UNIT D - Blog 39

There are organization initiatives that need to occur before work/life balance can be obtained and equity among men and women is gained in the legal profession. These organization initiatives that should happen are providing a workplace that values it's employees and promoting and showing examples of equity. Employees need to come into the workplace being treated equally and fairly because this is most important. Nobody should feel shunned or shut out because they have a home life or have children to take care of. Also, the workplace needs to provide proper training and mentoring for their employees so everyone can have the same learning tools available to them so they can grow within the company. When people have to work part time schedules in order to take care of their families they feel they lose out on alot from being away from the office more than others, therefore if they are provided training and mentoring they might feel less out of the loop and might feel a little more appreciated by the company. Also, if these employees are offered mentoring and such then maybe the other employees wont talk down to them and will feel like they really are a good asset to the company and are worthy employees. I also think that fellow employees and higher management or staff need to learn about flexible schedules and how this will help the company instead of bringing it down and making it lose money. I don't think firms and such are educated on this and they choose to see the negative instead of the positive. I also think communication is key because without it everyone is left in the dark so to speak. Employees need to express their concerns and management needs to express their concerns as well so everyone can be on the same page and understand what is needed on both sides in order to make the company a whole and succeed as necessary.

UNIT D - Blog 38

From the women of judiciary section I chose to talk about Jane M. Bolin. This woman was the first black woman who was a judge in the United States. I think she broke down a huge wall in history because she was not only a woman but also a minority and she was able to take on a leadership role which was judge. This all happened in 1937 which back then women weren't really treated with much respect and neither were minorities. She had to overcome so many obstacles and criticisms by being where she was at that time but she served for over 40 years and the fact that she served for so long was amazing.

From the women in practice of law I chose to talk about Dorothy Frooks. This woman was a lawyer and judge in the U.S. army during World War II and she was the army's first full time lawyer. She was able to do many things which made her versatile and she was able to open up free legal clinics in the city and lobbied to set up small claims courts. Jane discovered alot during her time and definitely was appreciated since she accomplished so much. She fought for a sixteen year old girl who had killed a man because he had raped her at the age of twelve, Jane was able to suspend a sentence for this young woman. I think Jane's accomplishments showed that women were capable of doing things on their own and she set high standards for women during this time.

UNIT D - Blog 37

When comparing English's findings and the findings in the report I noticed that in the report it talked about women being too aggressive, having too much attitude and ill equipped to do business. In English's findings in Gender on Trial she talked about how people saw women as being sympathetic and kind and clients were more likely to trust their lawyers more when they felt a positive attitude come from the lawyer. She talked about how women gain long term relationships with clients because of their great attitudes and sympathetic natures so this obviously has a great advantage on females when they show their nurturing side. The report made it seem like women are mean angry females who aren't worth anything to companies and can't produce anything that will help the company move forward. A contrast that was in the report and English's findings was on the work/life balance program. The report talked about women being afraid to take on part time schedules in fear of losing their job or being seen as incapable of being a successful lawyer. "Gender on Trial" talked about work/life balance programs and how this can put huge pressure on females because they have a home life they need to take care of but when they come back from maternity leave or work part time schedules they are seen as less serious and not good lawyers because they can't stay longer hours and do more work like the other lawyers are able to do. These women fear they might be let go because they aren't seen as useful for the law firm.

UNIT D - Blog 36

In the Talk of the Nation story, a question was presented which was "can corporate America lure the women back into the workplace?" I think women might be lured back into the workplace but only if certain things were to be changed within the workplace. The glass ceiling factor is still a problem even though it's gone down quite a bit but these women out there are experienced and good at what they do but yet they are still put on a lower pedestal than men. The really top jobs require an on call system which means the people who hold these top jobs are constantly busy and always have to be ready to travel and do whatever the company wants whenever they need you which means you need to make your job more important than your own personal life. Many woman aren't as willing to do this because they have families to take care of and they can't put their children on hold just so they can be on call when the need arises. It's hard to be utterly dedicated to a job when you have a home life, it's nice to make a nice paycheck and to hold high positions within the company but you can't put your life on hold so you can obsess over your job and be there at all hours of the day. This seems like a hostile environment and very unhealthy. I think women can be lured back into the workplace if the workplace becomes more lenient to their needs and doesn't just offer higher roles at work for people who have no life and are willing to shed blood and tears just to get the job done. Dedication is of course a plus but jobs need to understand that jobs shouldn't control a persons life and they definitely shouldn't be the only thing that matters to a person. Families to exist and children need their mothers and fathers and people shouldn't be judged or looked down upon just because they have a home life.

UNIT D - Blog 34

The work/life balance problem is that women often find it difficult to balance work life and family life. Women are under such scrutiny when they are needing to work part time schedules in order to take care of their family, many jobs don't want to give out part time schedules and would much rather fire the woman instead. Also, alot of companies might be hesitant to hire a mother because they see this as a financial loss for their company because it might be possible that the woman will have to take many sick days to take care of their child or if their child needs something they might have to leave work early or take the day off in order to tend to their child. Even if a woman applies for a job and is childless an employer might see her as a future threat if she were to ever decide to have a family. Women are faced with so many issues when they have to deal with family life and work life and it shouldn't have to be so hard but employers make it this way. Women are being discriminated against for being mothers and this is absolutely unfair. It's tough enough having to work a full time job in order to make ends meet and get bills paid but when you have to go home after working forty plus hours and have to attend to housework and taking care of kids, it starts to take a toll on you. These women need some sort of a break and need to be able to expect job security. In the New York Times article the woman left work for a while to have her premature child and was told over the phone not to worry because her job was stable and they understood her situation. But weeks later she found out that her job was given to someone else and she was left jobless with a premature child to provide for. I don't understand how companies can get away with this kind of discrimination against mothers, it is absurd. In "Gender on Trial" part time work is discussed and it talked about how women with part time schedules were given less responsibility and weren't seen as being serious lawyers because they weren't working the same long hours as some of the other lawyers out there. It's not fair that because a woman has to take a part time shift to accommodate her home life she is seen as a less worthy lawyer, this makes no sense to me at all. Chapter seven discusses work life balance and how this has been advancing in the legal field. Clients aren't worrying so much about full time or part time labels because they just want their work to get done and that's all that matters to them instead of a lawyers title. Companies also don't want to deal with any legal matters or law suits presented to them on work discrimination and they are also dealing with high turnover rates when they aren't offering more flexible schedules to their employees. This is a positive advancement because the more flexibility that is offered the more the employees will experience a positive work environment and will be much happier at work.

UNIT D - Blog 33

Woman have had some advances in the legal profession and at greater rates they have accomplished receiving promotions within their company and even made partners or made some other upper level management job. The fact that Sonia has made it on the Supreme Court shows that advancement is possible for women it's just coming forward at a much slower rate than it has for men but this has been apparent for many years now. I think women are starting to receive more respect in the workplace but much more progress is needed so that these women receive fair treatment within their profession. I think some obstacles these women face are discrimination such as lower pay because they are still getting paid much lower than men for doing the same type of work. Women are also starting to see promotions in their future but men are still the ones to receive promotions and raises at a much more frequent rate and I think this needs to be changed. Woman are still staying longer hours to get work done but have yet to see anything good come of it. Schedules are also alot of grief for females because when they are expecting mothers or mothers in general they may require time off or part time scheudles and this is seen as a big inconvenience for the company and many companies don't like to give out part time schedules because they see this as a financial burden and other employees start to complain about women having part time schedules because it puts more work on them instead.

