WS 101 M/W- Cora Agatucci

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WS 101 Online Student Study Guides 2

"Eunuchs, Gender, and Power"
"Women's Health Issues" "Women in Management"
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"Eunuchs, Gender, & Power"

Amie McGee
WS 101, Prof. Agatucci
Study Guide #2
February 17,1998

Study Guide for "Eunuchs, Gender and Power" (Week #6)

Speaker: Patricia O'Neil
Date: February 10,1998
Reading/Related Assignments: "Eunuchs, Gender and Power" Handout provided by Patricia O'Neil, and an in class video presentation.

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

A. Based on Patricia O'Neil's presentation and related reading, What are Eunuchs and Harem women, where did they have the most historical significance, and what purposes did they serve?

1. A eunuch is a male who has been rendered sexually impotent by mutilation or removal of the external genitals. Males became eunuchs both voluntarily and involuntarily, as a desperate means of employment or from harsh punishment.

a. Eunuchs served many purposes such as "palace menials, harem watchdogs and spies…" (see related reading p.1). Because the eunuchs were most often childless, they were believed not to "covet political power" (see related reading p.3). They were also needed to "guard the chastity of imperial ladies living in the imperial harem" (see related reading p.1). Eunuchs were also often distributed among the empire as servants, with the higher-ranking person having more eunuchs. Frequently eunuchs were the main caregivers, entertainers, and often the only male role models for young emperors. They wiped and even picked the emperor's nose. The eunuchs did not, even for a minute, leave the emperor. They even "waited on the emperor when he slept" (see related reading p.3).

2. Harem women, in general, were wives of sultans and/or emperors. An imperial court, which included a harem, often ruled many ancient societies. A harem refers to a restricted section of the palace where only eunuchs, wives, concubines and their female and pre-pubescent male offspring were allowed.

  1. The main purpose of these harem women was to produce heirs to the throne in a time of high infant mortality. They were also used to support the image of the emperor or sultan. Depending on rank, some harem women may have also been servants.

3. Eunuchs and Harem women had the most historical significance in the palaces of imperial China and the palaces of the Ottoman Turks.

B. In the palaces of the Ottoman Turks and in the palaces of imperial China, how were harem women classified or organized? What were some similarities and differences between these two harems?

  1. "A typical Chinese emperor's harem was comprised of: one empress, three primary consorts (1st rank), nine wives of the 2nd rank, 27 concubines of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th ranks, and 81 concubines of the 6th, 7th and 8th ranks. In total: 121 women at any given time" (from related reading p.4).
  2. The Ottoman Turkish Empire typically consisted of 300 harem women. They were ranked as 1st rank (mainly servants), 2nd rank (those who had slept with the emperor at least one night), and 3rd rank (those who slept with him occasionally). "The 4th rank was the highest: one of the four 'official' wives of the sultan who had been allowed maternity of her child" (See related reading p.6-7).
  3. In both empires, the woman to give birth to the first male took precedence over the others. If that male became the emperor, the mother would become either the emperor dowager (Chinese Empire) or valide sultan (Ottoman Turkish Empire), granting her special privileges and power within the harem. Harem women of the Chinese Empire were often chosen from other royal families unlike the harem women of Ottoman Turkey who were chosen among prisoners-of-war or from the slave markets. Unlike imperial Chinese harem women, harem women of the Ottoman Turkish Empire underwent a long period of education and training. "They learned the principles of Islam, at the same time acquiring such skills as sewing, embroidery, dancing, singing, playing musical instruments and story telling" (related reading p.6). Imperial Chinese harem women often spoke different languages and did not receive this type of training. They lived among eunuchs and other harem women and their offspring, whereas if one of the harem women of the Ottoman Turkish Empire bore the sultan's child, she had the right to live in a private apartment (related reading p.6). Although these harem women had differences in privilege and rank, both groups were privileged and fulfilled the purpose of providing royal heirs and image personification.

