Be A Woman Programmer

- “In World War II, the second wave of feminism focused on the workplace, sexuality, family and reproductive rights. During a time when the United States was already trying to restructure itself, it was perceived that women had met their equality goals with the exception of the failure of the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (which has still yet to be passed).”

Men can do things that need a lot of handy dangerous work such as building houses, establishing electricity, and lifting furniture. A small part of women can do the things that men can, but not everyone. In an article “Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women”, the writer named Herminia Ibarra said that “Our interviews and surveys alike suggest that high-potential women are over mentored and under sponsored on their male peers—and that they are not advancing in their organizations. Furthermore, without sponsorship, women not only are less likely than men to be appointed to top roles but may also be more reluctant to go for them.” If we’re so different from each other, why is it that women must be good at everything when men don’t. I believe that’s why intelligence is dependent on people’s

     In many ways today's society, even though women have come a long way, we still live in a patriarchal world. There are many examples of this in everyday life, whether it be that there aren't very many women CEO's or the mere fact that we've yet to have a woman president. No matter where you live, there is the presence of a male dominated world. It especially extends into the working fields. There are professions that are categorically 'women's' jobs like nursing, school teacher, or secretarial jobs. The rest of the professional world is mainly male dominated, i.e. engineering, CEO's of major companies, and Law Firms. Which brings us to the movie I picked to watch, Legally Blonde.

According to Metz (2011), women are being deprived of opportunities and being squeezed out of organisations due to preconceptions about their dedication to a long term role, based on outdated gender stereotypes. In general, women experience higher rates of harassment at work, compared to men(McLaughlin, Uggen and Blackstone 2012).

In today's world women are perceived in the workforce as either less qualified or arrogant uptight. "Approximately 40 percent of students in elite business schools are female, and it is particularly difficult for them to move up the career ladder. A study by the nonprofit organization Catalyst in 60 U.S. top companies indicates that among 500 directors there is not a single woman" (Sinitsa). From an article "Man's world refuses to take women seriously, even in 21st century" we are shown that more than Half of the female talent is are wasted. To allow the female population to grow will be beneficial that will slow the society to grow an advance. Women can be a perfect candidate in the workforce just as well as any

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)

Ullman puts her argument within the context of computer science, particularly in the field of computer programming. She notes that, in the deep and technical aspects of computer programming, women are “nearly alone, outsiders in a culture that [is] sometimes boyishly puerile, sometimes rigorously hierarchical, occasionally friendly and welcoming” (Ullman 728). In other words, Ullman observes that there is a stark disparity between men and women as far as actual employment in computer programming is concerned. For Ullman, the disparity extends to other

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).

Gender bias has continued to be constructed in communication through marked forms. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg discusses, “When people talk about a female pilot, a female engineer, or a female race car driver, the word “female” implies a bit of surprise”(Sandberg, 140). If everyone continues not to discuss gender bias then the world will continue to use marked forms, which Sandberg sees as a tool for people to be-little others (Sandberg, 140). She concludes this thought by saying “We can no longer pretend that biases do not exist, nor can we talk around them. The result of creating a more equal environment will not just be better performance for our organizations, but quite likely greater happiness for all”(Sandberg, 158).

The second wave of the feminist movement began in the late 1960’s and continues to the present day.

One of the last major social movements of the 1960’s was the Second Wave of Feminism. This wave would bring about profound and lasting economic and legal changes to the status of women. President Kennedy established the first Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. The commission issued a statement citing employment discrimination including unequal pay, legal inequality, and insufficient support services for working women. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended to include barring sex discrimination but for the most part the EEOC ignored

This stereotype has definitely faded in the modern business world, but the modern woman still unjustly needs to "prove" herself to be an equal to her male counterparts. Gender differences can be rather large in today's workforce. From different pay scales to fewer opportunities for advancement, women can often find themselves getting the "short end of the stick". Women also have the unfortunate chore of dealing with sexual harassment. According to the U.S. EEOC, of the 12,679 sexual harassment charges filed in the U.S. during the fiscal year of 2005, 85.7% were filed by women. (http://www.eeoc.gov/types/sexual_harassment.html) Everyday countless instances of sexual harassment go without charges being filed.

In the fight for equality, it is obvious to defend against forms of sexism that are used for antagonization. However, chivalrous attitudes that cast women as weak and in need of men are often ignored. Social psychologists have studied the effects of benevolent sexism using experiments testing one’s performance shortly after being labeled as incompetent. Benevolent sexism is not a series of compliments, but rather a threat to one’s ability to think, learn, and perceive information. The workplace is an environment of which benevolent sexism occurs most often and one of which most are familiar with. Benevolent sexism in business does not allow men and women to achieve the same goals within the work place. Forcing an individual into a social role can limit them to only specific simple tasks that do not allow for maximum personal growth.

Stereotype threats are negative consequences about one’s race, sex, nationality, or social group. Stereotype threats are used a lot more frequently than people realize. Gender is a powerful stereotype that affects many people’s decisions and actions. The stereotype of women in the workplace has come a long way even in the last twenty years. Many businesses tend to want to diversify their demographics by making the ratio of men to women almost equal. “Demographic projections anticipate that by the year 2000 women will exceed 50 per cent of the total workforce…” (Johnston and Packer, 1987). Women were able to make their way in to the workplace when men were off at war during the 1950s. During this time, women proved their ability to do the same kind of jobs men did. Many women worked as machinist, factory workers, and clergies.

Another stereotypical belief is that women aren’t as intelligent as men. If this were true, then the female generations of our past would not have come as far as they have today in the workplace. There are women involved in politics, the medical field, and education. If men were truly more intelligent, then women would not be capable of being successful in those fields. Linda Tapp, president of Crown Safety in Cherry Hill, and a very successful female, states that “gender discrimination is still live and well. No matter how much we like to think things have changed, there are more than a few people out there who think a woman can still not do the same jobs a man can do”(Eglash). In my own experience, I have learned that female teachers and doctors do an equally good job as males in those fields. A woman is fully capable of doing a job that requires high intellect, just as a man is. I believe that it is ridiculous and unjustified for a man to treat a woman at work poorly because he believes that men are more