Women in the Workplace

A lot goes on under our very noses.  The media often times exaggerates situations or underestimates others.  However, what goes on in the workplace has been put on the spotlight for a while now.  In my personal experience, I've been working since I was fourteen but mostly with woman.  I rarely saw what I heard on TV which is women being mistreated under their male counterparts, or the competition that goes on when young employees take over the jobs that used to belong to older employees.

Although Barbara Herrick's experience about being a writer/producer occurred maybe around 30-40 years ago, a may not have changed.  According to Herrick, "a face-man is a person who looks good, speaks well, and presents the work," (67).  And often times, who tends to be these type of people?  Those who are young, good looking, and most often females.

Treatment of employees in the workplace can be a very taboo topic.  Of course one should stand up for the injustice, but I wonder just how much of it goes unnoticed.  However, in Herrick's case, "I made a stand..."  Working within a male dominant workplace was not easy for Herrick.  Sure her male counterparts were aware of her skill and her abilities, but did they respect her?

Herrick also mentions, "...if I would ask a direction question, they would answer and look at my boss or another man in the room" (67).  This also happened to a Canadian woman who taught English in Korea.  She and her husband were meeting an entertainment company for work reasons.  When she would ask a question, the men would answer to her husband.  Now, a cultural reason for that situation could be that because she is a married woman, the men did not want to disrespect her by holding eye contact.  If that were in America, it almost seems like he doesn't know how to have eye contact.  No.  It reveals how American culture in the workplace can often times determine how one treats their coworkers.