C. What other privileges did some eunuchs and harem women possess? In what ways were harem women and eunuchs "powerful"?

Unlike many others in their society, eunuchs and harem women had potential to acquire great wealth, power and influence. As mentioned previously, privilege was greatly determined by rank and the harem women who produced male offspring's were ranked highest. In the Imperial Chinese harem, the empress dowager selected the emperor's wives and concubines. She also had the right to assist in the selection of qualified candidates if the emperor died. "Tradition guaranteed a dowager empress an impregnable place in the court, no matter what her personal qualities. Since she was of an older generation, she took precedence over the new emperor in all matters of protocol. Using protocol a dowager could, in an emergency, overrule the emperor, but she would do so only if she could reasonably expect the support of court officials. In this way a dowager theoretically could act as a check on the powers of the emperor if he made unwise decisions" (see related reading p.7). Like the emperor dowagers of the Imperial Chinese harem, the valide sultan also had the guarantee of honor. She had absolute authority within the harem and also had a main part in choosing the women who would spend time with the sultan. The women who slept with the sultan occasionally "had the right to their own apartment, a regular allotment of food and a salary" (related reading p.7). "These women were allowed to invest, to loan, to borrow and to speculate with their money without the consent of any one else. Normally, the chief eunuchs were their financial advisors" (related reading p.7). Because eunuchs were often the main caregivers and only male role models for the emperor, they were often able to influence him. In the Imperial Chinese Empire, "All chief eunuchs and many head eunuchs had their own kitchens and some had their own households and families, complete with maidservants" (related reading p.3). In both empires there was enormous competition and many times, eunuchs used this to their advantage. Eunuch's often took bribes from harem women and joined them in "dark plots to do away with the heir apparent and place her own son or favorite in line for succession" (related reading p.4). If the plots were successful they would gain wealth and power. Death, by poison, was feared by many in both empires.

Part II: Questions for Thinking and Discussion
1. Although power was a main focus of this presentation, I'm still not sure what the powers were or who had them. Obviously, eunuch and harem women had power to gain wealth, reach higher status (often by pre-meditated murder), and, if lucky, influence the emperor, but what did they gain from this power?
2. Who held the most power in these empires? Although, clearly, the position of emperor held great importance, what duties did they perform and what power did they have? It seemed that the emperor had little choice but to follow ancient tradition.
3. The emperor dowager of the Imperial Chinese Empire was able to, in some cases with the support of court officials, able to overrule the emperor (related reading p.5). Who were these court officials and what power did they have?
4. What were the benefits, besides wealth, of this power? What was the purpose of such empires? Are there still empires? If so, what ancient traditions, if any, still exist?

Part III: Compare/Contrast this Presentation to Others
First, when comparing and contrasting styles of presentations, I noticed that both this presentation and Jennifer Green's presentation of "Renaissance Women Artists" were both very visual while Cora Agatucci's presentation "To be a woman and a writer" was very auditory. Cora, aroused our imaginations and delighted our sense of hearing (with her readings from women writers, especially Alice Walker), whereas Patricia and Jennifer filled our eyes and minds with elaborate images (such as a video clip from the recent movie "The Last Emperor" and incredible art by Artemisia Gentileshi). Of all the presentations we've heard thus far in the women's studies course, this presentation, "Eunuchs, Gender and Power", seemed to have caused the strongest reaction from the class. This presentation, like the others showed the effects of gender within society but because the culture depicted in this presentation was so different from ours, the class reacted somewhat ethnocentrically when making comments of how horrible and disgusting this way of life must have been. The students seemed to ask more questions during this presentation than in other presentations.

Part IV: Further Study and Research
1. "The institutions of harems and eunuchs remained entrenched in the Chinese society well into the 20th century" (related reading p.5). What changes have occurred in China and in Turkey and how did these changes come about?
2. It seemed that in this ancient time period men were viewed as expendable. In our current time period, are men still held in this view?
3. What was life like for people out side the empire?
4. I think semi-men is a pretty strong term for eunuchs although they adopted this term. Reflect on what this term meant to some eunuchs.
5. In general, I would like to further investigate the development of China in comparison to other countries.

