Women; Break it or Fail it?
I remember when I was in 2nd grade, the whole school was preparing for the 2008 model election. We were quietly sitting by our desks while the teacher chatted happily about the candidates for president and vice president. As she mentioned Sarah Palin, a boy, with a bit of ketchup on his shirt, suddenly wailed something out that would lead to the hottest debate any 2nd graders could have.
“She can’t do that! She’s not a boy!”
The teacher stopped her chit-chats and looked at the boy, stunned that the boy had enough courage to say such things, but she gathered herself together, and questioned him.
“What do you mean, Dennis?’
“Only boys can be presidents! Girls suck! They can’t be anything!”
Now, I remember, that lead many girls(including me) to start shrieking in our high-pitched voices “That’s not true!” “Boys are the ones who suck! They are dummies!” “You suck!” and such words that I do not remember clearly. But what I do remember vividly is that those words spitted out by those high-pitched voices lead the whole class to start squealing at each other, although the debate(if little 2nd graders screaming at each other is considered as “debating”) quickly died by the teacher’s quick but loud word, “QUIET!”
“But why can’t girls be presidents? There’s no reason girls can’t be president. You’re stupid.” I said to Dennis. Everyone gasped.(Yes, saying the word ‘stupid’ was a big deal in our class at the time.)
“Be quiet, Soo. Now Dennis, I want you to apologize to the girls. Girls and boys are the same. Just because you are a girl, doesn’t mean you can not be the president. Anyone can be the president. Also, many women in this world have very nice jobs and they are very high-positioned.”
And that teac...
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...ldn't it be simply solved if women just worked harder? However, the solution for this problem is more complicated than it seems like. Although, some progress has been showing. 23 CEOs of the Fortune's top 500 companies, such as HP, PepsiCo., and Yahoo, are women. There has been a few women who are currently the prime minister, some being Erna Solberg, Aminata Toure, and Lamidota Straujuta.
Instead of blaming history or men for planting the seed of the glass ceiling and the wage gap, women must look into the future and start taking action as a team to penetrate this glass ceiling, because a few hammers and nails will not affect a glass ceiling. Sitting around and complaining how men are gifted with privilegdes and such will not change anything. As once an unknown man said; "No amount of guilt will change the past and no amount of worrying will change the future."
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”
Women still get paid 77 cents to every dollar that a man makes. This not only perpetuates sexism in an extremely obvious way, it is also one of the most harmful. While being catcalled, or subtly put down can be a detriment to women’s psyche, the wage gap is harmful to a women’s physical and emotional well being. Most people say that in order to make a big career change, the person changing jobs should have enough money saved to live on for a full year. This is a pretty logical idea, however, this is something that is much easier for men to accomplish, given that they are paid a higher wage. They have the ability to put money away, whereas it is more likely that a women is going to have to spend all her wages just on living. She won’t be able to leave a job, even if she hates it, simply because she can not afford to. A man with her same qualifications may not have to worry about this due to the fact that he has on average 23 more cents per every dollar, than she does. This to me seems like the root of sexism, and one of the first things we as a society needs to fix in order to help woman feel more equal in the world.
Overall, Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a convincing speech on women’s rights at the U.N. World Conference by using the key rhetorical techniques ethos, pathos, logos, and anaphora’s. The use of these techniques helped the audience believe in the cause of which Clinton was speaking about, sympathize for situations females were being put through, and working to strive towards equal rights for everyone. Clinton used the same stance throughout her speech and raised her voice at points in her speech that needed
“Stop spacing out, Mr. Anderson,” Mrs. Sorun said, who had thrown a paper wad at my head. “Part of your grade is listening to what your peers have to say and right now you’re failing.”
Tannen points out “a greater percentage of discussion time is taken by men’s voices.” (2) She tells us why this is a disadvantage to the women in the classroom. She then continued to separate the two genders into their given stereotypes. Girls tend to separate themselves from large groups; they talk amongst
Hillary Clinton speech “Women Rights” transmitted a crucial message to the world and that was to do something about gender inequality. Pathos helped transmit an emotional appeal to the audience and make them see the soft side of Clinton. Pathos and Logos supported the facts stated to the public with evidence and compassionate words. The rhetorical device of repetition made it possible for the audience to realize the level of importance the topic had. Altogether made the speech have the great impact on people’s perspectives about women
Unfortunately, even today, women are still trying to prove themselves equal to men in many ways. The “glass ceiling” is perhaps one of the most familiar and evocative metaphors to surface from the 20th century. This expression has been used widely in the popular media as well as in official government reports. The image suggest that although it may be the case now that women are able to get through the front door professional hierarchies, at some point they hit an invisible barrier that blocks any further upward movement. “Below this barrier, women are able to get promoted; beyond this barrier, they are not”. Such a situation can be considered a limiting case for a more general phenomenon: situations in which the disadvantages women face relative to men strengthen as they move up executive hierarches. “Traditional approaches to recruitment, organization and job design, performance management and promotions are often designed in ways that are more suited to men than to women. This is what creates the glass ceiling”. Beyond the limit of job titles, the glass ceiling also creates a pay difference between men and women performing the same work requirements.
