Women in Business Management
After college, I plan on being a business manager. The qualifications for this type of job can range depending on what sector you go into however; there are a few qualifications and standards that are typically expected. The first qualification is a bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, management or something related to business. It is also good to have a graduate degree in a more specialized field discipline. Top managers also need to have highly developed personal skills and an analytical mind. They need to be able to communicate clearly and persuasively. It is also important to have leadership skills, self-confidence, motivation, decisiveness, flexibility, sound business judgment, and determination. Managers can also become more familiar with the latest developments in management techniques at national or local training programs. Aspiring managers can also take the Certified Manager (CM) credential offered by the Institute of Certified Professional Managers. Finally, it is important for managers to participate in conferences and seminars and develop a network of useful contacts. (Statistics, 2007)
According to the United States Department of Labor, in 2007, the largest percentage of employed women (39%) worked in management, professional, and related occupations. Management analysts were ranked eighth in the top ten occupations with the highest median weekly earnings among women with $1,083. Those weekly earnings total roughly $56,316 for a yearly salary. However, I researched statistics for management occupations and the median weekly rate was $1,557.20, which makes the annual wage for the 5,892,900 employees $80,974.40. The mean annual wage estimates for management occupations was $91,930. There is obviously a discrepancy between what the women and men are earning in this field. (Employment and Earnings, 2007 Annual Averages and the Monthly Labor Review, 2008)
The statistics also stated that women accounted for 51% of all workers in high-paying management, professional, and related occupations. They outnumbered men as financial managers, accountants and auditors, budget analysts, property, real estate, and social and community association managers, preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers, physical therapists, and registered nurses. Although these statistics may look good to anyone, I realized that they are not all business-related fields. (Employment and Earnings, 2007 Annual Averages and the Monthly Labor Review, 2008)
Robert E. Robertson wrote an analysis focused on the Department of Labor’s Current Population Survey or CPS. The work centered around ten industries: communications, public administration, business and repair services, entertainment and recreation services, other professional services, educational services, retail trade, finance, insurance, real estate, hospitals and medical services, and professional medical services. These ten industries accounted for about 70% of all salary positions filled by women in 2000. Robertson and the others that worked on the analysis defined managers with titles that included the words administrator, director, manager, or supervisor. This makes their information more relevant to me because they specifically paid attention to managers. They found that female managers in the ten industries generally had less education, were younger, less likely to be married, and more likely to work part-time. In four of the industries, women were significantly less represented in management positions than they were in all positions. Women were only equally represented in five out of ten of the industries. They also found that full-time female managers earned less than full-time male managers in all ten industries after controlling education, age, marital status, and race. (Robertson, 2002)
In addition to female managers generally having less education, being younger, less likely to be married, and more likely to work part-time, there are several other factors that I have learned about that relate to women’s wages. Women are still expected to take care of child-raising activities and other family responsibilities. There are still stereotypes that women are caring and home-based workers and they lack negotiating capability and bargaining power. It is also harder for women to gain equality in jobs that are predominately run by men. I have also learned that institutions produce messages that shape our understandings of gender. Stereotypes often times provide the rationale for injustice. This means that men may not want to hire a woman as a manager because they assume that she would not know how to do a high skill-leveled job. (Shaw & Lee, 2007)
Roberston’s analysis also provided full-time manager salary differentials for the ten industries in 2000. For every one dollar earned by males in communication management, females earned .73. In Public administration management, females earned .83 for every dollar earned my males. In business and repair management, females earned .76 for every dollar earned by males. In entertainment and recreation services management, women earned .62 for every dollar earned by men. Women earned .83 for every male dollar in other professional services management. In Educational services management, women earned .91 for every dollar earned by men. In retail trade management, women earned .65 for every dollar earned by males. Women earned just .68 for every dollar earned by men in finance, insurance, and real estate management. In hospital and medical management, women earned .85 for every dollar earned by men. Finally, in professional medical services management, women earned .88 for every dollar earned by men. (Robertson, 2002)
A recent survey conducted by the National Association of Female Executives (NAFE) showed that women marketing and sales managers earned almost $30,000 less annually than their male counterparts. According to NAFE, there have been several class-action gender-discrimination lawsuits filed in the past few years which may encourage companies to address the gender-pay gap. (24 Cents Short: Women Still Lag Behind Men in Earning Power, 2008)
The Association of College and Research Libraries and the American Library Association have developed a Women’s Studies Section with links about women and business. This website lists many different organizations so that women can be aware of what is available. The American Business Women’s Association or ABWA, is one organization that is listed that provides member events, educational programs, and career resources. Catalyst is a nonprofit organization working to advance women in business through articles, news, and links to useful websites. Executive Women International is another nonprofit professional women’s organization that provides networking through 3500 companies and 5000 representatives in the United States, Canada, and Europe. NAFE is also listed on this webside as the largest businesswomen’s association in the United States with 200,000 members. It provides information about women in the workplace, job resources, and links to business resources. (Sluss, 2006)
I would really like to encourage other women to join the field of business management. I have really enjoyed learning about this field and I am really excited to go into the real world. I am going to work really hard so that no one can challenge my quality of work and I will already have the college qualifications that are expected in a field like this. I would be happy to help other students who are women and entering this field. I think that the only way that women can make a difference in business management is if more of us enter the field and more of us get the expected amount of education.