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"Women's Health Issues"

Shannon Adkisson
WS 101, Professor Agatucci
Study Guide #3
March 9, 1998

Study Guide for "Women's Health Issues" (Week #7)

Speaker: Margaret Peterson
Date: February 17, 1998
Reading/Related Assignments: WS 101 Packet: Read (& annotate) WS Timeline Part VIII Women in the 1990s; Responses to Survey Questions Handout; Women's Health Issues: Summary.

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

A. What did students list has the top five health issues unique to women or issues keeping women healthy? What did the students state were the top five health issues for men?

  1. Students named breast cancer as the top health issue for women followed closely by cervical/ovarian/uterine cancer; disordered eating: bulimia, anorexia, and obesity; pregnancy/reproductive issues; and lastly chronic heart disease.
  2. Students named chronic heart disease as the top health issue for men followed by prostrate cancer, stress, other forms of cancer, and alcohol related problems.

B. What did statistics show as the leading causes of death for women in 1997?

  1. The leading causes of death for women in 1997 were chronic heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and accidents.

C. What does the World Health Organization (WHO) state about the global burden of disease?

  1. WHO states that in recent years there has been a shift in thinking concerning how individuals look at health issues.
  2. People are living longer due to advances in medical science. This shift in thinking relates to quality of life versus longevity. People want to maintain a good quality of life such as remaining active mentally and physically as they age and live longer.
  3. The global burden of disease has increased due to global population growth, aging populations equal chronic health conditions, and the rising prevalence of unhealthy lifestyles among individuals.
  4. The Surgeon General Report in 1964 stated smoking as the number one health concern. In 1997 that major health concern is an inactive lifestyle.
  5. In females and developing countries, unipolar major depression is projected to become the leading cause of the disease burden as measured in disability-adjusted life years (DAYS).
  6. Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima, Director General of WHO states, "In celebrating our extra years, we must recognize that increased longevity without quality of life is an empty prize, that is, that health expectancy is more than life expectancy."

D. What are the leading health issues for women?

  1. The leading health issues for women are reproductive issues concerning maternal mortality, reproductive rights, birth control, fertility rights, and reproductive diseases; chronic disease issues such as chronic heart disease; breast and lung cancer; stroke; lung disease; diabetes; AIDS/STDs; psychosocial disorders; and disordered eating.

E. What are the common risk factors for chronic heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, stress, diabetes, or stroke?

  1. The common risk factors are smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, a high fat diet, low fiber diets, caffeine, excessive alcohol, and obesity.

F. What are the barriers to women's health?

  1. The barriers to women's health are the societal perceptions of the female role, poverty/lack of resources, inadequate or no access to health services, inadequate research on female subjects, differences in symptoms/disease etiology, and inadequate education and awareness of women=s risks.
  2. Even women who have access to health care are confronted with physician issues such as insensitive physicians, lack of female physicians, and the fact that physicians perform can and do perform sometimes too aggressive and unneeded surgeries.

    a. The most performed surgery is a hysterectomy at 550,000 hysterectomies per year. Many of these are done in haste and when less invasive treatments would have been sufficient.

G. What are some enablers to women's health?

  1. Some enablers to women's health are that reproductive health has focused on prevention; women live longer, so focus on DAYS is to a women's benefit (quality of life issues); DAYS includes many diseases commonly associated with women; and women in our culture are more apt to seek treatment.

a. The early detection and aggressive treatment of reproductive diseases greatly increase the survival rate of women afflicted with these diseases.

Part II: Questions for Thinking and Discussion
1. In the United States today, many people pride themselves on being open-minded and non-judgmental. Why is it then that one of the most highly socially-cultured countries in the world still has antiquated ideals when it comes to a women=s sexuality and whose responsibility it is for proper birth control?
2. When you consider our country's welfare system and the problems it entails, what are your views the possible control of how many children a woman can have while being supported by this system?
3. What are your views on abortion? Are they religiously based, morally based, or based on something else?
4. Right selection is when the sex of the baby has been determined; the parents or parent do not want that sex of a child, and the pregnancy is terminated. What do you think about this reason for aborting a child? Does this outrage you or do you feel it is just one more freedom of choice that should be yours?
5. What are your views on in vitro fertilization? Should cryogenics (freezing of embryos) be allowed?
6. What common risk factors do you have in your life, and what could you personally do to improve your quality of life for the future?

