How are women perceived in the workplace?
I interviewed my friend Derek who works for a home builder company. After a lengthy discussion, I interviewed him about how he views the woman role in the workplace.
“I like working with women, but there are definitely some notable differences between the two genders.”
Derek explained how there’s a certain emotional level brought in to work from women. Women tend to get their feelings hurt with small insignificant things.
“We had a company chili cook-off and when a lady didn’t win she got her feelings hurt and complained and our company cancelled the annual chili cook off the next year, “Derek said.
He also explained how women are more apt to gossip and are more catty than men.
“Our mortgage company is mostly run by women and it seems to be very cliquey. I noticed if a group of women don’t like a woman they’re working with they try to get her fired. It seems like women harbor ill feelings and don’t let them go. Women seem to have a hard time separating work and personal issues. When men have a problem them usually address it and move on. That’s why I think it’s a good idea to have an equal balance of men and women,” Derek said.
Derek thinks women listen more and describes how having men and women in the workplace is a good balance. According to him, Men are more simple and practical (fact driven) and women tend to be idealistic and empathetic.
“If our company was run entirely by men it would be very impersonal. Women tend to be nurturing and ask you how your day’s going and more sympathetic. There’s a difference between guy logic and girl logic, it just doesn’t mesh,” Derek said.
I asked Derek if he thinks women work as hard/harder than men and he said, “It’s not gender specific, it’s individual.” An interesting turn in our conversation was when I asked him if he thought if women flirted to get what they want in the office.
“I noticed an attractive woman flirt with the owner of the company when she asked for something, and when a heavier, less attractive woman did the same thing, she was told no. Sex sells, it’s sad…but it’s the truth. I don’t think it’s fair when women flirt to get what they want. I think it lacks character and shows greed and selfishness. “
It was interesting to receive a man’s perspective of women in the workplace. Women do seem to balance an office by providing more sensitivity and empathy in an office, but drama and unnecessary cattiness may occur occasionally. One disheartening thing was the “sex sells” portion of the interview. This is the relevant bias in our society that unfortunately occurs in the professional world. Can a woman achieve a higher paid position or receive a bonus just by her looks and bust size? This question is constantly raised, but is probably true in most cases.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
blog 8
Lisa Belkin's "The Opt-Out Revolution"
Belkin's essay describes how successful women are putting their prestigious careers (doctors, lawyer, advertisement executives) to a close in order to raise their families. One response to Belkin's article is Katie Allison Granju who protests Belkin and her admittedly narrow interview group who are college-educated, married, professional, white women who love their kids, their husbands, their wine-sipping book discussion groups, and the comfortable homes they are making for their families. I thought it was interesting as Granju goes on to critique Belkin. "Her interview subjects may believe that they have “opted out,” the reality is likely to be much less clear cut for them as their children grow and many of their marriages end. Ten years from now, I suspect that we may be hearing from a new group of suddenly single, 50 year old, college-educated women who haven’t held a paying job in a decade about a new and fascinating trend: the “I-was-only-kidding-and-I-really-need-to-opt-back-in Revolution."
It is disheartening after reading Belkin's article. Women, indeed have come a long way in regards to obtaining M.B.A.s and obtaining leadership positions, but it seems this is only temporary if a woman wants to have babies and start a family. Growing up my mother was a nurse but stayed at home for ten years or so to raise my brother and I. When I was in high school she tried to go back to work but found it incredibly difficult (even with the growing need for nurses) because of new technology and new computer advances over the past ten years my mother was not familiar with. This was also the case with my friend Kami. She graduated from OU with a microbiology degree and was immediately hired as a lab technician. Her career was rapidly put on hold when she got pregnant. After her baby Emma was born she decided to work part time as a ACT/SAT prep tutor. It's frustrating to know how women such as my mom and my friend Kami found it difficult to carry on their former work/dream jobs in order to accomodate their families. This appears to be inevitable if you want to have a successful marriage and raise your kids. Me personally, I wouldn't want to continue my Monday through Friday 8-5 job and leave my baby with a nanny or a mediocre day care. Having children is very important to me and I wouldn't want to leave my child in people's care whom I hardly know. It seems crucial to hit the stopwatch for a few years with the career in order to be a good mom.
Belkin's essay describes how successful women are putting their prestigious careers (doctors, lawyer, advertisement executives) to a close in order to raise their families. One response to Belkin's article is Katie Allison Granju who protests Belkin and her admittedly narrow interview group who are college-educated, married, professional, white women who love their kids, their husbands, their wine-sipping book discussion groups, and the comfortable homes they are making for their families. I thought it was interesting as Granju goes on to critique Belkin. "Her interview subjects may believe that they have “opted out,” the reality is likely to be much less clear cut for them as their children grow and many of their marriages end. Ten years from now, I suspect that we may be hearing from a new group of suddenly single, 50 year old, college-educated women who haven’t held a paying job in a decade about a new and fascinating trend: the “I-was-only-kidding-and-I-really-need-to-opt-back-in Revolution."
