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Gender bias in the workplace
Gender bias in the workplace
The influence of gender stereotypes in society
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Recommended: Gender bias in the workplace
The Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History stated, “Sexism is the cultural assumption that men are superior to women and deserve preference and power over them.” (Bird, 1998) However, as I did research I found that sexism is not always men being superior to women, but also women being superior to men. Of course, this is normally a feeling brought about by actions, words, and perhaps even nothing at all. I believe that sexism is most common with women being the most irate about their inferiority to men. There are cases where men feel inferior to women, but I think that in these cases men might not be as quick to speak out about their problem as women are. Some people may believe that sexism is a completely natural reaction to problems in early childhood, sexual abuse, or other sickening occurrences. But, if we wish, we could probably come up with some excuse for every unnecessary feeling that we have. Although there may be correspondence between these things and sexism, this is not necessarily the cause. We are responsible for how we react to things that happen in our lives. Sexism is something we allow to control our feelings. “The National Organization for Women was formed in 1966 by activists who wanted “an NAACP for women” that would fight against sexism and sexual discrimination in U.S. society.” (National Organization for Women, 2001) Sexism is unbiblical, unnecessary and unethical.
Sexism runs rampant like an infectious disease in our society today. It comes like a roaring lion waiting to eat at its prey until he or she is irate with the seeming unfairness of it. Even I as a young lady have at times been maybe a little taken up with the arguments and irate attitudes of it. One of the biggest areas of society it has...
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.... Sexism is such an easy thing in which you could get caught up. But don’t let any movement or any person take away, or add to, what the Bible has already said about the man/woman relationship. And, on the same hand, never allow yourself to feel “inferior” or “not good enough.” We each have specific roles to play in God’s kingdom. Use each role to His glory. Men, be a leader in your home! Women, submit to your husbands and love him as you love yourself! Sexism has no place in your marriage, church, or anything else.
Works Cited
Bird, Caroline. (1998). In The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/rcuswh/sexism
National Organization for Women (NOW). (2001). In World of Sociology, Gale. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/worldsocs/national_organization_for_women_now
Blatantly sexist laws and practices are slowly being eliminated while social perceptions of "women's roles" continue to stagnate and even degrade back to traditional ideals. It is these social perceptions that challenge the evolution of women as equal on all levels. In this study, I will argue that subtle and blatant sexism continues to exist throughout educational, economic, professional and legal arenas.
Sexism can have many negative impacts on the way women view themselves, research was conducted and it showed that when exposed to modern sexism, women expressed negative self-directed emotions. Modern sexism exposure also resulted in stereotypical self-presentation, where in contrast, women who were exposed to old-fashioned sexism displayed less self-defeating behavior. This research concluded that women were more likely to stand up and defend themselves against the old-fashioned gender stereotypes, but let the modern day expectations defeat them (Ellemers & Barreto, 2009).
Throughout history, it is clear that men are usually seen to be advantaged by the logic of domination while females tend to be disadvantaged. Whether it be in the workplace, household, or even the bible men have always been inferior to women. Through history, cultural norms and stereotypes gender roles were created and have been present throughout society. Although it is believed that males are more advantaged than females the texts Eve and Adam: Genesis 2-3 Reread by Phyllis Trible and The Creation and Fall of Man and Woman explain how men and woman are in fact equal and maybe even disadvantaged by these cultural arrangements. Therefore, throughout history it is clear that gender discourses would allow one to believe that men are advantaged
In today’s technological society it is hard to imagine that trivial things from the past like discrimination or prejudice are still present, but they are. Yes we still have racism, but for the most part this is only a problem of the less educated and vocal minority. There is a different prejudice that is deep rooted in this land of freedom and prosperity. This prejudice is sexism.
At a young age people learned sexist ways and how to say things, but they were never told that it was sexist. But as you grow older that’s all you hear is, it’s not mail man is mail deliver or lunch lady it is actually the food server. There are also people that have been taught to not be sexist, those people tend not to be corrected that often. And one of the things that get people the most, is when people think of rolls in society that are given to those men and women. You can also see all forms of sexism being used at school, in sports, or at a job, and also toward both men and women of both past and present and how it is also a big deal in other countries.
Most societies have been patriarchal historically, and the feminist movement has only occurred relatively recently. There cannot be ideological equality while there is still a stigma to being born differently, or of the “inferior sex.” People make assumptions on others based entirely on their sex, such as females are supposed to be nurturing and weak while males are supposed to be dominant and strong. The vernacular language use implies a sexist attitude that is prevalent in society. There are several solutions to reduce the apparent sexist lexicon.
Even in the first civilizations sexsim was very prevalent, women were not included in democracy, they were not allowed to vote, and in some earlier civilizations women were not even allowed to have a job or go outside the home. Even as a 16 year old girl in America, the supposed land of dreams, I see sexism everyday. I see it when I watch the news, I see it when I’m walking down the halls at my school, I even see it when I read novels and articles or watch a movie online. Over 60% of serious journalism roles are given to males, while the women are left with the less important, or less popular sections. In school I see boys calling girls stupid, or girls getting a pass to go to their locker because they forgot something, even though a boy was just denied. I notice sexism the most in literature and movies, I see female characters being “airheads” or acting dumb and helpless, their main role in the piece is to wait for the male character to save them, or to be a comic relief. Not only are women’s jobs and dignity at stake but our sexuality, education and rights are too.
