Privilege Power and Difference Chapters 1-3 by Alan Johnson
Before I begin, I appreciate how this writer prefaces the readers with his background and how he realizes that each reader might come from a different background than his. He writes that along with privilege, "it is also an issue across differences of gender, sexual orientation, and numerous lesser divides." There are many different aspects as to why someone might not be friends with, hire, or consider them for a task just by looks or where they are from.
The quote I resonated with is "the glass ceiling that lets women see the executive suite but keeps them from being promoted..." because in my workplace, we have lost two of our (female) workers in the last year and haven't hired anyone new. Other than my boss, there is one other male. We don't know for sure but there are clues that the male gets paid the most, even though he hasn't been there the longest and doesn't have the best work ethic. Without going into a long story about the workplace environment, my female coworker who was basically the supervisor was not getting paid nearly enough after 10 years of working so she decided to leave. Both coworkers who have left told me to be careful around my boss as he apparently is a little sneaky and that I shouldn't trust that he actually cares about me. It is unfortunate that I have to be careful around a figure I thought was a mentor and I definitely feel very disappointed that he has been such a good actor...
Why should I have to deal with this?
I'm thinking since the older generation is at the stage of retirement, the younger generation who will replace them will hopefully create a better workplace. I like to think that the younger generation observes and hopefully realizes that the "old school" way of running a business isn't the best way that maybe they would want to change after working within prior conditions....or they might follow in their footsteps....not sure, what do you think?
By only having a handful of jobs in my lifetime (because I stay longer than I should) most of my bosses have been male and more than half of them were not too great to work for. All of these males are in the 50-60 year old range. My one male boss who I very much liked was about 35-40 years old, if that means anything!
Do you think as the younger generations start to become owners of companies or upper management after this type of behavior will change? Here's a link to the generations and their names/characteristics as I often forget.
Hello Nicole! I appreciate you sharing from your own personal experience and how it relates to the reading. I'm sorry you've had to deal with so many disappointing male managers.
ReplyDeleteI've always hoped that that forms of persecution (race/gender/religion/sexual orientation) would fade over time as new generations became better educated about how privilege has shaped so much of the modern world. I like to think that we are improving as a society (the first two female presidential candidates occurred in the last decade), hopefully in all directions, but the pace sure does seem slow.
Hi Nicole! I resonated with that quote as well and I appreciate you sharing your experience. Unfortunately, it follows the same pattern of treatment that we women are all too familiar with.
ReplyDeleteHaving worked in customer service myself, I haven’t had many bad experiences with higher-ups, as the majority of my direct supervisors were women themselves. However, I have definitely experienced the uncomfortable/inappropriate comments from customers, especially from the older generation.
I think there is a growing shift that gives women greater defence against workplace harassment, as many have shared their stories publicly, resulting in outcry and action. However, when it comes to men respecting women as equals or superiors in the workplace, I believe society still has a way to go. While I’ve heard really promising ideas from this generation, there are definitely plenty out there who hold onto the views of previous generations.
But still, progress is progress; we just need to keep advocating for ourselves in our daily lives, supporting other women, and advocating for societal change.
Hi Nicole! Wow, what powerful examples from your experiences! First, I'm so sorry to hear about your boss. He seems like an unprofessional oaf. On the brighter side, despite what seems like forced roles in your job, I like how you observe that your female coworkers often performed better in customer service roles than your male counterparts, yet we, as a society, are still subjected to these restrictive categorizations of gender in the workplace.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciate how you note how a male coworker seems to be paid more, despite not being there the longest and having really poor work ethic, compared to female staff. In fact, it reminds me of something prevalent that I wasn't always cognizant of; when I was working in the restaurant business, the hostesses were often female. (I was one of them!) In hindsight, it is revolutionary how my female boss at Davenport's was willing to pay me $2 more than the other staff. Another thing: there's almost this "caste system" among restaurant workers. Hostesses seem to have the upper hand over the waitresses and waiters. I almost equate it to the "Sex and the City" episode called "The Power of the Female Sex" where Carrie powerfully titles the hostess at a restaurant as, well, "powerful!"