It is disheartening after reading Belkin's article. Women, indeed have come a long way in regards to obtaining M.B.A.s and obtaining leadership positions, but it seems this is only temporary if a woman wants to have babies and start a family. Growing up my mother was a nurse but stayed at home for ten years or so to raise my brother and I. When I was in high school she tried to go back to work but found it incredibly difficult (even with the growing need for nurses) because of new technology and new computer advances over the past ten years my mother was not familiar with. This was also the case with my friend Kami. She graduated from OU with a microbiology degree and was immediately hired as a lab technician. Her career was rapidly put on hold when she got pregnant. After her baby Emma was born she decided to work part time as a ACT/SAT prep tutor. It's frustrating to know how women such as my mom and my friend Kami found it difficult to carry on their former work/dream jobs in order to accomodate their families. This appears to be inevitable if you want to have a successful marriage and raise your kids. Me personally, I wouldn't want to continue my Monday through Friday 8-5 job and leave my baby with a nanny or a mediocre day care. Having children is very important to me and I wouldn't want to leave my child in people's care whom I hardly know. It seems crucial to hit the stopwatch for a few years with the career in order to be a good mom.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
blog 7
Family, relationships, motherhood
I recently watched Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. This is a hipster comedy about two people who wouldn't normally see themselves together romantically, but are drawn together from their similar tastes in music. (This has an awesome soundtrack fyi) The movie trailers showed a somewhat socially awkward wallflower (Michael Cera) and an quarky, outspoken girl (Kat Dennings) who finds mixed tapes made by Cera and starts to become intrigued by him. They have an unplanned adventure through the city in order to find her drunk friend and to find where their favorite band at a disclosed location. I think this is a typical gender plot: boy meets girl, girl and boy butt heads then fall for each other type of thing...I liked this movie because Dennings appeared less submissive than most girls in romantic comedies and took on a more stubborn and "smart" role.
Readings:
I thought it was interesting in the F-word when she was talking about women balancing work and family. "They are encouraged toward economic self sufficiency yet are subtly pressured to 'choose' lower paying, more flexible professions that would accomodate conventional motherhood..they hold out an ideal of shared parenting but anticipate inequality." In class we mentioned if a stay at home mom was a paid career, women would be making well over $100,000 with all the chores and parenting they have to do from the time they wake up til the time they go to bed. Dual partner marriages needs to be efficient and the term, "it starts when you sink into his arms and ends with your arms in his sink" still seems to be a stereotype today. Another depressing thing in the reading was the outstanding divorce statistics in the U.S. It seems regardless of who is getting married at least half of them will end in divorce.
I recently watched Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. This is a hipster comedy about two people who wouldn't normally see themselves together romantically, but are drawn together from their similar tastes in music. (This has an awesome soundtrack fyi) The movie trailers showed a somewhat socially awkward wallflower (Michael Cera) and an quarky, outspoken girl (Kat Dennings) who finds mixed tapes made by Cera and starts to become intrigued by him. They have an unplanned adventure through the city in order to find her drunk friend and to find where their favorite band at a disclosed location. I think this is a typical gender plot: boy meets girl, girl and boy butt heads then fall for each other type of thing...I liked this movie because Dennings appeared less submissive than most girls in romantic comedies and took on a more stubborn and "smart" role.
Readings:
I thought it was interesting in the F-word when she was talking about women balancing work and family. "They are encouraged toward economic self sufficiency yet are subtly pressured to 'choose' lower paying, more flexible professions that would accomodate conventional motherhood..they hold out an ideal of shared parenting but anticipate inequality." In class we mentioned if a stay at home mom was a paid career, women would be making well over $100,000 with all the chores and parenting they have to do from the time they wake up til the time they go to bed. Dual partner marriages needs to be efficient and the term, "it starts when you sink into his arms and ends with your arms in his sink" still seems to be a stereotype today. Another depressing thing in the reading was the outstanding divorce statistics in the U.S. It seems regardless of who is getting married at least half of them will end in divorce.
Monday, March 2, 2009
blog 6
BODY IMAGEI chose this advertisement because I think it blatantly depicts gender and body image. Here a young slim woman who looks confident with her head held high, her chest out and a hand on her hip with hundreds of men throwing themselves at her. I'm not sure what "ZU" is but I'm thinking it's a brand of jeans considering that's the only thing the men are wearing. This model is VERY skinny which I'm not surprised of. It's disheartening to look at advertisements when all of the models are a size zero, when actuality the average size of a woman in America is 8-12. Advertisements such as these are probably the leading cause of eating disorders among teens and women in the U.S.
Readings:
Women appear to be under strict scrutiny to look good, especially in today's society. Headline news recently report Michelle Obama's fashion style instead of important issues such as Barack's policies, the economic recession, or the war in Darfur. This blows my mind that people are so concerned that Hilary Clinton is wears pant suits all the time as opposed to dresses and skirts. Also, in the FIFE readings I think women should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to use birth control and what they do to their bodies. I don't condone abortions, but I think it's a individual choice for a woman to do what they want.
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