Sheryl Sandberg is the 43 year old COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Facebook. She has led a very successful life this far, however she describes herself as being "Lonely at the top." She is now worth billions of dollars and wants other women to join her in professional leadership positions. "Only 14% of top professional positions are held by women, ONLY 14%," She stated with passion on the topic. She then described her own personal experience asking Mark Zuckerberg, (Facebook Founder) for a raise. Her brother in law reminded her, "Why would you take anything less than a man would?" ABC news describes her as a feminist. She say's, "Women need to lean in and gun for the corner office rather than the cubicle."By this she means women should display their ambition, need to stop caring about being liked, and strive for what they want. Women who are successful aren't usually liked while successful men are. As an outspoken young girl she recalled being referred to as "Bossy," which reinforces the gender norm that men are supposed to be assertive and in charge while women are not. This is also constantly replicated in the media. Just as Susan Shaw and Janet Lee state, "And it's mostly by playing up clear-cut versions of masculinity and femininity whose boundaries blur only for comic effect, or struggling against change with more and more lad mags, dating rulebooks, and all other attempts at keeping us all in our proper place." (Shaw and Lee. Ladies and Gentlemen.)"Sheryl has her own example of this, she told ABC news about seeing onesies for girls that said "Pretty Like Mommy," while the boy version said "Smart Like Daddy." She also made reference to Anna Quindlen (2003) "Still Needing the F Word. She says we need to ask men to do more at home. "We beat ourselves up for what we don't get done at home." This shows that women now can be COO's if they choose, "Women have won the right to do as much as men do. They just haven't won the right to do as little as men do." (Anna Quindlen, 2003)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuHnC3VJVSA
So what do you think? Sheryl is obviously one of few leading women in the professional field but what are some of the factors that got her there?
How might circumstances be different if she were a woman of color?
How do you think we can break some of these gender norms that prohibit women from the top of the professional field?
Overall I think you did a good job of connecting Sandberg’s beliefs and the things she said to relate to our other readings in class and how they go along with ideas of gender roles we’ve been talking about in class. However I do think you could have gone more in depth and further expanded in your own words what you think Sandberg means when she says things like “seeing onesies for girls that said "Pretty Like Mommy," while the boy version said "Smart Like Daddy”” you could of further explained how this fits in with the ides of Shaw and Lee not just how It’s like their ideas, but explained why and how it’s like what they said. I also liked how you added questions to the end of you blog and I think your question about, “How might circumstances be different if she were a woman of color?” is a good question that goes back to McIntosh’s idea of “White privilege”. I’m sure that Sandberg worked very hard to get where she is, but if she was a women of color things would probably be different because a women of color as McIntosh would say would have different or even less privilege’s in her knapsack rather than the ones Sandberg’s has because of the difference in their skin color. Overall I liked this blog and I liked how it was a current topic in today’s world and how it was so easily relatable to the previous ideas we have talked about in class.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your advice Dominikka, I do agree that I should have expanded more but I did mention that the onesies example related back to Shaw and Lee's emphasis on things like that being engrained into society to "keep people in their proper place." I first came across Sandberg on Jon Stewart but after our class discussion and reading on White privilege I couldn't help but wonder if myself or any other woman of color would have had the same success in that field with all things equal except race. Just as we learned is class, race is a big part.
ReplyDeleteColor definitely has a lot to do with where you are when it comes to the corporate ladder, or just where you are in society in general. Sure, being a woman is hard within itself when it comes to finding success in a "man's world," but being a woman of color is even harder. There is only a small number of female CEOs in the world, but there is an even smaller number of woman of color who hold these positions. It will be extremely difficult to break these gender norms and even harder to break those regarding women of color. I'm not exactly sure how we would get to that point though. It has taken us so long to get the rights we already have, that it'll definitely take some time to get to that point where women of color have the same opportunities that white women have.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Cecilia. I wonder what percentage of CEO's are women of color. It would be interesting to find out. I was disheartened in class when I heard that minority women are only expected to earn 56 cents for every dollar that a white man earns whereas a white woman is likely to earn 77 cents. It makes me angry that women of color have to break through both gender norms and racial barriers in order to gain common ground. I also agree that it is going to take some time to break these barriers. I would like to think that we are taking steps in the right direction however the media and the whole patriarchal system portrays women of color in a very objectifying way. If only we could be admired for our intelligence rather than superficial means....(Sigh)
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job on your blog, one thing I would say just to be petty is if you'd made shorter paragraphs it would have made it easier to read as opposed to just one long piece! I thought you presented an interesting issue talking about the 'glass ceiling affect' and how women are seen as the 'pretty' ones and men the 'smart' ones, which isn't true at all. If we were given the opportunity to be at the top of businesses then we would do just as good a job as men do, if not a better job. You're very right in saying a successful woman is seen as 'bitchy' where as a successful man is applauded no matter how arrogant he may be! I liked the fact that you applied it to so many readings but I think you may have possibly incorporated one too many. In my opinion if you'd used fewer quotes and expanded on them and talked about them more it would have been more affective. My favorite quote you included was "Pretty Like Mommy," while the boy version said "Smart Like Daddy." I think this really shows off your argument about the stereotypical gender roles, overall good job, great blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks Charlotte! Now that you mention it, I didn't notice that I didn't break it up but I do agree that it would be easier to read if I did. I thought it was important to mention that Sheryl had thought it was important to change gender norms and stereotypes starting in childhood in order to empower women to become CEO's and to hold other positions of authority, which is why I think she mentioned the "Pretty Like Mommy," "Smart Like Daddy," examples.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more!! you did a wonderful job incorporating the two. I would have to say that being a woman in the work force is hard alone as it is but then to add another factor of color even makes it worse. I hate that the idea of the glass ceiling still exists but i love to hear of women excelling and doing what they can to brake it down. I also think you are spot on when you talk about the woman being seen as "bitchy". If she is not a push over and stands her ground that is the stereotype they place on her.