Works Cited
24 Cents Short: Women Still Lag Behind Men in Earning Power. (2008). Retrieved April 22, 2008, from National Association For Female Excecutives: http://www.nafe.com/web?service=direct/1/ViewArticlePage/dlinkFullTopArticle3&sp=365&sp=275
Employment and Earnings, 2007 Annual Averages and the Monthly Labor Review. (2008, April 22). Retrieved April 22, 2008, from U.S. Department of Labor : http://www.dol.gov/
Robertson, R. E. (2002). Women in Management Analysis of Current Population Survey Data. United States General Accounting Office.
Shaw, S. M., & Lee, J. (2007). Women's Voices Feminist Visions. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Sluss, S. B. (2006, June 13). Women in Business. Retrieved April 28, 2008, from Women's Studies Section: http://libr.org/wss/wsslinks/business.html
Top Executives. (2007, April 14). Retrieved April 29, 2008, from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos012.htm#training
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Activity # 11
I found it really interesting searching for the women’s issues associated with each candidate for the United States president. The first candidate that I researched was Senator John McCain. The first thing that I came across was that McCain wanted to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the decisions of abortion to the individual states. I was not shocked about this because Republicans typically are pro-life. Other than that, I could not really find any other important parts to McCain’s campaign that were geared towards women’s rights and issues.
The second candidate that I researched was Senator Hillary Clinton. Clinton had a page labeled a Champion for Women which explained her stance on women's issues. First of all, Clinton plans on strengthening equal pay laws and disparities between women and men. She has introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act to set a higher standard and increase oversight of employers. She has also tried to increase access to capital and other support for women-owned businesses. She also stands as a pro-choice advocate and wants to expand access to family planning services, which includes low-income women. She also states that she wants to microfinance programs that enable women to start their own businesses. She has championed the Prevention First Act, to expand access to family planning services for low-income women and make health insurance companies to cover contraception. She has also helped pass the Family and Medical Leave Act and helped found the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancies which has significantly reduced teen pregnancies. She has also helped make Plan B available over the counter. Clinton also put on her website that she has spoken out against the Supreme Court’s April 2007 decision that failed to recognize the importance of women’s health and that she has spoken out strongly against sex trafficking.
The last candidate for president that I researched was Senator Barack Obauma. Obauma had an area called learn where Barack stands under his page about women. Obauma stated that he is going to work to overturn the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that restricts racial minorities’ and women’s ability to challenge pay discrimination. He will also pass the Fair Pay Act to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work. He also would expand programs like the successful Nurse-Family Partnership to all low-income, first-time mothers. Obauma has also introduced the Microbicide Development Act to fight against AIDS. These are products under development that women would apply topically. He has also fought to fight Heart disease and ovarian cancer as well as breast cancer by maintaining funding for the Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health, being a co-sponsor of Johanna’s Law, and helped pass legislation in Illinois to expand insurance coverage for mammograms. He plans to reduce health risks due to mercury and support stem cell research. He also, like Hillary Clinton, is pro-choice. Obauma has introduced the Prevention First Act to increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education. He has also co-sponsored and helped reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. Obauma also plans to promote women in math and science, protect title IX, improve afterschool and daycare opportunities, investing in women-owned small businesses, and improving child support collection.
After reading about all of the candidates, it was pretty clear that Senator Hillary Clinton and Barack Obauma put more effort into women’s issues than John McCain. There was a lot of material on Barack Obauma’s website about what he would like to do to help women. Hillary Clinton also had a lot of material on her accomplishments for women’s rights and seemed to care about them as expected from a woman candidate. I think that these candidates have put a lot of effort into this topic because they want to enhance women's rights and they realize that a lot of their voters are women! I do not think it was very smart on Senator McCain's part to not provide that much information on what he would do for women. Overall, I believe that Obauma was the best at addressing all of the issues associated with women. However, based on this topic, I think that Clinton or Obauma would make a great president.
