Jupiterimages for photo.com
To respond to the Do Now, you can comment below or tweet your response. Be sure to begin your tweet with @KQEDEdspace and end it with #KQEDDoNow
For more info on how to use Twitter, click here.
Do Now
Does our culture foster an equal playing field for women? If not, how can the circumstances improve for women? Explain your thoughts.
Introduction
Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer, has a lot to say on this. Her new book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, is all about female ambition, personal and professional ambition, and she tells it like it is. There are barriers to achievement for women, and her view is that women need to “lean in” and go for it, talk about the obstacles to achievement and aim high.
She writes, “The percentage of women at the top of corporate America has barely budged over the past decade.” And the data on women in the workplace supports her arguments. Women hold about 14 percent of executive officer positions, 17 percent of board seats, up from 16 percent in 2007 and 12 percent in 2002 (Spencer Stuart 2012 report). Women account for 18 percent of Congress. For women of color, the situation is worse since they hold only 4 percent of top corporate jobs and 5 percent of the congressional seats. As for pay, The Lowdown looks at earnings equality between men and women:
“……in 2010, female full-time workers made only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, according to US Census data (and that number drops significantly for black women, and even more for Latinas). Women, on average, earn less than men in almost every occupation for which there is sufficient wage data, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.”
When looking at female aspiration Samberg describes the “leadership ambition gap,” where fewer women than men aspire to senior jobs. “Young women internalize society’s cues about what defines ‘appropriate’ behavior, and, in turn, silence themselves,” writes Sandberg.
The gender stereotypes hold true. Women are still the primary caregivers for children and struggle to balance family and work life, especially if it comes to applying for top corporate positions. And ambitious women are not encouraged, but thought to be aggressive and viewed negatively.
What’s to be done? Is it a question of strategy – speaking up and out, interrupting to be heard, negotiating flexible work schedules, day care and family leave? Would that make a difference? How can the exception become a cultural rule?
Resource
KQED Perspectives radio story Flower Power - Mar. 20, 2013
Susan Dix Lyons sets an example for her daughter to admire. Maybe all 10-year-old girls list their Moms as their heroes, but I considered in that moment that I was experiencing a personal lifetime high point.
To respond to the Do Now, you can comment below or tweet your response. Be sure to begin your tweet with@KQEDedspace and end it with #KQEDDoNow
For more info on how to use Twitter, click here.
We encourage students to tweet their personal opinions as well as support their ideas with links to interesting/credible articles online (adding a nice research component) or retweet other people's ideas that they agree/disagree/find amusing. We also value student-produced media linked to their tweets like memes or more extensive blog posts to represent their ideas. Of course, do as you can…and any contribution is most welcomed.
More Resources
KQED State of Health post Quick Read: Working Women Blues - Feb. 27, 2013
This essay may — at first glance — appear to be a bit off the health beat. But employment equity is important to health status, for women and their children. Edgar effectively points out the difference between the challenges “narrow, elite women at the top” face (such as Marissa Mayer and Sheryl Sandberg) — and the fear women at lower rungs of the economy deal with every day: the potential of losing a job because a child is ill and needs care, or because the babysitter called in sick.
The California Report story The Judges of Oakland: Looking for Parity in the Legal Profession - Mar. 11, 2013
Female judges don't look any different from female lawyers. But if you know they’re all judges, it does feel like coming into personal contact with a little bit of history. Naturally, I had to ask if there’s a noticeable difference with an all-female bench -- and naturally, there were differences of opinion.
