Emma Kook – Reader Response
Gender disparity is weaved deep into our society. Often we are unable to recognize when biased behavior is occurring. As “The Effects of Gender Roles” article by Rachel Godsil identifies, this biased behavior is socially ingrained in our workforce behavior that it is subtle but it has a substantial impact on women. This issue comes to the forefront in the interview with Dr. Urry who shares her concerns with sexual harassment occurring at astronomy conferences. It is upsetting to read how prominent and typical it is for women to be ‘hit on’ by work colleagues and superiors.
In terms of gender disparity in the workplace, from the articles, it became clear how few women are found in many political positions, leadership positions, and STEM-focused jobs. It is crazy to me that we have to persuade people to hire more women when it has been proven the capabilities of men and women are equal. Yet the answer to decreasing gender disparity found in “Why are there still so Few Women in Science?” by Eileen Pollack, is to broaden the pool of females in this positions to make the culture more livable. Pollack went on to identify that this will not “lower standards” which is disheartening to me that she feels the need to point this out.
The articles acknowledged that success is entirely dependent on culture. These disparities in culture have caused the disparities among gender. I found the 1999 Math Test Study discussed in Pollack’s article to be very interesting. Clearly, cultural signals affect a woman’s ability to perform. In a society where women are faced with biased behavior, it seems only natural that women have struggled with success in the workforce. Dr. Urry shared her experience with becoming a scientist and the constant discouragement that came from her male professors and superiors. This continuous dissuasion is bound to get into the heads of many women that will begin to believe for themselves they are incapable. Gender disparities are subtle norms that are ingrained in our daily lives. This culture is the reason for success; it is not a matter of gender.
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