Delaney Mountford

Professor Woods
ENG 111
October 25. 2015
Writers Letter
The style that I chose for this paper is that of a narrative blend. I wanted my viewpoint on
the argument at hand to be very evident, so I tried to make the paper a combination of persuasive
facts and personal comments that could show the reader how this topic relates to me as a female
student who is working towards a career. I actually really like this piece because I think that I
give lots of facts and research to back up what I am trying to say, and I think that it is persuasive
without being too overwhelming.
When I was in the process of writing, I wanted to try to develop a voice that was logical
and reasonable. I want people with all sorts of beliefs about this topic to be able to at least
consider and understand what I am trying to say and the point that I want to get across.
Obviously, this societal problem isnt one that can be fixed overnight, and there is no definite
solution for it. But, I chose to write it in part because I think it is a problem that is worth being
written about because it still applies to so many people, even though it has obviously gotten
better in the last few years.

Beyond Our Control: Women in the Workplace

Im 18 years old, just starting off my freshman year. Its a brand new start, in a brand new
place, where the options are endless and the world is my oyster. Ive had the great fortune of
being raised by incredibly supportive parents, who have made it possible for me to attend a

wonderful collegiate institution. For my whole life, Ive been told that only I can determine my
success. It has been drilled into my head that, if I really want to do well in life, I have to study,
work hard, and focus. But as Ive grown older, Ive learned that there actually is one thing that
plays a part in my success, even though its beyond my control: my gender. Obviously, I cant
control the fact that I was born a girl into a world that seems to constantly be run by men.
Despite that women earn almost 60% of undergraduate and masters degrees, there is a huge
leadership gap between men and women in the workforce. For example, even though 45% of the
Fortune 500 workforce is made up of women, only 4.4% of them carry a CEO title.
Although I personally relate to this issue for obvious reasons, this is a problem that is so
much bigger than me. It is a conversation that has been avoided for long enough, and it is time
for people to start taking the topic seriously. Intelligent, educated, hardworking women are not
receiving the respect, dignity, and leadership positions that they deserve because, too often, men
find it difficult to take powerful women seriously.
Development Dimensions International, or DDI, is a global consulting agency that is
dedicated to the task of helping their clients reach strong leadership capability. They recently
conducted one of the most comprehensive studies ever that covered the topic of women in
leadership roles and the results proved to be very interesting, given common beliefs on the
matter. I have probably heard every single reason as to why women are not as capable at men
when it comes to holding powerful positions in the workplace. Women are too emotional. Their
hormones will keep them from making smart decisions. Men are more logical, and women are
irrational. Interestingly enough, in one recent study, a similar percentage of men (35%) and
women (34%) backed up these stereotypes by agreeing that women are not tough enough to
hold top leadership positions in business.

However, In the recent research published by DDI, it was found that the companies in the
top 20% of financial performance were made up of female leaders 27% of the time whereas the
companies that were in the bottom 20% of financial performance were made up of female
leaders only 19% of the time. Although both of these findings show women as the clear minority
of leaders, women only held 28% of all of the leadership positions in the study. And yet, there is
still a significant difference between the success of the two types of companies when there are
more women are in power.
Often times, women feel as though they need to change their personality or the way that
they work, so that they can fit in more with their male colleagues. In research conducted by the
University of Maryland, it was found that even if male managers and employees support gender
equity in the workplace, they are unlikely to speak up if they observe it because they want to
remain loyal to the company. Similarly, women may not challenge sexism in the workplace
because they dont want to stick out when they are already being challenged more often than
men. Its easy for people to say that they would stand up if they saw someone being wronged, or
that they would take actions to protect themselves, but the truth of the matter is that the situations
are much more complicated than that. According to a study conducted by the Center for
American Progress, half of men and two-thirds of women that that women are indeed scrutinized
more harshly than men in the workplace. This mindset is what is enabling sexism in a
professional atmosphere to continue. Women constantly find themselves shrinking away from
their ambitions, while men are given all the means necessary to rise up and take what they think
they are entitled to.