to revolve mainly around physical appearance; however, out of all the differences in the human physique, we only focus on a few features. The descriptions we use, such as ‘white’, ‘black’, ‘yellow’, ‘red’, etc. are “not even descriptions of what they claim to describe” (Garner, 2009). Even though people hold different complexions, no one is literally white or black. Just like nobody’s skin is actually yellow or red—unless they suffer from sunburn or some disease. Overall, it can be said that terms like those have social meanings, rather than biological ones. The same concept could apply to the idea of

Racism is something that has a major effect on individuals who are exposed to it and the community around them. Studies have shown that there connections between “experiences of racism and discrimination and poor physical and mental health, reduced productivity and reduced life expectancy” ("Why Is Racism a Problem?”). Racism creates barriers to economic and social participation which can result in social exclusion and establish disadvantages for generations. Like many of the man-made borders presented in this paper, racism can be found anywhere in either subtle or blatant forms. In the educational system, there is not enough focus on the negative effects of societal forces such as “racism, segregation, poverty, and urbanization on educational achievement” (“Why Is Racism a Problem?”). This, in turn, hinders the youth’s awareness of the issue at all. Lack of awareness is considered to be one of the main reasons why racism is still so prominent in our society today. Aside from that, the effect of the educational system itself and its discrimination against students of color is not given the necessary attention required to do something about