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| A woman holding a hammer (signifies to break the glass ceiling) |
A survey was conducted in Greece which
examines typical ‘male’ and
‘female’ occupations factors affecting women’s professional development. The
results state:
“There are occupations and fields of economic activity
which public opinion identifies with men, such as heavy industry, construction,
the army, drivers, economics, sales and commerce. Similarly, public opinion
associates certain occupations and areas of activity with women, such as
personal care services, education, secretarial or office work, nursing, care taking, marketing, public relations (PR) and HR.”
This survey shows that normal individuals think of certain
jobs that are suitable for males and certain for females. Now if we consider
the glass ceiling effect in the US, it states that in the congress, women only
hold 17% of the seats. This is a significantly low number considering how many
females are in the US and how many there are running as politicians. Women are
considered equal to men, but why are they not given opportunities in the
workforce? If there were 2 employees (same qualifications) who are applying for
the same construction job, what are the odds of the woman getting the job? In North America, probably a 50:50 ratio,
however considering a non government run firm, the odds of the woman getting
the construction job may be less. The reason why is because society has this perception
in their mind which insist men are stronger than woman which will make them the
best fit for the job (though it is not true). A
report by the Equality Review in 2007 stated that 70% of recruiters questioned
had been asked to avoid hiring women who were seen as likely to get pregnant.
Asking about marital or family status in a job interview is against the law,
but clearly this prejudice still exists.
Aside from woman not being given opportunities in the
workforce, some women are not paid the same wages as males. Census suggests
that women make as much as 12% less than men even if the job is the
same. According
to the US department of labor a number of jobs that employ mostly women pay
men a higher wage. Here are some of the examples:
1.
Social Worker
If you meet a social worker, she is more likely to be female
than male—in fact, 79% more likely. Even though women dominate the profession,
it does not mean they top the pay scale. Men make an average of $864 per week,
while women in the same profession make an average of $774. That is almost 11%
less.
2.
Maid/Housekeeper
A full 87% of maids and house
cleaners are women. However, a female cleaner makes only $371 per week, while a
male makes $444.
(Check out the links listed below to see the full list)
If we relate this topic to media, we see that usually, there is a man who is shown in a construction site advertisement. Instead of the man being in the construction site advertisement, why could it not have been a woman. The figure on the right shows a advertisement for a local construction company, also notice how it is a male working instead of a female. The problem that we see is that many forms of media (TV, newspapers, commercials) have a dominant discourse where there is usually a male working as either a business man, construction worker while the female is usually seen as a secretary or housewives.
Considering all this discrimination that is faced by employers, many women feel degraded that they have not been accepted to that certain program they wished for. Even though there are opportunities given to woman in the western society, there are just some workplaces that may not pay a woman the same wages as males or accept them at all.
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| Male seen as the construction worker for a local advertisement |
Considering all this discrimination that is faced by employers, many women feel degraded that they have not been accepted to that certain program they wished for. Even though there are opportunities given to woman in the western society, there are just some workplaces that may not pay a woman the same wages as males or accept them at all.
To get a visual understanding, the graph below
graphs below shows the percentage of females workers compared to the male
workers working the same job. This shows that many females work as either as
teachers, nurses, and hairdressers as compared to working as an electrician or construction
worker. On the other hand the graph below the first shows the reasons why females
are not involved in certain jobs. Some of the reasons include, not having the
appropriate education skills, personal choice, pressure from the family or the
sector is dominated by men.
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Source: Focus
Bari, 2010
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Links:
10 types of stereotypes
that females face at work
Statistics
Gender pay
gap
Discussion questions
- Do you think that the glass ceiling effect is still in place in the 21st century ?(if so, specify)
- Do you think that females still get a lower wage than males even if the job is the same?
- What can be a possible method that can be used to eliminate the glass ceiling effect?
- If you’re a female, have you or a friend had any experience where you were given less money at a job or turned down just because of your gender?
Great post Kulvir, To answer your second question:
ReplyDeleteI personally think that females and males should get paid equally. if someone were to get paid more, it should be based on the work load not based on being male or female. If two people did the same job, they should get paid equally, regardless if they are males or females.
I totally agree with you Dharshiga since many people should be payed based on the type of work and their level in the workplace. You have brought up a good point on how 2 should should get paid equally regardless of their gender, now this is true since if a male and female are at the same level in the work place it makes sense for them to earn the same amount.
