“I have never had a loud voice, but I've always had a strong one.” LaRae Quy
This year has been an arduous examination of my goals, desires, strengths, and weaknesses. I saw much of myself, or who I am striving to be, in fictional character Julie Carson. Julie Carson is a career military woman in David Baldacci's novel “The Forgotten”. Carson dispenses orders, but her duty to following and executing commands from superiors is just as important to her. She respects the rules and obeys them, expecting others to commit themselves in the same manner. She is disappointed by those who do not, but it doesn't not affect her core values. I have always been a “by the book” person, which seems to be a minority viewpoint according to my experiences interning for local government. Prior to the internship, most of my jobs have been in the service industry. I never felt held back because of my gender, but then again the service industry in itself can be oppressive. The past few months I have seen women work more, for less, and everything I knew logically about equality but refused to accept was laid out before me.
Julie Carson
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There are more women like her, and women striving to be her right now. Quy remains optimistic. Her leadership style reflects the trust she has in the government and its protocol. She faces cynicism as a woman in the FBI and must work harder, better, faster, and stronger than her male counterparts to be “good enough.” Her faith in the process of administration allows her to move forward without taking things personally. Additionally, Quy, like fictional Carson, seems to understand that an institution accepting of sexist and demeaning behaviors is not representative of all members belonging. Inspiring other women to strive for more and increase their leadership potential through optimistic progress is one of Quy's many contributions to women in
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.
In the first paragraph of Laurie Penny’s essay “What to do when you’re not the hero anymore” she tells the reader how she recently went to see the new Star Wars movie. To her surprise a female character, Rey, fought off a bad guy as an equal. Hollywood has incredible power in how messages are portrayed in books, TV shows, and movies. It is no secret that media representation normalizes the reality of white male power. Penny explores how it is becoming more common to see a women lead in books, movies, and TV shows, rather than the stereotypical male.
In American culture today, women continue the struggle of identifying what their roles in society are supposed to be. Our culture has been sending mixed messages to the modern day female, creating a sense of uneasiness to an already confusing and stressful world. Although women today are encouraged more than ever to be independent, educated, and successful, they are often times shamed for having done just that. Career driven females are frequently at risk of being labeled as bossy, unfeminine, or selfish for competing in many career paths that were once dominated by men. A popular medium in our culture such as television continues to have significant influences as to how people should aspire to live their lives. Viewers develop connections with relatable characters and to relationship dynamics displayed within their favorite shows. Fictional characters and relationships can ultimately influence a viewer’s fashion sense, social and political opinion, and attitude towards gender norms. Since the days of Bewitched and I Dream of Jeanie, where women were commonly portrayed as being the endearing mischievous housewife, television shows have evolved in order to reflect real life women who were becoming increasingly more independent, educated, and career oriented throughout the subsequent decades. New genres of television are introduced, such as the workplace comedy, where women are not only career oriented, but eventually transition into positions of power.
Sexism is a highly talked about issue read about online, seen in the news, and experienced in the day to day lives of many. The importance of this issue can be found in many writings. Authors such as Sandra Cisneros, Linda Hasselstrom, and Judy Brady have all discussed the topic of sexism in writings and how they affected their lives. Although each writer addresses the issue of sexism, each author confronts a different type of sexism; the kind we are born into, the kind we learn growing up, and the kind that is accepted by society at the end of the day.
beginning with a 1990s political climate that focused on the "get tough" campaign regarding the U.S. penal system. She points out that the gender constructs within our society lead to two approaches to "get tough": Men
She mentions how you should not put off a lot of time just because one’s children are young. Be a good role model for a daughter or even a son, let them know they can do it; they can be successful regardless of their gender. In this book, Sandberg describes non-fictional struggles for a woman in the workplace. She uses real life experiences to portray the image and information she wants to be known. Women have been fighting for decades to get equal treatment in the workplace and they still aren’t equal, they still struggle although it is not as much as
Despite progress being made in alleviating the gender gap, and breaking the ‘glass ceiling’, gender continues to play a role in the perception we have of the ability a leader has to be successful and have an equal share of the real power in our country. Three women that have pioneered changing this perception are Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and Sarah Palin. These three women have displayed true, successful leadership throughout their careers. All three women are of strong character and display a high level of self confidence. These ladies also are driven by their deep-rooted values and beliefs. This is Self-Concordence. In the text Organizational Behavior, the authors described self-concordance as the degree to which peoples’ reasons for pursuing goals are consistent with their interests and core values (Judge & Robbins, 2011). Believing in one’s self is critical to being a leader. Being confident that one is capable of meeting the goals that have been established for her and by her, improves her motivation and this can be perceived by others positively, making the ‘can do’ attitude spread. This is called Self-Efficacy Theory- An individual’s belief that he or she is capable of performing a task (Judge & Robbins, 2011).
