Museum of Women

I really enjoyed the museum. Though I often found myself looking at works that the tour guide was not talking about (I was multi-tasking, listening to her but looking at other things). I guess I tended to like the more provocative art, which she was avoided talking about.
One of my favorite pieces, which she did mention, was the painting of the naked men (which was a remake of the naked women) - sorry I really should have wrote the name down. I think I liked it because it was different; we don't often see art, especially paintings, with naked men. It was a whole new perspective - a good way to see how other women view men. (Instead of seeing how men view women, which is the standard.)
Another piece that I liked was the collection of quotes and such from documents regarding torture & imprisonment. It was a really moving piece to me. It was an interesting approach to show the injustices people suffer. I love that the exhibit was so large! It is a great way to impress upon people how much women can really do, and have done. It's not just the individual pieces, such as the dress made of white gloves, but the amount of them that makes an impact.

Ch 9 and Afterword, Laura Ann

I really liked chapter 9. It was like a mini-interview with all of these women about what they had to deal with and what they would suggest for us to do. Some of the quotes that I liked were:

• "Women's leadership means doing what needs to be done without waiting for permission." - Diane Rosenfeld
• "We feel like we need one more credential, one more bit of experience, et cetera. Men do not have this problem" - Martha Burk
• I didn't realize this until I read this... I am like this quote; I am always thinking if I can join one more club or do one more thing then my resume will be complete... or if my GPA isn't high enough then I'm never going to get into law school....but my boyfriend Tyler NEVER thinks about that stuff. He just doesn't worry about what he needs to do now to get a head start for the future, but that is ALL I think about!
• "I was the oldest child in a family of girls, my parents always insisted I could do anything a man can do. And my sisters would probably tell you that being a boss came quite naturally to me." -Jeannie Park
• I totally agree with this statement. I love that her parents encouraged her so much. I am also the oldest, and I think that my sister would agree that being bossy probably comes natural to me too!!
• "Take on the role because you have a passion for the cause." - Colleen Barrett
• "Support the women around you as they reach for their dreams and speak out, just as they support you." - Cathy Salser
• "You need to actively, every single day, do something that makes you uncomfortable so that you learn the value of that experience and you learn not to let it paralyze you." - Jane DiRenzo Pigott
  
• I really like this idea. I think that if you do this everyday you wont be stuck in awkward situations later in life... you will train yourself to hit weird situations head on.
• "Figure out the person you want to be before you decide on the leadership role you want." - Ginny Corsi
• "Withdraw your need for approval from external sources and anoint yourself with your own approval." - Jody Weiss
• So often people really just want to hear "Wow, you did an awesome job" or "I am so proud of you" but when we don't hear things like that we get discouraged. This idea will help people to be self-fulfilling in their quest for praise.

I could go on and on with the quotes that I liked but the point is that this book really gave me a whole new outlook on how women really need to take on leadership roles and push forward in our country. The afterword showed all of the examples of how groups are helping women take on roles and what they are doing to promote women in leadership. I really liked that Wilson included a lot of evidence of what women are doing to try and help other women.

Chapter 9 & the afterword

I loved chapter 9! I collect quotes and sayings, and that's all this chapter was. I loved that she devoted such a big space for everything the women had to say. To me this just emphasizes the point that what women say matters!

In the quotes focused on the obstacles women have had to overcome, Connie Duckworth said: "'Speak too forcefully and you are considered overbearing; speak too softly, and you are considered to have no opinion..."' Her quote spoke to me on a personal level. I have had that problem so many times in my life. Just because I voiced my opinion I was called pushy. Yet, all the guys around me where able to say what they thought! I also liked the quote from Val Acherman, which was about getting yourself into positions that can lead to better or higher up positions. I think a lot of people (and not just women) get overwhelmed at the idea of taking on a big role in companies, thinking it's too much to handle. But, how often do you enter a company and after a year get offered the COO position? It doesn't happen! People ignore the steps they have to take in order to get to that "big" leadership roles and so often think they can't do it.

I liked that so many women gave advice about asking for what you want. Women tend to have this fear of asking for things, and so often it's those very women who are pushing their partners to talk to their bosses about getting a raise or wanting a bigger role in their companies. People think it's ok for men to ask but not women. But, if you don't ask and show an interest why would you get a promotion? Even if your bosses see that you are a great worker and deserve, if you don't show interest they would likely think you're happy where you're at in the company.
In the Afterword it was interesting to learn about the programs that were founded in order to empower women. But it makes me wonder how many more programs that men have. Because I would think that basically any program that is set up to help “people” or promote “people” would generally serve the male population. On the other hand, I think if there are not tons more there probably are not any organizations comparable. Because why would they need such organizations when most of the general population is already donating money to these men through their private campaigns. Additionally, as Wilson has pointed out, men expect to get these positions and are not as worried about being completely prepared for the task as women are.

