I chose the NGO of N.E.W. Leadership. N.E.W. Leadership is a national organization that works with female college students who are interested in a career in government or politics. Though it is a national organization, they are campus based. On OU's campus the programs runs through the Carl Albert Center. Each summer they put on a week long workshop. I participated in the program last summer and learned so much. It is an intense time, but all the activities and all the women that I met were just great. It is a great program for all college women, not just those who are interested in working in government. I feel that it is important for all to understand the huge gender disparity in public office. Until we have more representation from women, women's issues will not top priority lists. This is why all women (and men) should either try to participate in the program or give monetarily (the program is provided free of cost to all participants). Everyone who went through the program with me had a great time, and OU's program is always honored at The Journal Record's Woman of the Year program.
I found the writings on feminism across the world very interesting. I was not familiar with women's issues in Asia. I was sickened to read about the athletic shoe industry. I guess it shouldn't have surprised me, but it still made me want to get rid of my Nikes.
I am, however, a little more educated about women's issues in Africa, specifically Rwanda. Last summer a group of women visited Oklahoma through the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women. The women are business owners in Rwanda and they came for education and mentoring with a women from their field of business. Goretti shadowed my mom for a few days. She runs a business/travel magazine in Rwanda. All the women came to our house for a tea. They were all so inspiring. The government of Rwanda is mainly run by women because so many men were killed in the genocides of the 1990s. They are also responsible for picking up a lot of the pieces in the aftermath. I met a woman who teaches girls to sew. The girls in her school have all been in the sex trade industry because they were left homeless and had no other way to support themselves. She is working to give them a talent that they can make money from and get them off the streets.
This summer, my mom is going to Rwanda to visit the women and help Goretti get a program off the ground. The lessons that can be learned on both sides are just innumerable.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Ethnography Paper
Ethnography Paper
Research Design
Many blame wage gap on pregnancy and motherhood. There is also still an obvious glass ceiling for women in many professions. Growing up in a home with a working mom, I always wondered were things were harder for my mom because she was a mom and also what restrictions were placed on her because she was a woman?
My mom is the publisher and president of The Journal Record, a business newspaper in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The paper is one of many across the country, and though she is the president of the paper locally, there is a corporate office that she answers to. The corporate staff is predominately male, though her local staff is mainly women.
I spent a lot of time in her office growing up, and since there were so many women in the office, I never thought anything of her being a woman. But now, as I hear her stories of the executives who work in the corporate office, I see that she has also struggled with gender inequality. Despite these inequalities she still managed to climb the ladder, while also having a young daughter.
I never felt that I was missing anything growing up. I saw my mom almost every night for dinner and spent the weekends with her. In my opinion, she was the best mom, but I wanted to see what she thought about being a mom and a career woman.
The respect I have for what my mom has done as well as the knowledge that most all women face inequalities in the workplace are what made me decided to base my research questions on motherhood in the workplace.
I conducted my research through an interview, and I visited my mom at her office.
Interview Questions
1. How have you balanced working and being a mom?
I don’t know if balance has ever been a reality, though it is something I always strived to achieve. It has taken a lot of juggling to keep up with my work and devote the time I always wanted to give as a mom. This has meant doing work after my daughter’s bedtime when she was young. As she got older we did our “homework” together. On the flip side, I tried not to miss any of her significant events at school and found a way to be a homeroom mom. Looking back, I think I was always there and fully present for her when she needed me. She is a well-adjusted, good person now—so I hope I succeeded.
2. What changed in the balance as you were promoted?
As I was promoted and my responsibilities grew, so did the amount of stress and hours needed at work. I didn’t really change anything in the way I approached motherhood, but my entire family did have to make concessions because of the time I spent traveling and at the office. Luckily I always had a great support system. We are not really a traditional family, so I never felt compelled to come home and cook a big dinner, which lessened my stress and gave me more time to spend with my daughter in the evenings. A cleaning lady really helped as well!
3. Do you think that being a woman/being a mother has hindered your career? Do people not consider you for positions because you are a woman/mom?
I have turned down promotions that involved moving because of my family, but I don’t think I have ever not been considered because I’m a woman. I know that is not the case for others, however. I do have some questions about salary parity in my company, however.
4. Do you feel that you missed things as a mother because of your career?
There have been things I’ve missed and guilt was a feeling I became accustomed to when my daughter was young. My mom spent more time with her during the day than I did. While I was so grateful for that, I have to admit to feeling some resentment that she was the one who saw Madison tie her shoes for the first time and ride a two-wheeled bike on her own. In hindsight, I don’t think it harmed Madison in any way and I think I made it up to her in time with her as she got older.
5. Does being a mother ever help you in your career? Why?
Being a mother and having a career is a true test of time management and multi-tasking skills. Both are skills that make me a better manager. Empathy, patience and consensus building are also qualities and skills developed by a good mother that have made me a better leader.
