Gender Factor in the Modern Business in the US

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Analysis
Conclusion
References

Introduction

I remember a situation when Nancy, a friend of my mother, came to visit us one evening. She was very upset and told us a story that made me think about the importance of gender in the modern business environment. Undoubtedly, the American society if proud of being a discrimination free community, however, gender discrimination is very common today.

Nancy is a 40-year-old woman working for a bid international corporation. She is an administrative manager but she does not have any decision making power in her company. Recently, her supervisor announced that he plans to introduce a new position: chief administrative manager who will be responsible for supervision of twenty people plus have a voice on key administrative issues. Nancy has been working for the company for 10 years. She joined the company as a personal assistant but she was valued by other employees for loyalty, responsiveness, inner-motivation to succeed and deep knowledge of her work.

She has been working hard for a couple of weeks believing that the new position would be hers. However, on a day of promotion, supervisor announced that chief administrative manager has already been assigned. Nancy was ready to hear her name because she was confident that her experience as well as expertise guaranteed a promotion. However, she was very surprised to hear a name of her colleague, Brian, who has recently joined the company and lacked any experience in administrative management. Nancy told us that Brian was of the same gender, age, and race as her supervisor. The fact that he lacked any experience and knowledge on company were considered to be less important than gender and age.

Analysis

The story of Nancy made me think that Americans are not free of discriminative attitude. I am sure that Nancy’s supervisor made a decision to promote a person who did not fit the position only because Brian had the same characteristics as supervisor. While my mother told Nancy that the decision violated all business principle and advised her to consult upper managers on the issue, I clearly understood that the decision could not be changed. Gender discrimination is a part of workplace setting and Nancy would probably fail in her appeal to upper managers who are mostly males. I wanted to express my opinion to Nancy but I didn’t because my words would hurt her.

The situation confused me because I was confident that gender-based decisions have no place in business activities. Employees would be evaluated as well as promoted based on their professional qualities, skills, expertise and experience rather than on gender or race. However, the story of Nancy revealed that it gender discrimination is still very common today. The decision of a supervisor did not benefit a company but supervisor was not gender-blind in promoting a newcomer.

Teresa Amott and Julie Matthaei argued that women throughout the United States have not experienced a common oppression as women. In other words, some women became victims of gender discrimination while others enjoy equal opportunities, equal treatment, and equal rights. I would like to believe that most women did not, do not, and will not experience discrimination both in everyday life and in the workplace setting. However, the story of Nancy reveals that discrimination is still common in modern American society.

Recalling the study of Michael Messner on masculinity, “for the lower-status young men, success in sports was not an added proof of masculinity; it was often their only hope of achieving public masculine status” (197). In other words, men who belong to lower-class society view sport as the only mean to establish their public masculinity status. Upper-class men have absolutely different aims in sport. The same principle can be applied to gender discrimination in workplace. Women seek success on workplace with the hope to prove their equality with men; however, they face the same barriers in workplace as lower-status men face in sports. The class readings and the story of Nancy made me think about American society. I know that discrimination is exists but I have never been a witness of it. I have read about it and watched TV shows but I did not think that it can be so evident in modern workplace.

Conclusion

In conclusion, American society fails to guarantee equality to every citizen. While Americans claim being absolutely free of discrimination and supportive of diversity in all spheres of social life, the facts show an opposite situation. Discriminative attitude is a matter of personal attitude which is a result of education, family values and social pressures. Nancy’s supervisor paid attention to gender while making a business decision and he failed to consider the interests of a company and professional experience of candidates. Such situations take place everyday. I do believe that Americans have a chance to become a tolerant nation, however, the change will take a long time.

References

Amott, Teresa and Julie Matthaei. Race, Gender, and Work: A Multicultural Economic History of Women in the United States. South End Press, Boston.

Messner, Michael. Masculinities and Athletic Careers, pp. 190-201.

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Gender Factor in the Modern Business in the US

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