Up until recently, there was an assumption that this was not a choice for women whether to have a family, it was an understanding that we would. For those of us who chose not to, we faced unfair judgment from family, friends, and other women because we violated gender-specific expectations. Even if our reasons were solely economic based on having enough income before having children, the expectations remained unmovable. Despite these unwritten rules, my defiance prevailed as I relied on logic and common sense to decide only to have children when I had the resources to support this investment in a human life. Motherhood was a serious, life-changing, and long-term decision. When women see friends and our own mothers struggling to make ends meet because of the loss of the primary earner through death, …show more content…
With these options and supports, women can plan families around education and career goals as well as finding a suitable mate.
How does this manifest itself in your organization?
To illustrate how these influences manifest within my organization, let’s look at the increasing number of single women able to support themselves, buy homes and cars, make their own decisions on how they want to live, as well as contribute to the local economy. Obviously, this newer culture highlights a woman’s independence and increased economic status.
Conversely, ingrained expectations that a male career takes precedence of woman’s is evident with the ever-present glass ceiling, glass cliff, and now the glass elevator. Predominately female occupations such as nursing, elementary education, and social work witness discriminatory practices labeled as the ‘glass escalator’ with men ascending to management positions at a greater rate (Goudreau, 2012; Eagly & Carli,
Meaning women have additional problematic issue then man. For example in education women face more obstacles as faculty rather when in manager and directors in corporate America. Even though there been great progress in the workplace, most jobs are segregated by sexes. There is wag gaps, the average women have to work roughly 4 months extra every year to make the same wage as man. For example, when the educational attainment increases the gender pay decreases for women no matter what levels of education than men. In other words, women earn 77cents for every dollar man earn and put in their pocket (Benokraitis, 2010, p.160-161). Discrimination where both woman and man share in the workplace is the glass ceiling and glass escalator. The glass ceiling being, “women efforts to scale organizational and professional hierarchies but cant because they are constrained by invisible barriers to promotion in their careers, caused mainly by sexist attitudes of men in the highest position” Similarly, men that choose to go into position like nurse and librarians encounter the glass escalator mostly vituperative criticism from the public when they are in the most female-identified specialties” “Therefore man are pressured to move out of the most female-identified areas, and up to those regarded as more legitimate and prestigious for men” (Williams, 1992, p.
The Glass Ceiling theory explains how a woman may never make it to the top of their profession when compared to a man who may also want to advance. The term “Glass Ceiling”
Nadler and Stockdale mention how women face the most challenges in receiving higher positions in the workforce (282+). Nadler and Stockdale claim that women are viewed as competent, but individuals who are both competent and likeable are most likely to be promoted (287+). Nadler and Stockdale declare, “Women endeavoring to succeed in a masculine work role, such as upper management, currently face obstacles based on their perceived gender role” (283+). Women who succeed in earning a managerial position will have to eventually pay the cost of receiving that position (Nadler and Stockdale 282+). Many women will postpone relationships or having children to succeed in the workforce (Nadler and Stockdale 282+). Nadler and Stockdale add that women
Gender stereotypes are one of the most common encountered on a daily basis. The infamous ‘Glass Ceiling’ still exists in many areas of the professional world, restricting valid promotions simply based on gender. This type of concept can be verified by looking at comparative weekly wages of other professionals in a variety of industries. Most people will generally see female dominated occupations, such as nurse, teacher and secretary as requiring feminine personality traits and physical attributes for success; whereas male dominated occupations such as doctor, lawyer, and business executive are seen to require male personality traits for success (Sanderson, 2010, p. 344).
The glass ceiling is something still very present in today’s society. Women in the workforce are constantly trying to break through barriers set by society to break away from stereotypes. Many women work twice as hard and still get paid significantly less than their male co-workers. They experience sex typing from a young age being pushed to study more “feminine” occupations, such as nursing. While on the other hand men are encouraged to seek positions of power and leadership. If a woman decides to choose an occupation that demands the use of intellectual thinking, they are given boundaries to which they are limited. Women are seen as the weaker sex and have been severely over diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or any other type of mental illness. We see this issue addressed in Virginia Woolf’s “Professions for Women” and Susanna Kaysen’s memoir “ Girl, Interrupted”. Women are taught to that they need to display certain behavior and uphold a perfect appearance in order to be taken seriously in society. Charlotte Perkins Stetson uses the art of writing to bring us along the emotional ride of a woman who’s true feelings were labeled unreliable in her story “ The Yellow Wall-Paper”. For decades women have struggled with being treated as subordinates and this continues today. We are able to see the unjust treatment of women reflected in their salaries, promotions, and general treatment in the workforce, specifically the medical field.
The family developmental and life cycle theory is the studying of families, which include stages that the family move through based on life experiences, that are usually predictable depending on the stage they are in (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, & Hanson, 2015). There are nine tasks that families must accomplish in order for the family to achieve well-being. In this discussion board post, I will be discussing task two, which is financing childbearing and child rearing.
