Potential Research Study: Work Life Balance
There is a problem with health related issues in Black women involved in leadership roles. Despite the decline of Black women in professional roles, most encounter the task of attempting to balance work-life and home with a husband and kids. According to a poll conducted by the Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation, forty percent of black women say they experience frequent stress, compared with 51 percent of white women; stress associated with ensuring a suitable lifestyle and working against the stereotypes created by society (Thompson, 2012). Warner (2014) compiled an online fact sheet that notes women of color make up 36.3 percent of the nation’s female population and approximately
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The study will examine various ages of both married and single women in different leadership roles. Potential research questions to share with participants list as follows:
1. Is there a balance between your personal lifestyle and work?
2. Do you experience stressors in your personal lifestyle and work?
3. Do you have any stress related illnesses based off your personal lifestyle or work?
4. Do you have any coping mechanisms used to alleviate stressful situations?
5. What are your views on professional Black women and continued education?
6. What is your perspective of the “American Dream”?
7. Does the role of being a leader affect the level of stress one endures?
Integration of theories is a foundation to support the predicted claims. The literature review synthesizes each theory based off the work of several scholars. The selection of Boundary theory supports the idea of “balance.” According to previously investigative studies, there must be limits set to maintain order (Currie & Eveline, 2011). Failure to set boundaries with busy lifestyles causes an interference with demanding roles that can lead to stressors (Sirajunisa & Panchanatham, 2010). Life-space theory is another area of study that focuses on working adults and their level of experience in a career over the course of a lifetime (Whiston et al., 2015). At a certain stage in life, most individuals tend to seek stability, job growth, and other qualities, which
Hall, J.C., Everett, J.E., Hamilton-Mason, J. (2012). Black women talk about workplace stress and how they cope. Journal of black studies 43 (2), 207-26.This article talks about the stressful situation facing African American in the workplace and the strategies they used to manage it. The authors related that the same stress struggling black women in the workplace was among the white female also even though they were experiencing inequality issues on top of the reality. The study was focused on five key terms to explain, the process of racism and sexism in the workplace stressing female African American. The authors elaborated the criteria of hiring or promoting in a diverse workplace as the first key. Secondly, the crucial
This paper will identify and examine the different factors that cause there to be a discrepancy in black and white women’s levels of health. It will then
Introduction Stress affects millions of people. One of the most common forms of stress is that related to our careers and the workplace. In today 's economic difficulty, work related stress is even more pronounced than ever before. Everyone who has ever held a job has, felt the pressure of work-related stress. Any job can have stressful elements, even if you love what you do. According to the American Psychological Association 's (APA) annual Stress in America Survey. Only 37 percent of Americans surveyed said they were doing
This proposal will explore two significant issues Black women face in the work place. The first issue involves African American women being less likely to be considered for promotions, in comparison to Caucasian women. The second issue involves African American women receiving less pay than Caucasian women. The theoretical perspective that best understand why these issues exist is the social conflict theory. This theory explains that groups, such as social classes, gender, or race, compete for limited resources, as
The theory I connect with the most is Donald Super’s “life-span, life-space” theory. Donald Super devised a developmental stage theory involving one 's personal growth, acquisition of skills, and general development towards working. Super created a useful framework for conceptualizing the constantly evolving nature of career development. The theory presents the career process as one in which a person is confronted with various stages that he or she must undergo and complete before moving on to the next stage.
ill experience the public spheres and the workplace discrimination at the same level, because they have both conditions. Another example is the fact that African American women are often forgotten in history textbooks (Strickland & Weems, 2000, p. 72). In addition, even in todays’ news we talk more about the killing of African American men but not the ones of African American women (Ted Woman). From this perspective, other myths will derive such as the Strong Black Women myth (Black & Peacock, 2011). This myth is about a “gender-critical approach” in which African-American women are seen as stronger and responsible for their “health experiences” (Black & Peacock, 2011, 144). A research named Scott with his study sees the myth as forcing African American women to feel like they are self-reliant which will lead them to believe that they need to take care of their family, community, etc. Scott will refer to this idea as the management “warrior mode” (1991).
Mental health is a serious stigma that is not spoken about within the Black community. There is this notion of being weak for seeking help as if the mental function of the brain is of no importance, however it is, for how is the body to function if the mind is sick or exhausted? The phrase “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired” perfectly stated by Fannie Lou Hamer on August 22, 1964 is prevalent today, however it would more appropriately reflect the struggle of mental health issue with Black women. Although this quote was in reference of Hamer’s inability to register to vote and other obstruction of justices she encountered which later resulted to her arrest, this quote and idea of tiredness is still very relevant to the modern Black women today. Black women are expected from adolescence to remain resilient in all adversities, regardless of mental exhaustion, for there is an unspoken expectation of maintaining this figment of a Strong Black Woman (SBW) as a way to cope with this physiological distress (N. Watson 604).