DeleteGreat post Kulvir!, I personally agree with you on this article since I believe that many woman have faced the glass ceiling effect in their lifetime. To start off, I would answer your first question by saying how there is still a glass ceiling in the 21st century, however it is not as bad as the glass ceiling effect in other countries. For your second question, I think that some females are given less money than males even if their jobs are the same. To give you a better example, we could relate this to some woman who are not paid equally in small businesses, companies etc... A possible way to take out the glass ceiling effect is by giving woman opportunities, also to make the wage for men and woman the same.
ReplyDeleteGreat comment Ajmal, I agree with you since this issue has become a big deal in the 3rd world countries where woman are paid only a couple cents or not money at all just because their woman. The western society is more developed, and therefore there are not as many cases of the glass ceiling effect. Yet if you were to travel to a sub urban area, the glass ceiling effect may occur there rather than a developed urban area.
DeleteThis is a biased manufactured propoganda ad by feminists. First of all both of the people in the commercial, they're white i counted no one that was brown, asian or even black, no everyone was white. Secondly if the man is getting applauded for his idea and the woman isn't means the man had the better idea. Thirdly business isn't about sexuality or race its about making money, if a man is the C.E.O instead of a woman, it means he is more qualified to get that money. I can easily make a wordless ad from a lens narrower than a carbon nanotube, that in no way means that its the truth. You can throw all the statistics you want, but how can i know that those statistics are accurate and not some form of propaganda like the video. If you live in Canada, men and women have equal opportunity its all just a question of who uses what they are given best.
ReplyDeleteGreat response Waleed, I do agree with you on you ideas and you are right about how a person who is qualified for job gets it. Since were in the western society, we do not really experience the glass ceiling effect as much as a person in Asia of Africa might. We have to approach this situation in different ways and think about how woman in different countries are being treated.
DeleteIn North America men and women are treated equally i agree but i don't think the Glass Ceiling effect is applicable in misogynistic third world countries where people can not get clean water. I think the purpose of the video was to raise awareness for some coincidences. I don't think men are payed more than women for sexist reasons, i think the men doing the job are more qualified and better workers. In some cases that is not true but in this case i think the woman just wasn't as good. And i agree with Waleed, why are there only white people in the Ad. The last time i checked we were living in a multicultural society, the commercial may be raising awareness for sexism but it is racist in a very subtle way.
DeleteI do think the glass ceiling effect is in still in place till this day. Women are still being paid less than men in many fields. The issue of equality is still foggy and has been for the longest time. As much as we want to believe that men and women are equal, its not true. Men still have the upper hand, they are still seen as more important in society and the media has been doing a swell of a job in backing that up.
ReplyDeleteGreat response Lauren, I agree with you on this issue on how the glass ceiling is still in effect. Also, I agree that there still is not a lot of equality in our world today. You brought up a great point that media portrays men in a higher rank than woman,this is true, but the only way to have equality is by portraying both genders equal in society. For example, media has become part of our lives, we view it for hours and hours in our day whether its a ad, poster, movie or TV, therefore if media has so much control over us, why cant they put up positive things about woman?
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that females should be paid less while doing the same job as a male. In the video, the business women was seen as a hard working, dedicated person who did the same job as a male but, more committed and organized yet in the end, she had a lower pay. It is not fair to pay a person more depending on their gender. If a person can do the same job and complete all the requirements, what is the reason for paying them less? There is not any. If anything, women who put more effort and time towards there job, should get paid more due to their performance. In relation to this issue, I had a job as a lifeguard during the summer, I had to work very hard in order to obtain my qualifications and was considered one of the top student in my courses. If I were to get paid less as a lifeguard compared to my fellow male classmate, it would be completely unfair. Knowing that I have the same abilities, if not better than my fellow male classmates, and get paid less, I would feel upset and degraded. Once again, I completely disagree with the issue of paying male workers more that females while, doing the same job.
ReplyDeleteGood topic :). Women are being paid less than men in many field. It might be not so obvious in Canada. But if you travel to South Eastern Asia, you will see the big difference in how women and men get treated & paid in the same job field. Media keep on saying that there is Equality between men and women, however women are presented on beauty commercial, and men are usually presented along with suit and hold a suit case on his hand. Which indicates man are for professional, however women are not .
ReplyDelete