Our world has progressed an enormous amount in the past few centuries. And even today, in our modern era, we are bigger and smarter, but our thinking has not changed. Women have been restricted from many opportunitIes in the past. We as women are still being criticised and objectified, which is disgraceful and sickening because we are constantly told “close your legs when you sit” or “don’t do that it’s not lady-like”. This is portrayed in advertising that basically makes a mockery of our freedom. And we ask ourselves, where did the idea of sexism and gender inequality emerge from? Religion. It is the root of sexism and gender inequality which has been practiced for over two thousand years. It is presented through the use of advertising,
Author and feminist Alix Kates Shulman said once: “Sexism goes so deep that at first it’s hard to see, you think it’s just reality” (McEneany). That quote sums up perfectly the way our society runs. There is no class teaching children how to act according the their gender. Yet little boys and little girls learn at a very young age what is expected of them. They get ideas about their gender roles from their parents, their school teachers and subconsciously from the toys they play with and the television shows they watch.
Sexism is defined as prejudice or discrimination based on sex . When approached with the topic of sexism and which sex it affects the most, women are generally the first thought that comes to mind. This is because women have faced a certain degree of discrimination all throughout history. Sexism is an issue that covers a wide range of circumstances. For example, it can be something inconsequential, like the outdated idea that women cannot be strong, but it can also be something substantial, like the glass ceiling in the job market. Although modern women are afforded a lot more opportunities and privileges than women in the past, there still exists a certain stigma surrounding women and their capabilities. Sexism in respect to women is a largely
Sexism is a major factor in the workforce.Today male and female have a hard time breaking into the opposite gender dominated fields. This has happened because of the media, it has showed us that male have certain “right” jobs, as well as female. Female still dominate traditional female professions like cosmetology jobs are 92.9 percent women working them(Wolfe). If a man were to get into cosmetology they would most likely be judged for having that job, because we stereotype that they can't have a feminine job. Women have a harder time getting into high level positions. “Women make up only 21 of the S&P’s 500 CEOs,” (Berman). This has happened because the media has set in place stereotypes that it is wrong for women to have high level positions. It is getting better, in 2013 women chief financial officers increased 35 percent at large U.S. companies from 2012 (Frier and Hymowitz). The job market for men and women is still unfair but it is starting to get equal.
1. My result for hostile sexism was between zero and one, while my score for benevolent sexism was between one and two. My scores were closest to the average female and male in England and Australia for benevolent sexism. However, my hostile sexism was very low compared to all the countries that were listed. My scores surprised me, because I did not expect my benevolent sexism score to be closest to England or Australia. More simply, I did not expect other females and males to have similar scores, so the graphs were shocking. My results were furthest from Cuba, Nigeria, and Syria. My scores for hostile and benevolent sexism were very low compared to average women and men in Nigeria, Syria, and Cuba. I was not surprised by these results, because these countries are known to practice traditional gender roles. In other words, I was not surprised that
Women – beautiful, strong matriarchal forces that drive and define a portion of the society in which we live – are poised and confident individuals who embody the essence of determination, ambition, beauty, and character. Incomprehensible and extraordinary, women are persons who possess an immense amount of depth, culture, and sophistication. Society’s incapability of understanding the frame of mind and diversity that exists within the female population has created a need to condemn the method in which women think and feel, therefore causing the rise of “male-over-female” domination – sexism. Sexism is society’s most common form of discrimination; the need to have gender based separation reveals our culture’s reluctance to embrace new ideas, people, and concepts. This is common in various aspects of human life – jobs, households, sports, and the most widespread – the media. In the media, sexism is revealed through the various submissive, sometimes foolish, and powerless roles played by female models; because of these roles women have become overlooked, ignored, disregarded – easy to look at, but so hard to see.
Throughout history, sexism and gender roles in society has been a greatly debated topic. The Women’s Rights Movements, N.O.M.A.S. (The National Organization of Men Against Sexism), M.A.S.E.S. (Movement Against Sexual Exploitation and Sexism), and many other movements and groups have all worked against the appointment of gender roles and sexist beliefs. Many authors choose to make a controversial topic a central theme in their work of literature, and the theme of gender roles is no exception. “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou, “Diving into the Wreck” by Adrienne Rich, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman all address the gender roles that have been placed by society.
Since the beginning of time, women have always been seen as things purely for the pleasure and benefit of men. Women have always been objectified. Objectification is seeing and treating a person as if they did not have thoughts and feelings, as if they had the status of an object.{1} Only in recent years have they begun to be seen as individuals of equal intelligence and ability. You may think, ”Women have had equal rights for a while. I do not see how this is a problem.” It may not seem like women were given their rights recently, but in our history, women have been treated objectively for thousands of years, even dating back to biblical times. Still, even when women have the same rights, opportunities, and responsibility as men, women can be found almost everywhere being treated as though they were incompetent and lesser human beings.{4}