WACK! Laura Ann Post

The museum was interesting.

I liked the exhibit because it showed how women were suppressed in American culture and how these women broke out of the mold. I liked the area that showed the advertisements with the "what the advertisement was really selling" on top. It really made you realize what advertisements are really used for. For example, any beer commercial with a female in it... they are always appealing to the men, are there (as many) commercials with (hot) males trying to sell women things? No, we have the easy off bam man. Wahoo cleaning supplies!! (Sarcastic!)
I liked the ideas that the women had about artwork. They took things that are usually thought of to be "womans work" and showed them in their purest form... like the stairs made out of rope or the wood floors with the mirrors. One thing that I didn't like was all of the nudity..and I know that "we are used to seeing naked women" but I would prefer to not see paintings of anyone naked... but that is more of a personal preference!

(I will blog about the reading further into the week!)

~Laura Ann

Group Ideas

Hey there,

Here are some ideas that I have had:

1. How women are portrayed in sitcoms
2. How toys influence leadership

thanks,
LA

Setting up a new meeting time

If everyone wants to send me there schedule, I can put them together to see what times we can meet. I'll let you know a few times that work for us all and then we can decide?

Group Meetings

Hello there,

Did we decide when we will be meeting as a group yet? I think that our proposal is due on the 11th so we should probably get together sometime relatively soon. I didn't realized that Tuesday mornings aren't good for me until yesterday, because I now have to work Tuesday mornings... is Tuesday evening good? If not maybe after yall meet you could update me or something?

Let me know!

Thanks,
LA

Speaker

I had sort of mixed feelings about the speaker this week. I liked her because I like the image that she projected as a strong female role model and a woman who's overcome so much in her life. However, throughout her discussion I felt a little discouraged because I had a lot of trouble following her. I consider myself a pretty intelligent human being, but some of the stuff that she was talking about, especially some of the more technical language went over my head. I really loved listening to her speak because she had some really interesting things to say about woman forcing their way into the workplace and disregarding barriers that may have held us down in the past. I just think that her analytical and formulaic way of approaching these things was not catered to my tastes. That being said, I really look forward to the other guest speakers that are scheduled to talk to the class. I'm excited to hear the stories of more and more women who have defied the stereotypes of female submission and gone on to great success in business, the workplace, and beyond.

Dr. Mary Jo Larson and NMWA Article

I also found Dr. Larson’s discussion of women and leadership to be very interesting and since class on Thursday, I have been thinking a lot about her (and her step daughter’s) distinction between “feminism” and “realism.” Dr. Larson asked us to truthfully raise our hand if we identified ourselves as a feminist. She was shocked to see that only about a fifth of the class raised our hands (and so was I since it is a class focused on women!) and this led her to tell us about a conversation she had recently had with her stepdaughter. She had asked her stepdaughter the same question—whether she would identify herself as a feminist—and she answered no, that she would call herself a realist basically because the word “feminist” has a bad connotation and “realist” is less controversial. Doesn’t it seem like identifying yourself as a realist though eliminates the whole element of fighting for the equality of women? How did you all feel about this distinction? Did you agree with it?

I also wanted to point out an article about the National Museum of Women in the Arts that was in yesterday’s edition of The Washington Post. It mentioned many of the artists that will be shown at the exhibit that we are going to on Thursday and it also mentioned the purpose of the exhibit. It explains that the exhibit “gives another generation a chance to see art that was not made for a marketplace or even with the hope of having an audience, but with a determination and belief that art can change that way we live…”

Link to Washington Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/21/AR2007092102218.html

Dr. Mary Jo Larson, Laura Ann

I really enjoyed our speaker today, Dr. Mary Jo Larson. She was very interesting to listen to. I liked the activity that she had us do. I didn't realize how many women are influenced and encouraged by our fathers. I never have really made the connection as to why that was. My mother and her mother and her mother's mother were all homemakers and I suppose that that is why mother wasn't as encouraging to me as my father. Some of the role models that I wrote down were Princess Diana, My mom, Mother Teresa, and Ms. Scott, my 10th grade history teacher. All of those women are very selfless and very helpful. Princess Diana used her status symbol to break away from the mold and push for peace. I hope that I can learn to have some of the same qualities as my role models. I also liked how Dr. Larson asked us about mentors and support groups. I am going to try to look for someone to look up to and to emulate. Dr. Larson's points about types of power was very interesting. I especially liked how she talked about establishing a set of values and using those values to guide your ideas and your decisions.