Pingback: Do Now #70: Equal Playing Field for Women – KQED (blog) « Contacto Latino News
Pingback: Wente: Alternative advice to high-flying women: Lean back – Globe and Mail « Contacto Latino News
I think that women do have the same opportunities as men, but they just get less for what they do. This article states that in 2010, women only made 77 cents for every dollar a male of the same profession earns, even though they have the same job
If you date back to the early days of our civilization women were and had been treated a lot differently than they are now. The roles of women back then was mainly housework and taking care of the kids while the husband would go out and make money for the family. In the 1900′s women began realizing that they were getting treated far worse than men and they wanted to change that for good, thus the womens sufferage union was born. Now if you go further into the future women began getting better jobs, better pay, and were regarded better than they were 40 years ago. However the job of women is not over yet you must stand strong and hold your ground untill we can change this for good
Women should be paid the same as men, when doing the same job, because people should be paid the same for equal amounts of work. There is no reason other than because they can not to pay a woman the amount they would pay a man. I still think however that the best person for the job should have the job though. We shouldn’t make women top employees just to say that we did they need to earn there spot as if they were male.
http://prezi.com/llxlvran32go/should-women-receive-equal-pay-as-men-in-the-same-jobs/
Thanks for this link. It is a really interesting article.
I agree with Alec 100%. He basically took the words out of my mouth.
Women need to get the same play as men, because that’s the only thing that’s different about it. They get the same job opportunities and go to the same colleges.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/10/24/163536890/equal-pay-for-equal-work-not-even-college-helps-women
I think that women should be paid the same as men, and that they should have the same opportunities as well. If they have the ability and drive to do it then they should be able to and not held against their sex.
That’s true i thing mean in women should have equal rights in steed of saying men have more freedom then women because that’s not fair.
I totally agree. Just because females may not be physically stronger than men or anything doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be paid the same. If a woman does as much work as a male she should earn the same. I understand being paid less if they are not pulling their end of the weight. Just because their not males doesn’t mean they can’t do the job. Women work hard and have come so far to get where they are that they deserve same wage as men.
http://www.now.org/issues/economic/factsheet.html
I think we need to have equal job opportunities for men and women because it is fair and women should not be discriminated
http://himalayasun.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/male-and-female-are-equal-and-should-have-equal-opportunity/
I agree with Dylan that women should have the same opportunity as men because we live in a free country where any one can have the same amount of success as everyone.3
I think women have the same opportunities as men, but have to work harder to achieve those higher paying executive jobs. As for the 77 cents to every man’s dollar, maybe the women’s work force is smaller than the men due to mothers being stay at home or just choosing not to work.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/10/24/163536890/equal-pay-for-equal-work-not-even-college-helps-women
I agree with what Tim has said.
I do think that women may be treated unequally when it comes to jobs. In some circumstances they are even payed less. In the article it says that women only made 77 cents for every dollar a man made with the same job, in 2010. This proves that women are sometimes treated unfairly in jobs.
I’ve never really thought this was such a big issue until now. The census data really does have a point, those are low percentages. Women should have every opportunity as a man should. They should also get paid the same. But whoever fits the job best, should get that job. All in all, women and men should get the same opportunities no matter what.
I agree with Sidney.
http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2011/01/17/women-in-today%E2%80%99s-workforce-still-treated-unfairly-paid-less/
I think woman should get the same pay as men. They work just as hard and do the same exact kind of job and sometimes even more. They shouldn’t be payed less because there pay check helps pay the bills and for food. I think there is some gender discrimination in this topic also.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/10/24/163536890/equal-pay-for-equal-work-not-even-college-helps-women
1 Timothy 2:12
‘I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to be silent.”
I agree that women have the same opportunities as men but to get to the top they just have to work a little harder even though they may earn less annually than their male counter-part.
http://www.payscale.com/gender-lifetime-earnings-gap
I don’t think it’s fair that women don’t have the same pay as men. It should all be the same as far as I’m concern. I think that women and men should have the same pay and the same opportunities as well. It states that in 2010 women, full-time workers made 77 cents for every dollar men make. That’s crazy why don’t they just give us women the same chance and same pay as men.
I think that this a big issue. It’s not fair that women who go to the same college, earn the same degree, and have the same job as men doesn’t mean that they should have less pay. They have worked just as hard as the men did to get in the same position. Just because women used to work at home doesn’t mean that they should be looked down upon for their right to get a better education and have more freedom to do what they want.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/10/24/163536890/equal-pay-for-equal-work-not-even-college-helps-women
I agree completely with Seth G. I don’t think they have less chance but they get less pay because of the sex. As the article states a women gets paid about 77 cents but when men do the same exact thing and get paid about a dollar.
