Response # 39

In order to have a balance in the work and family life there needs to be an equality that exists between men and women. English states a few institutions that need to be emplaced that will help create the solution to the balance. One is the assistance of childcare in the workforce. Childcare needs to be available for women to have careers in the legal field and also let them be a mother and wife as well. Men need to understand that suppression of women is no longer legal and discrimination needs to be acted upon with harsh punishments. Civil rights movements need to be continued to insure that women will continue to receive the same treatment as men do and also to close the wage gap that exists in today’s world. English provides a lot of detail as to how the future needs to play out for such equality to exist. Her re-imaging the future holds many well-established values that can help solve the problem of discrimination against women in the legal field. However, the most important way to reshape the future is for women today, right now, to push on the “glass ceiling”. To scream enough! Stop allowing for such inequality to continue and to pursue through the law punishment to those who neglect to change. As it was shown in the previous blog women have been breaking the glass ceiling for hundreds of years and although women have come along way in the view of the public, there is much more room to be covered. It is up to everyone including men to put an end to the discrimination that occurs to women and minority women everyday. The treatment and the lack of respect through salary is not something that should be going on in the 21st century.

Response # 38

Judge Jane M Boulin was the first black law grad from Yale Law School. She is also the first black judge in the state of New York. She gave the opening for minorities to be able to pursue a degree and have the ability to practice law in a society that at the time was very much segregated. It gave other minorities hope and encouragement to break the “glass ceiling” that existed during that time. She worked for her father as a clerk until she passed the New York State bar exam in 1937. Mayor LaGuardia promoted her to judge of domestic relations court where she served for forty years. She is a role model in the field of law to show that breaking the glass ceiling is a possible when all odds are against a person. It provides the power for women in today’s world to continue to push on the ceiling in order for it to change. Just hoping it will change at some point in time cannot do it. Women need to take a stand for what they believe in and speak out against things that are not just. Another important woman is by the name of Myra Bradwell. Myra Bradwell studied law with her husband who was a judge. She later applied to take the Chicago bar in which she was denied access. She took her case to the U.S. Supreme Court where the states’ ruling was upheld. The Supreme Court stated that women do not belong in the positions to interpret law. Rather their primary role was to be a wife and a mother and this was by the law of the creator. This is significant because later in 1885 the decision was overturned and Bradwell was given the license to practice law. It was the first time a women was able to break the glass ceiling and prove to society that they have the right and ability to practice law.

Response #37

The report titled Charting our Progress shows the increase in the amount of women who are participating in the field of law. Women in 2003 represent 50% of the entering law students into law schools. This was up form 45% from the year of 1994. This is an example that women are being able to practice law and are becoming more interested in the law. It also shows the rise in other areas such as women being part of large fortune 500 companies and also partners in large firms through out the country. However, women are still paid a much less wage than a male attorney on average. This is something that lacks in society today and must be brought to a close. Women are known to not be aggressive enough or even too aggressive at times along with becoming to emotionally involve with clients. These are many reasons as to why for the longest time women did not practice law. Men who interview prospects for their firm are still to this day asking women questions that are illegal to ask. They are asking women if they plan on having children and how their family is cooping with the big move. They have also been asked if they do have children and if they do would they be willing to keep up with the billing expectations the law firm has. It has also been shown that typically it used to be that men enjoyed and devoted their lives to the law. The wife would stay at home while the husband would put 70 to 8o hours a week in at the firm. This is also beginning to change and new women and men attorney are seeing that is not the life in which they wish to live. Many of them are going out on their own to develop their own practices to have more flexible hours.

