Gender Stereotyping

Kristina Ramey
Arts and Humanities
Unit 2
April 11, 2011

Gender Stereotyping is a topic that many do not like to discuss. In this day and age with more and more women entering the workplace gender stereotyping has become a serious problem. This has especially become a problem for females with higher positions and a lot more responsibilities. These stereotypes continue to hold many women back from positions that they deserve even though they have plenty of qualifications that make them a good fit for the position. Gender stereotypes can have a very negative impact on women and their careers. Considerable evidence reveals that men and women are treated differently in a variety of contexts, just not the workplace.
Wage discrimination tends to be a big problem with gender stereotyping. One of the main reasons women are paid less for the same exact job and same responsibilities is because their pay is based on gender stereotypes. It is sometimes viewed that women do not need equal pay because they are married and their income in basically a supplement to their husband’s income. Husbands are viewed as the “breadwinner” who brings home the money and women are viewed as the “homemaker” who takes care of the home and children, because of these stereotypes women in the workplace sometimes get labeled as being too soft or affectionate.   This can be devastating to a women’s career.
Many times in the workplace, men are viewed as the only one that is able to take charge. They are said process the behaviors that are needed for top-level positions. Women on the other hand are viewed as the one that is able to take care of people.   They are said to be more affectionate, compassionate, helpful and kind. This comes from women being viewed as the homemaker, this can potentially undermined the woman’s capacity to lead and could possibly pose serious challenges to career advancement.
Many women encounter what is known as the “glass ceiling”. A glass ceiling is an upper...