I think that women and men should have the same opportunities for the same amount of pay rather then women making 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, though that was in 2010 maybe its different now. Although I don’t think it should matter the gender of a person, the better, harder working person for that job should get it and get the same amount of pay wether they were male or female. As long as the person is hard working, does their job and does it right it shouldn’t matter what gender they happen to be.
women and men deserve to be payed equally. Both genders do have different perspectives on things but that goes for everyone no matter what gender. Women can work just as hard as men if they set their mind to it so yes they deserve to get paid the exact same way. Some women have to provide for a family just like men and they cannot provide if they do not get fair pay.
I believe opportunities present themselves equally, between men and women. I don’t exactly believe mens rights to better jobs are more finalized and set in stone than women, I just believe men pursue more advanced, top-of-the-line jobs, when compared to females. There are women in the highest positions, just as there are men in the highest positions, so you can’t say one is simply “more qualified than the others”. It’s all determined by who is more ambitious to not only pursue, but to optimize the position, and quality, of there job, and in turn, increase payroll and become higher paid.
Women should have equal opportunities and pay if they are as capable and hard-working as their male counterparts. But men and women were created for different roles, so I don’t believe in gender ‘equality’; it’s like comparing apples and oranges because we’re intended for different purposes. However, if women choose to pursue male-dominated careers, they should be given equal opportunities.
http://bible-truth.org/Biblicalordermenwomen.html
I think that women have made long strides toward the view of equality. They still need to be equal not everything is it and it makes it very hard to do things a women. This goes for all the women and girls out there that we just need to keep trying.
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-01/equal-rights-women-everywhere-could-save-civilization
When looking at female aspiration Sandberg describes the “leadership ambition gap,” where fewer women than men aspire to senior jobs. “Young women internalize society’s cues about what defines ‘appropriate’ behavior, and, in turn, silence themselves,” writes Sandberg.
Society will always both help you and hurt you. Women need to stop listening to the negative opinions in society. They can stop giving concern to the opinions of others, and stop silencing themselves. For support see the Sandberg quote above.
I think if people, no matter what gender or race, should be paid equal for doing the same jobs. I personally see nothing wrong with men being the head of a house or the leaders. After all, women were created under men but I don’t think that means women shouldn’t be allowed the same rights as men. As long as a women is qualified and capable they should be allowed the same opportunities as men. I see how some people aspire to different goals in life but i think that women were made more to care for their family, but hey, if you wanna run for president as a women-more power to ya!
http://www.gty.org/resources/distinctives/dd08/the-role-of-women
I think that while yes woman do need equal pay, the best person for the job needs to get that job. A company shouldn’t be forced to not hire a male who is clearly more qualified for the job just so they can say there not sexist. Men also have a lot more responsibilities than women. Men have to sign up for selective service. I a man does not, he can face serious incarceration and a hefty fine. They also could get drafted into the military and serve in war women do not. This evens the playing field quit a bit. We need to be fair and just.
I agree with Alec. Women don’t necessarily need to be ahead of men but they do need to have the equal amount of pay when having the same job.
Women and men should be payed the same, and have all the same opportunities. There is no reason for them to be payed less, because there is no job that they would do worse just because they are women. They deserve all the working opportunities men do.
There is no justification for the pay gap between men and women. In theory, women have the same opportunities as men, but when the facts are considered, that statement simply doesn’t translate. Women don’t seek anything other than equality – recognition that they are of the same worth as men. Stereotypes about the female sphere of domesticity still hold true because many women haven’t been allowed to aspire to positions of success and power.
Clearly civil society in America does not foster an environment where women have an equal shot at success. And this is coming from a man. Women are equally as capable as men in almost every field, so they should basically be earning 1 dollar for every dollar men earn. Sure, men might be better-suited for certain jobs, such as those involving heavy physical labor. But many women are better-suited for certain jobs, such as those which involve using your brain, treating people equally, and staying focused for long-periods of time. So pay should equal out across the board at about 1 dollar made for every dollar a man makes.