UNIT D - Blog 30

Conventional views about leadership styles disadvantage women and advantage men because throughout history men have been president and men have held high roles in society and have been great leaders for our country. When people look back in history all they see are men holding leadership position and this poses a problem for women because when they want to run for a leadership role they might be looked at as a joke because nobody is used to having a woman hold a powerful role. All the stereotypes can bring women down and lower their self esteem, it also might prevent women from applying for leadership roles because they might feel they don't even have a chance when compared to a man. It was awesome that a woman was up against a man for this recent president election and I think it told all the women out there that if they try hard enough they can make it and they need to be brave and let all those stereotypes and negativity leave their minds so they can do what they want and be successful leaders for our country.

Gender expectations frame leadership behavior for men and women because if society already expects men and women to act a certain way then this might pressure both genders to take on the responsibility of acting the way society wants them to. Society is used to a man running the show, so to speak, and this might give a man a reason to feel like he's more powerful than a woman and should dominate the workplace. For example, most of the people on the Supreme Court are men and these men might have the idea that they are better than women and that being on the Supreme Court is a man's job and can only be done best when performed by a man. Society forms these stereotypes of men and women and it makes us sort of mold into that stereotypes because once a man decides he wants to be a ballerina he might decide against this even though it's his dream because society will look down upon him since it's more acceptable when a woman is a ballerina as opposed to a man. Women might also be a little nervous to apply for jobs that are male dominated because they feel they will be looked down upon or treated differently because of their gender.

Some positive outcomes of leadership qualities in women is they are finally seen as worthy enough to be in leadership roles. For so long women weren't allowed to vote or even run for jobs such as lawyers or judges and I think it's awesome that women are finally putting themselves out there and going against men so they can be seen as worthy opponents. I think some negative outcomes for women is that they tend to be more assertive and might come off as pushy or rude and I think women are just more confident and they feel they need to act this way so they aren't pushed around and stepped on by others. As for men I think positive outcomes of their leadership qualities are they have made it far in most industries and will always have the chance to take on leadership roles and mentor other people for the same position. I think some negative outcomes are that they can come off as jerks, especially when they are talking about women. All the men that judged Sonia for being on the Supreme Court constantly attacked her based on her background of growing up in the Bronx and also said that she was a bad lawyers and didn't know much about the industry. I think this just shows they are scared of a little competition from a woman.

The leadership style I prefer is someone who is assertive and to the point. I think it's nice to have someone who can incorporate emotion into their roles as well because we need to be able to realise they are people too and can related to us and our emotions. I like when people are assertive because they are showing they aren't push overs and are capable of getting the job done without being stepped all over. I wouldn't want a leader who is shy, laid back and timid because to me this shows signs of weakness and I don't want someone weak handling anything important that needs to get done.

UNIT D - Blog 35

The article about the EEOC and promoting work/family balance talks about how the caregivers not only have to take care of people as their job but their job also continues when they go home. When they are done at work they have to go home and tend to their family which means they are continuing to take care of people but at home they aren't getting paid for it. 46% of women are in the workplace and are earning a living along with their spouse but the benefits are unevenly distributed within the care giving field. Many caregivers are female and alot of men that are caregivers get to go home and lounge around while the women caregivers leave their paid job to go home and basically do the same exact thing for free. More rights need to be given to these women because they have to do so much just to support their families. Alot of married women have husbands that are in jobs that have fallen because of the economy therefore these women that are caregivers are the main support of income for the time being. Alot of stress and reliance are put onto these women and they come home tired and unhappy because they have to continue taking care of the household and they just need to rest. The work and family life isn't balanced and it seems unevenly distributed. Flexible policies need to be enforced in the work place for these care givers so they have flexible start times and so forth because they have families to take care of and a home life to support on top of bringing home a paycheck so their family can survive. These women are struggling to stay successful while taking care of a family and some things need to change in the workplace so they have equal and better rights for the workers.

UNIT D - Blog 32

Parenthood differs when attached to a female because she is automatically seen as taking on the traditional wife and mother role which is staying home and raising the children. Many firms are hesitant towards hiring female lawyers because they automatically assume problems will arise because the woman might have to leave and pick up a sick child or have a part time shift so she can take care of her kids. When relating a male with parenthood you automatically thing of him as working and not taking on the responsibility of picking up the children from school and daycare or going home early to cook for the children. Men are seen as the bread winners and the ones who provide for the family so many law firms don't worry about hiring males who have children since it's assumed that they have a wife at home who handles everything family related.

Traditional values of motherhood affect female lawyers because they have to put their family first and they might have to try and get a part time schedule approved. This can pose a problem for these women because many firms try and avoid part time schedules so they don't lose any money and can avoid any conflict other employees might have towards this so called easy shift working mothers receive. Also, when women lawyers are allowed to take on part time schedules they are looked down upon by their boss's and employees because they are seen as incompetent and aren't taken as seriously as lawyers who work full time schedules. High powered female lawyers with children are viewed as suspect parents because they aren't seen as nurturing and loving towards their children because they are so busy with their career. Many people find it hard to believe that a woman can work long hours and be successful while also being a great mother and providing for her family. Many high powered female lawyers feel trapped by these stereotypes and feel guilty for being a successful lawyer and end up talking down about their job so they are seen as a better mother and this shouldn't have to happen. Nobody should feel bad for being successful and accomplishing their goals.

UNIT D - Blog 31

The problems of the work/family balance in the legal profession is that many people are having to work extremely long hours in order to get their work done. These people have families to go home to but when they are having to stay at the office just to finish their work they are left tired and unhappy. In these times now the economy is struggling so people are already in fear of losing their jobs so if they need to work those extra hours in order to get the job done then they will need to do this despite their home life situation. But many lawyers do have lives and kids to attend to and they'd rather have part time schedules to help accommodate their home situation but many lawyers aren't seen as serious when they work part time or flexible schedules. Many firms frown upon part time schedules because they look at the financial aspect in short term and are only adding up part of the costs. If the part time schedules were given out they'd save so much money in the long run, it costs more money when they lose workers due to part time schedules being denied. People tend to leave these jobs because they can't balance work and family and the company loses money because they have to pay to train new people and to recruit and their clients are also dissatisfied because they lose the lawyers they have put so much trust into. Many firms think the part time shifts are uneconomic but they aren't realizing that these lawyers have families and other obligations to attend to and if they'd accept these part time schedules they'd still get to keep these talented amazing lawyers. Firms are worrying to much about cost but they aren't thoroughly thinking it through because yes they might lose a little money by having to accommodate with part time schedules but they'd lose twice as much if they fired that employee so they should think about alot more instead of just denying the work life balance programs all together.

UNIT D - Blog 29

Few minority women stay in law firms because they are treated with disrespect and experience signs of racism within the workplace. These women not only have to be judged by their gender but they also have to be judged by their race which is twice the amount of stress. The stories in the NPR talked about minority women in law firms and had a few women of minority reporting about their experiences. One woman was Chinese and said that in her law firm she was asked to read something in Korean and when she told them that she couldn't because she only spoke Chinese they looked at her with astonishment like they didn't understand what she was saying. There was also another incidence of an Indian woman who was asked things like "are you a chief?" or they referred to her as Pocahontas and this is extremely demeaning. Just because someone is a minority doesn't mean that they should be talked down to. You might see someone at a law firm that is of Asian decent but you technically don't know where this woman is from, she could be from China, Asia, Korea or Japan so nobody should assume anything. Women should be treated with respect just like everybody else. Another woman said that she noticed if a minority women comes into a law firm and isn't from a prestigious school then she will be treated unfairly even compared to a white woman from a State school. It's no wonder that minority women don't want to stay in law firms, it seems like a stressful environment when you have to deal with people that constantly mock you and make fun of you. These women want respect because they worked hard to get to where they are now and they are being treated like dirt.

