I was asked this weekend whether I thought President Obama, or any politician curtails to minority populations in order to become elected. Absolutely. You see every politician must gain the approval of minority populations for a very specific reason. They are not minorities. We consider minorities the non-white, non-Christian, non-males of society. Well, the thing is, if you take all of those people and put them together, minority is a bit of a stretch. The power structure of any society relies on the belief that those in power represent the majority. Rich, white, Christian males were always deemed to be the case. The greatest fear of those in power is the knowledge that they hold the title by making others believe that lie, and should they become aware, power will be lost.
When we discussed how to break that cycle, how to break the stereotype, specifically in regards to women, the answer is both simple and complex. Get more women in office, into power positions, into leadership roles and it won’t seem abnormal. Make it the norm, and it will become the norm. It baffles me that in today’s age, women still receive less pay for the same job. It amazes me that child-bearing holds back careers. That we’re still talking about a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation as eligibility for office or rights is flat out ridiculous. Power is in who you grant it to.
Look at Lysistrata if you don’t believe me. Now, no one is saying that the way to break these taboos is to go on a sex strike, merely that women are able to upset the balance of power should we wish it. Social work is a profession dominated by women, you would think that this would mean that the majority of leaderships, directors, chiefs, CEOs of social work organizations would be women. Given the proportion, the statistics still favor men for supervisor/management positions. There is no evidence to believe that men make for better managers, yet here we are. Now what do we do about it?
By: Courtney Kidd, LMSW
SJS Staff Writer
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Excellent post, Courtney. Statistics actually support that corporatations with more gender balanced leadership hierarchies do better over the long term. A recent comparison of male top heavy companies vs. balanced showed the balanced companies weathered the global financial crisis much better and were more financially healthy after the crisis. You’d think profit driven corporations would jump on this, and in some european countries have. I can only surmise the inherent sexism and growth of open misogyny in the US which continues to fail to support equal wages and allows corporations to pay women less for the same position prevents profit driven corporations from making decisions based solely in improving the bottom line. 😉
Great post Courtney! One would think that a profession dominated by women would have mostly women in management and leadership.
To me one of the greatest barriers to women in leadership is many are also balancing being a mother. For those that choose to focus more on their career, society judges them for this choice and that is unfortunate and unfair.
The structure of organizations and corporations along with the dynamics would be very different with more women in power positions and to me that is a good thing!
It certainly is true for many things. Look at the inequalities in pay for a lot of professions. The CEO and other top execs make significantly more money than their staff who shoulder the responsibility for actually making the company run. There is no question that CEOs are important to guiding the company, but get rid of their workforce and how long will the company stay afloat?
In terms of women who try to juggle career and motherhood, it is difficult especially if she has no support from her spouse (if she has one). Quality childcare is also very expensive for those who have the added income of their spouse, but what if she is a single parent? Not only is it more so, but her options are further limited because her pay must stretch beyond its capabilities. Finding quality childcare at half the price is almost impossible. Financial assistance from the state has its limitations. Although the government attempts to address the cost of childcare through credits, only those who pay taxes on their returns benefit. The truth is, Society expects more from women period, regardless of status and children.