Moreover, you had expressed disappointment that your oaf of a boss you viewed as a mentor was described as "sneaky" by other coworkers. It is truly unfortunate how male authority figures may prioritize their own standing over the professional growth of female employees. We're currently seeing this in the government (especially in the White House).
Hi Nicole! Thank you for sharing your story -- you're not alone in this experience and elevating issues like this takes courage.
ReplyDeleteI've also had a series of poor work experiences and mistreatment from supervisors. Unlike your experience, all of my supervisors in these roles have been female. While gender definitely plays a gigantic role in these situations, I've found that any kind of difference in identity can lead to tension and mistreatment. In my case, it was about my my life experiences, age, and perceived abilities.
I agree that people as a whole are slowly moving in a direction that is deconstructing some of these long-held issues. Progress is slow, and we must keep advocating for change and elevating voices that haven't been heard.
Hi Nicole! I wrote about something similar in my post but the quote you chose really resonated with me so I wanted to comment. I appreciate you sharing your story about what it's like in the workplace as women. As a woman in the construction industry, I have always been primarily surrounded by men. At the first company I worked at, there were only 4 women. Myself, the other designer, the accountant, and the owner's daughter. All of the other thirty-something to forty employees were male.
ReplyDeleteWhat you said about your boss making comments about your female coworkers resonated with me as well. Hearing that "a pretty face" should be the first to greet customers is, unfortunately, extremely common. That being said, I know my current male coworker struggles with being seen as a "serious designer" to a lot of his clients, simply because he isn't a woman. Despite the fact that he owns his own company and has numerous clients and many years in the industry.
This also made me think about the Brandy Melville Documentary. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend giving it a watch. In it, they explain how they only hire girls who fit a certain image and how the girls of color are never seen in the front of the stores and are instead doing work in the back. It was a really disturbing documentary, but it is an important watch in my opinion.
Hi Nicole!
ReplyDeleteThe quote about the glass ceiling is so powerful. Especially in a corporate setting, the glass ceiling is a very major issue. I can think of many examples, but one that really comes to mind and stuck with me was something my mom experienced. My mom worked in BioTech for most of my life, and I would hear her talk about what was going on and it can be very discouraging to be a woman in the workforce sometimes. Women and mothers are often seen as a "liability", especially in fast paced work environments. When my mom was working in Boston, she saw first hand what is called "the motherhood penalty and the fatherhood bonus" - the wage and career setbacks that women face in motherhood, while men can receive a career boost, which widens the gender pay gap. Due to stereotypes, fathers are seen a more stable providers, and women are less committed, due to the unequal child caregiving responsibilities. All of the men would go out for drinks or dinners after work, even those with families at home, while my mom, like most of the other women, had to go back home to take care of their children. Of course this is not always the case, but at this company, the men were able to mingle with each other, leading to the men getting the promotions, while the she and the other women were overlooked.
Hi Nicole!
ReplyDeleteWhile I haven't witnessed any instances of male bosses overstepping boundaries, I have heard numerous occurrences as such, and your experience only strengthens Johnson's idea of the glass ceiling. Everyone talks about the gender wage gap, and especially factoring in the equal (or more!) effort that women put into their careers compared to men, it's no wonder that women are fighting for equal recognition, monetarily and so on. My mother has worked as a facilities manager for a trucking company for almost 20 years, managing numerous facilities in 5 different states, and she has yet to see another substantial raise or even any form of recognition for the effort that she has put in. It's unfortunate to see where we lie as a society, especially after decades of fighting for equality and the overall improvement of quality of life for women in the United States.
I really liked how honest and real your post was, especially the way you connected the quote about the glass ceiling to your own work experiences. That quote stood out to me too, and your examples made it clear how inequality shows up in everyday ways like pay gaps and lack of recognition.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciated how you talked about the disappointment of realizing someone you saw as a mentor might not actually have your best interests in mind. That part felt very real. Your question about whether things will change with younger generations in leadership is a good one, and I hope like you that things improve, but your post also shows that change will only happen if people are willing to challenge the old way of doing things.