Athena
March 11th, 2008, 01:45 PM
Through movies like North Country, story about a Minnesotan iron miner who faced horrible sexual harassment at her job, we are inspired by the trailblazers who have afforded us the opportunity to establish careers in the fields of our choosing.
I wonder, though - Are movies like this causing unseen damage?
Let's talk about the wage gap and about the disproportionate amount of women in management positions. You ask any woman off the street about what they think causes this and, more often than not, they're quick to blame the men who make more than they do and hold the management positions they want. Talk of sexual harassment and "glass ceilings" abounds. It really doesn't take much to get your average woman all worked up over what is perceived to be discrimination.
In one of my favorite moves, As Good As It Gets, Jack Nickelson plays a sharp and painfully OCD romance novelist. In one scene, as he prepares to enter an elevator, he is greeted by a female fan already in the elevator who excitedly asks him, "How do you write women so well?" Jack's character casually and brilliantly responds, "Well, I start with a man and I remove reason and accountability." Hilarious.
Now, I don't mean to take cheap shots. That quote really does apply to this particular conversation. You see, women are running around citing facts like "women comprised only 16% of all executive producers, producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 grossing films of 2004" while listening to their Tracy Chapman and readying their battle cry. Unfortunately, tragically few stop to consider that they may have a bigger hand in their fate than all the world's Freemasons combined.
Give it up, ladies...Studies have been done and cited by experts, INCLUDING female professionals. That's right...Female professionals. Your slurs of "gender-traitor" and "worthless stay-at-home-mother" are useless, here. Just ask this woman:
http://www.afponline.org/img/AN05_spkr_Lichtenberg_Ronna_150.jpg
Who is she, you ask? Her name is Ronna Lichtenberg and is President of Clear Peak Communications, a management-consulting firm that helps leaders and their teams drive profitability through the development of key business relationships.
Prior to founding Clear Peak in 1996, Lichtenberg was a Senior Vice President with Prudential Securities, Inc., the investment and brokerage firm. As head of Marketing, she developed new markets and new products, and was named the first woman in the firm’s history to its top management group, the Operating Council.
Awwww, snap. That's right. Lichtenberg isn't some motivational speaker from some anti-woman Christian Fundie group. She knows her shit.
It is true that more women than men choose lower-paid fields such as teaching and many leave the workforce to care for children. But once those factors were taken into account, there was still a 12 percent gap in pay, according to the report.
"It suggests that discrimination may still be a very important problem for women in the workplace," said Catherine Hill*, director of research at the American Association of University Women. "Not only for older women but also for younger women coming into the workforce."
Author of "Pitch like a Girl: How a Woman Can Be Herself and Still Succeed," Ronna Lichtenberg said that there are still problems but that most of the differences are within women's control. To try and narrow the gap, she says women need to improve their negotiating skills.
"It's not them, it's us," she told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm. "You have to ask. You have to ask. You have to ask. You have to be really good at that."
It's also important to go into negotiations knowing what you are worth and knowing a lot about your prospective employer, Lichtenberg said. But women are not as assertive when it comes to their salaries. Lichtenberg said the key is to think about all the other people in their lives who would benefit from a better salary.
Full Article (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/24/earlyshow/living/money/main2720354.shtml)
* - Ignorant feminist.
So, folks - the next time you hear a woman gripe about the dire social injustice she contends with in relation to salary, PLEASE put her in check. You may want to cite articles like Salary, Gender and the Social Cost of Haggling (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/29/AR2007072900827.html), an informative article that lists numerous studies illustrating a womans unwillingness or inability to negotiate for her wages.
...and ladies, quit bitchin' already and step up, huh? ;)
I wonder, though - Are movies like this causing unseen damage?
Let's talk about the wage gap and about the disproportionate amount of women in management positions. You ask any woman off the street about what they think causes this and, more often than not, they're quick to blame the men who make more than they do and hold the management positions they want. Talk of sexual harassment and "glass ceilings" abounds. It really doesn't take much to get your average woman all worked up over what is perceived to be discrimination.
In one of my favorite moves, As Good As It Gets, Jack Nickelson plays a sharp and painfully OCD romance novelist. In one scene, as he prepares to enter an elevator, he is greeted by a female fan already in the elevator who excitedly asks him, "How do you write women so well?" Jack's character casually and brilliantly responds, "Well, I start with a man and I remove reason and accountability." Hilarious.
Now, I don't mean to take cheap shots. That quote really does apply to this particular conversation. You see, women are running around citing facts like "women comprised only 16% of all executive producers, producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 grossing films of 2004" while listening to their Tracy Chapman and readying their battle cry. Unfortunately, tragically few stop to consider that they may have a bigger hand in their fate than all the world's Freemasons combined.
Give it up, ladies...Studies have been done and cited by experts, INCLUDING female professionals. That's right...Female professionals. Your slurs of "gender-traitor" and "worthless stay-at-home-mother" are useless, here. Just ask this woman:
http://www.afponline.org/img/AN05_spkr_Lichtenberg_Ronna_150.jpg
Who is she, you ask? Her name is Ronna Lichtenberg and is President of Clear Peak Communications, a management-consulting firm that helps leaders and their teams drive profitability through the development of key business relationships.
Prior to founding Clear Peak in 1996, Lichtenberg was a Senior Vice President with Prudential Securities, Inc., the investment and brokerage firm. As head of Marketing, she developed new markets and new products, and was named the first woman in the firm’s history to its top management group, the Operating Council.
Awwww, snap. That's right. Lichtenberg isn't some motivational speaker from some anti-woman Christian Fundie group. She knows her shit.
It is true that more women than men choose lower-paid fields such as teaching and many leave the workforce to care for children. But once those factors were taken into account, there was still a 12 percent gap in pay, according to the report.
"It suggests that discrimination may still be a very important problem for women in the workplace," said Catherine Hill*, director of research at the American Association of University Women. "Not only for older women but also for younger women coming into the workforce."
Author of "Pitch like a Girl: How a Woman Can Be Herself and Still Succeed," Ronna Lichtenberg said that there are still problems but that most of the differences are within women's control. To try and narrow the gap, she says women need to improve their negotiating skills.
"It's not them, it's us," she told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm. "You have to ask. You have to ask. You have to ask. You have to be really good at that."
It's also important to go into negotiations knowing what you are worth and knowing a lot about your prospective employer, Lichtenberg said. But women are not as assertive when it comes to their salaries. Lichtenberg said the key is to think about all the other people in their lives who would benefit from a better salary.
Full Article (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/24/earlyshow/living/money/main2720354.shtml)
* - Ignorant feminist.
So, folks - the next time you hear a woman gripe about the dire social injustice she contends with in relation to salary, PLEASE put her in check. You may want to cite articles like Salary, Gender and the Social Cost of Haggling (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/29/AR2007072900827.html), an informative article that lists numerous studies illustrating a womans unwillingness or inability to negotiate for her wages.
...and ladies, quit bitchin' already and step up, huh? ;)