Response # 36

Can corporate American lure the women back in to the industry? This is a tough question. I truly believe that some women are enticed by the fact of climbing the corporate latter to prove to not only themselves but also others that women can do the same things as men. However, I also believe that women tend to have different goals in life than men do. Men tend to want to provide the best life possible for their families. By having such goals they tend to sacrifice the time that is lost with their families. My mother is a Nurse for a large hospital in Southern Michigan. She has been practicing her field for around 23 years. She works with children on the pediatrics unit. Recently, a floor manager position opened up on her floor. Floor managers make a very nice salary. (Upwards of six figures in income.)I asked my mother is she was going to put in for the promotion. Her answer was No Way!! I asked her why. She said because she does not want to have the headaches and the responsibility that the managers have to deal with. She went on to say that the managers are salary awhile she is still hourly so for her she gets to work her three- twelve hour shifts a week and if she works more she is paid for it. Whereas the managers they tend to work close to fifty to sixty hours a week but are only being paid for forty. My mom said you are also the one in charge of making sure that the floor is staffed properly and dealing with patient issue that sometimes could have been avoided. She said she loves her job and she is content with where she is. She makes great money and says she gets to go into work perform her ability as a nurse and then punches out and leaves to return to her family.

Response # 35

The EEOC recommends certain balances for work/family life. It explores pitfall that each company posses and could do better to provide women and families with support for their work and family life. Providing assistance childcare is the major complication that women have in their lives to try and balance their work life and family life. Women are still the dominate person to take are of the children in the household and they also make up around 46% of the work force. They are performing two very important jobs which one is only bringing income into the household. Men have begun to take part in the childcare process but not at a level that will help alleviate the stress that women have been burdened with. It is extremely difficult for women to balance a work and family life when there is little assistance from their employers. In Chaudry’s book he gives plenty of real life examples as to why single mothers cannot always have a job. This is because they cannot find childcare in which they can afford. As soon as they do receive an income the government shuts them off of childcare and then the mother is working o send her child to a day care. As any person would say with common sense, that makes no sense. So therefore, the mothers have no other choice but to quit the job and return back on to the government subsidies. How are these mothers supposed to ever hold a career when there is no assistance for them to keep the career? Almost every mother in the book said the most difficult part was trying to find reliable safe childcare for her children. The job part was easy. It was the childcare that kept them from keeping the job long-term. This leads employers to believe that women are not dependable when they have children when really it is not that the women are not dependable, it is the employers who do not provide any assistance which would allow them to become dependable.

Response # 34

Joan Willams is the author of the book “Unbending gender”. She wrote this book to because as a women who has had a child her gender lead her in the direction of which career field she will be focused in. In her book she has many key terms that relate to the “Gender on Trial” book. Two important terms are market care and family work. Market care is work that is receives a payment. Family care is care that is given to the family where there is no compensation that is involved. Women usually have to take care of the household choirs and provide assistance to the elder. Women also are in charge of cooking family dinners and taking care of the children when they might be ill. She also chose the title because she said that although there has been some change in the history for women, it is still not what was hoped for 20 or 30 years ago. Society is still not bending the roles that women are allowed to be played. They are still very much expected to perform the same tasks they have been performing for many of years. Women still have to fight the stereotypes that have been placed on them for many years. They still are expected to perform the household choirs and now, in modern society, many women are in the workforce, which puts a greater demand on their presences. Williams explains in correlation with “Gender on Trial” those women are still being harassed and suppressed through the masculinity of males. There is still a great amount of unfairness that exists in workplaces due to the gender discrimination. Women have a hard time keeping a long-term job especially in the legal field due to the high stress and requirements many firms place on their associates. Women who have obligations at the home to find it very hard to coop with the stress and most often are forced to leave their jobs. In the video interview, one researches shows that women are being suppressed in their own homes. Some families keep the women at home to take care of the children. The men do not see the need for women to have a career and pay a daycare center when their wife’s can just be at home watching the children for free. This for some women do not allow them to ever pursue a career. Society has changed in regards to letting a woman into the workforce and valuing the service they may provide. However it has been found that the men themselves have not changed. Men continuously hold them back entering into the workforce at an equal level. This is an explanation the Joan Williams and the “Gender on Trial” book try to explain in the text. Women are not being suppressed to the same degree as they were 20 to 30 years ago. However, they are not close to being on the same level playing field as men are in current time.

