Women have long been considered the child breeders and homemakers in society, but in recent decades that has changed; women are becoming more economically independent by entering the work force rather than taking on the role of a housewife. Even though women are changing the workforce in today’s corporate America, they still lack the confidence that men –who work in the same fields- up hold for themselves. In today’s society very few women have taken the initiative to compete for that leading position in corporate America, thus, the question of whether women can up hold the same corporate positions as men with or with out their attitude and confidence? Can women become CEOs and leading business women with out having to sacrifice the needs of their biological clocks?
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook-one of the larges social media sites of this generation-and author of “Lean In”, encourages women to take charge and change the stereotypes that women cant have it all if they reach for that level of the corporate latter. In an interview with Elizabeth Vargas from “Nightline ABC” , Sandberg expresses that “women have been 14% of top jobs in corporate America for 10 years”, that has not changed; and when asked about ambition and its association to women , Sandberg goes on to say “the word ambitious for women is bad, for men is great”. Sheryl Sandberg has always felt lucky about the opportunities she’s had and the resources she has had and /or still has at her disposal. For Sandberg it is sad to see the struggle many women face when trying to become leaders, whether they should “choose between likeability and leadership”.
According to Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000, “women hold 4.2% of Fortune 500 CEO positions and 4.5% of Fortune 1...
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...their position, but reality says it differently; women are the moms, the breadwinners, the soldiers, fighters; they work 9 to 5 hours a day and still manage to keep the household at float.
Although, women still have a long way to go before wages become of equal pay for both male and female, most women have created a name for themselves by not apologizing for what they can do. Sheryl Sandberg and Marissa Mayer are perfect examples of empowered women who did not seem to have sacrificed a family for a job, on the contraire; these women have been an inspiration to other working mothers in search for the next opportunity to become a leader in there own field. There are a great deal of single mothers who need the encouragement to move forward and “Lean In” in order to achieve success. For these women it is not only a struggle but a motivation for a brighter future.
In the American society, we constantly hear people make sure they say that a chief executive officer, a racecar driver, or an astronaut is female when they are so because that is not deemed as stereotypically standard. Sheryl Sandberg is the, dare I say it, female chief operating officer of Facebook while Mark Zuckerberg is the chief executive officer. Notice that the word “female” sounds much more natural in front of an executive position, but you would typically not add male in front of an executive position because it is just implied. The fact that most of America and the world makes this distinction shows that there are too few women leaders. In Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In,” she explains why that is and what can be done to change that by discussing women, work, and the will to lead.
Sheryl Sandberg is the chief operating officer of Facebook and is ranked on Fortune’s list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business and as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. Sandberg chooses Lean In to examine the reasons for women’s progress being stalled in achieving leadership roles. It provides deep insight into root causes while also offering compelling and commonsense solutions which can empower women to achieve their full potential.
Gender dictates various components of American life: political quarrels, typical company employee hierarchies, social norms, the list continues. This year’s presidential election proves this statement to be true; as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump bump heads against notions of foreign policy and tax reform, American voters have divided themselves into a category of either for or against women’s equality. Trump’s recent rape allegations has portrayed him as sexist, allowing Clinton to make arguments against him and advocate for women’s rights. Besides politics, gender guides child development, teaching children what “roles” both men and women must play in order to be deemed acceptable. This is why the term “CEO”
Ivanka Trump claims to be a feminist, and her actions of trying to promote change within politics by earning more parental leave in most firms are contributing to the feminist movement. However, her book has been considered to be a step backwards since her advice on getting ahead in one’s career is coming from a woman who already has a head start. Work-life balance is easier for her because of the household assistance she receives. Despite Ivanka Trump’s personal experiences she does not give success tips to those working in low-wage positions. This exludes a large part of the
Barbara White, author of Women’s Career Development, gives an opportunity for successful women to give advice to other women wanting to pursue a career in the workforce. First, they explained that women need to be single-minded today. They must make their own choices and know what they want. If a woman hopes to achieve her goal of an ‘American Dream’ and live up to it, then she should be persistent and keep working at achieving her objectives. The best advice given in White’s book is that a woman should not underestimate herself (227-229). A woman today can be whatever she pleases. It takes work, dedication and persistence to achieve goals in general, not just in the career aspect of life. As seen through Joan Crawford and Dawn Steel’s stories, a ‘business woman’ has a bright future now and for years to come. Women’s roles have drastically changed throughout the past century along with the actual number of women now working. It is phenomenal to see such an increase in women’s participation, and hopefully this course will continue even higher into the twenty-first century.