The second candidate that I researched was Senator Hillary Clinton. Clinton had a page labeled a Champion for Women which explained her stance on women's issues. First of all, Clinton plans on strengthening equal pay laws and disparities between women and men. She has introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act to set a higher standard and increase oversight of employers. She has also tried to increase access to capital and other support for women-owned businesses. She also stands as a pro-choice advocate and wants to expand access to family planning services, which includes low-income women. She also states that she wants to microfinance programs that enable women to start their own businesses. She has championed the Prevention First Act, to expand access to family planning services for low-income women and make health insurance companies to cover contraception. She has also helped pass the Family and Medical Leave Act and helped found the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancies which has significantly reduced teen pregnancies. She has also helped make Plan B available over the counter. Clinton also put on her website that she has spoken out against the Supreme Court’s April 2007 decision that failed to recognize the importance of women’s health and that she has spoken out strongly against sex trafficking.
The last candidate for president that I researched was Senator Barack Obauma. Obauma had an area called learn where Barack stands under his page about women. Obauma stated that he is going to work to overturn the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that restricts racial minorities’ and women’s ability to challenge pay discrimination. He will also pass the Fair Pay Act to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work. He also would expand programs like the successful Nurse-Family Partnership to all low-income, first-time mothers. Obauma has also introduced the Microbicide Development Act to fight against AIDS. These are products under development that women would apply topically. He has also fought to fight Heart disease and ovarian cancer as well as breast cancer by maintaining funding for the Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health, being a co-sponsor of Johanna’s Law, and helped pass legislation in Illinois to expand insurance coverage for mammograms. He plans to reduce health risks due to mercury and support stem cell research. He also, like Hillary Clinton, is pro-choice. Obauma has introduced the Prevention First Act to increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education. He has also co-sponsored and helped reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. Obauma also plans to promote women in math and science, protect title IX, improve afterschool and daycare opportunities, investing in women-owned small businesses, and improving child support collection.
After reading about all of the candidates, it was pretty clear that Senator Hillary Clinton and Barack Obauma put more effort into women’s issues than John McCain. There was a lot of material on Barack Obauma’s website about what he would like to do to help women. Hillary Clinton also had a lot of material on her accomplishments for women’s rights and seemed to care about them as expected from a woman candidate. I think that these candidates have put a lot of effort into this topic because they want to enhance women's rights and they realize that a lot of their voters are women! I do not think it was very smart on Senator McCain's part to not provide that much information on what he would do for women. Overall, I believe that Obauma was the best at addressing all of the issues associated with women. However, based on this topic, I think that Clinton or Obauma would make a great president.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Activity #10
After college, I plan on being a business manager. According to the United States Department of Labor, in 2007, the largest percentage of employed women (39%) worked in management, professional, and related occupations. Management analysts were ranked eighth in the top ten occupations with the highest median weekly earnings among women with $1,083. Those weekly earnings total roughly $56,316 for a yearly salary. However, I researched statistics for management occupations and the median weekly rate was $1,557.20, which makes the annual wage for the 5,892,900 employees $80,974.40. The mean annual wage estimates for management occupations was $91,930. There is obviously a discrepancy between what the women and men are earning in this field. (Employment and Earnings, 2007 Annual Averages and the Monthly Labor Review, 2008)
The statistics also stated that women accounted for 51% of all workers in high-paying management, professional, and related occupations. They outnumbered men as financial managers, accountants and auditors, budget analysts, property, real estate, and social and community association managers, preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers, physical therapists, and registered nurses. Although these statistics may look good to anyone, I realized that they are not all business-related fields. (Employment and Earnings, 2007 Annual Averages and the Monthly Labor Review, 2008)
Robert E. Robertson wrote an analysis focused on the Department of Labor’s Current Population Survey or CPS. The work centered around ten industries: communications, public administration, business and repair services, entertainment and recreation services, other professional services, educational services, retail trade, finance, insurance, real estate, hospitals and medical services, and professional medical services. These ten industries accounted for about 70% of all salary positions filled by women in 2000. Robertson and the others that worked on the analysis defined managers with titles that included the words administrator, director, manager, or supervisor. This makes their information more relevant to me because they specifically paid attention to managers. They found that female managers in the ten industries generally had less education, were younger, less likely to be married, and more likely to work part-time. In four of the industries, women were significantly less represented in management positions than they were in all positions. Women were only equally represented in five out of ten of the industries. They also found that full-time female managers earned less than full-time male managers in all ten industries after controlling education, age, marital status, and race. (Robertson, 2002)
The Analysis also provided full-time manager salary differentials for the ten industries in 2000. For every one dollar earned by males in communication management, females earned .73. In Public administration management, females earned .83 for every dollar earned my males. In business and repair management, females earned .76 for every dollar earned by males. In entertainment and recreation services management, women earned .62 for every dollar earned by men. Women earned .83 for every male dollar in other professional services management. In Educational services management, women earned .91 for every dollar earned by men. In retail trade management, women earned .65 for every dollar earned by males. Women earned just .68 for every dollar earned by men in finance, insurance, and real estate management. In hospital and medical management, women earned .85 for every dollar earned by men. Finally, in professional medical services management, women earned .88 for every dollar earned by men. (Robertson, 2002)
A recent survey conducted by the National Association of Female Executives (NAFE) showed that women marketing and sales managers earned almost $30,000 less annually than their male counterparts. According to NAFE, there have been several class-action gender-discrimination lawsuits filed in the past few years which may encourage companies to address the gender-pay gap. (24 Cents Short: Women Still Lag Behind Men in Earning Power, 2008)
References
24 Cents Short: Women Still Lag Behind Men in Earning Power. (2008). Retrieved April 22, 2008, from National Association For Female Excecutives: http://www.nafe.com/web?service=direct/1/ViewArticlePage/dlinkFullTopArticle3&sp=365&sp=275
Employment and Earnings, 2007 Annual Averages and the Monthly Labor Review. (2008, April 22). Retrieved April 22, 2008, from U.S. Department of Labor : http://www.dol.gov/
Robertson, R. E. (2002). Women in Management Analysis of Current Population Survey Data. United States General Accounting Office.