Part III: Compare-Contrast this Presentation to Others: Questions and Observations
1. What comparisons or dissimilarities can you make between speaker, Margaret Peterson's presentation on "Women's Health Issues" and speaker, Leslie Minor-Evans' presentation on "Women and Psychology"? One comparison that stands out strongly in my mind is that both speakers stated that research on women was considered a problem and that women were sorely misrepresented in research.
2. What visual form of presentation has been used most by our speakers? I believe that Power Point presentations have been the favored means by most of the speakers for visually presenting their topics. Has this visual form of presentation been adequate for you in obtaining information and holding your interest? Or do you prefer a more unstructured, conversational form of presentation?

Part IV: Further Study and Research
1. We have been told what steps to take to improve our physical well being such as eating right and exercising. I would like to take that a step further to research what one can do to improve their emotional and mental well being.
2. Other countries have free health care or more affordable health care then the United States. I would like to research why this is the case and if it is only due to higher taxes collected in those countries.

Amanda Judd
Study Guide #3
March 1998

Speaker: Margaret Peterson
Date: 2/17/98
Title: Women's Health Issues

Part One: Main Issues And Key Points.

I. The classes thoughts on the major issues for women's health for both men and women were:

A. The top four issues for men were:

1. Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)
2. Prostate cancer
3. Stress
4. Cancer (All types)

B. The top four issues for women were:

1. Breast Cancer
2. Reproductive Cancers (Cervical, Ovarian, etc..)
3. Eating Disorder
4. Reproductive Issues

II. The leading causes of death for women in 1997

A. CHD is the number one killer for both males and females.

1. CHD was thought to be a primarily a male disease in the industrialized countries.
2. The symptoms show up in different way for males and females and at different ages.
3. Little is known about this disease in female due to the lack of research with women.
4. Hormone Replacement Therapy(HRT) raised the risk of CHD in women.

B. Cancer is the number two killer of both sexes.

1. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women.

a. There is a high survival rate with early detection.
b. Industrialized countries have the highest incidence of breast cancer.

2. Lung cancer is the number one killer in women.

a. There is a lower incidence than breast cancer, but a poorer survival rate.
b. It is on the increase among women with increases in smoking rates.
c. Cigarette smoking is linked to 85-90% of all cases
d. Early detection in unlikely and there is no effective treatment currently available.

C. Stroke is the third leading cause of death for both men and women.

1. A stroke may leave the individuals disabled for many years.
2. It is highly related to tobacco use.

D. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is next leading cause of death.

E. Diabetes and accidents finishes off the list.

III. The World Health Organization (WHO) has shifted the focus of the issues of health care.

A. WHO has decided that quality of life is more important than the length of life.
B. The aging population has given a rise to chronic conditions.
C. Today for every newborn there is about 10 elderly and that number will jump to 1 newborn for every 15 senior citizen by the year 2000.
D. There is a rising concern for the prevalence of unhealthy lifestyles.
E. Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima, The Director general of WHO, said "In celebrating our extra years, we must recognize that increased longevity without quality of life is an empty prize, that is, that health expectancy is more than life expectancy."

IV. The leading health issues for women are:

A. Maternal mortality is the most important issues currently for women.

1. In developing countries, like Sierra Leone, 1/7 pregnancies result in death.

2. Dr. Susan Holck, WHO's Reproductive Health Program, said "Maternal mortality offers a litmus test of the status of women, their access to health care and the adequacy of the health care system in responding to their needs."

B. Reproductive Rights is still a major issues for women.

1. What rights do females/males have in pregnancy termination?
2. Who has the right to control how many children a women can have?