UNIT D - Blog 28

Sonia Sotomayor was judged by her behaviors in court from the media. When compared to a male counterpart his actions were seen as much more acceptable than hers even though they acted the exact same. Sonia is seen as quick on her feet and tough but to everyone she's seen as being a bitch but when a male named Scalia was reviewed he was seen as being positive when he showed any sort of toughness in the court room. The article also said that when Scalia is asking irrelevant questions about his case he's being seen as being a dutiful law professor but if Sotomayor were to act this way she's seen as someone who just wants to hear herself talk. When and if Scalia is harsh in the courtroom and puts up a good argument with his competitors he's seen as amazing to everyone who watches. If Sonia puts up a fight against a competitor then she's seen as difficult and someone who gets riled up and angry easily. Everyone is judging Sonia as if she's not as good as Scalia and it's all because of her gender. Nobody can accept the fact this is a very talented woman who is very good at what she does, instead the media is using her gender against her making her look like a violent predator who doesn't have the least bit of knowledge on how to be a lawyer. I think they want her to look stupid and unintelligent because the Supreme Court and other males in this world are threatened by this woman. They see her as being on the same level as them and they deem this as unacceptable because a woman shouldn't be able to hold such a high position in the work place. She's being seen as incompetent just because she can handle herself in the court room and put up a good argument, when Scalia does it he's seen as powerful, intelligent and very experienced. This shows how low people think of women who hold high positions in the work place.

UNIT D - Blog 27

The competency gap between male and female lawyers is that females have to work extra hard just to be noticed and put on the same spectrum as male lawyers in the work place. Females have to constantly compete against their male colleagues so they can be seen as competent. These female lawyers have to stay longer hours and do more work just so they can show that they are great lawyers and know what they are doing. It's as if these women are invisible in the workplace and they have to do extreme amounts of extra work on top of what they normally do just to get a little of the spot light. Males are constantly praised by their bosses and colleagues for the work they've done but women that do equal or much more work than those male counterparts aren't praised for it and it's such a gendered atmosphere for these women. Both male and female lawyers went to law school and paid lots of money so they could become the amazing lawyers they are but yet they are looked down upon because of their gender.

Some consequences that female lawyers experience due to male dominance in the work place are they aren't promoted as easily as their male co-workers. Women can also be demoted because a male decides to outshine them or maybe because the firm would rather have a male take over a higher position in the company. Alot of jobs prefer to have males in higher status positions since males are already seen as dominant and this is just something else that proves gender stereotyping. Some strategies that male lawyers engage in when attempting to win a case against a woman are getting in their face and demanding answers abruptly and with loud tones in the court room. Male lawyers also belittle their questions when speaking to the female lawyers and also use attitude and rude remarks when speaking to these females. When males get like this with the female lawyers the females can lose their train of thought and completely mess up in court and forget what path they were on and this can cause a lose in court and a win for the male component.

UNIT D - Blog 26

The roles males play in assisting women lawyers are usually mentor roles or roles where they have to swoop in and help a female lawyer handle a situation or possibly help relay something to fellow colleagues in meetings and presentations. In the book "Gender on Trial" there are some female lawyers who discuss times they've had to use males to assist them with something or also times when they've been looked down on because the client was expecting a male instead of a female. One woman said that she was in a meeting presenting something to her clients but in order to get a point across and accepted she had to ask her male partner to speak about it in meeting so they would listen and comprehend what she was trying to get across to them. This female lawyer said that at times clients refuse to listen to her because of her gender therefore she has to use her male partner as reinforcement. Another woman in this book talked about how she's had 15 years of experience as a litigator but clients sometimes refuse to listen to her unless her male partner is around. She said that if she's alone speaking with them that she sometimes has to suggest things to the clients but also use her partners name in the mix so that they will feel more confident. Her male counterpart is so liked by the clients that despite her background they just want him around and if they only hear what she has to say it's not good enough. Another woman discussed that at work when she speaks to customers they'll turn around and ask someone else the same exact thing to make sure what she told them was accurate. All of this shows law is a gendered organization because men are still seen as the dominating roles in this industry. Clients are choosing to ignore the female lawyers because they don't see them as stable and secure and they'd rather go to a male to get the work done. Also, the only way these females were listened to was when their male partner was around and this shows a major gender stereotype and bias. These women are looked down upon not only by their co-workers but also by their clientele all because they are women and that shouldn't stop someone from listening to these ladies and taking them seriously. They have to be backed up by men in order for their ideas to be considered legit but if a male lawyer were to speak with these clients alone they would never be questioned about their legal background or anything and this is definitely a gendered organization.

UNIT D - Blog 25

Using sexualized behaviors as a "weapon for arsenal" seems demeaning and pathetic in my opinion. People should be able to move up in their career or in live without using their body as sexual coercion and for people who do use this tactic to advance in something shows that they lack talent and are tacky. I honestly can't really find any pros on this subject except maybe for the person who actually accomplishes a goal with this behavior. If a woman uses her body or sexual behavior to get something she desires and actually get it then I guess it's a pro for her but for the rest of the world it seems like there's only cons out there. If a woman were to seduce her boss to move up in the company then this may show favoritism because the boss will pay most of his attention towards her because he's promised to get something out of it and therefore will take his attention away from the other employees who also deserve his respect. Also, people who are less attractive might be looked down upon because they aren't seen as sexy and will be shunned by others because of this. I think if companies and boss's are accepting these sexualized behaviors then they are setting an unacceptable standard for their company because they are paying attention to woman who fit their qualifications as attractive and sexy. Work environments are supposed to create positivity and equality among co-workers but if work places are accepting sexual behaviors then they are proving themselves to be a place with low standards that are on the same level as a brothel. This type of behavior is unprofessional and degrading and it seems as if law suits can be formed when this type of activity is occurring in the office.

UNIT D - Blog 24

I had an informal interview with one of my friends sisters who attends law school at Columbia University. Her name is Lindsay and I asked her about any gender stereotypes she's experienced or seen while attending law school. Lindsay expressed that she noticed the females in a few of her classes are paid less attention to by the law professors. She said she only sees this from male professors but when questions are asked the professor usually only calls upon a male student as opposed to a female. She also said that she noticed the male students receive much higher grades than the females and she has even compared her papers with male colleagues and said that they had major grammatical errors and alot of their arguments lacked support compared to her and a few other female papers. Lindsay also said that she feels the professors are alot harder on the females and it makes her feel like the women are seen as less capable of doing a good job on assignments and such. From this interview with Lindsay I realized that at her University she does have great teachers but those few male teachers really try and bring her down because of her gender. They make her feel like she wont be a good enough lawyer because of her gender and that males are seen as more capable of being successful compared to women in the same field. All of those students took the same LSAT to get into that school therefore they came into the school with the same amount of knowledge and understanding and they should be treated equal despite their gender. It's enough that women have to see so much gender discrimination in the workplace but school should be a safe and respectful environment that teaches these students they can accomplish anything they set their minds too. These women didn't pay alot of money to be discriminated against and treated unfairly.

UNIT D - Blog 23

The politics of fashion for women lawyers and politicians now has a main focus on fashion. In my opinion I think it's awesome these ladies are coming forth with their own personal styles but I think it's absolutely ridiculous that the media is putting so much attention on their appearance. We should be caring about the politicians and what they are doing for the states and the world, not what their wearing, outfits don't really pose a major problem in the United States and honestly should have nothing to do with politics. When everyone is so focused on fashion and what the female politicians and politicians wives are wearing, it screams sexism. Women seem to be looked at as trophies and they have to wake up each morning worrying about how they look so that they are seen as attractive and presentable for the public. Men don't have to do this so why women? It seems as if women are seen as the sex that has to look pretty and attractive and they have to keep a nice figure or else they are eaten alive by the media. In the NPR article for blog 23 it says that Arizona and Illinois senator have wives that need to update their wardrobes because they aren't deemed worthy enough for the public. Apparently wearing bland colors and black and gray aren't good enough which seems absolutely ridiculous. An outfit doesn't make the person and the wife isn't the politician running the show, it's their husbands so why aren't they scrutinized for their outfits? Something that was said in the article was that the wives from Arizona and Illinois should stay away from black suits, wear clothes with good necklines and try to invest in some pears as opposed to flashy jewelry because most people will remember what these women will be wearing over what they will be saying. This shows that our world is extremely materialistic if women are going to be viewed this way. Saying clothes matter over someone mind and intelligence is idiotic and superficial. No wonder women are so insecure about themselves.