The statistics also stated that women accounted for 51% of all workers in high-paying management, professional, and related occupations. They outnumbered men as financial managers, accountants and auditors, budget analysts, property, real estate, and social and community association managers, preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers, physical therapists, and registered nurses. Although these statistics may look good to anyone, I realized that they are not all business-related fields. (Employment and Earnings, 2007 Annual Averages and the Monthly Labor Review, 2008)
Robert E. Robertson wrote an analysis focused on the Department of Labor’s Current Population Survey or CPS. The work centered around ten industries: communications, public administration, business and repair services, entertainment and recreation services, other professional services, educational services, retail trade, finance, insurance, real estate, hospitals and medical services, and professional medical services. These ten industries accounted for about 70% of all salary positions filled by women in 2000. Robertson and the others that worked on the analysis defined managers with titles that included the words administrator, director, manager, or supervisor. This makes their information more relevant to me because they specifically paid attention to managers. They found that female managers in the ten industries generally had less education, were younger, less likely to be married, and more likely to work part-time. In four of the industries, women were significantly less represented in management positions than they were in all positions. Women were only equally represented in five out of ten of the industries. They also found that full-time female managers earned less than full-time male managers in all ten industries after controlling education, age, marital status, and race. (Robertson, 2002)
The Analysis also provided full-time manager salary differentials for the ten industries in 2000. For every one dollar earned by males in communication management, females earned .73. In Public administration management, females earned .83 for every dollar earned my males. In business and repair management, females earned .76 for every dollar earned by males. In entertainment and recreation services management, women earned .62 for every dollar earned by men. Women earned .83 for every male dollar in other professional services management. In Educational services management, women earned .91 for every dollar earned by men. In retail trade management, women earned .65 for every dollar earned by males. Women earned just .68 for every dollar earned by men in finance, insurance, and real estate management. In hospital and medical management, women earned .85 for every dollar earned by men. Finally, in professional medical services management, women earned .88 for every dollar earned by men. (Robertson, 2002)
A recent survey conducted by the National Association of Female Executives (NAFE) showed that women marketing and sales managers earned almost $30,000 less annually than their male counterparts. According to NAFE, there have been several class-action gender-discrimination lawsuits filed in the past few years which may encourage companies to address the gender-pay gap. (24 Cents Short: Women Still Lag Behind Men in Earning Power, 2008)
References
24 Cents Short: Women Still Lag Behind Men in Earning Power. (2008). Retrieved April 22, 2008, from National Association For Female Excecutives: http://www.nafe.com/web?service=direct/1/ViewArticlePage/dlinkFullTopArticle3&sp=365&sp=275
Employment and Earnings, 2007 Annual Averages and the Monthly Labor Review. (2008, April 22). Retrieved April 22, 2008, from U.S. Department of Labor : http://www.dol.gov/
Robertson, R. E. (2002). Women in Management Analysis of Current Population Survey Data. United States General Accounting Office.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
CRJ #7
I think that same sex couples should be able to marry. I do not see why it would hurt anyone because there are already same-sex couples around they just may not be married or considered married by many states. If we don’t let these couples get married, they are not going to go away. In fact, I think that the more we prohibit them from getting married, the harder they are going to try to get things to change. The arguments against same sex couples not being able to get married are simply not enough to convince me that it is wrong.
The first thing that I would like to bring up from the article is from the first page. The article states that people who oppose same-sex marriages believe that a child should have two parents, one male and one female. I feel like this is completely irrelevant because there are a huge amount of families that function with only one adult because of divorce or if one of the partners leaves the other. Peter Sprigg states that allowing homosexual adoption would lead to children suffering the negative consequences of growing up without a mother and a father. At least if it were a same-sex couple the child would still have two parents. There are plenty of kids that grow up with only the male or female parent in their lives and turn out just fine. Therefore, I think that this is not a good argument.
