In class on Tuesday we began discussing the gender wage gap in the work force today. I was somewhat shocked at the statistics that we discussed in class. Mean really make more money than women at “Women’s Jobs”? I think this is a little ridiculous. Women with children are less likely to be hired than women without?
One thing that we didn’t discuss that deeply in class is the class ceiling in the workforce today. Statistics show that it is very hard for a woman to move up very far in her workplace. It could be caused by maternity leave or just the simple fact that she is a woman. I found a fun video that gives some very interesting statistics on the glass ceiling today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5eM7UngU6M
While thinking about the glass ceiling, I realized that I have witnessed that in my life. I work as a Bank teller in my hometown. I have recently realized that most of the “important” people are men. However, there is not one male in the lower level jobs. Now, in my case I do not believe this is because of class ceilings because our bank president started out as a teller himself. Many of the women that started as a teller have moved very high up in the corporate ladder.
The glass ceiling absolutely needs abolished. However, I feel that it is going to be awhile before that happens, as stated in the video. Women need to stand up for themselves in the workplace and make a push for this change.
I found this post very interesting. My mother is the hardest worker I know, she is an account executive at a design firm. She works alongside a man who makes three times what she makes. I know she does a lot more work than he does, but because she is a woman she continually receives a lower salary. She has worked for the company for a considerable amount of time, but has never been given the chance to move up in her career. Also with her being a single-mother of two children I feel her company will never give her an opportunity to move up in her job. I have never heard her complain about it, but it is frustrating for me to see. The way she is treated is unfair.
ReplyDeleteI am on the same boat as Cody, for my mother too is a single working parent. She has been promoted to the supervisor of her area but she constantly is working late at night and even has to work on Saturdays and Sundays. She tells me that she is always the last one in her office and one of the few in on the weekends. She also tells me that it is very hard for her to get off work with the amount of work she has. I know that men in her area of work do not dedicate as much time as she does. Being a mother of four is not easy with the amount of time her work takes up. She is worried about losing it sometimes because of the demands she gets from her executives who are men, even though she has many other tasks to take care of at home. With the amount of time she gives to her work, she deserves a much bigger salary than she receives right now. I think it is unfair that she works so much and receives so little while these executives work less than her and receive a bigger salary.
ReplyDeleteOver the summer I had the opportunity to do the Global Consulting Program in France. In this program we were split up into teams and assigned to a business and act as a consultant for them. I happened to be the only girl in my team and we were assigned a business called MSB. MSB stands for Metal Service of Burgundy where they provide different metal parts for a wide variety of sectors. The CEO of the company and who we worked with was an older man named Pierre. We went and visited the factory and he showed us around and I began noticing a trend. Pierre was not really paying attention to me and was only interested in the boys in my group.
ReplyDeleteWGS has brought to my attention that when I went to the factory I only saw men. Now I realize he probably thought that since this is a male dominated field that I don't care and I am not interested. It was not until the final presentation where I finally caught his attention and he really like my recommendations. I realize that this discrimination in the workplace is not only in the U.S. but worldwide.
Like Laurie, I was also really shocked by the readings. Knowing that when we, as women, go out into the work force today we are more than likely not going to make as much as our male counterparts in quite daunting. I remember when my mom was pregnant with my youngest sister she asked for time off and got some but it was only for two weeks. She was then asked to come back in and work in the day care unit with her newborn along with 20 other young children. She was initially working out in the office but since they just lost they're day care worker and she had kids, a newborn, and wanted to stay with her newborn longer, she took the pay decrease even though it was not what she wanted to do.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of issues that this class has brought to my attention is astounding, especially in the work force and the way they treat maternity leave. If you have a child, then naturally you should want to work with children and be good at it right?
I also found the glass ceiling and the difference in wages very intriguing. I'm not going to say that I didn't know that either of them existed, because I did, I just never realized how much less women were making. And on top of that, women with children are making even less then women without! If there are laws for that they need to be enforced, and more awareness needs to be raised. When I am married and have kids not only do I expect my wife to be working and helping pay the bills, but she better be making the maximum like everyone else without kids! The glass ceiling needs to go. There is no reason a women can't move up as much as a man can (with at least the same qualifications or better then that man). If a women can run for president, she can be the c.e.o. of a company, or even president. My father owns a business and the VP is a women, and she does more than anyone, and she has a young child and is expecting another.
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