Response #33

Women have advanced in the law field but still have many more hurdles to cover. The three women who left a large firm in New York to open the first all women firm in the city is one example. These three women “broke the glass ceiling” in the city by allowing women to have access to a established firm that understands the restrictions they posses due to their roles in the workforce and at home. It shows that women have been able to come a long way. Fifty years ago an it would have been a lot harder for these three women to leave a firm and open a all women firm. Many people in their previous firm considered them “crazy” for leaving. As one of the partners states that many lawyers who either have been laid off or who are seeking new employment, are asking these three women for advice on the best way to open their own firms. Although this is a major accomplishment for women, it is also the 21st century and the first all women law firm is being opened in the city of New York that is home to millions of people shows that much more road is need for pavement. Al long as women continue to challenge the “glass ceiling” that has been placed on them, to break it, will allow for women to further continue advancing in the legal field. Law firms will also need to accept that fact that women will need some different options when it comes to working. They will need flexible work schedules and more time off for parenting. This can be beneficial due to the fact that some women would prefer to come in later and work later. This would allow firms to extend their hours of operation for clients due to the flexibility that women would require.

Response #33

Women have advanced in the law field but still have many more hurdles to cover. The three women who left a large firm in New York to open the first all women firm in the city is one example. These three women “broke the glass ceiling” in the city by allowing women to have access to a established firm that understands the restrictions they posses due to their roles in the workforce and at home. It shows that women have been able to come a long way. Fifty years ago an it would have been a lot harder for these three women to leave a firm and open a all women firm. Many people in their previous firm considered them “crazy” for leaving. As one of the partners states that many lawyers who either have been laid off or who are seeking new employment, are asking these three women for advice on the best way to open their own firms. Although this is a major accomplishment for women, it is also the 21st century and the first all women law firm is being opened in the city of New York that is home to millions of people shows that much more road is need for pavement. Al long as women continue to challenge the “glass ceiling” that has been placed on them, to break it, will allow for women to further continue advancing in the legal field. Law firms will also need to accept that fact that women will need some different options when it comes to working. They will need flexible work schedules and more time off for parenting. This can be beneficial due to the fact that some women would prefer to come in later and work later. This would allow firms to extend their hours of operation for clients due to the flexibility that women would require.

Response #32

Men and women lawyers are held to very different standards when it comes to parenting between the two. Although the roles in the parenting world are beginning to shift from very traditional roles to more modern roles, typically, women are still more responsible for taking care of the household and the children within the family. Women are more often than not the first parent to be called when the child is at school and is not feeling very well. This makes a woman’s career very difficult to handle because not only do they have to worry about what the demands are of their job but also whether or not they can leave to go nurture their child. Men, who do care about their families and children as well, have a different goal in mind. Their goal is often to provide the financial support for the family. And the family accepts this role and understands that dad is not always going to be able to be around but this is only because he is working hard to allow for a healthy life. Suspect mothers are not taken very serious in the workforce. They are literally impossible to be a mother who works in the legal field. A single mother in her forties says that you cannot do it. The demands that both the legal field and your family place on them make it nearly impossible. Other mothers “downplay” their careers to other mothers so they do not have to receive the attitudes from other parents. Many parents think that women attorney’s children do not receive as much attention and do not feel that the child is being nurtured well. Being a “good mother” can be considered conflicting with the ambitions’ of becoming a good attorney. This is why many mothers “beat around the bush” when they are asked what type of profession they are in.

Response # 31

There are many issues that exist with the work place and balancing the family life in the legal profession for women and men. Women who enter into the legal field attempting to be the best associate they can be often times have to sacrifice a lot of family values in their own homes. They are able to be home for their children when they arrive to the house from school. Sometimes they have to miss their children’s events because they have important meetings in the firm that they cannot get out of. It also can bring a lot of tension into the household with husbands and wives. When a wife is an associate at a large firm and the husband has a more structured job where he works the regular 9 to 5, while the wife is working away the long hours at the firm, can make for a lot of tension. This does not allow healthy relationships for the mother, father, or the children in the household. Some solutions that have been tried to help these situations were more flexible hours or the acceptance of women working only part-time. There is also the possibility that women are able to work from home due to the technology that exists in the world today. However, this is not highly praised. Many male counterparts believe that it is unfair for their female counterparts to be able to have such flexible schedules while there demand is still high when they often times have families as well. It is hard for large firms to make exceptions for some associates while holding other to such firm guidelines. Therefore, women are expected to work the same hours as male associates and have the same workload as male associates. This makes a female have to sacrifice many things in order to live their dream career.

