The other day, the topic about a recent survey of which gender people prefer as their boss came up into discussion among my sister, her friend and I. Unfortunately, as we may expect, survey shows more people still tend to prefer male bosses over female ones. However, this article that I found does say that the gap is narrowing, which is great! Today, Gallup says that "35% [of people chose] to work for a man and 23% [say] they prefer women supervisors" (Wallace 2013). While there is still a disparity, this is still an improvement from 1953. In 1953, Gallup says "66% [of people] chose a male boss and 5% [of people] picked a female one" (Wallace 2013). So society seems to be making improvements, (which is great,) but it needs to continue to do so.
I find it disappointing to see that may people still say that females aren't the best bosses because they are "bossy," "passive," etc. There was one part in the article that really stood out, and it was the part where reactions were given for the same actions both a male and female boss performed. The example says, "A male boss is assertive; a female bossy is bossy" and "A male boss is attentive to details; a female boss is picky" (Wallace 2013). This is so irritating to me, because the only difference between one answer and the other in each set of responses is one is positive and one is negative. To me, they both mean the same thing; but people put a negative connotation with female bosses by identifying their actions as "mean," "annoying," and "immature." Whereas the male boss is perceived as doing well at his job and doing what he is supposed to. How does this make sense?! The answer: it doesn't.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/13/living/identity-gallup-male-boss-female-boss/index.html?iref=allsearch
The part about using synonyms to mean completely different things irritates me as well.... This just further exemplifies the fact that women are looked down upon when they don't perform their expected gender roles, since being "assertive" and "attentive to detail" aren't qualities that women are valued for.
ReplyDeleteThis is both upsetting and exciting - as yes women are still viewed poorly in the work place, yet that gap (as the article states) is decreasing. I know it is premature to say this, but little by little women are making their mark in the work place which is fantastic! Hopefully that gap will keeping decreasing at a faster rate.
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