6. Does being a mother ever effect your business decisions?
Even though I’ve mentioned that I missed some of my daughter’s milestones over the years, I also chose, whenever possible, to be home rather than attend certain networking events and business meetings. I figured out a way to be at networking functions and work the room very quickly in order to get home. Being a mother has also provided me with a moral compass that I’m not sure was fully developed prior to motherhood. As I’ve stressed to my daughter the importance of always doing what is right, not what is popular, I’ve got extra responsibility to not just “talk the talk”, but to “walk the walk”.
Field Notes:
My Observations: I have visited my mom’s office many times, so her staff as really seen me grow up, and they always want to talk with me when I am there. They know that I am an important part of my mom’s life and, I think, they like when I come in and not resent it. Because of this, it was very difficult to go in and just observe. In my mom’s office are lots of pictures of me and of our family. Even at work she surrounds herself with her family.
She will also always tries to answer the phone when I call, even if that means it takes away from her work for a few minutes.
Write up:
I think that my mom has probably had a struggle balancing a career and a family, but I do not think either side has ever been negatively impacted because of the other. I do not believe that her company discriminates against her because she is a mother.
Research Design
Many blame wage gap on pregnancy and motherhood. There is also still an obvious glass ceiling for women in many professions. Growing up in a home with a working mom, I always wondered were things were harder for my mom because she was a mom and also what restrictions were placed on her because she was a woman?
My mom is the publisher and president of The Journal Record, a business newspaper in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The paper is one of many across the country, and though she is the president of the paper locally, there is a corporate office that she answers to. The corporate staff is predominately male, though her local staff is mainly women.
I spent a lot of time in her office growing up, and since there were so many women in the office, I never thought anything of her being a woman. But now, as I hear her stories of the executives who work in the corporate office, I see that she has also struggled with gender inequality. Despite these inequalities she still managed to climb the ladder, while also having a young daughter.
I never felt that I was missing anything growing up. I saw my mom almost every night for dinner and spent the weekends with her. In my opinion, she was the best mom, but I wanted to see what she thought about being a mom and a career woman.
The respect I have for what my mom has done as well as the knowledge that most all women face inequalities in the workplace are what made me decided to base my research questions on motherhood in the workplace.
I conducted my research through an interview, and I visited my mom at her office.
Interview Questions
1. How have you balanced working and being a mom?
I don’t know if balance has ever been a reality, though it is something I always strived to achieve. It has taken a lot of juggling to keep up with my work and devote the time I always wanted to give as a mom. This has meant doing work after my daughter’s bedtime when she was young. As she got older we did our “homework” together. On the flip side, I tried not to miss any of her significant events at school and found a way to be a homeroom mom. Looking back, I think I was always there and fully present for her when she needed me. She is a well-adjusted, good person now—so I hope I succeeded.
2. What changed in the balance as you were promoted?
As I was promoted and my responsibilities grew, so did the amount of stress and hours needed at work. I didn’t really change anything in the way I approached motherhood, but my entire family did have to make concessions because of the time I spent traveling and at the office. Luckily I always had a great support system. We are not really a traditional family, so I never felt compelled to come home and cook a big dinner, which lessened my stress and gave me more time to spend with my daughter in the evenings. A cleaning lady really helped as well!
3. Do you think that being a woman/being a mother has hindered your career? Do people not consider you for positions because you are a woman/mom?
I have turned down promotions that involved moving because of my family, but I don’t think I have ever not been considered because I’m a woman. I know that is not the case for others, however. I do have some questions about salary parity in my company, however.
4. Do you feel that you missed things as a mother because of your career?
There have been things I’ve missed and guilt was a feeling I became accustomed to when my daughter was young. My mom spent more time with her during the day than I did. While I was so grateful for that, I have to admit to feeling some resentment that she was the one who saw Madison tie her shoes for the first time and ride a two-wheeled bike on her own. In hindsight, I don’t think it harmed Madison in any way and I think I made it up to her in time with her as she got older.
5. Does being a mother ever help you in your career? Why?
Being a mother and having a career is a true test of time management and multi-tasking skills. Both are skills that make me a better manager. Empathy, patience and consensus building are also qualities and skills developed by a good mother that have made me a better leader.
6. Does being a mother ever effect your business decisions?
Even though I’ve mentioned that I missed some of my daughter’s milestones over the years, I also chose, whenever possible, to be home rather than attend certain networking events and business meetings. I figured out a way to be at networking functions and work the room very quickly in order to get home. Being a mother has also provided me with a moral compass that I’m not sure was fully developed prior to motherhood. As I’ve stressed to my daughter the importance of always doing what is right, not what is popular, I’ve got extra responsibility to not just “talk the talk”, but to “walk the walk”.