The second point that I would like to bring up is about marriage. When Sprigg defines marriage, I think that he eats his own words. He says that marriage is a fundamental human institution that predates law and the constitution. He goes on to say that it is an anthropological and sociological reality, not a legal one and laws are just to recognize marriage. If this is the case, then anyone should be allowed to get married or be considered as married. These same-sex couples are already acting like they are married they are just being denied their right to get married. Sprigg goes on to say that if love and companionship were sufficient to define marriage, then a child and an adult could get married or an adult child and his or her aging parents. I don’t understand how allowing same-sex couples would allow any of these assumptions to also happen. There are already laws about the age of marriage and not being able to marry someone related to you. These restrictions have nothing to do with same-sex marriages and are irrelevant.
Lawrence Kurdek makes a good point when he states that gay and lesbian citizens argue that being deprived of spousal benefits and marriage is unjust because it involves discriminating against a defined class of individuals. I do look at being deprived of their rights as being discriminated against which is not something that we are supposed to promote in this country.
Kurdek’s findings were that there were no evidence that gay partners and lesbian partners were psychologically maladjusted, had high levels of personality traits that predisposed them to relationship problems, they had dysfunctional working models of their relationships, and that they used ineffective strategies to resolve conflict. Therefore, I don’t think that we can assume that same-sex couples have worse relationships or would not be able to take care of children. The only negative are where same-sex couples scored worse than heterosexual parents was the area of social support. These partners received less support for their relationships from family members. This is understandable because our society has made people frown upon same-sex couples. People learn early to not accept same-sex couples which is a shame.
There are several things that we have talked about in this course that can relate to this discussion. There is a strong relationship between feminists and same-sex couples. They are both fighting for equal rights and in most cases receiving bad reputations or images. There is also a huge relation between inequality and same-sex marriages. We have learned a lot about inequality and how people struggle with this issue every day. The truth is lesbians and gays are not being treated equally because they are being discriminated against.
Another major issue that I find relates to this topic is sexism. I think that this relates to this topic because the people who oppose same-sex marriages believe that marriage should consist of a male and a female. We are brought up to think that men should take care of women and women are supposed to do certain things and men are supposed to do certain things. Over time, we have learned that these ideas are wrong and women should be created equal and be given the same opportunities as men. We have begun to realize that women have been oppressed and the attitudes that we teach our children have been somewhat sexist. If we have realized that men and women should be created equal then why aren’t lesbians and gays created equal as well. We should not think of marriage as a man taking care of a woman anymore. We know that single parents can support themselves and their children.
For all of these reasons, I think that same-sex marriages should be legalized. There is no reason why we should deny this right to our citizens. The lesbian and gay communities are not trying to hurt anyone. I believe that they would just like to be equal and receive the same benefits from marriage that everyone else gets.
The first thing that I would like to bring up from the article is from the first page. The article states that people who oppose same-sex marriages believe that a child should have two parents, one male and one female. I feel like this is completely irrelevant because there are a huge amount of families that function with only one adult because of divorce or if one of the partners leaves the other. Peter Sprigg states that allowing homosexual adoption would lead to children suffering the negative consequences of growing up without a mother and a father. At least if it were a same-sex couple the child would still have two parents. There are plenty of kids that grow up with only the male or female parent in their lives and turn out just fine. Therefore, I think that this is not a good argument.
The second point that I would like to bring up is about marriage. When Sprigg defines marriage, I think that he eats his own words. He says that marriage is a fundamental human institution that predates law and the constitution. He goes on to say that it is an anthropological and sociological reality, not a legal one and laws are just to recognize marriage. If this is the case, then anyone should be allowed to get married or be considered as married. These same-sex couples are already acting like they are married they are just being denied their right to get married. Sprigg goes on to say that if love and companionship were sufficient to define marriage, then a child and an adult could get married or an adult child and his or her aging parents. I don’t understand how allowing same-sex couples would allow any of these assumptions to also happen. There are already laws about the age of marriage and not being able to marry someone related to you. These restrictions have nothing to do with same-sex marriages and are irrelevant.
Lawrence Kurdek makes a good point when he states that gay and lesbian citizens argue that being deprived of spousal benefits and marriage is unjust because it involves discriminating against a defined class of individuals. I do look at being deprived of their rights as being discriminated against which is not something that we are supposed to promote in this country.