UNIT D - Blog 22

Sonia Sotomayor was the first Hispanic woman to be on the Supreme Court justice. I see this as being a racial issue mainly because most of the population on the Supreme Court consists of people who are Caucasian. Also, the majority of the Supreme Court are male and very few woman exist on the Supreme Court. In all of my research I found alot of comments stating that Sonia Sotamayor was a bully on the bench and not very smart. I don't understand how she can be called "not very smart" when she's chosen to be on the Supreme Court! She also graduated from a very prestigious school and her law background is very impressive. It's hard to believe an idiot would accomplish so much in her lifetime, therefore her experience and accomplishments prove that theory otherwise. I feel as if everyone is picking on her because she is a woman, i haven't heard this much argument over a male chosen to be on the Supreme Court. I think the fact people are having such a hard time accepting Sonia into the Supreme Court shows some gender bias. It seems as if the Supreme Court practices gender discrimination seeing that they don't have many women on the bench. Males are dominating the Supreme Court and all the ruckus about a Latina woman making her way on the Supreme Court is enough proof they don't accept women very easily into their courts. I've also heard alot about Sonia's heritage and people have been commenting on how she speaks. I don't see how this is of importance, it shouldn't matter if she has an accent or if she was raised in the Bronx because all that should matter is that she is experienced and has a colorful law background. Sonia is qualified for the job, end of story; and everyone needs to deal with it and throw gender and racism out the door because that just shows the justice system is unfair and unethical if they can't handle a woman on the Supreme Court.

UNIT C - Blog 20

The hostage situation in Arizona reflects Brittons study because the hostage situation shows lack of training in the prisons. In the Phoenix Magazine coverage Dora Schriro says that when she started at the Lewis prison she noticed that the officers lacked training and proper equipment. She noticed that there wasn't even a layout of the tower located anywhere during the crisis and some other much needed tools weren't there when she needed it in order to get officers out alive in 2004. Britton talks about men and women being properly trained in corrections so that they are fully aware of each others needs and can know how to defend themselves. It's important that men know what kinds of things women go through and also women should know what kinds of things men go through so that they are capable of understanding each other and can maybe get along better. The whole hostage situation was very unfortunate and even though the prison lacked structure when Schriro started at that prison she still managed to get her officers out safely. Officer Fraley even admitted she left the Department of Corrections because the lack of training but once she heard what Dora Schriro wanted to do in order to improve the conditions of the prison and the officers she immediately came back to work for her because even she knew they all needed proper training for once. These prison conditions are ridiculous and if they would of had better security and training then maybe the 2004 incident at Lewis prison wouldn't of happened.

Prisons are gendered organizations because they stereotype with men and women. They will purposely put women in non confrontational situations such as guarding a door or working the kitchen so that they aren't in a situation that might be harmful to them. Men don't even want women officers as their backup because they feel that if an attack were to occur from an inmate that a woman couldn't properly help protect them against harm. Men usually are the ones that hold supervisor positions not women because men feel they are the proper candidates for authority positions and they feel masculinity is what keeps prisons strong and under control. Women can hold just as much power as a man and just because women don't have massive bulging muscles doesn't mean they can't hold their own and take out an inmate.

The hostage situation in Arizona reflects Brittons discussion of keepers and turnkeys because Britton talks about there being a lack of discipline and how riots and escapes and assaults would break out and an escape and take over is what happened in the hostage situation in Arizona. The fact that officer Jason Auld opened up the door of the tower without properly identifying the so called officer shows lack of discipline and training. An officer should properly identify another officer and just because they have the uniform on doesn't mean they are who they seem to be. Prison is a total institution because anything and everything under the prisons power is being controlled by the prison and authority that works for the prison. Inmates are being controlled and told what to do and are supposed to abide by all the rules and the workers and officers of the prisons have to follow specific rules as well and follow through with everything they're told. Officers depend on the prison and it's security to keep them safe from inmates and to protect them from harm and they depend on specific training so they are ready for any situation that might occur. Inmates also depend on prisons for their shelter and are fed certain times of the day and let out at certain times therefore they are being controlled constantly by the prison.

I think Brittons recommendation at the end of the book would have been useful towards preventing the hostage take over because he suggests better training tactics, learning how to deal with violence, enforcing strict rules would have also helped this situation because the prison was obviously unstructured and unstable when this hostage take over happened. I think the officers became lazy and felt too comfortable and maybe if rules were regulated on them and they were trained properly every month or year then they could have been better prepared for a situation like this.

UNIT C - Blog 19

After watching the video from Democracy Now I now realize how women weren't really included that much when it came to characters on cartoons. In this video Geena Davis brings up the Looney Tunes and how the only female character was Granny which was Tweety birds owner. The only way that Tweety would begin his antics was when Granny left so she really wasn't seen that much on the show. Also Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck were female characters on Disney but they weren't really seen that much and weren't really needed for anything since they just pranced around in tiny outfits worrying about shopping. Female characters didn't really show much significance and the media acted like female characters weren't needed in order to bring the shows to life and this can portray an image to children that women aren't important in society. It might seem ridiculous to some people because this is only a cartoon we are talking about but many people don't realize how much these cartoons shape the lives of children. Children are impressionable and often mock what they see and if little boys see shows that only have male characters they could grow up thinking men are more important than women and little girls might grow up feeling inferior to men.

The media also has a major influence on adults and how they are perceived in their work environments. The media depicts women on shows and movies to be inferior to men alot of the time and this could make some men believe they are better than their female workers and might talk down to them on the job or treat them differently because they are under the impression that the men should hold authority and be held at a higher standard than women.

In chapter seven Britton talks about male officers and how they dealt with their dignity and violence. Male officers have to prove themselves in order to get the respect of fellow employees, especially supervisors. Male officers have to stir up trouble, beat up inmates to show them who's boss or help out other officers or save their lives in order to show they are worth the other officers time. If they act like cowards and don't prove themselves then they are basically seen as nothing in the other employees eyes. Some actions women take to prove gender identity is among them in the workplace is by the way they are assigned in the prisons. In Brittons book it is said that the female officers aren't allowed to strip search men or overlook the mens showers because other workers are afraid that the women will be sexually assaulted. This shows gender identity because men are just as likely to be sexually assaulted as women and even if women are assaulted it seems as if the other male officers don't think they are strong enough to defend themselves. One female officer said they the women officers are usually put in building security where they are constantly around other males in case something bad were to happen, this seems like these females aren't trusted to be alone and they are treated as if they are children and can't be left alone for even a second. Trust seems to be a big issue with these officers because they don't even feel safe having a woman officer as their back up, they prefer a man because they think men are stronger.