In an ideal world, men and women would be paid equally for a job. I think that the job should be given to whoever is best suited for it, not just because they belong to one sex or another. The inequality of pay is embarrassing in this day and age; it’s 2013 for crying out loud!
I believe salary amounts should be gender-blind. One should get paid based on the work done, not his or her anatomy.
I think that now there is very little discrimination between men and women for jobs. Back then, working women were treated badly by working class men. Now, women have the rights to hold executive positions and can occupy most of the jobs available.
Woman should get the same pay as men considering they work just as hard and do the same exact kind of work. They shouldn’t be payed less just because they’re a woman. They need pay to support their family too, there are a lot of single moms out there. I think there is definitely some gender discrimination in this topic.
People are equal regardless of gender or ethnicity
http://www.history.com/this…/equal-rights-amendment-passed-by-congress
I think that all women should be paid equally for any carrer in which they wish to pursue.
I believe that women should get equal pay and have equal opportunities. Just because something is “a man’s job” doesn’t mean that a woman can’t do it just as well as a man or maybe even better. Yes, women and men are built for different things, but we live in a free country and should be allowed free options or opportunities, and not feel the need to worry about discrimination when going into a certain field of work or anything else.
http://www.globalissues.org/article/166/womens-rights
here is my website.
I think that women should be presented with the same opportunities as men, but i also think that women can be held back and tend to not go after what they want because they feel like men overpower them. If a women is capable of doing the same job or better that a man does, then I think that they should have the right to go for it and not let anybody try to tell them otherwise. We are equal and should equally be given the same opportunities.
I think women and men should be treated equally, especially when it comes to a job. Women can do just as much as men, there should be no reason why pay should be less for women. Men aren’t always the only ones taking care of a family, in today’s generation there are becoming more and more single women out there having to support there kids. Women shouldn’t be having to get 3 jobs at a time just to make as much as men do. This story has some discrimination between women and men, when there shouldn’t be.
http://www.now.org/issues/economic/factsheet.html
Women can and will have high paying jobs. They also deserve more respect than they are given. They have been working hard for it and that is how its suppose to be, when you want something so bad you have to work hard enough to get it. You cant just talk and cry about how you are not getting the respect you deserve or about how women don’t have as important jobs as men. You wont get it like that, no one did and no one ever will. Don’t get me wrong, i think women have been working hard to get that respect but it obviously hasn’t been enough. To me, woman have my respect and always will but some people think differently.
I’m not sure how I feel about this topic. I certainly believe that all men (and women) are created equal. But the approach that is being taken by the women that hold higher titles is coming off a bit “in your face”. I understand that women deserve equal pay and I completely agree with that, but I don’t think that they should be fighting the way they are just to get to the top… It seems that, eventually, employers will soon be favoring women over men that are qualified at equal levels just so there isn’t any “descrimination” between the sexes. But this is already happening between races. If both a colored man and a white man apply for the same job, the employer will favor the colored man even if the white man is equally qualified. I fear that this will be what ends up happening with this battle of the sexes.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/24/opinion/ledbetter-equal-pay
This issue never really crossed my mind too much until recently. The census data has a point, those are low percentages. Women should have every opportunity as a man should. They should also get paid the same as long as the same amount of work is performed by both sexes. But whoever fits the job best should get that job. All in all, women and men should get the same opportunities no matter what.
Women are huge contributors in today’s society and they should have equal say and pay with men. Women are valuable contributors and make our country a better place! #KQEDdonow @rapoch
Maybe we should have stay at home dads. If we have the woman be the one that works, then I feel like there would be less discrimination and women would have better pay if we were to reverse the roles.
