Current Event Assignment – D:
“What Do a Scientist and a Journalist Have in Common? #HerToo” http://womensenews.org/2017/11/hertoo-a-scientist-and-a-journalist-speak-out/ Today there are alternating sources for news headlines and current events. Recently the social media generated tagline “Me Too” has brought the topic of sexual harassment to the forefront of our societal conscious. The Women’s News article, “What Do a Scientist and a Journalist Have in Common? #HerToo,” written by Nina Dudnik and Shirley Smith, describes the two women’s experience with harassment in the workplace. Dudnik, the scientist, recalls the inner dialogue of her experience with occupational harassment. Dudnik explains she was initially fond of the man involved. He
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The lives of people such as Dudnik and Smith are so dissimilar to mine, they are almost foreign. Crawford (2012, p. 318) writes that women in male dominated professions are more likely to victims of harassment. The last occupation that comes to my mind when I read this would have been a scientist. I wrongfully assumed that people in such a distinguished arena, who are well educated, would not have to deal with this issue. To my unfortunate discovery, this oppression affects the multitudes of women in the workplace. The setting of Smith’s incident is sadly far more recognizable, working for a governmental leader. Her story corresponds with the theory of sexual harassment being a form of abuse of power (Crawford, 2012, p. 319). As she assumed, the bodyguard was more valuable in her occupational hierarchy, she felt powerless against his actions. To add further anguish to Smith’s story she fits into the description given by Crawford (2012, p.319) that many women quit or relocate their job after being harassed. The recurring theme in these women’s stories, is silence. The idea behind “Me Too” is breaking that silence. Victims may often feel that they are alone in their situation. However, this current trend is attempting to dispel that notion. As Crawford writes, “sexual harassment is not inevitable” (2012, p.320). It is a completely avoidable plague on our society which only
Betty Dukes, 54-year-old Wal-Mart worker claimed sexual discrimination based on the claim that in spite of working at the store for six years and with positive reviews on her performance, she was denied the necessary training required to advance to a position of higher salary (Toobin, 2011). The court held
Vicki Schultz uses the case of EEOC v. Sears Roebuck & Co. as an example of sex segregation of women in the workplace. In this court case it was found that the employer had not discriminated against women in commission jobs because the EEOC claims “were based on the faulty assumption that female sales applicants were as ‘interested’ as male applicants in commissions sales jobs. ”(174) Therefor Schultz suggests “lack of interest” in those commission sales jobs “rests on conventional images of women as ‘feminine’ and nurturing, unsuited for the vicious competition in the male dominated world of.”(174). She then goes on to describe that the “lack of interest” claim can be use in two ways; Conservative and liberal.
Sexual harassment in the workplace takes many forms, and could result in a system of assault that could perpetuate continually. In the Frontline Documentary Rape in the Fields (2013), the power dynamics of undocumented female field workers and their male co-workers or bosses creates a dynamic in which these women must consent to unwelcome behavior, and many must engage in regular intercourse with these men for fear of being deported along with their entire family. Thus, these men have a leverage and can blackmail these women into agreeing to engage in a sexual relationship with these men, crossing the line between consent and force. In one case, one of the male farm owners insisted that a female subordinate engage in intercourse with him, and threatened her with a gun. This is an
Sandberg constantly states the fact that women need to take a stand against men to reach the amount of success they are at. One good statistic she does use states “A study found that of Millennial men and women who work in an organization with a woman in a senior role, only about 20 percent want to emulate her career.” (654). This is a good example of female discrimination but only if she used all her examples like this one she would have a more structured argument on the
Gretchen Carlson’s powerful Ted Talk describes how sexual harassment in work places has become something ordinary for thousands of women. Carlson uses Monroe’s Motivated Sequence to present each argument in her presentation. For instance, to get the audience’s attention, Carlson starts off her presentation by describing real life scenarios in which women were harassed by their male co-workers or bosses. This strategy is an outstanding way of getting the audience’s attention because what Carlson is saying is raw and makes the audience feel uncomfortable.
