Introduction

During World War II, America and Canada had many of their men overseas. They had to find
new ways to support their troops and fill the gaps of the men who were not home to work. As a
result of the shortage of men, women began working and faced many difficulties as they forged
the way for many changes in their world. Women faced ridicule, harassment, degradation, wage
gaps, and opportunity gaps. From a young age girls are taught that they are to be quiet and shy,
and to not take one masculine hobbies and skills. A girl who steps over the metaphorical line
can be outcasted, or ridiculed mercilessly. Many of these examples continue to happen today,
though they could be considered more subtle than in the past.
The television series Bomb Girls sets a wonderful example of the women of the time
making their world exactly what they want it to be, They are hardworking and determined to
show that they are worthy of the same respect the men receive. These women made the
difference for themselves and countries during World War II when they started to work in
factories. In the television series, the women work in a munitions factory and fight to truly be
accepted as normal workers in the factory.
Women truly changed the world for themselves, though they still have to fight for their
equality today. Adding to the conversation, women started as just the homemakers and children
raisers. The women who fought for their right to work would not end the fight now. There are
still many inequalities to women including wage gaps and ability to rise in the corporate ladder.
There is still a favoring of the white male. Jobs are still labeled as Womens work based on the
tasks of the job Women are still taught from a young age that they have different job set from
men. Women are still taking a job that is equivalent to a man's and are still getting paid less for
that same work. This fight for women is far from over.
Literature review

The gender and race bias in the workplace is largely caused by stereotyping (A natural human
process of generalization to help humans decipher extremely complex situations quickly).
Stereotyping is typically based on previous gender biases created, and the labeling of the type
of person to have a specific job.(Bielby. 2000) Women and minorities are less likely to advance
to positions of higher power. This shows cultural systems are creating favorability of the white
male. Even when black and white women hold jobs in higher level positions, female employees
receive significantly less work-related help than similarly situated white men.
(Elliott. 2004) Relatively little research has been conducted to examine the potential of the
workplace to be used as a resource for women. Women make up more than 45% of the total paid
labor force, but little research has been conducted about benefits of work for women. Instead the
majority focuses on the stereotypical duties that women are being drawn away from.In the sense
of Silicon Valley law firms as a workplace, the creation of the firm and the clients can really
determine the possibilities of women being promoted to the highest positions. Larger law firms
tend to have less women as partners. These statistics tend to vary based on region(Phillips.
2005).
The placement of new policies in the hiring and promotional systems of an organization can be
modified to allow candidates to share their traits that make them qualified without revealing
information that leave room open for these stereotypes and bias.
This difference could arise because network members are less likely to invest in furthering
professional women than (white) men, And can be a result of cultural beliefs that rank men
above women.(Ridgeway. 2004)

Entering the Conversation

The inequalities in the workplace are obvious in some cases, and less obvious in others. Obvious
inequalities could be a wage gap, the likelihood of a male getting a promotion over a female, and
the treatment of the women in forms of work-related help, or gender based discrimination. A
largely undetected form of inequality in the workplace and in society is the language usage.
Examples of this being things like you throw like a girl; dont be such a girl and other phrases
that just generally call anyone who is emotional or weak a female or female like. This use of
language very subtly makes women and the gender a joke, It makes them actually be considered
lesser, and it affects the way that women look at themselves and how women limit themselves
without even realizing it. Being raised using these phrases, and hearing them can make one blind
to the impact they have. If such phrases were used on a playground in a manner to target one
person, it would be considered bullying and there would be consequences. Why are there no
consequences for the generalization and joke making not treated in a similar manner?
In the workplace, getting emotional can result in two things, a male being told he is being a
girl for having these emotions, or a woman could be asked or presented with a joke about her
menstrual cycle and be asked if she is on her period. The unfortunate thing about these phrases
and jokes is that it sets the male gender above those who are not male. If a man is considered a
woman for being emotional or possibly irrational, what does that say of the women they are
being compared to?
Telling a women her emotions are invalid because she has a hormonal cycle is also limiting to
women. The effects of limitations are not just in at-home situations, this mentality effects home
and work life.
There are people actually believe that we could not have a female president because she
would have a mood swing and start a war. This is extremely limiting to women who work hard to

hold high level positions. Women may limit themselves or other women because of these things
that are said. When someone is repeatedly told they are lesser in obvious or subtle ways, they can
begin to believe it. It can be worse when a child is raised to think unequally, or with these sexist
limiting phrases in their vocabulary, because it becomes a part of their moral foundations, and
their speech patterns. These can be harder to reverse these mindsets than if someone has picked
the phases up later in life.
Jokes about a womans personality and stereotypes that are made about women are harmful to
self-esteem and self-confidence. This can make women feel the best that they can do is stay at
home, or work in lower level positions. Some women are completely unaware of the issues they
face, and others are aware but compliant to the ways that have been created to keep women
inequal. Seeing a woman perpetuate the stereotypes placed upon women by making gender
biased jokes can make women feel more like this is true, as well as a woman seeing another fight
against these biases can make them feel more aware and willing to fight,
Men and women are taught to discriminate women in their language and behaviors everyday.
The only way to begin to change some of these cultural wrongs is to start small, and carefully
observe the phrases people use that have a potential gender bias. A small change, requesting that
a phrase is not said around you, telling someone the reasons that a joke can be considered biased,
and all around working to educate oneself and others can make a huge difference. When trying to
shift something like language, each small change will add up to one large victory. The work that
women put forward to make the world better can truly pay off. This is not a problem that can be
solved overnight, It will take a lot of patience and support of those around you.
Conclusion:

Women have come very far as they push for equality in their worlds, and the fight is far from
over. Women need to continue to stand for those who still cannot stand up for themselves, or for
those who are taught to be very sexist and shaming of other women. Though standing up for
people who seem to downgrade themselves and other women can seem daunting, the purpose of
fighting is to educate. Education is a huge piece to make these changes.
Women are still paid less than a white male for doing the same work, and told they still cannot
achieve high level jobs or pay. They are still taught from a young age to down themselves and
other girls around them. Women still need to fight to end the things that are still being taught to
young girls. Even the smallest of actions can start a chain reaction of young women fighting for
their equality. Small changes add up to create a very large impact on society. The future of
women and their true equality will be better achieved if women do not sit back quietly and wait,
society will not change on its own. Changing our language could be a huge part of making the
last few advances for women.
Finally putting an end to the inequalities for women will make more room for the people
to focus on other issues. There are many inequalities in this world that lead to an inablility to
stand together to make important changes in our world. Tearing down barriers that inhibit from
people growing to be the best they can be opens more doors toward solving the world's more
complex problems.

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