The main problem is the challenges to recruitment and retention of women in general, and the particular subset of African American women in particular. Quantitative analysis will be used to ascertain and organize data to offer empirical evidence that supports the claims of low representation of African American women in Philadelphia leadership roles; however, this qualitative study will delve into the causality of this phenomenon, and this qualitative study may offer new insights into the involvement, and articulation of business strategies surrounding recruitment and retention of, African American women in levels of leadership within the Commonwealth. And while this topic may cause discomfort to both the researcher and the interviewees, “discomfort is an important, even desirable component of qualitative research. Being uncomfortable makes us more aware and alert, stretches our thinking, and enriches our insight about the very struggles and experiences of the marginalized or
Black women deal with challenges every day, whether it’s because of their race, gender, class, education, religious or sexual ties. When it comes to Black women we tend to view their issues as either race or gender related to the exclusion of other aspects of their identity and their intersectionality (Bryant-Davis 114). The show Insecure, an HBO comedy series created by Issa Rae, focuses on the sisterly bond between two young professional black women living in Los Angeles. The show demonstrates the challenges that black women face on a regular basis, whether it’s finding love, navigating a white dominated workplace, battling stereotypes or finding their identity. Although Insecure deals with many important sociological issues, the focus of this paper is the representation of Black women in the workplace, specifically in a white environment and the microaggressions they encounter in their attempt to succeed in their careers.
Black women deal with challenges every day whether it’s because of their race, gender, class, education, religious or sexual ties. When it comes to Black women we tend to view their issues as either race or gender related to the exclusion of other aspects of their identity and their intersectionality (Bryant-Davis 114). The show Insecure, an HBO comedy series created by Issa Rae, focuses on the sisterly bond between two young professional black women living in Los Angeles. The show demonstrates the challenges that black women face on a regular basis, whether it’s finding love, navigating a white dominated workplace, battling stereotypes or finding their identity. Although Insecure deals with many important sociological issues, my focus in this paper is the representation of Black women in the workplace, specifically in a white dominated environment and the microaggressions they encounter in their attempt to succeed in their careers.
In all aspects of health care African-Americans face the lowest quality. Ultimately, this social problem results in increases of mistreatment and additional health diseases prevalent in African-Americans, such as cardiovascular responses, poor mental health, and hypertension (Pines 2009). Data shows that African-Americans are reported to have more significant cases of health disparities compared to Non-Hispanic whites in cases such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes (30%, 40%, 40%, respectively) (FamiliesUSA,
Within the upper echelons of upper management is scant room for African American women. This mini-proposal outlines a research project that focuses on the phenomena of the nominal amount of African American women are in positions of management or organizational leadership within the City of Philadelphia.
After 40, many people begin to look at life differently which they often begin to feel that life really is too short to be stuck in a dead-end or unsatisfying job. In this middle age situation, it is a time in which adults take on new responsibilities at the workplace and therefore, people of this age often feel a need to reappraise previous life structures with an
In 1980, Donald Super introduced a theory that described career development in terms of life stages and life roles. Super was one of the first theorists to discuss the constantly evolving nature of career development, and the importance of finding a balance between career and personal life. Super’s developmental model emphasized how personal experiences interact with occupational preferences in creating one’s self-concept. Super discussed how each of us progress through various life and career development stages, including growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance, and disengagement. He also discussed that each of us take on different roles as we go through life, such as a child, student, leisurite, citizen, worker, parent, and spouse. Each of these roles has an impact on our personal and professional development, and on our work/life balance. Finally, his “archway” of career determinants detailed how both personality characteristics (intelligence, needs, values) and societal characteristics (labor market, school, family) influence our career choices and have a major impact on our career development.
Life-Span Theories. Trait and factor theories tend to deal with career issues at one point in time, whereas life-span theories take a long-term, developmental perspective (ibid.). The most widely known life-span theory is Super’s Theory of Vocational Choice, which suggests that individuals pass through stages of vocational development involving developmental tasks at each stage; it also considers the performance of multiple roles and their interaction across the life-span (Stitt-Gohdes 1997). However, some studies have shown that the life stages Super outlined are not exactly applicable to women, especially as their roles have changed in the last few decades (Sharf 1997). Super considered self-concept and vocational maturity to be important