Female Composition of Workforce - Assignment Example

? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Question In earlier times when the country’s labor market was dominated by males, theonly challenges that threatened happy family/personal lives were things like macro-economic factors (recession), wars and existing conflict in the relationship between individuals. But with the empowerment of women and their progress to highly skilled jobs, female composition of workforce became very significant. Workplace disparities create an environment of mistrust and disappointment in the relationships. Apart from the lack of time, other work related stresses can cause huge problems. For instance, the above example of paternity leave for fathers highlights the difference in the parenthood experience of different genders. Maternity leave allows a mother to be carefree about her work and pay and totally focus on her health. It also leaves her with more time for her child after the birth. These benefits may not be available to the male which could leave him frustrated. Another such phenomenon of disparity is the ‘glass ceiling’. A couple may be working in same/similar organization(s), they may have similar qualifications and achievements, but the male may climb the career ladder faster than the female. Although this situation can reverse if the female’s organization’s management has a bias towards female employees. The reason can be a female manager or a symbolic gesture on management’s part. These things also create problems in marriages/live-in relationships. In these cases there can be gradual build up of elements such as jealousy and resentment which could destroy the relationship. The rising level of divorces in the times of economic prosperity can highlight the role of non-economic factors in marital discord. Question 2: I think that Ms. Elliot was very successful in creating the two races; blue-eyed and brown eyed, in the class. I would rate her attempts as seven out of ten. Although I think that the races created were quite similar to the real life races, I don’t think that the experiment was perfect. This is because of the short time-frame of the whole process and also the fact that third-grade students can’t represent mature adults in studies about racism. Ms Elliot was successful in creating race and ‘planting’ racism in the minds of children. I disagree with the school of thought that race and racism are two sides of the same coin. I think that race formation leads to racism only when there are any stereotypes attached to the race. For example in the video, on the first day Ms Elliot tells children that brown –eyed kids are inferior. She gives an example of how one brown-eyed kids father (himself brown eyed) kicked him. She said that this was never the case with blue-eyed kids. I think that these stereotypes are the basis on which racism develops and engulfs the communities in hatred against each other. I extend my same argument to the concept of class. The concept or recognition of a race or class doesn’t naturally invite racism and discrimination. It is the imposition of a certain definition or image which creates the conflict. One party, due to its selfish interest or hatred, may tarnish the reputation of certain race and give it certain characteristics. It is these definitions which create racism and not the differentiation or categorization. Question 3 Both the videos demonstrate the level of hostility that exists towards the black community in the United States. This hostility may be a mere distorted perception of the black people. But the statistics and facts provided in the videos especially The Jim Crow Video corroborate the observations of Liebow’s Street Corner Men. The fact is that even now, half of young black population is either behind bars or declared as perpetrators of felony by the American Government. This means that there has been a great level of racial profiling for the drug crimes. Many American people may view black people as outsiders. They think that the term African-American doesn’t reflect the reality of black people. Liebow narrates this public opinion and black people’s soul searching in following words – ‘‘One ever feels his twoness, — an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, — this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self.’’? This strife is highlighted in the video Colorlines, Race and Economic Recovery. Mrs. Davis feels that she isn’t getting the kind of support she needs. Every day is a struggle for her. She isn’t happy either with the work or housing related decisions of the welfare department. But the most important aspect of the video is that she is very willing to work and provide for her family rather than live on welfare money. This was the spirit of African-Americans that was mentioned in the book and Mrs. Davis is reflecting every ounce of it. Question 4 The most important theme in this passage is that the discrimination faced by the black people in America is not attitudinal but institutional. This means that the American institutes are formed in such a manner, on the basis of the American population composition, that black people find themselves discriminated against on a large scale. The article explores the reasons behind absence of black people in managerial positions in the game of baseball. The writer wants to highlight the fact that discrimination is built in the system and that individual opinions of white people don’t matter that much. While giving an example the writer points to the housing laws which indirectly prevent poorer black people to live in the neighborhood of affluent white people. The reason is given in an unusual phrase ‘‘anyone who can afford to live here is fine with me’’. This demonstrates the kind of institutional discrimination blacks go through. This argument is applied in explaining lack of black people at managerial position in Baseball. While black players are undoubtedly equally good as their white co-players, they are not perceived to be good at thinking and making decisions. This prevents them from gaining higher ranks in the team and hence they lack experience for managerial positions. One more factor which hinders black baseball player’s progress is the networking among white players and managers. For many reasons they choose officials among themselves (white community). Read More