As I am coming into the years of my life where
finding a job is becoming a reality, I was excited when my group decided on the
topic women and work. Since the second wave of feminism women have become more
accepted within the corporate world, but of course there are still many issues
that remain. The concerns I have for myself are how I am going to make my
personality stand out? How can I come across as an independent, smart,
hardworking woman? Should I just throw myself out there? Or should I remain
conservative, and mind what I say? In a recent article by author A.G.S. Johnson
titled ‘Successful Women in the Workforce: Is it Really All or Nothing?’ she
states that women haven’t broken the glass ceiling in number because women
don’t “lean in”, or “go for it at all costs” like men tend to do. Though she
does acknowledge that there are simply tougher choices for women in the work
force then there are for men. This statement immediately reminded me of my
mother.
My mother recently admitted to me
that if she had had the choice to be a stay at home mother she would have taken
the opportunity. She never wanted to go back to work because she wanted to be
the one to raise her kids, not to have them sent off to babysitters and
daycare. I respect my mother for wanting to stay home, and to take care of my
sister and I but with her making the sacrifice to work and to put everything
into both her job and home life inspires me. This inspires me to achieve
a high position within my career so I could hopefully set up a lifestyle that
if I decide to end work to stay at home with my kids, it would be an actual
possibility. In order to do this I must take my stance on the term ‘glass
ceiling’. In a excerpt we read in class from Cordelia Fine’s book ‘Delusions of
Gender’ she says this statement that I find to be motivating. ‘While
stereotypes can distort our perception of others, they are not so powerful that
they can blind us to actual evidence that a female candidate has the necessary
confidence, independence, and ambition to succeed in leadership roles’. There
will always be stereotypes, we come from a society that tends to put labels on
everything, and in order to make it we must be willing to break those labels. I
come from a very loving and supportive family, and I know that I will always
have them in my corner to cheer me on. They have taught me to create confidence,
independence, and ambition for myself. In life you are consistently growing and
achieving higher statuses, whether it is your year in school, or a simple
promotion at your part-time job, you are still advancing. I believe that these
advances you are taking on in life will ultimately help you when you are at an
interview for a job. For you will have the confidence behind you, so in your
mind you know that you can do it.
In Johnson’s article she advises
women from a statement made by CFO of Lehman Brothers Erin Callan to perhaps
‘look before you lean’ and I agree with her, it is always smart to fully read
the situation before jumping right into it. She also quotes COO of Facebook
Sheryl Sandberg to ‘go for it at all costs’ and I agree with this as well, I
think you need both in order to succeed. I feel that I will personally need
both of these tips when it comes to the next big commitment in my life. Next
year I will be taking on the role, as the only junior captain of the OU Dance
Team and this is a huge responsibility. The dance team here at OU is a student
run organization, we are not under the direction of athletics, and the team
depends on the captains in all aspects. The responsibilities includes
choreographing each dance number that we perform at the basketball games,
scheduling practice time, holding try-outs and choosing which dancers will be
on the team, funding, and teaching. This is a great opportunity for me to
perfect my leadership skills, and to know how to lead a team. I know already
from being on the team for the past two years that I will need a lot of
patience, but in order to succeed you must push yourself beyond the limits.
This position will ultimately help me when applying for jobs, for my future
boss can see that I can run such an important activity at such a big
university. Johnson’s article was very inspiring to me that I need to face this
‘glass ceiling’ head on, to fully prepare myself to lean into the situation and
then go for it!
Fine, Delusions of Gender. Pages 54-96
Melody Bryant
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