6-8

This week's chapters can be summed up in a few words from page 147 of the Wilson book... "Neither initiative assigned blame, but both took responsibility for future solutions. To me this means what women of today need to start focusing on. At some point we need to acknowledge that it's not about assigning blame for the reasons that women are not in power in politics, law, or any other high powered leadership positions in the world today. In the end, it's about coming up with solutions. We need mentors, we need women who have been in leadership, thrived, and can share their experiences. We need action. I loved Wilson's idea that community is what needs to be stressed in the workplace today. I have never thought about the separation between family and work as something that doesnt even need to be fixed because it can be about integrating the two instead. Reading those lines was like a mini-epiphany to me. I felt myself nodding my head in agreement, even if it was involuntary as I read those visionary words. I've talked before about my desire to have a family and how I'm not really sure that I'd want to give that up to be some high powered cold business woman who receives, and more importantly, deserves, a large paycheck. I am ashamed to say that it never even occurred to me that I could 100 percent, have both. It's always been in the back of my mind, yeah, you can have both, a lot of nannys too and no interaction with your children. It sounds lame now that I think about it but I have always thought of women who are in high powered leadership positions and than thought to myself "bet their family life sucks though... do I really want that?" I cant express what a relief it is to realize there are plenty of women out there want the same things that I do, and that we are closer than ever before to getting these things!
-alli

The Portrayal of Women in the Media

I found chapter seven dealing with the impact that culture has on women to be the most interesting section of this week’s readings. Wilson makes a critical assertion when she says that culture can be an agent of change and that the media can "present a huge opportunity to stretch the collective imagination, showing women and men in nontraditional roles and changing the perception of what is possible in the real world" (Wilson 119). I think the last part of this statement is particularly relevant when thinking about the acceptance speech that Sally Field TRIED to give during the Emmy Awards on Sunday night. Field was given an award for her role in the TV show "Brothers and Sisters" and she basically said that she was dedicating her award to the mothers of the world. Then she mentioned all the mothers at home who are waiting for their sons to come home from the war, which led her to say "let’s face it, if mothers ruled the world, there would be no god(expletive) wars." Before she could finish her sentence though, Fox censored her speech and the cameras cut to an aerial-looking view of the stage.

I absolutely love that Field put this idea out there on national television. She is a very respectable person in Hollywood and I think it is fantastic that she took advantage of her position in society to deliver a message that many people needed to hear. I hope that she opened the minds of viewers--or at least made people think about the idea of women as leaders--from the portion of her speech that was aired. I am very frustrated though by the fact that Fox censored her message. I think that the way they cut away from Field so quickly is a great example of how our society feels about women being in leadership positions.

Youtube video of Field’s speech: http://youtube.com/watch?v=mPsPVs-OM_k

Wilson Chapters 6-8, Laura Ann

Wilson Chapter 6

The title of this chapter made me stop to think about whether or not in a mens leadership book this chapter would be included. Probably not. The chapter talks about how we want our women leaders to come "fully assembled," that's not fair. The best swing sets don't come fully assembled, it's an all day event to put the thing together. Why should women have to come fully prepared and ready but men can learn it while they work? I also liked how they pointed out that the men wanted a "Take Our Sons to Work Day," why cant they just be happy? It's kind of annoying that women have to share everything with men and not see the same benefits as men. The quote "When anything becomes feminized, the pay diminishes, the stratification in the work increases, and the status diminishes." Isn't that typical? That is like saying if you wear yellow, you're screwed. Its an erroneous classification.

Wilson Chapter 7

Hooray for President Barbie! (The red one anyways.) As a kid growing up in the 90's I was big into Barbie and until this class I didn't really realize the influence they had on me. When I was really little I always wanted to be a nurse or a flight attendant... never a doctor or a pilot. When I got to middle school I decided that I was going to be a lawyer. (I don't think that they ever made a lawyer Barbie.) I think that if there was a president Barbie earlier I would have been ready to be more than a housewife. I also liked the part that talked about the women in the media and movie industry. I didn't realize that the reason why women are underrepresented in movies as the heroes is because of the lack of female directors. Media helps us to identify what the changing culture of the US... more women directors, more women in the hero role.

Wilson Chapter 8

WOMEN CAN AND MUST HELP RULE THE WORLD!! I really like the story about the law firm and how they helped the women take charge rather than opposing them. The "green book" is a good example of how Alabama got women to speak up! I think that the more we help women to become leaders the more initiative women will want to take on their own. We can inspire future generations to want to be President, not housewives. "It requires an insistence and persistence on the part of women (and their male allies) to get there because men will not automatically sign on."