C. Birth Control was always thought to be the female's responsibility.

1. Research is too dangerous for males, but not for females.
2. Sex education is focused only on the girls and not equally discussion with both sexes.

D. Fertility Rights has been a hot topic in the discussion of women's reproductive issues.

1. Who should have access to in vitro fertilization?
2. Should cryogenics (freezing of embryos) be allowed?

V. The common risk factors for CHD,cancer, osteoporosis, stress, diabetes, and stroke.

A. Smoking is a major health risk.
B. A sedentary lifestyle with a high fat/low fiber diet is a rising problem in industrialized countries.
C. Caffeine and coffee has a large following and is a major health risk.

VI. The barriers that have caused problems for women's health are:

A. The societal perceptions of the female role is still unchanging.
B. Poverty and lack of resources is a big problem for women's health.
C. Inadequate and no access to health services affects women of all income levels.
D. There is more research done on men than women and doctors don't know the symptoms of women's disease.
E. Education and awareness needs to be improved.

VII. The Enablers to women's health issues are:

A. Reproductive health has focused on prevention.
B. Women, also, live longer than men.
C. Women are more apt to seek treatment than men.

Part Two: Questions To Think About.
1. Should China be allowed to control the size of a family?
2. Should there be age limit on pregnancy and adoption?
3. Is the view of women and the health changing for the better or worse or at all?
4. Should second term abortion be allowed if the women's health is in danger?

Part Three: Compare And Contrast Of Presentions.
This presention was visual. Margaret Peterson used power point and also had handouts, which was helpful in understanding of the presention. I didn't have to focus on taking notes, as much, I could focus on what she was saying. Power point was used by other speakers, but they would flip through the slide to fast to taking down all that was on that slide. I missed a lot with those presentions, because I am not a good note taker. Margaret Peterson was the only speaker on the issues of health so I can't compare the subject matter very much. I think the subject was very important and needed more attention than it got.

Part Four: Further Study And Research.
1. What can be done by individuals to improve the health care for women?
2. Is the medical industry changing its view of women and research?
3. Are things being done to lower the maternal mortality in developing countries?

"Bad Girls"

Else Londahl
WS 101, Prof. Agatucci
Study Guide #3
February 26, 1998

Study Guide for "Bad Girls" (week #7)

Speaker: Karen Huck
Date: Thursday, February 26, 1998
Reading/Related Materials: Women Studies course packet pg. 2, 4, 49.

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

A. What is A Bad Girl? This is the question that Karen had us answer before she came to talk to the class. She read these aloud to the class and most of them were sexual definitions. She emphasized that there can’t be a bad girl definition without a good girl definition. An example of a "good girl" and a "bad girl" are the virgin Mary and Mary Magdelane respectively. The virgin is a pure mother, faithful and non-sexual while Mary M. is an adulteress although she was the first apostle.

B. Another subject Karen went into a lot of detail about was the porn. Industry. She showed us many images of naked women from the internet that anyone has access to. She considers these to be bad girls. She also told us that in many cases (even in law) a bad girl doesn’t have the right to refuse sex. In other words, if a bad girl is raped, the law often blames it on her because she was "asking for it". These "bad girls" are getting used by men. Karen read statistics about torture chambers for men’s sexual fantasies. She also read about strip clubs and the pinching, biting and slapping that takes place there.

C. The next topic Karen went into detail about was violence against women and child sex abuse statistics. Although these women aren’t bad girls, the statistics she gave us were showing how much women are taken advantage of. A few of these statistics are as follows:

1. 90% of rapes involve an offender that the victim knew.
2. 26% of women killed are killed by their lovers.
3. 668,000 women report rape each year. Only 16% of rapes are reported.
4. 345,000 child abuse cases were reported last year.

Women aren’t just starting to be used. The bad girl image has been around forever. Mae West is a bad girl Karen talked about. She was arrested in 1926 for teaching bad morals in her play Sex. One of her famous quotes was "I avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it". Women were also used in WWII. The pinups were started during the war to encourage heterosexuality among the soldiers.