UNIT C - Blog 17

In Brittons findings and the NBC documentary called "Lockup - Inside North Carolina Women's Prison" there were many similarities. In the documentary and Brittons book they both talked about inmates and prison officers having relationships. When inmates and officers become close this can pose danger for the officer because they can become attached and possibly put too much trust into the inmate causing the inmate to take advantage of the officer. In the documentary one women spoke about becoming emotionally and sexually close with an officer just to get certain things from the officer such as money and she used the officers to get what she wanted which could initially hurt the officer emotionally and they might not be able to perform their duties properly. It's possible to become too emotionally involved because an officer might not be in their right state of mind and might overlook certain things such as security and a prisoner could get out or maybe pick up something harmful and hurt another officer or inmate which could lead to the death of someone. Britton talked about this as well and talked about correctional officers "who had 'gone too far' and become sexually involved with inmates or who were coerced into supplying contraband" (Britton, pg. 107). This is a reason why getting too close with an inmate can be dangerous. You have to set boundaries and realize what your job is and it isn't about being friends with these inmates it's about watching over them and being aware of your surroundings because you can get caught up in the drama and risk your life and your job.

The general assumption officers have of inmates are basically gender based. But in Brittons book they either viewed inmates as humans or animals. Most officers understood that these inmates are human and make mistakes and have feelings but others just see them as vicious animals that deserve their punishments and don't feel remorse for what they've done and will probably just commit more crimes once they are out of prison. One officer spoke about inmates and said he understood that they were bad people but once he got to know them in prison they were human and weren't bad to him so he didn't see them as awful people. This officer also spoke about other officers who hate inmates and go out of their way to give these inmates a hard time but he didn't feel it was necessary to waste energy and being mean to an inmate who's done nothing to him to begin with.

The difference that the African American and Latino officers faced was racial problems. These officers are already part of the minority and when they have to control other minorities in prison they feel confused about it. They feel a small connection with these minorities because they understand where they are coming from and how discrimination affects them as a person but they also know they are an officer and have to abide by the rules which means going along with the other white officers who are seen as enemies in the prisoners eyes. They are put in a tough spot because they don't want to seem like bad officers by abiding by the rules and regulations of the prison even if they are discriminatory but they have to or they'll lose their job and by doing this they might be looked down upon by the inmates. The language of the overseer is "the denial of ones own racial identity or the active construction and reproduction of other markers of difference" (Britton, pg 111-112). Basically someone has to ignore their own race and racial problems they might face in order to get their job done. If they see a prisoner is treated differently compared to other inmates based on race they have to ignore this in order to properly get their job done. They basically have to turn the other cheek and continue on with their day because if they get too involved in these disparities this could cause a riot and cause problems with their own job. One woman officer said that she's programmed to think that these inmates are beneath her so at work she acts this way but personally this isn't how she thinks of these people. Her job makes her think this way therefore she has to act that way in order to do her work throughout the day.

Some of these officers express humanistic attitudes and this can objectify or infantilize the inmates because they start to play the parent role instead of the officer/guard role which they are initially supposed to do. By playing the parent they treat these inmates as children and aren't technically doing their job. Their job isn't to tell these inmates what to do with their life or what's right or wrong in their life and by doing this they might become too involved and lose focus with their job.

UNIT C - Blog 15

Women in prison has increased over the years and the rise of the womens prison population has been growing at a rapid rate far beyond the rate the mens population accrual. Women have been involved in more street crime and other crimes such as drugs and prostitution which lands them a spot in prison. With all the information read on this section I noticed that more men are involved in violent crime than women and more women are committing petty crimes or crimes that aren't considered violent. Throughout most of the fifty states the increase in prison populations has been more drastic with women because they are becoming more susceptible to crime and other illegal activities. It's true that male population has been increasing over time but at a much slower rate than women. The amount of women could be increasing depending on the state and how harsh they punish for certain crimes. Some states might be more strict on petty crimes and instead of "slapping" someones wrist and letting them go with a warning they might prefer throwing a woman in jail because they want to teach her a lesson therefore this increases prison populations and causes overgrowth which can create problems for prisons. If women keep increasing the prisons could run out of space and might have to build more prisons or cells in order to keep all these women in a safely run environment but it seems like complete chaos with an overgrowth in the female population. It seems like every year the amount of female prisoners is growing, it started out low and has kept growing until today in 2009. I think crime rates have risen making it easier for women to get involved in illegal activities and this throws them in jail. In table B it says that in 1977 Arizona had 15 as the rate of female imprisonment but in 2004 it rose to 89 which is proof that the rates are increasing drastically each year. Table A shows that in 1977 Arizona had 187 total female prisoners and in 2004 it rose to 2,545 which shows a huge increase in population.

UNIT C - Blog 21

When looking at the website for the National Association for Female Correctional and also what Britton had to say at the end of chapter seven in the book At Work In The Iron Cage, i noticed a few similarities. Britton focuses on change as a whole such as making the workplace a better environment based on equality within gender and race. Britton feels that everybody deserves proper training and resources when it comes to prison jobs, Britton feels that everybody should be trained on anything and everything that relates to this field, for example men need to be trained on women prisons and problems that can arise with female inmates and officers and that women should be trained on men prisons and what male officers and inmates face on a daily basis. Proper and equal training is what is needed to have a successful work environment because if any employee is unaware of a certain situation then they can be in great danger because they won't know what to do. On the website for the National Association for Female Correctional this organization mainly focuses on sexual assault and how this should be tackled. They want officers to be punished when they rape another female officer or when they know of a rape but fail to notify anybody about it. It seems like sexual assault is a huge factor with woman officers after I read a few things on this website and it's important that his is addressed as soon as possible because sexual assault is a serious issue. The last issue they said they wanted to accomplish was a grant for women to have access to safety equipment and to be trained on it so they can defend themselves properly. This made me nervous because it seems like there are women on the force that aren't capable of getting access to safety and self defense equipment which seems like something that should be mandatory in a police type job. With Britton and the website these seem like real issues that need to be tackled immediately so that women can feel safe in their own workplace and be equipped and trained for anything possible.

UNIT C - Blog 18

On the job training for correctional officers can become masculine because the videos presented to the groups show how harsh prison can be and how force needs to be used sometimes when handling prisoners. Training films can become quite violent and might scare off a woman because they may feel inferior to men because they don't possess huge muscles and strength and they may start to feel like this is a mans job not a woman's therefore creating a stereotype that women aren't able to handle this type of job when they very well can. For so many years men have been seen as take charge and are known to posses characteristics proving their masculinity and this can lead a woman to believe that they aren't qualified to be a police officer or corrections officer because they aren't strong enough to hold down an inmate or brave enough to shoot a gun but all they need to do is realize that no one job is solely for one gender. Nobody knows the skills they possess until they put themselves out there and try something out. A woman may look fragile on the outside but she could be a tiger on the inside and prover herself to be the best corrections officer out there. There is also a difference between men and women's prisons. In women's prisons the women seem to have a little bit more freedom than men and they seem to get away with a little more. In the PowerPoint slide it talked about how women use their tears as a way to take advantage of female officers because they know they are emotional and might give in to the women's needs. Women also seem to question officers more and give attitude because they know they can get away with it. In mens prisons they aren't known for talking back as much as women do because they don't get away with it. I think more force is put on the male prisons and they are stricter so the male inmates know who's boss and they don't necessarily try to play with the system or find loop holes with the officers. Women are more emotional human beings and they can use this towards their advantage and lure a woman officer to do what they want alot easier than a male can. I don't think that women trust men as much as they trust women because they have more in common with people of the same sex so they are more likely to be more flexible with the women inmates.