I think it really depends on the relationship between two people. One couple may have a husband who works, meanwhile, the wife stays home. In another case, the husband might stay home, while the wife brings home the bacon. Or you might have both the husband and wife working. I can’t think of a case where both parties stay home. Regardless, someone needs to work. And that’s all I have to say about that.#KQEDdonow @rapoch
I think that we’ve come a long way with women’s rights. We have a lot of things set into place to try to level the playing field and I think it’s almost a little cheap. I hate when I hear someone say things like “Because I’m a girl you don’t think I can do it.” Women really use that as their crutch and its getting really annoying. If they want an equal playing field then get rid of things like affirmative action. @kqededspace @rapoch #kqeddonow
Women are equal to men. nothing annoys me more then when a guy thinks he is better than a woman just because he is male.
Women are equal to men. nothing annoys me more then when a guy thinks he is better than a woman just because he is male. @ rapoch @kqededspace #kqeddonow
I think that womens rights has come a very long way since the inception of our country. But i do think that we still have farther to go, women do deserve to be paid the same as men, and depending on there performance, they could be paid even more, your pay should be based on your work performance not your gender.
@kqededspace @rapoch #kqeddonow
it seems women in cities make more equal pay then in rural areas. i think men and women should be equal no matter what job or area they live in.
I believe that women dont get equal pay as men do. Also i think women do get less job opportunities then men too, like when it said women hold 18% of congressional seats.
I think that men and women should be equal because it doesn’t seem far for women to earn less than men.
I think women do have less of a chance than men. It’s been this way for so long that it is hard to change.
Pay women the same as men! If they are doing the same thing there is no reason not to. We are all human so we should be treated equally. I don’t understand why this is still going on in the first place. If women do the same amount of work as men they should get payed the same. The job is getting done so pay them!
If women are doing the same amount of work as men, they should have equal pay. That policy sounds like discrimination to me. Women do just as much quality work as men do and should be rewarded.
I think they should help poor women a little more and they should get paid better.
Jobs need to find a more legitimate reason to not provide pregnancy leave because women deserve to keep their jobs even if they are pregnant.They shouldn’t get fired because they miss a day of work.
I think it is wrong that women get paid less than men; if two people do the same task they should be rewarded equally. Women are completely capable to work well amd they deserve the same treatment as men do. The concept of equality is so simple and easy to grasp that this argument should not have to exist.
Woman should be completely equal to men and woman’s suffrage has come very far, however their isn’t complete turn of effect. For example woman could get the same jobs as a man, but they’re paid less. For the world to think fully that woman have become equal it would take much more change in people’s perspectives in order to do so. #KQEDdonow @rapoch
Amounts of job seekers happen to be increasing since ever and the numbers of jobs also have increased which will help candidates go for the job they are interested in. There are numerous sources that could be used for job search and many of it is also very reliable. Today, looking for jobs has become very easy as a result of presence of internet. Various websites are available which allows users to include their details plus return provides them with the assistance to locate a job. Various other sources are manually coming to the places, going to places when you are referred by already employees in some companies etc. A tool which is available in finding a job is really a job search engine which supplies various features like selecting from your huge pool of jobs. We can enter some kind of field about which we would like to search the job and apply for them. Different publication rack also registered with these job search engines and they post their advertisements in a variety of categories to allow people apply for these jobs as well as the remaining process is scheduled later. Job seekers can apply for the jobs compatible with their skills and requirements.*
See the most current blog post at our web page
<"'http://www.beautyfashiondigest.com/japanese-hair-straightening/
People should get jobs and opportunities based on their ability to perform the work. A woman should never be banned from doing a job she is capable of. I think there is an unfortunate stigma when it comes to “the battle of the sexes”, everything is always extreme. This is a new generation and a new time, yet we’re still asking “are women equal to men?” The extremes of feminists and old men’s clubs continually clash until they prove each other right, that women “will be brawling if given control” and that “men don’t want to relinquish control”. Why can’t we just be? Why does gender have to determine personality, opportunity and lifestyle? Martin Luther King Jr said he wanted his kids to be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. I feel the same way about being female. Different body parts don’t affect motivation, determine intelligence or enhance mental abilities. Rather than determine who’s better, I think we need to finally say that we’re all the same. Judge me by who I am, not what I am.