Wilson, Chap 6-8

In Chapter 6 Wilson talked about the creation of "Take Our Daughters to Work Day." I think it is an amazing idea and have participated in it throughout my life. But, I didn't know that it was originally take your "daughter" and not "child." I found it interesting that the reaction from men was so immediate that they wanted the boys involved too. I'm not trying to bash men here, but they obviously didn't see the bigger picture. While all children do need encouragement, girls tend to have less support in this arena. I thought Eleanor Holmes Norton's quote was so funny, but sadly true that needing a Take Ours Sons to Work Day was "'like saying we need a White History Month.'"(Wilson, 102) As is it, boys have such an advantage over girls in the workforce and in their dreams about what they want to do. So often I have heard girls being shot down when they tell their teachers or just an adult in their life what they hope to become. Yet, I have never had a boy tell me that "my teacher told me I couldn't do that," or "be more realiztic." And most often, it's women teachers or mothers saying these things! It's heartbreaking. How are we to overcome this gap if other women are perpetually telling children essentially to dream small!

Group Meeting Time

Hey All,
I'm just reminding everyone that our meeting time is Tuesday at 12:30pm and we decided to meet in the Johnson Center. Kameron does this work for you, since you weren't in class?? If not we'll figure out a different time. Also, as far as meeting in the JC, I get out of class by 11:30 and go there. So, I will go to the 2nd floor and save us a table to make sure we have a big enough area to work. I'll try to get seats by the areas where the elevators are, so just come look for me - that way we are not all wondering around looking for each other. Is this ok with everyone?

Authority, Ambition, and Ability.

WIlson tells us in the beginning of the third chapter that the first problem we need to tackle for progressing women's leadership, is authority and the so called definition and the look that automatically goes along with it. Any lady who holds an authoritative position is usually overlooked, or not not percieved as one because we are ladies, and not masculine. But today, authority and masculinity do not have to go hand in hand. Wilson also talks about how in press, the women especially running for politics, their personal lives make the stories more than the issues that they are trying to take care of. This gives the impression the women can't handle real power, and are more involved in their personal lives than the campaigns, which is the exact opposite of what they are really about. The media is still one to give us this bad name when it comes to issues like this. No matter what a man says, he can get away with it in the media.. maybe not get completely by, but they can usually say whats on their minds and get a slap on the hand and all is over, but if a woman says something that a male counter part doesn't believe in, she gets much more than just a slap on the hand, and the issue is broadly publicized. "Loosening the media barrier becomes absolutely essential to changing perceptions, to letting Americans know that knowledge and solutions are available from more than the usual suspects." Meaning we need to show the world that te media is influencing, that we can give something too. In chapter 4, Wilson moves onto the ambition that women need to get past these problems and into pure equality with men in the business world. It seems as though ambition in women is unlady like, and maybe it is.. but to get anywhere, especially in this male world, maybe we can;t be lady like, no matter what everyone expects of us. There are only two kinds of ambitions that are expected and "allowed" of women. The ambition to be a mother, and a wife. And if there are any other personal ambitions, this shows that they would have to be more important than the others, so therefore a suspicion comes onto us. But there is nothing wrong with wanting to be more than just a wife and mother, and it is damn sure possible to be both those things and more! And I for one ladies, am tired of our society thinking that it isn't possible, we have plenty enough women out there doing it to prove them all wrong. Finally, as Wilson explains in CHapter 5, our jobs as being mothers doesn;'t inhabit us from taking any other jobs, in fact it is one of the best sources we have that can be used in the outside world. Because women are mothers, we have the characteristic of a peace maker, with children running around the house, you have to be one.. but while being a peacemaker, we can be warriors as well! Women are fighting our wars for us as well as the male soldiers! We have women that are fighting battles in homes, as the house runners, and fighting battles across seas for our country! We can do it all! I am enjoying this book greatly, it's showing me more and more how strong our sex really is, and while I have always wanted to be a mother when I am older, I am looking forward to taking on SO many other opportunites as well! It's time for us to lead the way!

Wilson: 3-5

In chapter three of Wilson, the most classic problem of women is pointed out; that looks will always matter to women no matter how much we fight against it every day. From almost the beginning of time there has been a stigma of "sex object" attached to the female persona. While some women have tried to use this to their advantage, and in some cases it has indeed worked, for the most part it harms all of us. Women are looked at as sex objects in our society no matter what. If you happen to be "unattractive" by the standards of our current society, you often begin the battle fighting an uphill struggle. This is yet another barrier that women are forced to overcome when it comes to being in leadership roles. When a man sees a woman for the first time, he almost never takes her intelligence into consideration, than surveys the way she looks. It is almost certainly the other way around.
Chapter four delved into the age old "catfight" tendency of women who are powerful and likely to be leaders. I loved how the book used the movie Mean Girls to point out that women can most certainly defend themselves, but also that they have a very unique approach to the attack. Women can sometimes be suckered into attacking themselves, not the real enemies of stereotypes and typecasts. There is a double standard that women have to face down every day, that they are gold diggers, greedy, shallow, and cold, is an absolute abomination. Men who act in exactly the same manner can be referred to with much nicer language like ambitious, ruthless, and persevering. This is just another obstacle to women in leadership roles.
The stereotypes of women in the workforce is yet another misconception about females and how they take their power which is discussed in chapter 5. The fact that there are certain career paths that women have traditionally been good at and sometimes exclusively allowed to participate in (nursing, teaching, etc.) makes it even harder for women to step outside these roles. Men start out with a blank slate, they can be anything they want to be and never have to face a stereotype down if they tell people, even at a young age, that they want to be a doctor, a lawyer, a pilot, or an astronaut. Females do not have this option. This is just another oppressive notion that women everywhere struggle to erase from society's collective brain.

