Essay on Discrimination Against Women as Addressed in Cantor's Dilemma

1132 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of women in the scientific revolution

Discrimination Against Women as Addressed in Cantor's Dilemma

In his novel, Cantor's Dilemma, Dr. Djerassi uses female characters to address sexist issues arising from women integrating into the predominantly male science world. The characters, Celestine Price and Professor Arderly, are used to show examples of how women have little voice in the field of science. The female characters suggest how women are often looked upon as sex objects rather than co-workers and they are given little opportunity to balance a scientific career with raising a family. By weaving these issues into his novel, Dr. Djerassi illustrates the following theme: Discrimination against women in the field of science is harmful to the progression of scientific exploration. If women are excluded from science, then an artificial limit is put on human resources. (The field of science will not utilize the potential female minds available.)

The first issue that Dr. Djerassi casually mentions is that women are not adequately represented in the field of science. The character, Celestine Price strongly desires a career in chemistry. She faces the challenge of how to plot her map of success while taking into consideration the male dominated world of science. Her old high school chemistry teacher advises Celestine that if she ever wants to get an academic position at a top university, she has got to get plugged into "the old boy's network." He says to her, "Make no mistake about it. Chemistry is still a man's world."1 Dr. Djerassi paints the picture of a boy's clubhouse with a sign at the door reading, "No girls allowed!" In this context, it is inferred that a woman has to prove her worth before the society of men will give her the privilege of working wit...

... middle of paper ...

...roblems of integration. If the science world takes advantage of undiscovered female talent, science as a whole will benefit greatly. For example, the original group of ENIAC programmers consisted of 6 women. In 1946, these women helped to develop the first operating stored-program computer.6 If female talent such as this goes to waste because of social neglect, the science world will never know what possible discoveries that could have been made with the help of women. If Dr. Djerassi is accurate with his examples of discrimination, the science world should take note of these problems and attempt to solve them.

1. Carl Djerassi, Cantor's Dilemma (New York, New York.: Penguin Books, 1989), 19.

2. Ibid. 45.

3. Ibid. 45.

4. Ibid. 45.

5. Ibid. 20-21.

6. web site: women in science/ women in computer science/ women involved in ENIAC program.

Show More
Related

  • Jack London Stories, The Red O

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jack’s stories have to do with as much from the unknown as it does in dealing with personal experiences. At the young age of thirty-two, London set sail for Hawaii and then the South Pacific. Where he encountered cannibals and inspiration for the later to be, “The Red One';. Mr. London’s tale consisted of a foolhardy character named Bassett. Bassett is a collector of prized species who explores the cannibal-infested Island of current day Guadalcanal. Initially Bassett, against his instincts, follows a distant sound that emanates deep within the Island. After headhunters kill his assistant, Bassett himself, teetering on the edge of death, stumbles into a mountain field and falls unconscious, with only hopes of dieing. He is saved by a foraging native that brings him to the capital village London’s character Bassett, freely agreed to a death beheading instead of nervous meddling and contemplating the afterlife. “When I die I’ll let you have my head to cure, if first, you take me to look upon the Red One';(Jack London 977).

    Read More

  • Lincoln Electric Company Case Study Analysis

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Lincoln Electric Company corporate culture today is an extension of that which the founder John C. Lincoln and his younger brother James F. Lincoln instituted over a century ago. The company today remains a profitable, growing and admired organization. Its culture has been analyzed and utilized as an example in business education for many years. The success of the company can be attributed to: the efficiency their corporate philosophy and culture has instilled in their employees; meeting the needs of the customers; and lastly rewarding the shareholders. The gist of their corporate mindset is summed up by the past President, Mr. Willis “Lincoln Electric differs from most other companies in the importance it assigns to each of the groups it serves. (He) identifies these groups, in the order of priority as (1) customers, (2) employees, and (3) stockholders”(Sharplin, Arthur, 1989) According to Carpenter, Taylor, and Erdogan (2009), “When entrepreneurs establish their own businesses, the way they want to do business determines the organization’s rules, the structure set up in the company, and the people they hire to work with them.” James F. Lincoln was strongly influenced by religious teachings which he incorporated into his business ethics. According to Lincoln:

    Read More

  • Narrative of Twentieth Century Liberalism: Achievements and Evolution

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    Topic #2: How would you construct a narrative of liberalism in the twentieth century? What were its benchmark achievements and how did it change over time?

    Read More

  • Differences In Steve Henn's Article 'When Women Stopped Coding'

    351 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the article “When Women Stopped Coding”, David Greene and Steve Henn from National Public Radio speak about the gender occupational differences in the field of computer science (). The field of computer science is currently dominated by men, but the number of women in this occupation had been sufficiently strong in the past until the percentage significantly dropped in 1984 (). Steve Henn explained that reason behind the drop of women in computer science was because of social factors. Henn gave his first example by speaking about a woman named Patty Ordonez. Ordonez was extremely smart in high school but when she entered Johns Hopkins for computer science, she began to struggle in class (). Her struggle was not due to her own intelligence

    Read More

  • Race for the Double Helix: An Analysis

    2257 Words  | 5 Pages

    Maurice Wilkins: This scientist is seen as somewhat sexist, because he does not believe in the potential of Rosalind’s scientific abilities. At the same time, he seemed to be dedicated to work, but Rosalind seems to do a majority of the work.