Part II: Questions for Thinking and Discussion
1. Some key questions that Karen ended the presentation with were the following:

How can we use the image of the bad girl to develop our minds, hearts and souls?
How can we prevent the misuse of this image as justification for rape, abuse and male hysteria?
How are we all bad girls?

2. Do you think that bad girls ask for rape?
3. Does your definition of bad girl fit Karen’s definition?
4. Have these "bad girls" given all other girls a bad name? Do you think that if the porn industry hadn’t gotten so big, women wouldn’t be considered to be objects as much?
5. Karen told the class that she got access to the porn web site by simply saying she was over 18. What do you think about this. Do you think that there should be some restrictions on who has access to these sights?

Part III: Compare-Contrast this presentation to Others: Questions and Observations
1. A question that seems to come up in most of the presentations is what can we do to change how women are viewed today. What do you think we can do. What are we doing today.
2. Karen, Jenny and Patricia all showed good visuals. Do you think that this was more effective than simply listing statistics? Would you have been as shocked by the statistics if these videos, slides and photos hadn’t been shown?
3. Both Karen and Jenny told us that Venus was a symbol of a bad girl. I always thought of her as a beautiful woman not a bad girl. What are your thoughts on Venus?

Part IV: Further Study and Research
1. Karen briefly talked about historical bad girls. In order to know how to change the idea that women are objects, it might be good to look into what has been done in the past to see what worked or didn’t work.
2. If you don’t think of strip clubs as bad places, maybe you should visit one sometime and see for yourself the terrible things that go on there. Of course, some are worse than others, but they are all full of men drooling over women’s bodies.
3. It might be interesting to compare men’s definitions of bad girls with women’s definitions of bad girls. Do you think they would differ very much?

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"Women in Management"

Student elected to remain anonymous

Study Guide for "Women in Management" (Week #9)

Speaker: Carol Henderson
Date: March 3, 1998
Reading/Related Assignments: WS Packet "Women’s Work" (p. 4), "Women at Work" (pp. 10-11), "Glass Ceilings and Pink Collar Ghettoes" (p. 15), "Women in the Paid Workforce" (p. 25)

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

To look at the topic "Women in Management" Carol suggested we look through three different lenses: A pop-culture lens, research and theory, and personal experience.

  1. The pop-culture lens provides terms that are often associated with women when they go to work. These terms are indicators of popular perception.

"Glass ceiling" is the boundary women face in lower levels of management. While women are able to see all levels within a corporation as available career steps, once they meet the perceivable milestones through effort and merit, the promotions are not available to them. This is due in part to the president’s prerogative to choose upper management based on personality and style, and explains why men are disproportionately represented in high management in many fields and why women managers are clustered in "acceptable" fields.

"Pink collar ghetto" is the term used to describe the "acceptable" fields for women. Professional females are concentrated in these low-paying fields. Acceptable fields including teaching, clerical work, retail, and nursing. The female professional will find easier entry these workforces, so they still tend to cluster there.

"Super-mom" came into being as women entered the workforce in the 1970’s. The super-mom is assumed to be able to "do it all" from working a 40 hour (plus) week and continue to maintain the household. "Second shift" is related to the super-mom. In duel income households, the women retain primary responsibility for the care of the children and the home.

"Mommy-track" is indicative of women stuck at a lower level of management due to the potential requirement for maturity leave, and the need to tend to children. Women are also not encouraged (or allowed) to manage "big ticket" projects for this reason.

"Queen bee" is a fairly derogator term used for women who have achieved a high position, and then used their position to make it difficult for other women to rise to the top. This stance may be explained by a desire to avoid perceived favoritism, a sense of threat against the position held, or a internalized desire to disassociate from the "despised creatures" or lowers (females).

2. There are some positive impacts in the area of management styles, since the entry of women in management. While the historic definition of a good manager might include descriptions such as hardworking with a focus on deadlines, responsible, or inflexible, there is a trend toward descriptions of patient, empowering, grateful and communicative managers.

