(no subject)
The topic of the articles I have selected is inequality for women. The first article “Marked: Women in the Workplace” by Deborah Tannen explains how each and everything a woman does is labeled and judged. From how women dress while attending a meeting, to whether she changes her last name when she is married, will affect how she is looked at by others. The second article “Hidden Lessons” by Myra Sadker ands David Sadker looks at how girls are treated in the classroom, and how they are placed second to the boys. Both of these articles examine the hardships women have to face, simply because they are women. These articles are modern day looks at life as a woman, why there are still gender inequalities in education and the workplace, and what caused women to be placed lower then men in.
The issue addressed in the first article by Deborah Tannen is that “each status comes with a role” (Tannen p.124). The status of being a woman comes with the role of being expected to dress in certain ways, and even more then that, to understand that the way you dress will affect the way people look at you. Women come with the role of not being thought capable of jobs like doctors and lawyers; they have to face the challenge of being mistaken for secretaries and personal assistants. Women are stereotyped as not smart enough to be a professional. Tannen also explores the issue of how words associated with women often are given a frivolousness meaning, and she uses the example of trusting your life in the hands of a “doctorette”.
The second article, “Hidden Lessons” is addressing the issue of females being placed second to males in the classroom. Women’s ideas are not taken as seriously, their questions are not answered as quickly and they are not given as much credit for their accomplishments. Even teachers who claimed they were not sexist seemed to care more about educating the boys in the class; they said that they felt as if though the boys needed them more then the girls.
All three authors have the understanding that women are still facing the challenge of being thought of as the “weaker sex”. The impact is that women are being mistreated and overlooked in everyday life. The results are often very subtle, such as a boy’s hand being called on in a classroom before a girls, or people being surprised to discover a woman is a doctor and not a doctor’s secretary; but the impact is a large one.
The conclusions of this research can be used to demonstrate the relationship between personal troubles and social issues, in the way that women’s oppression in the work place and educational institutes may cause personal feelings of inferiority, or mistreatment by males in their lives. Women who feel as if they are not equal to men will never have the opportunity to reach their full potential; it may even become a matter of self oppression. If women are not being called on in the classroom, being judged on what they are wearing, and simply treated inferior to men, it becomes another challenge of believing they are good enough and worthy enough to be treated fairly.
The third article that focuses on women and inequality is “First You Have to Ask” by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever. This article explains something sociologists call accumulation disadvantage, which is the accumulation of setbacks women receive because of their gender. This article discusses one of the biggest reasons women do not receive wages and benefits like those of male co-workers is because they have been socialized not to ask. “There are two primary factors: how girls are socialized while they’re growing up and how women are treated as adults” (Babcock and Laschever, 2004). According to this article girls and women are taught to put others needs first and to make relationships a priority, this is influenced by the toys girls are given to play with and the chores they are given. When women go into negotiate a salary, or look for a raise, they may or not be aware that they are trying to satisfy their employer or co-workers before themselves. They will quickly settle on a salary, and agree to conditions that they may not be comfortable with so they don’t upset anyone or seem pushy or too aggressive. “Trained to placate rather than antagonize, to give rather than to get, and to prize interpersonal peace over personal gain, women often experience more anxiety about negotiation then men do.” (Babcock and Laschever, 2004) So where are girls trained to behave like this? It goes back to Mrya Sadker and David Sadker’s article on the education a female receives. Straight from kindergarten on, women are placed second to men. They are taught, although maybe not intentionally, by their teachers that a males needs and learning comes before them. The example of male’s questions being answered and boy’s being called on to answer questions more frequently then a girl’s, may be one of the first way that a women learns that she should not even bother asking. Why would she, when it is clear that the teachers focus is on the males in the class? It would be disruptive and out of place for her to speak up and females have been taught that both of these things are wrong. A woman may not feel any differently when it comes to asking for a raise at her job.
The issue addressed in the first article by Deborah Tannen is that “each status comes with a role” (Tannen p.124). The status of being a woman comes with the role of being expected to dress in certain ways, and even more then that, to understand that the way you dress will affect the way people look at you. Women come with the role of not being thought capable of jobs like doctors and lawyers; they have to face the challenge of being mistaken for secretaries and personal assistants. Women are stereotyped as not smart enough to be a professional. Tannen also explores the issue of how words associated with women often are given a frivolousness meaning, and she uses the example of trusting your life in the hands of a “doctorette”.
The second article, “Hidden Lessons” is addressing the issue of females being placed second to males in the classroom. Women’s ideas are not taken as seriously, their questions are not answered as quickly and they are not given as much credit for their accomplishments. Even teachers who claimed they were not sexist seemed to care more about educating the boys in the class; they said that they felt as if though the boys needed them more then the girls.
All three authors have the understanding that women are still facing the challenge of being thought of as the “weaker sex”. The impact is that women are being mistreated and overlooked in everyday life. The results are often very subtle, such as a boy’s hand being called on in a classroom before a girls, or people being surprised to discover a woman is a doctor and not a doctor’s secretary; but the impact is a large one.
The conclusions of this research can be used to demonstrate the relationship between personal troubles and social issues, in the way that women’s oppression in the work place and educational institutes may cause personal feelings of inferiority, or mistreatment by males in their lives. Women who feel as if they are not equal to men will never have the opportunity to reach their full potential; it may even become a matter of self oppression. If women are not being called on in the classroom, being judged on what they are wearing, and simply treated inferior to men, it becomes another challenge of believing they are good enough and worthy enough to be treated fairly.
The third article that focuses on women and inequality is “First You Have to Ask” by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever. This article explains something sociologists call accumulation disadvantage, which is the accumulation of setbacks women receive because of their gender. This article discusses one of the biggest reasons women do not receive wages and benefits like those of male co-workers is because they have been socialized not to ask. “There are two primary factors: how girls are socialized while they’re growing up and how women are treated as adults” (Babcock and Laschever, 2004). According to this article girls and women are taught to put others needs first and to make relationships a priority, this is influenced by the toys girls are given to play with and the chores they are given. When women go into negotiate a salary, or look for a raise, they may or not be aware that they are trying to satisfy their employer or co-workers before themselves. They will quickly settle on a salary, and agree to conditions that they may not be comfortable with so they don’t upset anyone or seem pushy or too aggressive. “Trained to placate rather than antagonize, to give rather than to get, and to prize interpersonal peace over personal gain, women often experience more anxiety about negotiation then men do.” (Babcock and Laschever, 2004) So where are girls trained to behave like this? It goes back to Mrya Sadker and David Sadker’s article on the education a female receives. Straight from kindergarten on, women are placed second to men. They are taught, although maybe not intentionally, by their teachers that a males needs and learning comes before them. The example of male’s questions being answered and boy’s being called on to answer questions more frequently then a girl’s, may be one of the first way that a women learns that she should not even bother asking. Why would she, when it is clear that the teachers focus is on the males in the class? It would be disruptive and out of place for her to speak up and females have been taught that both of these things are wrong. A woman may not feel any differently when it comes to asking for a raise at her job.