As modern society has made clear, women have the ability to perform with equal skill and success in virtually every endeavor engaged in by men, including employment, athletics, academics and politics. Yet discrimination on the basis of sex has a long history in the United States, and its residual effects still operate to keep women's salaries lower and opportunities fewer in the employment
On 10 October 2015, Eileen Pollack published an article in the online New York Times titled “What Really Keeps Women Out of Tech”. This article points out that there is a serious gender and diversity problem among the computer science and engineering professions. Pollack uses the studies and experiments that Dr. Sapna Cheryan, a psychology professor at the University of Washington, has done to argue her points. Along with Dr. Cheryan’s experiments and conclusions, Pollack drew some of her own conclusions about being a woman in a male-dominated field and how it affected her mindset. Pollack’s article is overall effective because her main goal was to bring about awareness to the issue of computer science and engineering professions being male-dominated
Anita Hill 's graphic testimony was a turning point for gender equality in the U.S. and ignited a political firestorm about sexual misconduct and power in the workplace that still resonates today. Against a backdrop of sex, politics and race, Anita reveals the intimate story of a woman who spoke truth to power.
The first woman to be a United States veterinarian is Dorothy Segal. She is one out of fifty-five women who stayed in college to be a veterinarian, even though her dean of students told her and the other female students to go back to the kitchen. Dorothy Segal changed the history of the veterinary field forever. Through her efforts to change the veterinary society in college and in the work field, Dorothy Segal showed that men are not the only ones that belong in the veterinary field.
“Women Face Discrimination in the Workplace.” Women Face Discrimination in the Workplace, 2006, https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Viewpoints&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=MultiTab&hitCount=5&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=3&docId=GALE%7CEJ3010407206&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAY-MOD1&prod. Accessed 21 February
Sexual assault has effected many people like Melba and is still a big problem now. Underprivileged groups are often taken advantage of and are scared to report the assaults. One example of this is that “rape appeared to be a growing problem as data collected by the FBI displayed that the rate of reported rapes began to increase dramatically in the 1960s as women entered the workforce in larger numbers. ”(Columbia). This quote shows how rapists and assaulters take advantage of groups like newly employed women.
So it is hard to speak out about a lot of our discomfort, because we may feel it is wrong or no one will believe us. While some may believe we, as women, are striving for equality among men, it is a completely different topic in regards to a job versus sexual harassment. The article expresses the abuse among women of color in low income jobs, who may not speak out for fear of losing their jobs. But these women may have children at home taking care of, or may be trying to complete a degree. Many are single mothers, undocumented families and are categorized as the minority group.
Me too is a movement started by Tarana Burke in 2006 who wanted women to feel safe and be able to tell their stories than in 2017 Alyssa Milano shared a tweet"If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote 'Me too.' as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.” That got popular and then she later realized that someone else had also said the same thing but some years earlier about the same movement. Then later on in 2017 when women wrote and charged Harvey Weinstein of harassment. Jessicka Adam´s was the first woman to come out with the fact that another musician Jeordie White, she accused him of rape, domestic violence, and verbal abuse.
Oprah Winfrey: #Me Too “Me too.” It is hard to believe that this little two-word phrase would be a tool used in shifting the balance of conversation that we as America have about the subject of sexual assault. Recently there has been a campaign in Hollywood where women are standing in solidarity with other women who have been sexually harassed in the industry. “Me too” was the hashtag assigned to this movement/campaign and has been typed on various social media outlets by many celebrities, as well as people all over the world.
Sexual harassment and sexual assault are very serious issues happening today in the workplace. Women or men have suffered from unsolicited sexual behaviors that are typically provoked by someone “higher” in position. “Sexual harassment especially has been a fixture in the workplace since women began to work outside their homes” (Fitzgerald, 1993). It is solely the responsibility of the employer to ensure that all employees within are aware and are very cautions of laws, misconduct, and liabilities. Employers must enforce the Policy Prohibiting Discrimination and further extend those laws and guidelines to their employees.