Beginning Chapters: Wilson

The introduction and first few chapters of the Wilson book really began to open my eyes about how easy it is to ignore problems and barriers for women in the world today. I have almost never thought as myself as anything but equal to my male peers and the first few chapters made me take a step back and really think about all of the possible obstacles that I might have to face someday, and indeed already face in my life today.
The first chapter which broke down a lot of information about women in leadership positions into statistical data was particularly surprising. While I tended to think that there are a lot of really powerful women in the world and that the government has plenty of women, I was thoroughly impressed and appalled to learn that it will take nearly 50 years for there to be an equal number of women as men in the senate if we keep going at the current rate. To me, this is bordering on ridiculous. Women make up more than half of the population in the world, so why should there be any reason that they do not have say in and create at a minimum, half of the rules. This information in a way renewed my recently lackluster passion for the world of politics. Recently I have been very uncertain as to if I actually want to go into politics or if that wasn't just a childhood fantasy. The first chapter of this book made me want to do it again, if for no other reason than to prove that I can.
The second chapter goes on to reveal important barriers to women in the workplace. This is equally as surprising information, to realize that only 8 women are CEO's of all 500 companies in the Fortune 500. Not many people sit back and realize that in reality there are certainly barriers to women in leadership roles that aren't always obvious. Some of these include that they often have to put the interests of their families before their own, that they are less likely to incite conflict, and that they are less aggressive than their male counterparts. Personally, I am not a shy woman so it sometimes slips my mind that a lot of my own personality traits may be more "male." To me thats just "me." Taking a step back and being reminded that being aggressive and forward is not always typical behavior from a woman was a good thing for me.

Wilson Chapter 1-5 and Intro Blog, Laura Ann

Closing the Leadership Gap Introduction

If women populate half of the country why don’t they populate half of the workforce? I have been wondering about this the past week especially after seeing the video we watched in class the other day. Society is so backwards that everyone always assumes men equal power. Anytime anyone is talking about a leader they always use “he” to describe the person if even he or SHE is unidentified or unknown. The examples that were given of top executives, corporate officers and board seat occupants that were women were really shocking and a true example of how backward our society really is.

Closing the Leadership Gap Chapter 1

In our society women are forced to live in a man’s world and play by the men’s rules. Being a woman significantly alters our authority and the way that we have to conduct ourselves in a business or political environment. We are paid less to do the same job that men do, and we probably put three times the effort and heart into the job. Women care more about the environment, home issues, education and even world peace because women are more able to deal with issues closer to home then abroad. It is hard to understand how America, the country that is supposed to be the most powerful country, can be so politically backwards. The examples that were used to describe the power that women hold abroad was crazy to believe because we always think that we are far more politically advanced then every other country.

Closing the Leadership Gap Chapter 2

It is bothering to think that so many people are ready for a women president and it still hasn’t happened. I think that there should be 2 or 3 women up there in each party representing us not 1 every couple of elections. If we really do represent half of the United States then we need to get up the courage and run. When they were talking about how women need to talk about their credentials it made me stop and think about the people who are running right now, have they told me anything about their previous jobs? Why do I support someone if I don’t know his or her history? When you go to a job interview they look at your references, why don’t we check the male’s credentials, but insist on checking the females? It was also interesting to see how many people find it acceptable for women to leave their jobs and stay at home with the children.

Closing the Leadership Gap Chapter 3

It is disturbing to know that no matter what a woman does she will continually be ridiculed for the way that she looks and their personal characteristics. We could wear turtlenecks and they would still think of something to say against us rather than point out our ideas or legislation. I liked how the authors put a turn on motherhood by pointing out how motherhood spurs leadership and also how she talked also about how nontraditional topics spur authority.

Closing the Leadership Gap Chapter 4
Ambition is an awesome quality to have but it is looked down upon when women are thought to be ambitious. If men are ambitious it is looked at with positive reactions. I liked that they used the mean girls movie to show how women can hold their own when it comes to outsiders, just like men can. The movie also showed how women tend to fight other women rather that help and support each other. If we would work together it would help the community and society progress a lot faster. I like how they pointed out that women want to be more prepared for events while men tend to wing it.