ReplyDeleteExactly! The fact that women are ridiculed for being assertive is one of the things that holds us back! We need to realize if we don't stand up for ourselves, no one else will! It's not fair that our culture says it's wrong for women to stand up for ourselves. I also like to see women excel. This relates back to your point today in relation to the reading that "women can't be what they can't see." Hopefully with more women like Sheryl in the work force we will see an increase in the positions of authority held by women. Thanks Jordan!
ReplyDeleteGreat topic! I think it's difficult to tackle "what can be done to break some of these gender norms that prohibit women from the top of the professional field?", but it's crucial that we try. To start, I think we'd need to actively change the way in which women are visible. In some sense, we need to reclaim our bodies. Women in positions of power are visible, and it's that visibility that can make women susceptible to scrutiny. Like we read in "Plastic Passion", women are becoming increasingly uncomfortable in their skin, and so instead of initiating change, women are addressing their aesthetics. If women refuse to listen to the criticisms, they can focus on putting that time, thought, and energy toward change and working hard. It's easier said than done, but it'd be nice to force the general public into disassociating women from their bodies; and instead, focusing on their minds.
ReplyDeleteThanks Meghan! I agree that we do indeed need to change the way women are visible, but we also need to make women in positions of authority more visible! By this I mean we hardly hear about women in positions of authority and when we do it is usually in a negative light. I think it would be hard to be in a position of authority because people are so quick to criticize them. Just as we discussed in Class: Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton are always scrutinized for their outward appearance. This relates back to your idea that as a society we need to focus on minds rather than appearance.
ReplyDeleteShuray, your blog touched on a lot of key concepts about women's role and expectations within society, the home, the workforce, and just in being a woman itself. For starters, I liked the argument you pointed out through Sheryl Sandberg's quote that "'Women need to lean in and gun for the corner office rather than the cubicle.' By this she means women should display their ambition, need to stop caring about being liked, and strive for what they want. Women who are successful aren't usually liked while successful men are." On a daily basis, I can point to the idea that women in positions of power or authority are perceived as bossy bitches and should be loathed instead of liked, while men in positions of power and authority are praised for their tough, stern, manipulative, dominating authoritative ways. This concept was very strongly represented in the "Miss Representation" documentary we watched for class whether it was showing women in Hollywood roles of power such as Meryl Streep as the boss and queen bee in the world of fashion in the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" or through the criticism of women running for political offices such as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. No matter Hollywood or politics, women in positions of power are portrayed as bossy, demanding, crude, bitchy, unlikable beings where men are never depicted as such, but instead represented as strong, confident, proud men who have a reason to be in power and to use that power as they wish. Bottom line: men in power are respected and liked and women in power are not. I strongly feel society needs to find a better way to represent and depict women of power in a way that will foster respect, honor, and pride toward those women who strive to be leaders and promote change for the better in our world. To me, women inspiring to change the world and to be leaders of change is certainly worthy of respect, and therefore, we, as a society, should change our feelings toward women in power from dislike to liking and respect.
ReplyDeleteThanks Brenda! I really like the way you wrapped up your comment. I think your statement is pretty powerful. I agree that women need to implement this change but I don't think we can achieve such change unless we get the men in our society on board as well. Another thing "Missrepresentation" mentioned was that most of what we see in the media today is written and directed by men. In order to get fair representation of women, we need to have more women writers and directors or we need to at least have men who don't portray women the way they currently do. We also need to get our entire culture on board because unfortunately, the current portrayals of women are what sells.
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ReplyDeleteGreat post. While I agree that it is still difficult for women to break through the glass ceiling and be seen as equal to men, I feel like it is becoming easier and easier. I believe that one of the biggest challenges facing women is that the traditional idea of the family where the man worked and supported the family while the woman dealt with all the domestic tasks. I feel that the traditional family model is becoming rarer though with more women in the workplace and even with a reversal of roles where the men stay at home and the women work. This is great because, I believe is is creating more equality within our society and bringing about a realization that women can do what men do. A great example of this is our own Vice Chancellor or Athletics, Peg Bradley-Doppes who acts as the athletic director for DU and does it very adeptly even though traditionally this is a male dominated position. Although we may not be to the feminist ideal of women and men being equal in the work place, we have made a start and eventually I believe that we will obtain this equality.
Thanks Nicole! I do agree that we have taken steps in the right direction. I remember the quote we read in class that "Women have earned the right to do as much as men do, but not as little as men do," meaning that it is still harder for women to succeed than men because they are still expected to return home at the end of the work day and fulfill their motherly duties. It is true that in some households the roles are reversed but I believe we need to make this possible for more families.
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