Being a single mother can be very difficult in society. In “In Defense of Single Motherhood,” author Katie Roiphe talks about the issues single mothers face daily. The article covers issues from people thinking that single mothers are bad for society to having studies done on families with a father and mother and then comparing that to single mothers. The goal of the article is to lead people to be more open-minded on the topic of single mothers and show us how an idea of a perfect family that is pushed in picture books, classrooms, and from adults can be misunderstood from a very young age. Ultimately, Roiphe’s essay “In Defense of Single Motherhood” works as a persuasive essay because of its adept use of ethos, pathos, and logos.
This concept illustrates gender inequality because even in a field that is dominated by women, gender perceptions about men’s roles, abilities, and skills, privilege them and ease their advancement within the occupation. (Wingfield, p363-365)
The situation and view of women has greatly improved over the years in America. Women now have equal access to education, increased participation in politics and the labor market, access to birth control, resources against domestic violence, and other equal rights. Women now have the freedom to decide on the role and impact they want to have to society, which was decided for them in the past. Women can work to gain financial independence or decide to get married and have income to support her family. Families that are earning two salaries can afford the better education for their children and enjoy a higher standard of living. One drawback of a woman and father both working is how it may affect their children. In some situation when both parents become career driven, they will have less time to take on the parenting role. This could have a negative impact the children if proper child care services is not provided for them. To prevent this many married adults who both have desires to advance in their occupation, the decision to have kids will often be postponed until each parent finds a more stable position in
There has been a great advancement in women’s occupations. Although women have experienced some growth, there is still a gap in gender equality. The gap is prevalent in the United States and abroad. Women can have the same qualifications, competitive attitude, and aggression as men, but still lag behind men in the workplace (Why Can’t a Women Succeed like a Man, 2009). There is more work to be done to break the glass ceiling that blocks women from reaching the top.
Many may ask why would poor women put motherhood before marriage as though they think there is clear answer to this complex and multi-sided question. Kathryn Edin and Maria Kelalas’ study revealed in the novel Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood Before Marriage acknowledged reasons for why young, poor mothers decided to get pregnant so early and how a child affected their lives and relationships.
The term glass ceiling was coined more than twenty years ago by the Wall Street Journal to describe the barriers that women face at workplace. The word ‘ceiling’ suggest that women are blocked from advancing their career while the term ‘glass’ is used because the ceiling does not always visible. Women might work as hard as men do but they only earn about seventy-five per-cent of the men’s income though they might be of the same seniority, experience as well as education level. The earning differential is due to the traditional responsibility for family and childcare tasks assigned by the society towards women. This is because the society still assumes the high-paying professions as masculine and feminine women could not fit the requirements of holding the position and they better do a more nurturing job. This typical thinking causes men to be numerically dominant in almost all area like in key global and national decision-making position such as international organisations, governments, and as well as the board of CEOs and directors of private enterprises. As an example, rarely are women seen to sit in the parliament seat or hold the superior position in a government party. Take the case of our own Datuk Ng Yen Yen who did not succeed in her bid for the MCA’s vice presidency in October 2008. She challenged the tradition within the male-dominated party but then her failure indicates the hesitance of the
The "glass ceiling" has held women back from certain positions and opportunities in the workplace. Women are stereotyped as part-time, lower-grade workers with limited opportunities for training and advancement because of this "glass ceiling". How have women managed their careers when confronted by this glass ceiling? It has been difficult; American women have struggled for their role in society since 1848. Women’s roles have changed significantly throughout the past centuries because of their willingness and persistence. Women have contributed to the change pace of their role in the workplace by showing motivation and perseverance.
Gender plays a huge role in workplace 'success' and can be a big challenge especially if the employee is a woman in a male dominated workplace or career. No matter how 'hard-nosed,' 'ruthless,' 'workaholic' a woman may be, or how much personal success she achieves, there will always tend to be some type of obstacle to keep her from getting completely to the top of the corporate ladder. She must also still fight stereotypes that undermines her confidence or limits her potential. Since the early 20th century, women and minorities have sought equal opportunities in education and in the labor force with little success. These obstacles or barriers are all known as the glass ceiling.
Today's women are being scrutinized for deciding to enter the work force and have children. There seems to be a stigma that you cannot be a career minded woman and have a family. Women find themselves entering the work force before they have children and then choosing to stay after the children are born. Some women find that their families require two incomes or in some cases their income may be the only source. There are also many positive affects on families by working mothers. Sometimes the lack of a mother's presence can impact a child negatively, a mother that does not work may also have a severe negative impact on a family. In a two income household, many mothers are able to make better choices for their families when it comes to nutrition and education. Based on today's society, there are negative and positive impacts on the family of a working mother ( Glezer, 1988).