Kurdek’s findings were that there were no evidence that gay partners and lesbian partners were psychologically maladjusted, had high levels of personality traits that predisposed them to relationship problems, they had dysfunctional working models of their relationships, and that they used ineffective strategies to resolve conflict. Therefore, I don’t think that we can assume that same-sex couples have worse relationships or would not be able to take care of children. The only negative are where same-sex couples scored worse than heterosexual parents was the area of social support. These partners received less support for their relationships from family members. This is understandable because our society has made people frown upon same-sex couples. People learn early to not accept same-sex couples which is a shame.
There are several things that we have talked about in this course that can relate to this discussion. There is a strong relationship between feminists and same-sex couples. They are both fighting for equal rights and in most cases receiving bad reputations or images. There is also a huge relation between inequality and same-sex marriages. We have learned a lot about inequality and how people struggle with this issue every day. The truth is lesbians and gays are not being treated equally because they are being discriminated against.
Another major issue that I find relates to this topic is sexism. I think that this relates to this topic because the people who oppose same-sex marriages believe that marriage should consist of a male and a female. We are brought up to think that men should take care of women and women are supposed to do certain things and men are supposed to do certain things. Over time, we have learned that these ideas are wrong and women should be created equal and be given the same opportunities as men. We have begun to realize that women have been oppressed and the attitudes that we teach our children have been somewhat sexist. If we have realized that men and women should be created equal then why aren’t lesbians and gays created equal as well. We should not think of marriage as a man taking care of a woman anymore. We know that single parents can support themselves and their children.
For all of these reasons, I think that same-sex marriages should be legalized. There is no reason why we should deny this right to our citizens. The lesbian and gay communities are not trying to hurt anyone. I believe that they would just like to be equal and receive the same benefits from marriage that everyone else gets.
Event #2
Candid Confab – April 8, 2008 – Haymarket Theatre
The People’s Coalition put on this event so that anyone could say what they wanted to. The main topic of the night was sexism. They started out the event by showing two films. One of the videos was called The Bitch Manifesto. The other video was one that we have seen for class before about young children picking out the pretty dolls (or white dolls) and the ugly dolls (or black dolls). After the videos, the panelists started discussing and raising questions about sexism. They defined sexism as male dominance and a system of Eurocentric patriarchy. They also showed a couple of short clips of Common Disney films to show that we learn very early on that the males are supposed to be the head of the family and “rescue” females and there are certain things women are supposed to do and certain things that men are supposed to do. A good example was the clip of Mulan. In this movie the main character tries to act like a boy and is punished and frowned upon. The panel also talked about women being objects of sex to men or as men’s property. One of the examples of this is the woman usually takes the husband’s last name when they are married. They also talked about how woman aren’t allowed to do the same things as men for instance, girls may have earlier curfews as boys. Lastly, the panel talked about how we can change sexism. They suggested that it is up to the women to not do degrading things like, be in sex videos, and the men should support the change. Most of all, we need to be more conscious about what we say for instance, reciting demeaning song lyrics.
There were several connections with this event and the course. The first connection was that I had already seen the video about the young children picking out the pretty and ugly dolls to show that racism started at a very early age. The second connection was that we have already talked about sexism, patriarchy, and misogyny in class and they were all mentioned in the discussion. Another connection was that they talked about what girls weren’t allowed to do and how we can change sexism. This reminded me of the video that we watched about sexism promoting violence against women. In the video, they explained why sexism was bad and how we can fix it. The last connection with this event and the course was racism. We have studied a lot about racism and the group talked about how black women are seen as less aggressive and are more identifiable. There was also a short clip about an actress saying that she is more discriminated against for being black than being a woman. The panel related this issue back to history when white women were never seen outside and black women were servants and often work outside and that was frowned upon.
Overall, I thought that this event was very interesting and easy to follow along. The only complaints that I have were that they panel was often hard to hear because of the speakers or they weren’t talking loud enough and it was not very interactive. There were a few questions open to the audience but there was simply not enough time for questions. Furthermore, I think that the discussion would have been a little better if there had been speakers that were a little more qualified to help out. Otherwise, the discussion was very intense and it made you want to change the view of women. I will definitely try to be more conscious about the songs that I listen to and the shows that I watch.
The People’s Coalition put on this event so that anyone could say what they wanted to. The main topic of the night was sexism. They started out the event by showing two films. One of the videos was called The Bitch Manifesto. The other video was one that we have seen for class before about young children picking out the pretty dolls (or white dolls) and the ugly dolls (or black dolls). After the videos, the panelists started discussing and raising questions about sexism. They defined sexism as male dominance and a system of Eurocentric patriarchy. They also showed a couple of short clips of Common Disney films to show that we learn very early on that the males are supposed to be the head of the family and “rescue” females and there are certain things women are supposed to do and certain things that men are supposed to do. A good example was the clip of Mulan. In this movie the main character tries to act like a boy and is punished and frowned upon. The panel also talked about women being objects of sex to men or as men’s property. One of the examples of this is the woman usually takes the husband’s last name when they are married. They also talked about how woman aren’t allowed to do the same things as men for instance, girls may have earlier curfews as boys. Lastly, the panel talked about how we can change sexism. They suggested that it is up to the women to not do degrading things like, be in sex videos, and the men should support the change. Most of all, we need to be more conscious about what we say for instance, reciting demeaning song lyrics.