Closing Leadership Gap Chapter 5

This chapter tended to perturb me because it pointed out how people in America think about women (nurses, flight attendants, etc) and how they think about men (pilots, plumbers, CEO’s etc.) That is really annoying because of all of the accomplishments that women have made over the years. Although we are behind some of (okay most of ) the other countries in the world but I still think that we should be recognized as members of society.

Wilson, Chap 3-5

In this week’s reading from Wilson’s book, she states that in order for women to saturate the workforce as leaders they need to “be seen as commanding and powerful…” (p 33) While I agree with this statement wholeheartedly, it is easier said than done. In my experiences and from what I have observed, women walk a very fine line between being “in charge” and being a bitch. So often I have heard people call a woman who knows what she wants (and gets it) and is in a position of authority a bitch. All of the sudden because a woman has power or is in charge she is seen negatively. Yet, when a man takes on this same role he is to be swooned after because he’s “so powerful” or because he’s assertive. Why the double-standard?

Furthermore, not only are women faced with this name calling, many people expect it. For instance, in my previous school I was on Student Government and was Chair of the Assembly. Running meetings and making sure the board did what they were supposed to was my responsibility, so essentially I ran the board. I was told time and again, if I was doing my job well most people wouldn’t like me and I would hear people calling me a bitch. And I did, while I got along with everyone I did not walk away from that role having many close friends from the board even though I worked closely with them. And they voted me into that position! Many people resented my job even though they all knew it was necessary for the board to run smoothly. However, when I first joined Student Government a man was in that position, no one ever called him names. They just said he was doing his job, and part of that job was being assertive and telling people they had to accomplish certain tasks.

After I left that position, even while I was in it, I realized just how much people need to change. At least half that board was women and instead of getting support I faced resentment. And the men on the board were constantly challenging me even though I knew more than most people on the board about the way our university ran. Unfortunately, I don’t think people even realize what they are doing. They didn’t notice that I was doing the same job as the guy before me and saying the same things. They only noticed that I was a girl in power, and apparently something about that needed to be challenged time and again.

This leads me to comment on something that Shannon pointed out from the reading: that women need to work together. Even though the majority of the people on the board were women, I got little support. If the women who worked with me could have seen past my authority they could have learned a lot. I could have taught them more about the university so they too could have reached a position within the University where they had a strong voice, as I did. I wanted to work with them and teach them, but most of them wouldn’t let me because of that resentment. So, even in a position with power, it’s hard to get women to work together. But that is, I believe, the key component in getting more women into leadership roles.

Our Final and Revised Group Contract

Hey there,

I have finalized our group contract, however it doesn't have everyone's input in it because I didn't get blogs back from everyone. If you have a problem with it please let me know BY 9AM TOMORROW. Thanks,

Laura Ann

1. How would we like to make our decisions?

While it would be ideal if our group could come to a consensus when trying to reach a decision we understand that sometimes situations will arise when a consensus will not be reached. In said situation we will vote on decisions that cannot be made by consensus.

2. What will we do to make sure that everyone is satisfied with our decisions? What will we do if someone remains unsatisfied?

We will make every effort to satisfy every group members needs and wishes but we know that there will be times when someone remains unsatisfied. We understand that it is important to communicate our feelings with one another and to work out our differences. We understand that we will have to be open to new ideas because everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that we cannot force someone to change their views. As long as the same person is not having to bend their thoughts or ideas every time there is a conflict we feel that we will be able to handle the situations that might occur.

3. Do we want to create formal roles in our group? If so what role would you like to take on?
We do not wish to establish formal roles at this time. As time moves along and the group members become more familiar with each other we may or may not decide to change this.

4. What participation expectations do you have for our group? Would you like the work divided up evenly or divided up according to each member’s strengths and weaknesses?
We will divide the work up evenly between the group members and if possible work around member’s strengths and weaknesses. We expect that if a load is to heavy for a group member to bear that they will inform the other member’s so that work can be completed.

5. Would you like to have weekly out of class meetings?
We would like to establish weekly out of class meetings, with dates and times to be announced at a later date.

6. How would you like to handle group conflict?

We will have a group meeting to talk about the problem. We will inform the group member or members that may be causing the conflict and talk about how to solve it.

7. What are the consequences if a group member fails to live up to the group’s expectations?
If a group member fails to complete her assigned tasks for our project and/or chooses not to actively participate in the group assignment their name will not be on the completed project.

8. How will we divide up the work if one of our group members drops the course or fails to cooperate with the group?

The best way to solve this problem is to try and divide their remaining work up between the remaining group members.