Positions of Power: How Female Ambition is Shaped by J.D. Nordell of Slate Magazine details the female disposition in the workplace. Nordell writes, “...women account for 35 percent of MBAs but only 2 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. Women now make up 16 percent of congressional seats - and 0 percent of U.S. presidents…” (Nordell). The statistics provided above show an obvious discrepancy in the amount of influence women have in the workplace. A popular theory is that this discrepancy is caused by the influence of gender roles on the workplace - men are not taking women as seriously in the workplace. Females’ introduction into the major economy is still a relatively new concept, and the underlying archaic gender role that women should tend to the house and children is preventing women from being taken seriously by the men of the business world, and thus constraining their performance in the economy. This is further supported by the case of Ben Barres: “Recently, the transsexual neuroscientist Ben Barres, who has worked as both a woman and a man in science, noted that he is treated with more respect and interrupted less frequently now that he is a man” (Nordell). This further elaborates on the phenomenon that women are taken less seriously in the workplace. Considering the excerpts from Positions of Power: How Female Ambition is Shaped, it is easy
economy going as men fought on the battle front. After every war women were pushed
Lean In: Women, Work and The Will To Lead, by Sheryl Sandberg, addresses how women can achieve professional achievement and overcome the lack of leadership progress that has been absent over the past few years. Sandberg uses personal experience, research and humor to examine the choices that working women make everyday. She argues that women can achieve professional goals while still being happy within their personal lives. She argues this by going into detail about what risks to take, how to pursue certain professional goals and how to overcome struggles such as balancing a family and a career. All through Lean In, Sandberg uses the fourth dimension of interpersonal effects through a Narrative to show her indicated stance on gender construction, she includes examples of marked forms as well as cultural gender expectations within communication.
Stone (2007) conducted “extensive, in depth interviews with 54 women in a variety of professions-law, medicine, business, publishing, management consulting, nonprofit administration, and the like- living in major metropolitan areas across the country, half of them in their 30’s, half in their 40’s” (p. 15). Keep in mind these women Stone (2007) focuses on are “highly educated, affluent, mostly white, married women with children who had previously worked as professionals or managers whose husbands could support their being at home” (p. 14). Her findings revealed women are strongly influenced by two factors: workplace push and motherhood pull. “Many workplaces claimed to be “family friendly” and offered a variety of supports. But for women who could take advantage of them, flexible work schedules (which usually meant working part time) carried significant penalties” (Stone, 2007, p. 16). This quote represents the workplace push, where women are feeling encouraged to continue their rigorous careers with little to no family flexibility being offered from workplaces. The motherhood pull is a term used to describe the way mothers feel when they face the pressure of staying home to raise their children while still expected to maintain a steady job. “Motherhood influenced women 's decision to quit as they came to see the rhythms and
For many decades, women have faced inequalities in the workforce. At one point, they were not allowed to work at all. Although women's rights have improved and are now able to work alongside men, they are still treated unfairly. According to the 2012 U.S. Census, women’s earnings were “76.5 percent of men’s” (1). In 2012, men, on average, earned $47,398 and women earned only $35,791. This is when comparing employees where both gender spend the same amount of time working. Not only do women encounter unfairness in work pay, they also face a “glass ceiling” on a promotional basis. This glass ceiling is a “promotion barrier that prevents woman’s upward ability” (2). For example, if a woman is able to enter a job traditionally for men, she will still not receive the same pay or experience the same increase in occupational ability. Gender typing plays a huge role in the workplace. It is the idea that women tend to hold jobs that are low paid with low status. Women are not highly considered in leadership positions because of social construction of gender. Society has given women the role of “caretakers” and sensitive individuals. Therefore, women are not depicted as authoritative figures, which is apparent with the absence of women in leadership roles in companies. Furthermore, sex segregation leads to occupations with either the emphasis of women in a certain job or men in a certain job. In 2009, occupations with the highest proportion of women included “secretary, child care worker, hair dresser, cashier, bookkeeper, etc.” (3). Male workers typically held job positions as construction workers, truck drivers, taxi drivers, etc. (3). Sex segregation represents inequality because the gender composition for these jobs depends on what ...