There were several connections with this event and the course. The first connection was that I had already seen the video about the young children picking out the pretty and ugly dolls to show that racism started at a very early age. The second connection was that we have already talked about sexism, patriarchy, and misogyny in class and they were all mentioned in the discussion. Another connection was that they talked about what girls weren’t allowed to do and how we can change sexism. This reminded me of the video that we watched about sexism promoting violence against women. In the video, they explained why sexism was bad and how we can fix it. The last connection with this event and the course was racism. We have studied a lot about racism and the group talked about how black women are seen as less aggressive and are more identifiable. There was also a short clip about an actress saying that she is more discriminated against for being black than being a woman. The panel related this issue back to history when white women were never seen outside and black women were servants and often work outside and that was frowned upon.
Overall, I thought that this event was very interesting and easy to follow along. The only complaints that I have were that they panel was often hard to hear because of the speakers or they weren’t talking loud enough and it was not very interactive. There were a few questions open to the audience but there was simply not enough time for questions. Furthermore, I think that the discussion would have been a little better if there had been speakers that were a little more qualified to help out. Otherwise, the discussion was very intense and it made you want to change the view of women. I will definitely try to be more conscious about the songs that I listen to and the shows that I watch.
Friday, April 4, 2008
CRJ #6
According to chapter ten, gendered violence implies that harm evolves from the imbalance in power between people. Both women and men can be behind violence and it is in heterosexual and homosexual relationships. However, women are usually the victims of sexual violence. We have learned that gender is not just female or male; it is more often masculinity and femininity. Men are more susceptible to using their masculinity to prove that they are “manly,” and therefore are usually the offenders. Anyone that is considered feminine is at risk of being victimized. This is one of the main reasons why if a man were to get sexually abused; he would probably hide it in order to keep his masculine persona.
Sexual violence does not just involve men though. Women can be the abusers especially, when it comes to relationships. Many people think that rape is not possible if you are in a relationship or married. The truth is rape can go on between people that are married and most of the time it does not get reported.
Gender inequality is another important subject when it comes to sexual violence. Sexist behaviors are often feelings of superiority over women. A lot of men are upset about the changes that women have been making over the recent past and are angered and insecure. Some violence crimes that men commit are an attempt to reestablish power that they believe they have lost because of the gains of women. This has a lot to do with feminism. Feminists work to help women’s rights but, in doing so they may provoke more violence against women. Some men do not want to see women as being equal with men.
I understand the relationship between gender and sexual violence to be very clear. Typically, it is the masculine person performing the violence and the feminine person that is the victim. This is why with younger kids it does not matter that much for sexual predators because a young boy can be just as harmless as a young girl. As I read in this chapter, young boys are also used as sex slaves along with young girls. In addition to that, I think that the violence towards women is more common because women are the only ones that can get pregnant. A man can recklessly have sex as much as he wants but does not have to have the baby. The woman who gets raped must make a decision whether or not to keep the baby if she gets pregnant. This also has a lot to do with abortion. There have been so many groups that try to put constraints on abortions but the fact is that if a woman gets raped it is not her fault and she should not have to have the baby if she gets pregnant.
I think that overall, violence against women has grown because society has made it okay. It will be very hard to change things now because women have been inferior for so many years and are just now gaining all of their rights. People need to have the mindset that women are equal in order for things to start changing. However, women aren’t the only ones involved. The feminine category often times includes homosexuals. The power struggle between masculinity and femininity is the leading cause of sexual violence.
Sexual violence does not just involve men though. Women can be the abusers especially, when it comes to relationships. Many people think that rape is not possible if you are in a relationship or married. The truth is rape can go on between people that are married and most of the time it does not get reported.
Gender inequality is another important subject when it comes to sexual violence. Sexist behaviors are often feelings of superiority over women. A lot of men are upset about the changes that women have been making over the recent past and are angered and insecure. Some violence crimes that men commit are an attempt to reestablish power that they believe they have lost because of the gains of women. This has a lot to do with feminism. Feminists work to help women’s rights but, in doing so they may provoke more violence against women. Some men do not want to see women as being equal with men.