Anastasia Engebretson was a typical college graduate, ready to join the workforce. Anastasia graduated university with a bachelor’s degree in physics, and like many new graduates, she was glad to begin to work in her area of study. She began working as a technician, but soon found out that she was being paid significantly less than men at her workplace who were less skilled and less educated than her. Few people at work expected Anastasia to be as capable as her male coworkers, and she recalls being demeaned with statements such as: “Oh, you’re not going to have to work because you’re a girl.” Not only did she suffer from the wage gap and low expectations, but she was also the victim of sexual harassment and even stalking. When she tried to
Women have been treated unfairly and discriminated in the workforce for too long. The discrimination that these women face is unjust and unwarranted. It is sad that as a society in the twenty-first century we are still trying to combat these issues. In Developing Women Leaders was published in The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist July 1, 2012 it discusses possible solutions and how stigmas and stereotypes are starting to change. Women should not have to face discrimination in the workplace as a society there should be an equal standard for all individuals no matter the race or gender.
...only accepted stereotypes are not based in reality at all, and that these stereotypes are harmful to everyone, not just the victims of being typecast. This conclusion is correct in all senses. Judy Mann’s book shows that the only real difference between men and women are their reproductive organs (24). Many professionals support this fact, but not society. Bernard Lefkowitz’s retelling of what happened to the young girl in Glen Ridge, New Jersey shows that believing that women are inferior can have terrifying repercussions. Society’s perception of people and the practice of labeling based on gender must be eliminated in order for women and men to live equally. These books simply help to make more people aware of the problem, which is only part of the solution.
...al questions, an extended metaphor, and allusion, she persuades her audience to try and break down their insecurities in order to create a rich lifestyle for them. However, gender stereotypes have been and always will be prevalent in society. As she states in the essay, “Indeed it will be a long time still, I think, before a woman can sit down to write a book without finding a phantom to be slain, a rock to be dashed against.” It has been shown that she was correct, seeing as women are still discriminated against in a number of professions. If a woman states, for example, that she wishes to be a mechanic, or possibly even an electrician, many men and other women will likely snort at the idea and think of it as a ridiculous joke. Even though society has come a long way over the years, it will still be an even longer amount of time before women can finally feel equal.
Society continually places specific and often restrictive standards on the female gender. While modern women have overcome many unfair prejudices, late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century women were forced to deal with a less than understanding culture. Different people had various ways of voicing their opinions concerning gender inequalities, including expressing themselves through literature. By writing a fictional story, authors like Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Henry James were given the opportunity to let readers understand and develop their own ideas on such a serious topic.
Harper Lee wants the readers to consider how gender roles affect societal roles and how the lives of men and women are drastically different during the novel’s time period. Women now have many more opportunities than they did in the 1930s, yet it is still sad to see very few women working in the higher level positions in larger companies today. However, this is a great improvement when compared to a society where women rarely worked outside of the house. Hopefully, this gap between men and women will continue to shrink at a much more rapid rate in the near
Warner, Judith. "Women’s Leadership What’s True, What’s False, and Why It Matters." American Progress. Center for American Progress, 7 Mar. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Today, women are entering the leadership sphere, which is mainly occupied by men. Many women leaders believe that people perform best when they feel good about themselves and their work. An effective leader creates results, reaches goals and deadlines, and quickly recognizes vision and objectives with high level of quality and productivity. To accomplish these, a leader should have special qualities like able to motivate others, specific and technical skill set, clear sense of purpose, mission, clear goals, focus and commitment. Over the years, women have proven themselves to be successful leaders as men. For instance, Oprah Winfrey, one of the most successful and famous African-American women in history to have made a huge impact and difference