When you think of a CEO of a company or of world political leaders, do you think of a man or of a woman? Many, if not most of us, see these positions as being held by men. In this essay, I will explain why women are still not equal to men. In the first paragraph I will discuss inequalities that happen in the workplace. The second section will show the differences that occur within the athletic world. Thirdly, I will explain the differences in education and home life. Even though we are approaching the twenty-first century, women in our society are still not equal to men.
As the times change, so do the standards. Women previously have been looked at as homemakers, housewives, subordinates. In this new century, this has changed dramatically. Not only have women sought extensive amounts of education, they have sought means to expand and solidify their skills. Although women continue to face discrimination, the qualifications of the playing field have leveled out.
The goal on gender equality and impact of gender discrimination varies from country to country, depending on the social, cultural and economic contexts. Anti-discrimination laws have performed a critical role in expanding work place opportunities for women, yet they are still denied full equality in the workplace. Even though they can now secure powerful professional, academic and corporate positions once reserved for men, the ever present glass ceiling still deters the advancement of large segment of the female workforce (Gregory, 2003). Interest in the careers of females remained strong among both scholars and practitioners. Women have made considerable progress in entering the managerial ranks also but not at the highest levels. However, the promotion of women who hold top management positions increased only slightly during the last decade (U.S. Department of Labor, 1992). Shrinking gender differences between men and women in job related skills and aspirations may not reduce employer discrimination that is rooted in the belief that women’s emotions prevent them from managing effectively (Kanter, 1977). Stumpf and London (1981) identified criteria that are commonly used when decisions are made about management promotions. The specified job-irrelevant criteria, such as gender, race and appearance, and job-relevant criteria, such as related work experience, being a current member of the organization offering the position, past performance, education and seniority.. The central question is whether the hiring, development, and promotion practices of employers that discriminated against women in the past have been remedied or continue in more subtle forms to impede women’s advancement up in the hierarchy
Gender inequality is present in all aspects of human society, from culture, politics, and economic stand point to personal relationships. Gender inequality can be viewed as a major problem especially within the business world (Corporation, 2016). In the past, men are seen as leaders in all aspects. For example, men could work without any criticisms, they could participate in political issues and were given higher education. Women on the other hand, were given no political participation, criticized for working outside the household as they were responsible for chores such as takes care of their children, cooking or cleaning and given limited education compared to men. Although there are claims rights equality of women in 21st century and much has been written about it in the field of business (Player, 2013), but there is still a gap between male and female. This essay aims to explore the impact of gender inequality in business and will analyze the details in terms of the men are given high pay and specific jobs over women.
“There are 74.6 million women in the civilian labor force. Almost 47 percent of U.S. workers are women.” (DeWolf 2017) Today, there are more woman in leadership roles in business than ever before. A leadership role in business ranges from a store manager, branch manager, to CEO’s of large companies. Through the modern and correct view on Feminism more business’ and individuals are proud and happy with the results woman are producing in the workplace. With women in the workplace comes the right for equal pay, which is now coming to fruition more than ever, further pushing the equal rights of women. A prime example of equal pay for equal work is the stance Google recently taken on closing the gap between salaries for men and