Sexism: That's Good For A Girl

The article titled "Girls Against Boys," published in the 30 January issue of The Nation magazine by author Katha Pollitt, brings to light pressing issues of gender discrimination and how this nation's education system has changed over the past forty years but still isn't up to par with where it needs to be with issues of gender equality. Pollitt exposes the views of conservatives toward feminism in the school systems of today. This article describes how changes in society are taking place, and what the future may hold for men and women in the world of employment and education.

What you are about to hear are a few letters to people in this world involving the issue of sexism. I am a young women. No one should grow up in this world thinking they can’t do something due to something as stupid as one’s gender. According to a Boston Globe article by Maria Danilova dated January 27, 2017 which states, “Can women be brilliant? Young girls are not so sure. A study published Thursday in the journal Science suggests that girls as young as 6 can be led to believe men are inherently smarter and more talented than women, making girls less motivated to pursue novel activities or ambitious careers. That such stereotypes exist is hardly a surprise, but the findings show these biases can

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

Over the last several decades, great strides have been made when it comes to eliminating sexism and progressing towards gender equality. However, sexism is still ingrained in our everyday culture. This is evident in the fact that in 2017 women earn about 80 cents to a man’s dollar and are less likely to be promoted within the workplace. It’s an unfortunate fact the most women will experience some form of sexism throughout their lives. In this paper, I will address my personal experiences with both hostile and benevolent sexism, how the two forms of sexism differ, and how these experiences have affected me.

The “Moms, and Dads, Need to Say Something”, by Kate Lombardi focuses on how parents need to educate their children about sexism early on. In her article Lombardi states that

Young women are becoming increasingly aware of how they are being perceived by others and today it is ultra common for young women to hear about the negative sides of their gender. As young women grow older and start to consider possible career choices they also start to hear certain opinions on their choices and some even experience actual discrimination. “High-school girls who pursue an advanced interest in science and math (unless they are students at special institutions like the Bronx Highs School of Science where everyone is a brain) usually find that they are greatly outnumbered by boys in their classes. They are, therefore, intruding on male turf at a time when their sexual confidence, as well as that of the boys, is most fragile” (). In situations like these some young women may develop a fear of their male counterparts due to the ratio involved and others may also consider the stereotype that women are bad and math and that threat ultimately becomes a self fulfilling

In almost every professional field, in business and in the arts and sciences, women are still treated as second-class citizens. It would be a great service to tell girls who plan to work in society to expect this subtle, uncomfortable discrimination--tell them not to be quiet, and hope it will go away, but fight it. A girl should not expect special privileges because of her sex, but neither should she "adjust" to prejudice and discrimination.(Freidan)

They believe they will let their emotions get the best of them in the decisions they make when it comes to leading a huge money making business. They feel women are less risk takers and in the business world it’s all about taking risks. Even though this can bring about new ideas and much more stability for workers as a whole. The individuals sitting upon the board of shareholders look towards making the fast money, so they believe women won’t lead them to that goal. The main objective for corporations is to make financial gains and increase net worth. She stated, “Weak, emotional, hysterical, gullible, dependent, and poor at math are a few of the common negative stereotypes about women so corporate CEO’s are reluctant to place a female in a seat of great power within a company. Gender stereotypes are hard to break, and like it or not, we are all prone to engaging in stereotyping at one time or another. As a society, we need to continue to encourage people to go beyond stereotypes and recognize the contributions that each individual, male or female, can make to the workplace (Galarza,

This myth has been perpetuated throughout history and in result; we have barriers such as the glass ceiling in existence. If we were to pull up a list of the Board of Directors for any given company, the probability of it being a predominately male group is high. This notion alone shows how companies have continued to dwell in olds days where men are considered more capable than women. The Glass ceiling effect has continued to place barriers against women endeavor in achieving success in their careers and participation in their work place. Women have not been able to realize their potential in their work places since they are not offered equal chances as compared to their men counterparts who enjoy great opportunities in organizations. The fact that an organization is ran by men, may cause an adverse effect on the performance of men. Obviously, a man thinks differently than a woman. It is likely that a decision made by men only is likely to ignore the interests of women in the organization. This creates a domino effect because it affects the woman’s performance in business since they only get limited chances to learn, and limited job assignments that will enhance their skills. Hence, low or limited skills and experience will lower their overall

Throughout a woman’s life, she is told time after time that she cannot do certain things because of her gender. People tell women that they cannot be the CEO of the world’s largest company or the President of the United States because it is a “man’s job.” Clementine von Radics’ poem, “For Teenage Girls,” emphasizes the sexism imposed on girls from a young age and how women of history have proven the prejudice against women wrong.

“I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that?” (Sojourner Truth) Truer words were never spoken in 1851 and in 2016 as well. Gender should not affect the way others view women, but in a city like Chicago, where 87% of women between the ages of 16-64 have personally experienced sexual harassment by a male stranger, sexism is still clearly an issue today. Our research and classic readings in our HWOC class suggest that women are often perceived as being lesser and are treated differently than men in the arts, in sports, at the office, and on the streets. This cultural mindset needs to change if sexism is to remain only on the pages of classic literature and be erased from local communities and modern society.

In modern america sexism is slowly diteriating, but it has not complitly disappeared. Women have worked hard to become astronaut, Ceos, presidentsdoctors and more, but even with these accomplishments women are still discriminated against. Women face a variety of stereotypes in the work place that prevent them from progress, some company's really think that women don't need equal pay because they are not the head of the house hold and their husbands paycheck should do the job. Other business corporations believe that women can not committed to a job because they are the primary caregiver of their children which causes companies to lose money every time there is an emergency. "The paradox is that the world of rigid and hierarchical sex roles

Second, I would like to talk about the gender roles that play while both men and women are working for the same job or trying to get a job with the same field. When it comes to hiring people mostly go for men because they assume that men will get the job done better than a women would. “Most leadership positions are held by men, so women don’t expect to achieve them and that becomes one of the reasons they don’t” (Anna – Marie Slaughter). With that being said it makes the competition for a job more challenging for women. They have to not only reach all the qualifications that is needed for the job but to go above and try to beat what the men is going to

“According to the Center for American Progress, women “are only 14.6 percent of executive officers, 8.1 percent of top earners, and 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs.” And even though they comprise the majority of the labor force in the financial services and healthcare industries, not a single woman in these fields is head honcho of her company“(Hawaii Free Press, page 1). Women have less authoritative power when it comes to the employment field. More women than men are employed in the labor force, yet majority of the most powerful employers are men. This gender gap seems to be more than just a coincidence. This is one of the results of sexism in the America. Gender gaps in the job market are not the biggest problem of sexism because violence against women still lingers around the United

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?