The new humanistic view divides power into the basis of how it is achieved, since power is the ability to get done what you want to get done. According to McGregor, author of the book "Leadership" the different levels include a) positional authority /title; b) resource such as access to fund or specialized skills; c) charisma /persuasive or influential skills; d) the ability to hand out punishment or reward; e) building of relationships and trust; f) shared goals with those you work with; g) affinity /shared beliefs about how things should be done; and h) memberships outside of the workplace.

3. Carol shared a few of her experiences as a woman in management. As Dean of Instruction at COCC, Carol is directly responsible for a budget of over three million dollars. She works 50 – 70 hours per week and travels every week. She is the only female in the Presidents council. She also has no children, a supportive spouse and no other family responsibilities. Carol indicated that despite the high level of responsibility, effort, and merit she spends a lot of time and energy ticked off at the primarily male environment she works in. The men she works with are often unaware that they tend to interrupt her and give her less speaking time in meetings. Benefactors have been so politically incorrect as to call her "sweetie cake." While she would have liked to set the record straight, Carol was required to respond politely rather than jeopardize her purpose as a professional. To add insult to injury, people entering her office will look her straight in the eye and state, "I am looking for the Dean." She feels that women in management have to walk a fine line of correct female behavior – between bitch and wimp

Part II: Questions for Thinking and Discussion
1. Does the lack of female role models in management have an impact of the inequity within her peer group? How can women become better mentors for each other?
2. How will the retirements of the "old boy network" impact women’s ability to achieve promotions in the future? Are younger men sufficiently educated to accept an equal role for women in business?
3. How can we adapt the corporate environment to accept women as valuable contributors in management? What changes must women make? What changes must men make? What cultural changes would eliminate or alleviate the tension?
4. Definitions belong to the definers. Can we redefine the terms used to describe women in the workforce to reflect a positive outlook?
5. Can women with children or extended family obligations achieve a high management position? What sacrifices must they be willing to make? Is it necessary for women to give up their nurturing role to become a good manager?

Part III: Compare-Contrast this presentation to others: Questions and Observations
1. Carol validated Steve O’Brien’s observation that gender is a loaded issue. Due to some of the same expectations and stereotyping, In issues of gender, Carol feels she must choose which ones are important enough to bring up due in part to personal "hot spots" but also because it categorizes her.
2. In "Women and Psychology," Leslie explained how stereotyping can hold women back from achieving their optimal level of success. She also talked about how similar behaviors in men and women are explained differently: men have the ability to follow through/ women don’t know when to quit; men are stern task masters/ women are difficult to work for; or men are not afraid to speak their mind/ women are outspoken and opinionated.
3. Carol’s presentation mirrored others such as "To be a Women and a Writer," "Renaissance Women Artists’" and reading such as "Women’s Studies and Science" in the underlying question – where are the women (in these fields)?
4. The lack of trust for women in business seems to be a "hang-over" from the Renaissance period when men were discouraged from letting women know anything about their business.
5. Carol said that she would be classified as a "good girl." Could she still hold a high management position and allow the "bad" side of her to project in an archetype?

Part IV: Further Study and Research
1. The change in definition for a good manager probably has many influences, the entry of women into management being just one. What other factors influence the cultural changes in management? What cultural factors contribute to the requirement that women over achieve in order to obtain and maintain the same level of management responsibility as men?
2. Several of the younger students expressed a disbelief in "old boy networks" and other hurdles women face today in management. What are their expectations regarding fields of study? What do they perceive to be the hurdles and advantages they have as they prepare to enter the workforce?
3. When asked what they want to be when they grow up, young female children will often respond "A mommy." I have overheard adults respond by telling the girls with some variation on "You can do better/more than that!" Does this type of response further deteriorate the value of women? How would "successful" women respond, and what values would they encourage in young children?

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more online student study guides
"Women & Psychology: Why We've Been Ignored, Where We Are Now
""Male Responses to the Women's Movement"
"Renaissance Women Artists"



Address your questions and comments to cagatucci@cocc.edu
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see also WS 101 Course Plan, WS Links and WS Timelines (hyperlinked!)

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