Women, Politics, and the Media

In chapter three of Closing the Leadership Gap, Marie Wilson asserts that “women are rarely seen and almost never positioned as leaders by the press” (Wilson 39). I both agree and disagree with this statement because of the way in which Hillary Clinton has recently been portrayed by the media. She is in the paper or on the news at least once every day. This is probably due to the fact that she is a female presidential candidate, but it is interesting how every little thing she does (here is the part of Wilson’s statement that I agree with!) is constantly criticized by the media. She has been “covered less substantively and more personally” than the male candidates (Wilson 37). The media is constantly reminding the American public that Hillary is a woman, which seems to serve as their way of taking away any sort of authority she had even started to establish for herself.

A perfect example of this is the way that the press focused on what Hillary was wearing during one of the first Democratic debates. She was wearing a black v-neck top that hardly showed any of her cleavage at all (Washington Post picture: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/19/AR2007071902668.html) and the first thing that the press did was attack her outfit. I don’t remember anything being mentioned about what she had said during the debate. As you can see in this political cartoon (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20202692/displaymode/1107/s/1/framenumber/1/), the focus was purely on Hillary’s cleavage. What do you think it will take for women to be seen as more authoritative and more competent than they are seen now?

Another point that Wilson made in the readings for this week was how women need to push and encourage each other to be everything that we can be. Sometimes it seems like we are our own worst enemies. Wilson explains that “if we hold one another back instead of pushing one another forward, we will most certainly stay stuck” (Wilson 70). One of the questions I have about this though is how do we get all women to care about our current unequal position in society? There are many women who don’t see anything wrong with the way that women are constantly degraded and seen as “less than” in our society. How do we get them on our team if they are not willing to help us in the fight?

Wilson – Intro, Chap 1 & 2

Hey Everyone, I know that we are still getting the contract & questions figured out. Thanks Laura Ann! But, I wanted to get my reaction, to the 1st reading we had, up since we had to post 2 things this week. So, here is my journal for Wilson the Intro, chap 1 & 2. I still have to finish my reading for the week, but I should have that one up tomorrow. I wasn't really sure what the Profs are looking for. So, I did mine more informal, but it is what I got from the reading....

I thought that the first chapters of this book were very informative as to how much we have not advanced, despite the overall appearance that people are more open-minded. While I do recognize that some amazing changes have taken place, it seems to me that despite all the work that people do, women seem to be at a stand-still. Many people think the work is done, that we are there and are treated equally with our male counterparts. If that is true how is that only 69 out of 435 members of the House of Representatives are women? And there are only 14 female senators! These statistics that Wilson gives are a reminder of how much work we still have in educating and empowering people.

I found it interesting that Wilson pointed out that many women are scared to admit that they lead or work differently than men. (Especially because I don't feel that way. I know I work & lead differently than the men that I've worked with and I value that difference, as it brings a different perspective to the table. And I think that the people that I have worked with value that difference, as well.) Why should it matter? Just because it is different doesn’t mean that it is wrong! Yet, many feel that admitting that difference is admitting to an inequality that exists between men and women. It’s like saying that all mothers should act and raise children like fathers do because they do it the “right” way! I think just as there are numerous “good” methods in raising children there are numerous and “good” ways to lead people and work.

Another fact that I found interesting, given the time, is that “79% of American’s [said that they were] ready for a woman president,” and “40% of men and women think that it will happen within the next five years.” Well, that time would be now, this next presidential election. And we have a woman running! Though, from what I hear on the radio, it doesn’t seem like she has as much support as people said in 2005. For instance, I heard on NPR over the weekend that she might not make a good candidate because of Bill Clinton’s office. I don’t think a man would be put in that same position and held to the same standards if the situation or roles were reversed. How is it her fault that he lied? And how does that make her a bad leader?

Group Contract Deadline

Hey there,

I am still waiting on a few group contract answers from a couple of people, if you could get them to me as soon as you can that would be great so I can get it together by Wednesday at the latest! Shannon had a great suggestion, "It might be a good idea to put a little blurb at the bottom of our contract that says something about how we can revise any of these items at anytime during the semester, if necessary. That way things aren't set in stone..." I really like that idea, would anyone disagree with having that on our contract? (If you didn't see it, it is located in a reply to one of my posts!)

Thanks,
Laura Ann

Group Contract - Katie

1. How would we like to make our decisions?
voting

2. What will we do to make sure that everyone is satisfied with our decisions? What will we do if someone remains unsatisfied?
As long as we continue talking I don't think this will be a huge issue and if it does become one talking generally overcomes that. However, I think there are just going to be times when one person may have to adjust their views if we cannot come to an agreement. Sometimes you can talk and talk and it doesn't change a person's views, and that's OK. But if this happens I don't think it's a good idea to spend a ton of time on it. As long as it's not always the same person having to bend their views.