During my childhood, I listened to kids around me explain to parents and peers what they dreamed to be when they grew up; a policeman, a firefighter, or a ballerina were all popular answers. I, however, had a different dream; upon being asked, I would answer, “I am going to be the president of the United States.” This, unsurprisingly, often elicited a few chuckles from the inquirer. I was only a little kid, after all, decades away from even the possibility of running for such an office. What if, however, this amused response had different connotations; what if my gender was affecting people’s perception of my chances to be elected?
Women face many obstacles as they climb their career’s hierarchy and for many different reasons their wage is comparably less than that of males. After the movements toward equality in the workplace, many think that sex discrimination isn’t present anymore. However, many still believe that the glass ceiling hasn’t shattered and still possesses a barrier for many women in the labor force. The glass ceiling and the wage gap exist for various reasons but, like many other women leaders, women can break the glass and abolish the gap.
Zoe Leonard, an AID’s activist and founder of feminist collectives “Fierce Pussy”, is the original creator of the impactful poem “I Want A Dyke For President”. Through her piece, Leonard expresses her desire for a presidential candidate who has gone through the same struggles as the people he/she hopes to lead. Leonard not only expresses the need for a candidate who understands struggle, but she also is addressing the injustice that goes on in our country. Her overall goal she hoped to establish when writing this poem is to create awareness of the consistent stereotypical “leader” that always runs for office. Although the poem is recreated by an actor, Leonard’s tone in the poem directed to everyday citizens and voters is not necessarily
“Both women came from completely different political points of view. Both women presented themselves in completely opposite ways on the national political stage. But, both women experienced the wrath of a society seemingly afraid to see a woman in power…. While there has been no lack of critique, analysis, and conversation about how sexism played a role in both Senator Clinton and Governor Palin’s campaigns, one thing that has not been well-identified is the resolution of how society will proceed and one day elect a female commander-in-chief” (Nedeu 2008).
The sexism and inequality intertwined with the work force is still a big problem today. Unlike in the early 1900’s, there is closer to an equal ratio of men to women in the work force. But women are still more present in typical jobs such as secretaries, nurses, and waitresses, whereas men are more present in jobs such as construction, CEO’s, and politicians. I experienced something similar at my place of work. I’m a barista at my local coffee shop, and all of my coworkers are female. Any time my boss is hiring, there are very few male resumes that come in. But if there are any mechanical problems, the first person she calls is her husband or father to come and fix it. This clear division between men and women is one of the causes of the gender gap. The gender gap is the difference in pay between men and women who work the same job. Unless something changes soon, the chances that I will be paid less than a male doing the same job in my future
Women are usually targeted because they are seen as the inferior gender in society. They are often displayed as sexual objects in the media, such as in porn and video games. Because of the way women are portrayed in society, they do not have the same opportunities as men. Many people may think that sexism is not an important issue anymore because women are making their way to the top. For instance, Mary Berara, the CEO of General Motors says “There are more women in more senior roles than in 1980 when I started. But from my career perspective, I don 't go into a room and take count. I want to be recognized for my contribution and for what I do” (nymag). Women are pushing themselves to work in higher positions, to prove that they have the same ability as men. Although women are becoming more and more powerful, sexism is still a huge issue today. Women may have higher positions, but they are paid less than men. According to a news article, “In 2012, the median earnings of American women working full time year-round were $37,791. American men earned a median income of $49,398. The gender wage gap has hovered at about 77 cents on the dollar since 2007” (huffington). This proves that sexism is present today since women working in the same jobs as men are paid a lower
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 ...
In the present United States, a mixture of males and females make up a university classroom. In life, males and females have different conversational styles. The ways that they communicate to each other in a conversation, as well as how they communicate with their instructors and peers in the classroom. Although there is a combination of both genders in the classrooms, schools gravitate more towards using learning techniques that are more applicable towards men than women (Tannen 369). When teaching with a mixture of people that learn differently, it is difficult to have a certain technique to use that would help everybody in the same way. Yet it is important that equal opportunities are given to both genders that allows them to do their best and succeed in their academic careers. Educational professionals need to understand the conversational differences in gender and have better teaching strategies that fit both male and female conversational styles.