Response # 29

Minorities represent such a small portion of the total population that exists in law firms. These reasons are dues to the discrimination and racism that exists with in the law firm between the partners. A Chinese female attorney was given a Korean document and was asked if she was able to read it. She replied with no because the languages of Chinese and Korean are different. However the partners could not understand why this was so. A Native American was asked where his” tomahawk” was. All of these situations make for a very uncomfortable work environment in which the minorities leave the firm. Minority attorneys are not held on the same level as a white attorney. White attorney’s were who went to any law school were sometimes held higher than a minority that went to a top ten law school. This leaves minorities to feel unappreciated and not valued with in the firm. When this type of discrimination is distributed to the people of the firm, it contributes to the low representation of minorities in law firms. It does not allow for them to move up in the company when they are always competing for the approval of white partners who in some cases, the minorities are more qualified than the white partners. No one is willing to work under such treatment and this leaves only one option. The options for them to leave the firm and seek employment elsewhere or even start opening their own practices. And for the minorities who do stay at the firms, they have to prove themselves on a routine basis as to their competency of being an attorney. This complex situation because not only are they a women which is a challenge alone, but they are also a women who happens to be a minority. This set forth additional obstacles that in their everyday life during their career have to hurdle over.

Response # 28

President Barack Obama was considering Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. The media got a hold of this speculation and criticized on whether she should be nominated for this position. People who did not like her thought of very cleaver words to characterize her to determine to the public that she was not capable of serving on the Supreme Court. The major criticism she received was the lack of intelligence that was needed for such a position. She was not considered to be as smart as some other candidates who were more than likely men. The main factor for the criticism was because of her gender. She is a female and many people believe that women do not have the same capabilities, as do men. She was also characterized as being a “bully on the bench.” This was supposed to be a negative connotation because it would allow for her to not determine the law in a fairly manner. Another criticism is that she had a large ego. Assuming that men do not ever posses large egos ever in the Supreme Court. However, let’s face it, the people who serve on the Supreme Court do have the support for such egos. They have attended some of the most prestigious laws schools in the country. They have served for many other courts throughout the year and are some of the best candidates to interpret what was written in the constitution hundreds of years ago. All of the criticisms that Sonia received which, not to mention, some of them fabricated through the media, all were to suppose that she did not have to same capabilities that a man would be able to possess. This shows that the persisting existence of gender basis of whether mown belong in the field of law or not.

Response # 27

The competence gap that exists between male and female lawyers is important. The definition of the competence gap is when a female attorney or any attorney has to continually keep proving themselves to demonstrate that there know what they are doing. Some consequences that women have to face do to this theory, is that they are somewhat discriminated against at taking on big cases for large firms or losing important potential clients. This can become very discouraging for a female and can drive them out of the firm or even the profession. Some techniques that male attorney’s will use against a female attorney is try to prove that the female attorney is not capable of her position as an attorney. Or they will try to prove that she has missed a huge point in proving her case, which would make her unqualified to win a case. This can lead to a very emotional trial. Female attorney’s who cannot handle the consistent criticism would break down and it would prove the male attorney’s point. AN example of this is seen in the movie “Class Action.” The male attorney and female attorney are representing two different sides of the case. It happens that the woman is the daughter of the male attorney is the movie. Throughout the movie he tries to show to her and the court that she is not as qualified of an attorney as he is. Therefore, the evidence he produces and the statements he makes are more valid than hers. She does very well at countering back at his invalid statements because she is a very good attorney. She has to also prove to her partners in the firm who are males that she is able and qualified to take on such a large client who brought in so much money to the firm.