I understand the relationship between gender and sexual violence to be very clear. Typically, it is the masculine person performing the violence and the feminine person that is the victim. This is why with younger kids it does not matter that much for sexual predators because a young boy can be just as harmless as a young girl. As I read in this chapter, young boys are also used as sex slaves along with young girls. In addition to that, I think that the violence towards women is more common because women are the only ones that can get pregnant. A man can recklessly have sex as much as he wants but does not have to have the baby. The woman who gets raped must make a decision whether or not to keep the baby if she gets pregnant. This also has a lot to do with abortion. There have been so many groups that try to put constraints on abortions but the fact is that if a woman gets raped it is not her fault and she should not have to have the baby if she gets pregnant.
I think that overall, violence against women has grown because society has made it okay. It will be very hard to change things now because women have been inferior for so many years and are just now gaining all of their rights. People need to have the mindset that women are equal in order for things to start changing. However, women aren’t the only ones involved. The feminine category often times includes homosexuals. The power struggle between masculinity and femininity is the leading cause of sexual violence.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Activity #9
I used several statistics during this assignment to portray violence against women. When I had my conversations with my interviewees, my first statistic was that rape victims are 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide and 13 times more likely to actually make a suicide attempt. The second statistic that I used was that 95 percent of reported sexual assaults are against females, half of all females raped are under the age of 18 years old, and about a fifth are under 12 years old. The third statistic I used was that about 70 to 80 percent of campus rapes generally involve alcohol or other drugs. The fourth statistic that I used was that sex slavery has around 200,000 sex slaves worldwide and their slaveholders have an annual profit of 10.5 billion. The last statistic that I used was that it is estimated that in 90 percent of cases in where children are raped it is by someone they know.
The interviewees were very surprised by these statistics. One of the boy interviewees told me a story about a girl in her high school that had to get a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend who had hit her a couple of times. Another interviewee stated that they have been watching the television series Women behind bars lately. They explained that most of the women that are shown on the show were victims of incest or rape, often times by their own fathers or close relatives, and they are in jail because they attempted to kill or killed their sexual offenders.
My interviewees thought there could be a couple of causes of violence against women. One of the causes they came up with was drugs and alcohol. Another cause was that maybe it is becoming very familiar because it is so common now and people either don’t feel like it is a big deal or they don’t think that the woman will report it. Another idea for a cause was that maybe the women don’t realize that they are leading the offenders on. Lastly, they thought that maybe a cause was that people do not consider it rape if they are married.
My interviewees thought there were a couple of things that you could do to eliminate violence against women. The first idea was to organize a violence awareness activity on campus to make sure that everyone was aware of it. Someone suggested that they could pass out pepper spray around the drill field with some facts attached to it. Another idea was to send out letters door to door to get the facts across. However, most of them thought the best idea to get the facts across was through television. We get the most influence from television and the news so they thought that this would reach the most people. They think that the shows on WE TV and other stations are good and that the shows should be increased. They also stated that maybe comedians and funny shows should make fun of people that involve themselves in violence against women so that people do not think that it is a good thing.
This activity was definitely eye-opening. I was very surprised by a lot of the statistics and it made me sad to think about. Overall, I think it was a good activity to do because the word needs to get out and there should be more things going on to make sure that people are aware of violence against women. As a woman, this activity was very frightening because the chance that I will be a victim of one of these crimes is very high.
The interviewees were very surprised by these statistics. One of the boy interviewees told me a story about a girl in her high school that had to get a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend who had hit her a couple of times. Another interviewee stated that they have been watching the television series Women behind bars lately. They explained that most of the women that are shown on the show were victims of incest or rape, often times by their own fathers or close relatives, and they are in jail because they attempted to kill or killed their sexual offenders.
My interviewees thought there could be a couple of causes of violence against women. One of the causes they came up with was drugs and alcohol. Another cause was that maybe it is becoming very familiar because it is so common now and people either don’t feel like it is a big deal or they don’t think that the woman will report it. Another idea for a cause was that maybe the women don’t realize that they are leading the offenders on. Lastly, they thought that maybe a cause was that people do not consider it rape if they are married.
My interviewees thought there were a couple of things that you could do to eliminate violence against women. The first idea was to organize a violence awareness activity on campus to make sure that everyone was aware of it. Someone suggested that they could pass out pepper spray around the drill field with some facts attached to it. Another idea was to send out letters door to door to get the facts across. However, most of them thought the best idea to get the facts across was through television. We get the most influence from television and the news so they thought that this would reach the most people. They think that the shows on WE TV and other stations are good and that the shows should be increased. They also stated that maybe comedians and funny shows should make fun of people that involve themselves in violence against women so that people do not think that it is a good thing.
This activity was definitely eye-opening. I was very surprised by a lot of the statistics and it made me sad to think about. Overall, I think it was a good activity to do because the word needs to get out and there should be more things going on to make sure that people are aware of violence against women. As a woman, this activity was very frightening because the chance that I will be a victim of one of these crimes is very high.
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