Field Notes:
My Observations: I have visited my mom’s office many times, so her staff as really seen me grow up, and they always want to talk with me when I am there. They know that I am an important part of my mom’s life and, I think, they like when I come in and not resent it. Because of this, it was very difficult to go in and just observe. In my mom’s office are lots of pictures of me and of our family. Even at work she surrounds herself with her family.
She will also always tries to answer the phone when I call, even if that means it takes away from her work for a few minutes.
Write up:
I think that my mom has probably had a struggle balancing a career and a family, but I do not think either side has ever been negatively impacted because of the other. I do not believe that her company discriminates against her because she is a mother.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Response to Belkin
I found Belkin's Opt-Out article very interesting. I found it fascinating to read the stories of real women who had chosen to leave careers for motherhood, especially because they were women with Ivy League educations. I honestly can see both sides of this argument. Obviously leaving a job to stay at home with children is not an option for everyone, as many of Belkin's critics point out. But if a woman has the resources to stay home who is to say that she shouldn't? On the other hand, doesn't it create a brain drain of sorts? If the women who are leaving careers are the ones who have good educations and who are attaining high level positions then it is unfortunate. It is important for women to keep making strides in employment and when women leave it proves the point of many- women can be paid less because they are less reliable.
I do believe that American work places do need to make the work environment more friendly to women with families. If work places were more flexible then more women might stay in the work force. Many responses to Belkin's article cite inflexible work places as a reason why women leave, not that they are "opting-out."
My mom worked the entire time that I was growing up, so I have always had a hard time understanding stay-at-home moms. To me it seemed that my mom always did it all- she cared for me, took care of the house, and worked. Now I see how much a factor my grandma was. She has lived with us since I was three years old. She worked too, but her hours were much more flexible. She could pick me up from school and would make dinner for me while my mom was at work. We were fortunate enough to be able to hire a housekeeper to clean once a week so that no one had to bother with that. There was also just me. If my parents had had more children I think things would have been different. Though we really needed my mom's income, it would have been harder for her to work the long hours required for her to move up the ladder.
Like I said, I can see both sides of the argument. I think it is great for women to be able to stay home with their kids, but I think if a woman wants to work that is great too.
I do believe that American work places do need to make the work environment more friendly to women with families. If work places were more flexible then more women might stay in the work force. Many responses to Belkin's article cite inflexible work places as a reason why women leave, not that they are "opting-out."
My mom worked the entire time that I was growing up, so I have always had a hard time understanding stay-at-home moms. To me it seemed that my mom always did it all- she cared for me, took care of the house, and worked. Now I see how much a factor my grandma was. She has lived with us since I was three years old. She worked too, but her hours were much more flexible. She could pick me up from school and would make dinner for me while my mom was at work. We were fortunate enough to be able to hire a housekeeper to clean once a week so that no one had to bother with that. There was also just me. If my parents had had more children I think things would have been different. Though we really needed my mom's income, it would have been harder for her to work the long hours required for her to move up the ladder.
Like I said, I can see both sides of the argument. I think it is great for women to be able to stay home with their kids, but I think if a woman wants to work that is great too.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Week 7- Movie Review
I chose the movie The Secret Life of Bees to review. I read the book a couple of years ago not long after it came out, but I didn't see the movie until last weekend. It's basic plot is about a 14-year-old girl who killed her mother when she was 3. Her father is abusive, and after her African American maid gets beaten by a group of white men, Lily along with Rosaleen (played by Jennifer Hudson) flee. They go to a city Lily believes her mother once lived. They end up moving in with a family of very strong, cultured African American women (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, and Sophie Okonedo). This film, obviously, is not just about gender, but also about race. In the south in the 1960s families were supposed to be very traditional. The Boatwrights were not traditional. They owned their own company, and didn't need help from really anyone to take care of all their bees. Men are shown in a very negative light- Lily's father is abusive, and I really ended up hating him. Rosaleen was beaten up by a group of white men. There are two young black men who are shown in a positive light, but the younger one gets kidnapped by a group of white men (later leading to the mentally handicapped sister's suicide), and the other young man is in love with Alicia Keys character. She struggles because she wants to appear that she does not need a man, though she eventually accepts his marriage proposal. I am not sure that the trailer for the movie accurately portrays the themes of the movie. Maybe because I read the book first I think that there are much deeper themes than just the action of the plot. The movie was great though, it is one of not very many movies that show not just white women, but also African American women in a very positive light.
On page 48 of chapter nine of Feminism is for Everybody, bell hooks makes a great point. She says, "When reformist feminist thinkers from privileged class backgrounds whose primary agenda was achieving social equality with men of their class equated work with liberation they meant high-paying careers. Their vision of work had little relevance for masses of women." For the majority of people, both men and women, high-paying salaried positions are not realistically achievable. The majority of the population do not get college educations (it's close to half, but not quite), so the majority of people (and even some who have college educations) work in "blue-collar jobs." Though gender inequality is still an aspect of these occupations, the focus of equal pay is not considered when thinking of these jobs.