UNIT C - Post 16

The path towards becoming a correctional officer is gendered because women don't have to have much work experience to receive a job in this field and most of them came from clerical positions that didn't have the skills needed in order to be a corrections officer. Alot of men in this job had prior experience in the military and were somewhat experienced when it came to certain tactics and felt more secure and safe in the work environment. Since these women didn't have any prior police or corrections experience they often went into the job with fear because they were unsure of what went on in prisons. Most women had never even seen a prison first hand therefore had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Alot of people see that being a corrections officer pays a decent salary and they jump right on it because they want to receive a good paycheck and are amazed that they can do this with the lack of experience they have. However, men with diplomas or GED's were found to have higher salaries than women. While growing up, most women don't long for a job in corrections since this doesn't seem like the most luxurious atmosphere. I think some women actually like being a corrections officer and enjoy it but alot of women probably go for this type of career because they don't have many options. If they don't have any experience under their belt or never went to college then they can't really obtain a career that's higher up such as detective therefore they are stuck being a corrections officer because the experience is limited and really not required. Men however want to be in corrections. I think men feel this is a powerful job because they can control inmates and this makes them feel powerful and on top of the world. I think being in charge makes a man feel needed and manly so this job would appeal towards a man more than towards a woman. I feel social networks play a big part in job opportunities because the more people you know in the field the more likely you are able to get the position you want and probably much quicker. Since more men accompany correctional type positions then they are more likely to turn their focus on other men and would rather hire them for the positions since they are seen as stronger and more forceful therefore this is gendered and biased. Men also might feel threatened working with a woman who is doing the same type of work as them and they might feel inferior if the women were to do a much better job than them so they are least likely to help a woman get the job.

UNIT C - Blog 14

The theory of gendered organization is saying that organizations such as jobs or other types of facilities are structured based off of certain rules that are circled around gender. For example in a work environment that includes lawyers the male lawyers may have more flexible schedules and their boss might be more lenient with them because their men but when it comes to the women they may receive longer work schedules are more grueling cases because they are women. Gendered organizations can also be when mainly one sex forms the organization as a whole such as a police department that contains ninety percent men and ten percent women. In this case it is a male dominated environment and these men probably control the workplace giving the women not much voice or opinion at work. Some jobs have rules and regulations that are formed around men or may have masculine entities about them which may make a woman feel out of place if she were to work in a job that had these rules. In the book At Work in the Iron Cage the author talks about guards in a prison and said "the model guard was to be both officer and gentleman; the job is framed in specifically masculine terms. Administrators expected that only such a man could command the respect of those in charge" (Britton, pg. 54). This statement alone shows that certain jobs have an essence about them that is strictly formed around a man. This job is obviously male dominated and very masculine especially when it is said that these people only feel men deserve the respect of the people in charge. When Britton says "organizations are gendered at the level of structure" (Britton, pg 7) she is basically saying that organizations have structure and depending on what kind of structure they have then certain gender stereotypes or rules will occur. For example the company Molly Maids deal with cleaning and housework therefore you'd expect only women to apply and work for this company so their gendering would revolve around women and rules that apply towards women. This company might be more lenient towards children since most women have kids and they might be flexible with a woman's schedule that revolves around their child's school but if a man were to be in this type of job they may not even think to be lenient with him because usually men aren't the ones taking care of children. Hopefully this makes sense.

UNIT C - Blog 13

Media has portrayed the image that women are housewives and if they're not doing that then they should be in a job that requires them to cook and clean. In alot of sitcoms such as Everybody Loves Raymond, the wives are stay at home moms and have to juggle cleaning, cooking and taking care of the children while the men are out being the breadwinners for the household. Women seem to be looked at as delicate flowers that shouldn't be out doing hard labor when women are in fact capable of working any job they want even if it's a male dominated environment. I honestly don't think that I have seen any images of prison guards or correctional officers that have shown women in those positions. One of my friends is a correctional office and she's a female and my cousin is a female officer but other than knowing these two woman in policing jobs I don't really see any ads portraying women in these types of careers. On TV shows and movies I see men playing detective and police officer roles and if I see a woman on these shows she's usually at a desk working instead of out patrolling like the rest of the male officers. I think this puts out an image that women shouldn't be in this type of atmosphere because it's male dominated, or maybe that women aren't good enough to hold these types of jobs and i think this is demeaning towards women. In the media I don't ever see a woman in a job that requires them to be a leader, they always seem to be a follower. The media makes it seem like women aren't able to handle jobs of authority because of the stress and danger which isn't true at all. Women are hardly seen as detectives or chief of police and it's very rare to see them in a field such as the FBI, CIA or SWAT and it might be because these fields are more specialized and require advanced levels of training and the media doesn't want to show the world that women are capable of doing a "mans job". It seems as if the media doesn't want to portray women as adventurous, brave or take charge kind of ladies because this will show that women can do anything a man can do and if men see this they will feel less of a man or maybe weaker. With all this media attention focused on men as the hardcore go getter's, women might be a little timid to apply for jobs such as policing because they may feel like they aren't qualified since the media only show men partaking in these types of fields.

Unit C - Blog 12

In my opinion occupational segregation is unfair, men and women both work hard to get where they are today and it's not right that their goals are put on hold because a company wants to demean them because of their gender. No job has a specific rule on what gender is allowed to be in that position so this occupational segregation is appalling. I think this type of segregation exists even with laws out there protecting against this, because companies find ways to get around this. I think people can find ways of reprimanding people for gender or not hiring people based on gender because they research the person and try and find another reason or excuse to give them that would make it seem like they aren't denying them the position based on discrimination. Gender socialization relates to occupational segregation because boys and girls are defined by society and at an early age are told what roles they should be in and this forces kids to think those roles are what's right for their gender. By giving these kids gender roles at such an early age these kids aren't able to form their own opinions about who should do what in society and this gives them biased opinions on gender. I think that men gain by women entering into male dominating positions because these women bring new talents to the company that maybe other employees don't already have. These women can do these jobs as good as or even better than the men that already hold these positions and I think it would be an asset to any company that hires women for male dominated positions. Women gain many advantages by taking on male dominated positions. Some advantages are that they learn how to work in a new type of environment that is male dominated and they can learn new trades and enhance their skills in this new job. These women may also gain more confidence by realizing they can make it in a male dominated workplace and they won't be afraid to try new things and maybe apply for other jobs they were once afraid of applying at.

UNIT B - Post 11

A film that shows the struggles of a working poor woman is Erin Brockovich. This movie is about a woman who is a poor single mother and she struggles to support her family. She was desperate to find a job and her lawyer ended up giving her one as a favor to her since he didn't win her civil case for her. She is so poor she goes to work in torn ragged clothes and deals with people making fun of her but she continues to work as hard as she can until she rises up past everybody and succeeds just like she always wanted. Despite her financial situation she managed to overcome all the obstacles and make a good life for her and her family. This movie addresses the conditions of a poor working woman because Erin struggled for a job and was unemployed for quite a while and she was raising two children by herself without anybody's help and didn't even have health insurance until she started working for her lawyer. Her struggles with finding a job and health care and raising kids by herself are all things that the poor working women deal with today. Erin didn't have much options before she got a decent job and many poor woman today struggle in order to find shelter, food, health care, day care and jobs due to the fact that they either don’t have a job or don’t make enough money and like Erin they don’t have many options for help. With the poverty line being around 20,000 these women including Erin are left without any help from the government or many other agencies because if they make a cent over that poverty line they are determined to make too much for assistance when we all know they need the help. Welfare will deny them, food stamps might not be granted to them and health care such as access will deny them because they make over that poverty line. That poverty line can barely help a small family survive so a cent over that poverty line can’t either and that poverty line needs to be reevaluated so families can receive the assistance they deserve.

UNIT B - Blog 10

After welfare reform the women in Chaudrys study used other forms of adaptive survival strategies. Some of these strategies were options of day care, when they stopped receiving payments from the WEP program that helped them pay for day care they were forced to find other means of child care for their children. They chose options such as a family member or friend to watch their children. One woman worked at a school that had an after school program and she brought her kids with her to work and had them stay in the after school program which helped accommodate her through her long busy work schedules. Some of them even found agency type places that had cheaper rates but after a while it became too much to afford or handle because of their demanding work schedules. Agency based child care are only open certain hours and the women that worked after the hours the agency closed were left with no other choice but to find other means of child care. Some of these women also decided to go back to school to get a better education so they can acquire a better job and others chose unpaid internships and training courses to help their performance at their current job and help them gain the skills for a higher paid job in the near future.