Response # 26

The roles that males play in assisting women lawyers in some firms can be extremely important. Women a woman is talking with a huge client who has the potential to bring the firm a large sum of money, and the female attorney feels that the client is still on the edge, the female will go get some enforcement. Most of the time it is a male to assure the client that they are making the right decision. If in court a female attorney is questing a witness and she does not feel that the jury is picking up on her point or getting it she will have a male attorney re-ask the same question to make them seem more powerful or truthful. This shows that the men play a large role in the assistance of women lawyers. For example my mother was suing an insurance company for a car accident that she was involved in. At first she had a female attorney that was representing her. When the case went in front of the judge the insurance company had a male attorney representing them. My mother’s attorney made her statement and then the insurance attorney made his claim. The big boss for the firm that my mother was being represented by saw that the judge was beginning to side with the male attorney and therefore he stepped in. He stepped in with real force and showed his presence as a piece of evidence that my mother should without a doubt win this case. In return, my mother did win the case and thankfully the male attorney showed p to the court that day because otherwise there could have been a possibility the she would not have won. Once the male attorney made his claim for my mother it was clear what the judge was going to do. He soon after awarded my mother her share of the money that she was entitled to and the case was completed.

Response #25

Some pros and cons in the term “a weapon in the arsenal” are black and white. Some people feel that it is ok for women to use their sexuality to advance their careers. While others feel that it is not okay because to recast the stereotypes that exist on women in the workforce. Women can use their sexuality to advance their careers because they can persuade judges or clients and even partners to side with them. They can be flirtatious and give a warm caring sense to the firm. Some male lawyers say that many successful women lawyers are successful in part because they learned how to master the skill. Therefore, they state that if it workers then use it because it’s a tool that most often times men cannot use in the courtroom. This would allow the women to have an extra weapon that is natural to them only and not men. However, other people believe that it can’t hurt the reputation that women may have in the field. It will continue to have the stereotype that women only get hired or promoted because they are good looking not because of the “lawyering” skills they possess. Others believe that it can give the wrong signals to clients. Some clients can become emotionally attached to their attorney’s that are women. This also allows or the continuation of sexual harassment to occur in the workforce. Male partners can flirt back with female lawyers, which can provide a sexual environment for the rest of the workers who may not be comfortable with the situation. All in all, I agree that if women choose to use the flirting skill to advance their careers that is there own purgative. However, I do not believe that women should then be allowed to pull the sexual harassment card or “unfair card” because they chose to take a more risky path than what should have been taken

Response #24

I interviewed a friend that is in her first year at law school in Michigan. She has always wanted to attend law school but started her career at Michigan State University, and thought that maybe law was not for her. It was expected that she put such great time and effort into studying that she wanted to explore other options. She finished her degree at Rochester College and is now attending Oakland University law school. When I asked her if she felt any pressure or felt stereotyped on the expectations while she was attending law school, she did not have any direct answers that were personal. Instead, she said she did seem from professor to professor that women professors in law school were harder on the female students rather than the male students. At first I found this surprising. However, it somewhat makes sense. Women Lawyers want women law students to be successful and taken serious in the law field. Therefore, this may have an effect on them pushing women law students a little harder than males. Males tend to have an easier role in society n what type of job they will receive and more often with a little higher pay. She also noticed that the women were the most competitive in the classes. They were the ones to withhold information from other people. This could be that women feel they need to be the best of the best or otherwise they might not be able to obtain a well paying job because they could not outdo there counterparts. Whatever the reasons, it shows that the stereotypes exist in the real world and especially in law school. Women feel there is a greater need for them to succeed in the law profession because the competition is so much higher for them than men.