3. Do we want to create formal roles in our group? If so what role would you like to take on?
I am also a very organized person and also tend to take on the leadership role. However, I think it is hard to define formal roles in a group like ours. Generally, I find that when people take on roles, they come naturally and people are not formally given a set role. I also think it works better to let them form naturally because depending on what's being worked on roles tend to change. So, I feel we should not set formal roles, I would not argue if everyone else thinks we should have roles. But, I guess I can't really think of 5 "role names" that we could formally assign ourselves???

4. What participation expectations do you have for our group? Would you like the work divided up evenly or divided up according to each members strengths and weaknesses?
I agree that it should be divided evenly, but along with our strengths if possible.

5.Would you like to have weekly out of class meetings?
I would like to have out of class meetings either weekly or every other week. I am not really big into relying on the Internet to get ideas expressed and to have discussions. I am available: Monday - generally from 6pm - 7:15pm (on campus)
Tuesday - before class or after 9pm
Thursday - from 11:30am-ish to 1:15pm or after 9pm
(I am still figuring out my schedule for my other class (& work) that I have to find an internship and depending on that if we can have a set time, I may be available either Monday, Wednesday or Friday from 9:30am - 12:30pm)

6. How would you like to handle group conflict?
Talk about it until it is settled.

7. What are the consequences if a group member fails to live up to the groups expectations?
Obviously we will be able to "grade" them after the presentations. I agree that that person's name should not be included in the presentation, but that's only if they do not prepare the material they are supposed to. It's hard to set a "consequence." I have been in a lot of groups where a person didn't work with the group but they did get the material they were supposed to. So, I guess I am not really sure about this part. I definitely want to know what the rest of you think.

8. How will we divide up the work if one of our group members drops the course or fails to cooperate with the group?
Divide the work between the remaining members.

Basically, I think any problem we have we can discuss it and figure it out. If one person seems to be slacking, we should talk to them because there is generally a good reason. Often things come up in life and we don't always realize that we are letting other things go - so, a friendly nudge and reminder would probably solve the problem.

Group Contract: Laura Ann

1. How would we like to make our decisions?
a. vote

2. What will we do to make sure that everyone is satisfied with our decisions? What will we do if someone remains unsatisfied?
Communication is key. I hope that as long as everyone in the group keeps an open mind on other peoples ideas we will be able to work out all of our differences. If there is someone who remains unsatisfied we will continue to compromise until everyone is happy.

3. Do we want to create formal roles in our group? If so what role would you like to take on?
I am very organized and tend to take the lead. If it works out with everyone else I would like to take on the leadership role. If someone else would like to lead we can work to create tasks that will define our roles better.

4. What participation expectations do you have for our group? Would you like the work divided up evenly or divided up according to each members strengths and weaknesses?
I think that our work should be divided up by or strengths but also somewhat evenly divided up so that everyone contributes to the group.

5. Would you like to have weekly out of class meetings?
I would like to have out of class meetings in order to keep ourselves organized and focused. I am available Tuesday and Wednesday until 1:30pm, and after 7pm; and Thursdays and Fridays after 7pm.

6. How would you like to handle group conflict?
I think that as long as we continue to talk about all of the conflicts we run into we will be able to maintain order in our group.

7. What are the consequences if a group member fails to live up to the groups expectations?
I think that Prof. Scott and Bernard said that there would be a questionnaire at the end of the semester about each participants commitment to the group. I think that if someone completely
withdrawals them self from the group (for reasons unrelated to health, etc.) then their name should not appear in the presentation.

8. How will we divide up the work if one of our group members drops the course or fails to cooperate with the group?
Whatever work is left over I think that we can divide up between the existing group members.

Group Contract

I think that in order to get out group contract done we need to have each person respond to the questions at the bottom of the page. I will take all of our answers and use that to create our group contract. I'll post it on here when we have all answered the questions. If you could please post your answers by 12pm Monday, I will be able to have a draft posted by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Also, I will email Prof Scott and Bernard with our URL!

Thanks,
Laura Ann
llitalie@gmu.edu



1. How would we like to make our decisions?
a. vote
b. consensus
c. other, please specify

2. What will we do to make sure that everyone is satisfied with our decisions? What will we do if someone remains unsatisfied?

3. Do we want to create formal roles in our group? If so what role would you like to take on?

4. What participation expectations do you have for our group? Would you like the work divided up evenly or divided up according to each members stregnths and weaknesses?

5. Would you like to have weekly out of class meetings?

6. How would you like to handle group conflict?

7. What are the consequences if a group member fails to live up to the groups expectations?

8. How will we divide up the work if one of our group members drops the course or fails to cooperate with the group?