These strategies point to the interrelations between work and care because these women are doing anything necessary in order to provide for their children whether it be working two jobs and still finding time to pick them up and drop them off at day care. Care can be quite expensive and these women need decent paying jobs in order to pick up the tab for this and it became very difficult but somehow like every good mother they managed to survive. You need to work in order to afford care and they did this and found ways to take care of their children while providing a roof over their heads and a paycheck in their accounts.

UNIT B - Blog 9

The relationship between children in poverty and the working poor woman is they both lack the main necessities of life which is food, shelter and health insurance. Both these women and children are struggling to survive in this world and it's lack of help from the right sources that are helping them fail. Both of these groups need better support and strategies to help the mothers find higher wage jobs that offer health care so that they and their children are covered under a good health plan. The children of poverty need better education systems so that they can learn and succeed in life and not stay or end up on the streets. Both of these groups are form low income families that are dealing with hardships and need to be pushed in the right direction and given some assistance so they can make it in this tough economy and move up from bad neighborhoods and living from paycheck to paycheck without health insurance just hoping to make it another day. The cost of living is so high and these mothers are making at the least minimum wage and that barely covers housing and child care and a child needs good child care in a safe environment in order to be happy and healthy. The working women and children in poverty are dealing with the drama of not having enough money and not enough support from the government and it’s breaking them down and making them helpless in society.

UNIT B - Blog 8

The problems urban poverty creates for poor working mothers are more crime in neighborhoods and most poor working mothers live in bad neighborhoods already so this is a threat to their children and even themselves. Urban poverty leads to poor schools so their children can get a poor education or possibly no education at all. There's also the problem of jobs because more jobs are being taken away or are letting people go and these women are left jobless and without an income to support their family. All of this differs from problems that poor women living in mixed income neighborhoods because the women living in mixed income neighborhoods don't have as bad of neighborhoods so their streets are a little safer and jobs are more diverse. Mixed neighborhoods also have more diverse atmospheres and their schools are a little better because they have a mixture of everybody and the children can learn better and not have to deal with so much crime that goes on in poorer schools and neighborhoods. Women will be able to find jobs better because there’s a lot more options for them than in a poorer neighborhood which harbors drugs and criminals at a constant rate. It seems that if a community is filled with all poverty that crime seems to accumulate at a much faster rate because people feel they need to resort to criminal and illegal activities in order to survive out there. In mixed neighborhoods you have people of different backgrounds and incomes and you can learn to understand them and maybe get advice on how to move up in a career or get information on schooling and day care options. In the video about a lady named Jessica she lived in poverty and she talked about how her neighborhood was unsafe to the point where her children weren't allowed to play outside because she was fearful they would get shot or killed.

UNIT B - Blog 7

The factors that contributed to the instability of child care that Jacqueline and Julia experienced were a one income family which was still limited because Julie didn't get paid much or sometimes she didn't get paid at all since she did internships at times. Another factor was her welfare situation because she tried to receive subsidized day care but was put at the end of the list and this would take forever so she was forced to try and find means of payment on her own for this child care situation. Julie ended up joining the WEP which is the Work Experience Program and this program was supposed to help Julia afford day care by giving her a set amount of money to give to a child care agency but they slacked on payments. WEP would give Julia late payments which at one time were backed up so far that Julie had to pull her children out of daycare because she was behind in payments due to the WEP not paying reimbursing her for day care. Jacqueline was put in so many day cares that she didn't have time to form a real relationship with anybody which could lead to her having trust issues. The time Julia actually finds a steady day care for Jacqueline she has to pull her out after about two years due to financial troubles which was a shame because Jacqueline had finally gotten used to someone stable that she could trust.

Minimum wage jobs add to the poor working womans ability to find and maintain stable and safe childcare and make a better living because minimum wage barely pays the bills to begin with. A working mother needs to be able to afford housing, food, utilities, child care, transportation and much more and minimum wage just doesn't cut it. These minimum wage pay checks barely get these families buy and they are living paycheck to paycheck which doesn't even allow them to save up for a "rainy day" in case of emergencies. In one of the videos a woman worked as a bus drive and a janitor and she had been saving up nine months for a car and she ended up having surgery for her gull bladder and because she didn't have insurance it was pricey and she had to take that saved up money and put it towards the hospital bill instead of her much needed automobile. Instances like this causes for much unneeded stress and if these women would get paid better they would be able to save up for an emergency or just have a little extra income to maybe buy those shoes for work or maybe something nice for their house or children that's long overdue. One woman in the video said that she'd like to be able to buy her kids Nike shoes or take them to a fancy restaurant but given her unfortunate circumstances that won't ever be able to happen. Minimum wage barely helps teenagers save up for college so I don't understand how this is able to help out a single mother and her children.

UNIT B - Blog 6

Child care used by low-income mothers ranges from part time day cares to relatives. In the child care struggles video one woman received assistance from Syracuse for child care since her income was so low. They lowered her monthly charges from $360 to $205 but when she found a new job that gave her 6k more a year than before they raised her child care charges back to $360. Even with her six thousand more a year that still only gave her $20 extra dollars a paycheck than before which isn't much and raising her child care back up just put her right back where she started with her financial struggles. Another video said that nine months of child care for an infant can exceed a years tuition at the University of Mississippi and this is astonishing! It's awful that day care costs so much for these working mothers and families when they are already finding it hard to make ends meet and most families don't even have family members that can or are able to help babysit their children while they are at work.

In the second chapter of "Putting Children First" single working mothers are faced with hard choices when it came to providing child care for their children. Some factors that challenged these mothers were that they made very little income and couldn't afford child care. They were also put on waiting lists to earn financial support such as child care vouchers and subsidies that offered them help with paying for the child care. Other circumstances for one woman was trust because she took her daughter to two different places and the women watching her child became untrustworthy and she had to take her child out of that situation. These women also are left with minimal choices for babysitters if they are unable to afford day care for their kids. Some women have family members that are too old or sick to watch their kids or maybe family or friends are just too irresponsible to watch over their kids so they are stuck in a bind. The child care these women want and need is a stable place that can watch over their kids, teach them and feed them within a safe environment but their costs are just too high for most single mothers. Therefore these women are left with unreliable choices for their kids that leave them struggling for help constantly.

These women are having to jump through hoops just to find someone to watch their children and they are doing this while juggling a full time job which require them to be gone numerous hours of the day. It's a tough life for these women and they'd be better off if day care cost less or they were able to receive more public assistance from the states.

UNIT B - Blog 5

When chaudry said "we are asking the less fortunate to strive and work harder, we are deeply discounting our public responsibility for the children born into poor families and disadvantaged communities” (p. 14) I think he meant that the working poor or people at or below poverty line are having to work extra hard in order to make ends meet and that more public assistance should be available to help out their children who are also in need. There really isn't alot of assistance out there for poor families and their children and the programs that are out there seem to have certain standards that make it hard for families to even receive their help. The videos support his statement because in Katherine Newmans video she was talking about health insurance being an issue because most people work for companies that don't offer health plans and they sometimes don't qualify for programs such as axis or medicare because they make too much even though what they make still isn't enough to even fully support them and their families. Also in the video poverty in America, it stated that according to the government the poverty line for a family of four is at $21,614 and when shelter, utilities, transportation, food, health and child care were calculated the family was left with a negative balance of $2,121 which is ridiculous. This is appalling to claim that this yearly salary is enough to cover a family of four, i make more than that and can barely afford myself and all my bills and i have no children or anybody else I need to support. In no way is this solely a personal problem for the working poor, as a community and a world we need to come together to form some programs that can help this situation because if life continues this way then everybody will be left on the streets unless they are considered middle class or rich.