    Read More

  • Women In Corporate America

    658 Words  | 2 Pages

    The once male dominated, corporate, "white collar" America has seen a phenomenal influx of women within the last thirty years. Although a female lawyer, physician, or CEO is no longer considered a rarity in our times, women still face quite a deal of oppression in comparison to their male counterparts. In retrospect, some professions have always been controlled by women, and men have not made a noticeable advance in these fields. In 1970, finding a female lawyer to represent you would be a difficult task, since less than five percent of the profession were women. Today, that number has risen to almost thirty percent. The percentage of female doctors has almost tripled in the course of thirty years. African Americans have not made such a conspicuous progression within the last fifty years, while women have made a tremendous impact on the corporate world. One may wonder, how did women make these extraordinary advances? For the most part, it is due to the education they receive. At the present time young girls are encouraged to enroll in classes dealing with math and science, rather than home economics and typing. As pointed out by Nanette Asimov, in her essay "Fewer Teen Girls Enrolling in Technology Classes", school officials are advocating the necessity of advanced placement, and honor classes for teenage girls, in both the arts and sciences. This support and reassurance than carries over onto college, and finds a permanent fixture in a woman’s life. While women are continuing their success in once exclusively male oriented professions, they are still lacking the respect and equality from their peers, coworkers, and society. The average male lawyer, and doctor make twenty-five percent more money than their female equivalent. Women have always lived with the reputation of being intellectually inferior to, and physically submissive to men. This medieval, ignorant notion is far fetched from the truth. In 1999, high school men and women posted similar SAT scores, being separated by a only a few points. In addition to posting similar scores on the SAT, the average males score was a mere two-tenths of a point higher than an average females score on the ACT. Even though a woman maybe as qualified as a male for a certain occupation , women receive unwanted harassment, and are under strict scrutiny. A good illustration of this would be the women represented in "Two Women Cadets Leave the Citadel.

    Read More

  • The Life of Jack London

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Griffith London, who is considered by many to be America’s finest author, was born January 12, 1876 in San Francisco, California to an unmarried mother of a wealthy background, Flora Wellman. His father is thought to have been William Chaney, a Journalist, lawyer and major figure in the development of American Astrology. Because Flora was ill, an ex-slave, Virginia Prentiss, who would remain a major maternal influence during the boy’s childhood, raised Jack through infancy. Late in 1876, Flora married John London, a disabled Civil War veteran. The family moved to Oakland, where Jack completed grade school and would develop his love of the outdoors.

    Read More

  • Case Study Trader Joe's

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the article, Trader Joe’s focuses on lower cost and higher quality products in order to attract customers’ eyes. Trader Joe’s is quite small which is less than 10000 square feet. In this way, company can save on lot of cost on the place, electricity and water spending. They do not have hire a lot employee for that.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Jack Kerouac And The Beat Generation

    2104 Words  | 5 Pages

    In conclusion, it can be determined with much evidence that Jack Kerouac used his unusual lifestyle as an influence for much of his works. Without his exotic way of life, Kerouac wouldn’t have had any inspiration to write On the Road. Inspired significantly by Neal Cassidy, Jack Kerouac lived a wild and adventurous life where each day was much more different than the next. Instead of being a boring, close-minded writer like Sal Paradise in the beginning of On the Road, Jack Kerouac found his inspiration through his travels, parties, and his Buddhist and Catholic beliefs.

    Read More

  • Lincoln Electric Company: A Look At The Lincoln Electric Company

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    History has a strong presence in the current world and as much as the world has changed and evolved many things remain the same. Many traditions and customs reverberate through decades and are carried on by individuals who honor and uphold their predecessor’s beliefs and fundamental rules. One such company is Lincoln Electric Company, founded in the late eighteen hundred by John C Lincoln it has manufactured original designed electric motors. Since its establishment it has maintained a leading status in the employment sector with low employee turnover, the only exception being retirement. It has continuously been ranked the best company to work for and many competitive and non-competitive companies look toward Lincoln Electric to model the

    Read More

  • Jack London

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jack grew up in a working-class and carved out his own life as a teen. He would ride trains, work on a sealing ship on the Pacific, shovel coal, pirate oysters, and found employment in a cannery. He would be at the library in his free time, reading travel books and novels. He began writing in 1893 when he was 17. He went on a sea voyage and a typhoon nearly took him and his crew out. When he got back he told his mother about his adventure and she told him to write about it for a writing contest. He submitted his story and won the 25$ prize. He even beat college students from Stanford and Berkley.

    Read More

  • Women in the STEM Fields

    2800 Words  | 6 Pages

    Pollack, Eileen. “Why Are There Still So Few Women in Science?” The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Oct. 2013. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Character Of Hester Prynne

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the entire novel, Hester Prynne remains strong amid all of the horrors she is put through. Although the women

    Read More

  • Women and Engineering

    1367 Words  | 3 Pages

    In many cases, women’s achievements are measured according to male oriented standards. I would like to argue with a more diverse approach to this cause. If humanity is comprised of both men and women, and we are equally dependent on each other for humanity’s survival, why are men and women not viewed as equals? These old attitudes are drilled into us from birth. If boys were taught mutual respect as they grew up, gender equality becomes a natural way of life. In the same way girls would need to be taught to set high goals; that they can reach as high as humanly possible. Unfortunately, typically male values and traditions have, over time, shaped the culture in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) fields. This has created, in many ways, a hostile learning and working environment for women. From time immemorial, women have been regarde...

    Read More

  • Gender Segregation In The Workplace

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Women have talent and intelligence but, due to social constraints and prejudices, it is still a long distance away from the goal of gender equality” (Pratibha Patil). A common misconception that is prominent in many modern day ideologies, is that gender does not have as much of an effect on workplace experience as it did several decades ago. This is untrue. “Most occupations remain skewed toward either men or women” (Jacobs 32). This occupational gap is an unmistakable reason for men and women being treated so vastly differently. Many people tend to believe that after women gained the right to vote and became eligible for many workforce positions,

    Read More

More about Essay on Discrimination Against Women as Addressed in Cantor's Dilemma

Open Document