Abstract: The article is basically about how women, business women more specifically, are held to very high standards and expectations. In the workforce nowadays, there are many women taking part in many types of different job titles. However, when it comes to women and being a CEO of a company, that is where the topic starts to become an issue. Of the Fortune 500, there are only 12 female CEO's. Does that not tell you a lot already? The article goes on to explain how business women are expected to be the "supermom" at home and then be the perfect business women at work. Women have to be pretty much perfect both at home and at work. Men have very few expectation, whereas women have so much more.
Discussion Questions:
1) Do you agree that women nowadays are looked at as "the plight of superwoman"? Explain.
2) "Businesswomen must look great, but not too great, in order to have her voice heard. She must be both feminine and masculine, but not too far in either direction."
Why do you think there is this stereotype against businesswomen?
3) "She must be willing to listen to the male humor and crude language of her colleagues, but she cannot participate in either. In other words, she must be Superwoman. Simple, right?"
What are your thoughts about this?
4) Do men have the right to just be good businessmen and nothing more?
5) Why do we expect women to constantly fly in and save the day?
6) What do you think can be done to fix this problem?
7) What do you think is the biggest reason why women can't be successful businesswomen?
8) Just because they aren't CEOs does that mean they aren't holding managerial positions?
9) What exactly does a woman want to change?
Saphyre's Response: I agree with the writer of the article. Women, in general, are expected to do so much. Not only are they held to high standards at home, but in the household as well. Our society has come a very long way from being unequal, and things have gotten way better for women. However, there are still those assumptions and stereotypes against women. As said in the article, "men are only expected to be good businessmen", whereas women are expected to be so much more; from being a loving wife, a caring mother, a respectful daughter-in-law, a good daughter, a nice neighbor, and eve perfect businesswoman. Are you all crazy? How is it that men are only expected to be good businessmen and nothing else, and then women have to be good at EVERYTHING! "A'ole." Women are amazing human beings and a lot of the times we are taken for granted. Media and society need to understand that times have changed, and men need to step up. No more of the "men are dominant, they can do whatever they want, and they don't have to cook or clean or take care of the children". We live in a society where men and women are equal. Instead of just saying, "Yeah, men and women are equal", there should be evidence that this is true and can be backed up with support and evidence. Women can only do so much. Yes, I see a lot of women as superwoman, but in a lot of cases, it should not have to be that way.
Bryan's Response:
The writer touches up on some very key points in this article, mainly the unrealistic expectations that women have which ultimately cripples them. One of the most interesting topics that the author brings up is the mention of a businesswoman's looks. Although it seems strange, I think it is way too true that if women look too good, attention will be drawn in an unintended way. The other extreme is that if women do not look good, they will not be able to attract enough attention to have their voice heard, while men on the other hand are not judged for their looks at all. The idea of 'Superwoman' is a plight that nearly breaks the barrier between fiction and reality. Indeed we all know that super powers are limited to the strength of our imaginations, but the tasks that women are burdened with run finely along the lines of insanity and superhuman. It is ironic that it is the very expectations for excellence which hinder a woman's ability to excel, since she is faced with so many must-dos that she is unable to succeed for herself, while instead raising and fine-tuning boys to become powerful or training girls to support the burdens of being a woman.
Abstract: The article is basically about how women, business women more specifically, are held to very high standards and expectations. In the workforce nowadays, there are many women taking part in many types of different job titles. However, when it comes to women and being a CEO of a company, that is where the topic starts to become an issue. Of the Fortune 500, there are only 12 female CEO's. Does that not tell you a lot already? The article goes on to explain how business women are expected to be the "supermom" at home and then be the perfect business women at work. Women have to be pretty much perfect both at home and at work. Men have very few expectation, whereas women have so much more.
Discussion Questions:
1) Do you agree that women nowadays are looked at as "the plight of superwoman"? Explain.
2) "Businesswomen must look great, but not too great, in order to have her voice heard. She must be both feminine and masculine, but not too far in either direction."
Why do you think there is this stereotype against businesswomen?
3) "She must be willing to listen to the male humor and crude language of her colleagues, but she cannot participate in either. In other words, she must be Superwoman. Simple, right?"
What are your thoughts about this?
4) Do men have the right to just be good businessmen and nothing more?
5) Why do we expect women to constantly fly in and save the day?
6) What do you think can be done to fix this problem?
7) What do you think is the biggest reason why women can't be successful businesswomen?
8) Just because they aren't CEOs does that mean they aren't holding managerial positions?
9) What exactly does a woman want to change?
Saphyre's Response: I agree with the writer of the article. Women, in general, are expected to do so much. Not only are they held to high standards at home, but in the household as well. Our society has come a very long way from being unequal, and things have gotten way better for women. However, there are still those assumptions and stereotypes against women. As said in the article, "men are only expected to be good businessmen", whereas women are expected to be so much more; from being a loving wife, a caring mother, a respectful daughter-in-law, a good daughter, a nice neighbor, and eve perfect businesswoman. Are you all crazy? How is it that men are only expected to be good businessmen and nothing else, and then women have to be good at EVERYTHING! "A'ole." Women are amazing human beings and a lot of the times we are taken for granted. Media and society need to understand that times have changed, and men need to step up. No more of the "men are dominant, they can do whatever they want, and they don't have to cook or clean or take care of the children". We live in a society where men and women are equal. Instead of just saying, "Yeah, men and women are equal", there should be evidence that this is true and can be backed up with support and evidence. Women can only do so much. Yes, I see a lot of women as superwoman, but in a lot of cases, it should not have to be that way.
Bryan's Response:
The writer touches up on some very key points in this article, mainly the unrealistic expectations that women have which ultimately cripples them. One of the most interesting topics that the author brings up is the mention of a businesswoman's looks. Although it seems strange, I think it is way too true that if women look too good, attention will be drawn in an unintended way. The other extreme is that if women do not look good, they will not be able to attract enough attention to have their voice heard, while men on the other hand are not judged for their looks at all. The idea of 'Superwoman' is a plight that nearly breaks the barrier between fiction and reality. Indeed we all know that super powers are limited to the strength of our imaginations, but the tasks that women are burdened with run finely along the lines of insanity and superhuman. It is ironic that it is the very expectations for excellence which hinder a woman's ability to excel, since she is faced with so many must-dos that she is unable to succeed for herself, while instead raising and fine-tuning boys to become powerful or training girls to support the burdens of being a woman.