UNIT A - Blog 4

I think some characteristics of a good family life are staying in communication with your family, being there for the family, responsibility, loyalty, compassion and honesty. Balancing a career and family life is being able to take care of your family while also having a career. Everyone should be able to go to their job and work their required shift and afterwards go home and be with their family. It's understandable that this can become quite difficult because many jobs are demanding and it can become difficult to make time for appointments or to leave work because a child is sick and alot of jobs have consequences if you go home sick whether it's legit or not. I think a decent company will understand that their employees have a family life as well and will try and accommodate their employees to the best of their abilities. I think what makes this work and family life balance hard to achieve are the job requirements. Companies that aren't flexible make a persons work life stressful and often unbearable if they aren't allowed to leave to help out a family member. Overtime at jobs can also cause a stress on this balance because they require longer hours than usual and the parent might come home late and miss out on certain family interactions. I also think that if companies don't offer flexible shifts this might make it difficult for a mother or father to deal with their children's school schedules if they can't come in later or earlier on certain days and this can make it hard to deal with the balance as well.

Changes in traditional gender roles can make work and family issues more complex because if a man has to start cooking because the woman is working too late this might start drama or an argument because this isn't something he's used to doing. Also for a single parent balancing work and family is probably more difficult than the usual two parent household because they have to find time to work and find a daycare or babysitter to take care of their child or children which can cost quite a bit and may not be in their budget. With two parent households there is sometimes one parent that either doesn't work or gets home sooner than the other parent so there's always someone there with the family but with single parents all they have are themselves to help provide for the family and this can become challenging. My mother raised me on her own and I remember times where she was in over her head but she managed to always come out on top but it wasn't always easy.

Employers can become more sensitive to their employees needs by offering flex schedules so they can vary the hours they work to help accommodate them for appointments they need to make or whatever else they need to take care of. They can also offer discounts to maybe daycare programs or cell phone companies etc to possibly help out a family so they can afford more things for their home life. My job offers discounts for Verizon, dell, apple and much more and this helps me save 17% on my cell phone bill each month which is very helpful since I don't make alot of money. I also think companies should offer counseling or a number that they can call if they need to talk to someone about personal issues. I also think vacation time should be increased per paycheck or employees should have free days or passes that will allow someone to call out sick without being penalized. At my job we get an occurrence each time we call out sick and when we reach seven occurrences we get written up and once we get eight we can get fired so by allowing a free pass we wouldn't get an occurrence and this can help people out who are prone to being sick or who need to go home when a child falls ill. I also think FMLA is a wonderful idea because this helps out people who have a reoccurring sickness or who might have a family member who falls ill and needs someone to stay home and take care of them.

Having the support of family members and/or neighbors might make balancing priorities easier because if you have children one of the family members of neighbors can watch them for you until you get home from work which can save you alot of money by avoiding day care costs. Also if family members are willing to help around the house with chores and cooking then this will alleviate some of the stress off of the working parent since they have to start cooking immediately when they get home or bring home fast food which also costs money.

UNIT A - Blog 3

Carework seems like a really good program. In the videos I watched on carework in the UK, I saw that the companies make this carework program to help out their employees so they can maintain their home life and still stay on top of their job. One company gave their employees flexible schedules which allowed one man to come in and work a certain amount of hours then leave to go pick up his children from school and then come back to work later to complete his eight hour shift. I also saw that they allowed one man to work from home which helped him take care of his elderly mother. This program seems very convenient and I think it eliminates the stress that many employees deal with in their everyday life. I think this helps working families that have children to take care of and makes their life alot more flexible and I think this will increase their productivity at work because they will be happier at work. This type of program makes the employees feel appreciated and respected especially when they are willing to accommodate them with their life and their family life.

I don't think I've ever experienced much carework in my life but i have found it difficult to juggle a full time job and attend school and i also find it hard to get days off in order to study for upcoming exams. I also have a hard time getting days off for doctor appointments but my job allows me to change my shift randomly so that i can make certain appointments or to come in work a few hours then go to my appointment and come back afterwards and make up whatever hours i have missed. I think society needs to reconstruct their notions of the home as women's work by realizing women have more responsibilities other than housework and that if they do need to take care of their home life and work that companies should be more flexible like the UK and allow them to change their shifts when they have problems at home or give them time off to deal with their personal lives. Also men are capable of cleaning and cooking as well so i think society should realize that chores don't just revolve around a woman because men are just as capable of doing housework.

UNIT A - Blog 2

The wage gap video peaked my interest the most and I think it's amazing how the video stated that only two percent of women own fortune five hundred companies. Women have so many jobs to choose from and have all these options out there for them yet they are put on such a lower scale when compared to a man in the same position. I don't really understand why it is like this but it seems that males seem to lead a pattern of dominating in the work place and employers feel the need to pay them much more in salary than a woman. The job can be done just as well if not better than a man and I don't think this is equal or fair.

The you tube video on Patriarchy also seemed interesting because it listed alot of detail on women and men and how men seem to dominate the work place and overtake most jobs that are even available to women. This video said that woman only make up 16 of the 100 seats in the Senate and I don't know why this is. I thought about this for a while and thought that maybe they just felt that 84 men were more qualified for the position than woman but now that just seems bazaar and I'm starting to think that they feel men represent the Senate better because they think men are stronger and smarter which seems like a form of sex segregation. I think sex segregation is when you separate men and women in anything such as telling them they can each only play certain sports or in the work place paying a man and a woman differently when they have the same job and same credentials. When it comes to ASU the only time I really see it is maybe with the types of positions women get such as receptionist or front desk person but I'm hardly on campus so I can't really answer this question that well.

Socialization at my job produces gender roles because most of the supervisors are men and there's two out of five supervisors that are women and I also notice that the men make themselves known and are very loud and abrupt when talking to their employees. All I really do is process medical claims at work but in my own position I honestly don’t really see any specific gender roles because we have a lot of male and female processors that work at my job. However, I do find it odd how every company Ive ever worked for had a man that was head of the company. In reference to the report "Moms become breadwinners as job losses hit men" i think sex segregation and the wage gap still persists even when men are becoming unemployed because women are still receiving lower wages and poor benefits compared to other men that are in the same occupation. Even though men are being laid off the women still have to find jobs and work to make a living but this doesn't necessarily increase their wages and even if it did they'd still be on the lower end because men are always making a little bit more than women in the same field.

Blog Prompt #1: Women, Work & Justice- Student Introduction

I chose my blog handle because my friends call me ctizzle or ctaf which is kind of a combination of my first and last name, it's sort of a nick name so to speak. Justice Studies is my major and I am a senior and I graduate in December. I chose this class because I need a justice 400 level course in order to graduate. I actually had a different justice 400 level class selected but I found this class because it was more convenient with my work schedule since it's an internet course. I found women in the workplace to be a very interesting topic and I hope to learn about the struggles women have faced in the workplace. My mom was a single mother and raised me without any support and I watched her struggle but she worked hard and is now a successful working woman and a great mother who I respect greatly.

I think women, work and justice describes what kind of obstacles woman deal with in the workplace. I think justice comes into play by discussing topics such as how much women are paid compared to men in the same position and how women are treated because of their gender and how this affects their work performance. This also plays part in them moving up in their position or even applying for any type of position at all. I notice that women are often treated differently in the work place because of their gender and they aren't looked at the same as men in their same line of work. It amazes me how gender plays an important role in the workplace because we are supposed to be equal and I feel as if women are stereotyped and often down graded in the work place just because of gender. I also think that women and men get paid
differently even if they have the same job title and that doesn't seem just to me. If two people have the same qualifications then why pay them differently? I can't wait to learn about these types of issues in class this semester.