Nothing boils my blood quicker than witnessing injustice.
Gender discrimination is personally at the top of my list because I disapprove
of the notion I cannot do something because I am a woman. Moreover, gender
stereotypes are still a threat to society’s way of thinking. A few days ago I
was in Georgia at a restaurant, and a female worker was cleaning the table and
working very hard. An older gentleman said to her that she will make a good
wife someday.
As innocent as that seems it is not every woman’s goal to be
seen in such a manner or to hear that comment. It certainly is not mine. It is
thoughts like this that hold women back from being seen as equal. Personally I
would rather be told that I am perceived as smart, strategic, competent,
independent, capable, or witty. Do not dare to insult me with the notion that I
am less of a person because of my biology. I will gladly do the “anything you
can do, I can do better” routine nonstop, but frankly I shouldn’t have to go
above and beyond to prove myself just because of my gender.
Rosabeth Moss Kanter was interviewed by Harvard Business
Review on the topic of women’s issues. She notes that it has taken a long time
for women to get to peak positions, and this is still a problem. “In the
complete absence of sex-based discrimination, the number of women in chief
executive positions in business and government should be close to 50 percent”
(Yukl, 2013, p. 371). This is not the case, though women are making progress to
enter into all types of jobs there is still a lack of median compensation.
While Yukl focuses on research-based inquiries on the subject, Kanter ventures
a step further to apply research to her experience to provide an explanation
for gender differences.
Kanter explains that she feels the overlap between men and
women are far greater than any differences (2010). She also makes mention that
it is also very difficult to exactly compare men and women. Several areas she
points out are that advanced assumptions are made about women when deciding to
select them for top positions, and these jobs can be greedy and demanding by nature
especially on time constraints.
Family is a big buzzword that is thrown around quite a
bit. Behind the scenes discussions on
whether it is appropriate for a family company to take a woman away from her
children for great lengths of time that could occur. The bottom line is that
women are not necessarily being asked to decide for themselves. Another
"family" area that has been brought up is that women can often feel
torn between work roles because of their family. Until men are as family and
leisure-oriented as women there will be a lack of change between women and
men’s roles within an organization (Kanter, 2010). Is this another gender
stereotypes to support the argument of women, work, and family?
Choices and tradeoffs are additional factors that can
contribute to the derailment of women’s equal pay to men if they take time off
to have a family, take on consulting, or even part-time work. Family is a large
part of many people’s lives, and this is a tricky subject to navigate for all
of the reasons above. We each have options for what is important to us, but why
is it one or the other? Currently, it does come down to making a choice, but
should it have to in today’s society?
Gender is one part of the complex issue of managing
diversity. Kanter discusses social similarity as another reason advancement is
a complex issue. People tend to trust and prefer those them with whom they are
similar (Kanter, 2010). Gender has been a significant part of the equation.
However, this is now extending to other areas such as the same educational
institution or any other number of things. Is this a step in the right
direction or just another way to divide and separate ourselves? “To make full use of the talent represented
by the diverse members of an organization, it is essential to eliminate
constraints that prevent qualified people from selection for important
positions” (Yukl, 2013, p. 377). Skills should be the focus rather than biased
conceptions (Yukl, 2013).
Let’s see each other for our talents, abilities, actions,
and decisions not how we look but what is inside of us. Further, let’s not be
afraid of those who are different than use but seek to become unified in a way
that allows differences to complement each other and make us stronger as a
whole. Once and for all can’t we let go that gender makes us different?
References:
Kanter, R. (2010, April 2). Women, Ambition and (Still) the
Pay Gap. Retrieved August 24, 2015, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhquUOlBuOY&feature=youtu.be&t=5s
Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership
in organizations (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson
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