I thought that another interesting, and scary, point was made in The F-Word on page 121. Rowe-Finkbeiner claims that boy children are valued more than girl children. That parents with girls are more likely to get a divorce, therefore boys have a financial advantage even from birth. I am not sure that I disagree with her, I just have had a very different experience in my life. I am the only child, and I am a girl. My mom only wanted a girl, and really only wanted one child. My parents did get divorced, but my mom remarried when I was four, and still did not have more children. My stepdad (now my dad because he adopted me) is happy only having me, and I honestly cannot imagine him as a father to a boy.
Also, when thinking about the wage gap, how conscious is the decision to pay women less? Rowe-Finkbeiner claims that it is unconscious on the part of men, but how can that be so? I talked with my mom about this. She is the president and publisher of a business newspaper in Oklahoma City. Her paper is part of a larger group of newspapers and journals across the country. They have probably reached critical mass with the number of women publishers, but the regional leaders are men. She is sure that she is paid less than men, even though her paper makes more money than any other paper. She can't prove it, but it is frustrating nonetheless.
Until next time,
Madison
On page 48 of chapter nine of Feminism is for Everybody, bell hooks makes a great point. She says, "When reformist feminist thinkers from privileged class backgrounds whose primary agenda was achieving social equality with men of their class equated work with liberation they meant high-paying careers. Their vision of work had little relevance for masses of women." For the majority of people, both men and women, high-paying salaried positions are not realistically achievable. The majority of the population do not get college educations (it's close to half, but not quite), so the majority of people (and even some who have college educations) work in "blue-collar jobs." Though gender inequality is still an aspect of these occupations, the focus of equal pay is not considered when thinking of these jobs.
I thought that another interesting, and scary, point was made in The F-Word on page 121. Rowe-Finkbeiner claims that boy children are valued more than girl children. That parents with girls are more likely to get a divorce, therefore boys have a financial advantage even from birth. I am not sure that I disagree with her, I just have had a very different experience in my life. I am the only child, and I am a girl. My mom only wanted a girl, and really only wanted one child. My parents did get divorced, but my mom remarried when I was four, and still did not have more children. My stepdad (now my dad because he adopted me) is happy only having me, and I honestly cannot imagine him as a father to a boy.
Also, when thinking about the wage gap, how conscious is the decision to pay women less? Rowe-Finkbeiner claims that it is unconscious on the part of men, but how can that be so? I talked with my mom about this. She is the president and publisher of a business newspaper in Oklahoma City. Her paper is part of a larger group of newspapers and journals across the country. They have probably reached critical mass with the number of women publishers, but the regional leaders are men. She is sure that she is paid less than men, even though her paper makes more money than any other paper. She can't prove it, but it is frustrating nonetheless.
Until next time,
Madison
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Week 6
Look to the post "Advertisement" made two weeks ago.
A few things stuck out to me in the F Word chapter on motherhood. On page 58 a woman is quoted as saying, "Being parents in a society that does not support parents is a huge concern for me." This is really interesting to me. It is true that the most of the workforce is not that helpful to expectant or new moms, but we do live in a society that values having a family. If someone does not get married or does not have kids they are looked down on and are often thought to kind of strange.
Also, the author makes a lot of comments in support of stay-at-home moms. I agree that they should be included in the census, but I think it is selfish for a stay-at-home mom to act like they work the hardest out of any other profession. What about the moms who work 8,9, 10 or even more hours a day, then come home to make dinner, help with homework, do laundry, run errands. When do they get the recognition that they deserve?
On the same line with motherhood, hooks makes a claim in Chapter 13 that "Women perpetuate this violence as much as men or more" (74). I do not necessarily disagree with, but that I wish had some substantiating evidence to back up.
Until next time,
Madison
A few things stuck out to me in the F Word chapter on motherhood. On page 58 a woman is quoted as saying, "Being parents in a society that does not support parents is a huge concern for me." This is really interesting to me. It is true that the most of the workforce is not that helpful to expectant or new moms, but we do live in a society that values having a family. If someone does not get married or does not have kids they are looked down on and are often thought to kind of strange.
Also, the author makes a lot of comments in support of stay-at-home moms. I agree that they should be included in the census, but I think it is selfish for a stay-at-home mom to act like they work the hardest out of any other profession. What about the moms who work 8,9, 10 or even more hours a day, then come home to make dinner, help with homework, do laundry, run errands. When do they get the recognition that they deserve?
On the same line with motherhood, hooks makes a claim in Chapter 13 that "Women perpetuate this violence as much as men or more" (74). I do not necessarily disagree with, but that I wish had some substantiating evidence to back up.
Until next time,
Madison
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