Response #23

Women have come along way in the fashion of law and becoming a lawyer. They are more reprehensive in the application process and the process of women entering law schools. Many law schools provide the statistical data that shows their classes are almost fifty-fifty in the ration fro male and female. One example is the writing of Sandra Day O’Connor. She said that she always wanted to be on a cattle ranch because that is what she loved to do. However, while she was attending college a professor convinced her to go on and becoming something great and change the world. However, she said when she graduated law school in the 1950’s it was very difficult for her to find a job as a women lawyer. She states that for a while she would take jobs that did not pay her anything because the fact that she was a women. However, she persevered through the gender inequality and became an astonishing attorney and part of the politics world. This can make it very discouraging for women to further their education in the field of law. However, women should not let this hold them back. They need to take a stand, which, they have been doing, in the past years, and continue to pursue a career in law school. These will continue to break down that “invisible” wall and help women become successful lawyers in the world today. It will also allow for women to become more involved and represented in the politics side of the law. Which may help in pulling the power away from the power elite males and creating laws that are legally just and do not allow further discrimination on the basis of ones gender nor the color of their skin. Allowing women to succeed in a law school and in a career.

Response #22

Sonia has been was discriminated against due to the race and gender she possess. Sonia was not elected or appointed to the Supreme Court because for her race and gender. Women are typically stereotyped to not be in high power with the law. They are thought to have too much of an emotional tie to a situation and that could slant the law in favor of someone. This would allow for many loop holes to develop in the system itself or so they say. Black women find it even more difficult to gain high access to a power position. Although the constitution states that every one will be treated equally, and our nation ahs abolished slavery for over 100 years, discrimination still persist due to the color of ones skin. Black women are the most often stereotyped into racism categories. They have two things that currently have a negative affect on them to the politics society. First being they are a black person and second that they are a women. This country for the first time has a person of color in office. During the campaigning, the Democratic Party had a person of color, President Obama, and a women running for the democratic position, Hillary Clinton. People are stereotyped into different groups on a daily basis. People of color and women often tend to be looked down upon by fellow citizens who feel that white males should dominate the political office. Therefore, women and people of color are portrayed to be not as competent in the ability to run a country or state. This has led to the persistence in the uneven distribution of women and people of color in our elected positions to represents our nation. Sonia was stereotyped and therefore was not able to sit in the supreme court due to that fact that or in part, she was a women and a women of color.

response # 21

The national association for female corrections officers is trying to get legislation to pass laws that exhibit females from being raped, sexually assaulted and many other crimes that are committed against them while being a corrections officer. It is also lobbying for the implication of fines to institutions that do not promote safe and regulated working conditions for women. Britton offers some similar solutions in his book as well. He believes that women should not have to worry about being sexually assault at work and not have an authority to go to with their situation. These laws that could be passed would allow women to be able to attend to their job without the fear that something unnecessary might happen to them. As a correction officer they have to worry about enough safety as it is and should not have to worry about something that should not be accepted in any work place. I agree with both Britton and the NAFO organization with getting such laws passed by congress. Our systems are to be filled with the utmost qualified people in every position. There should be a no tolerance level. No sexual cementation between men and women should be allowed. The law should also be able to prosecute the directors who fail to establish these rights for women and their working conditions. Inmates should also be held under these conditions. If an inmate is caught trying to be sexually active with a female officer they should be punished for that action. Whether their sentenced is increased or they experience confined assignment with no human interaction. I think that with this group women we be able to see the changes that will occur. They will be able to arrive and leave working with the feeling of safety as their institutions number one priority.

response # 20

The hostage situation in Arizona has many key points that are pointed out in Brittons study. The first and major point is the endangerment that Correctional officers face when they are employed. Every officer knowingly takes the risk of death when they are employed as CO’s. Though it is very rare that a officer life is taken in the line of duty, it happens and it must be something that an officer must keep in his/or hers mind every time they put on the badge. It is known that young officers, right out of training are the most stern and show no emotion. This is because they are fresh out of training where they have been drilled to trust no one and to never let their guard down. That is clearly something that Lois still had. Where as her partner let his guard down for one second and chaos struck. There is no question about the danger that is involved in becoming a CO or a police officer. This danger is something that they must accept and use to keep them safe. Dora is known for saving her Lois life because of her patience. This shows some great power with the female body in administration. Dora was more calm and relaxed than maybe a male would have been. This is great evidence that it does not matter what your gender is but rather how you perform and react to certain situations. Prisons are total institutions due to the fact that when an occurrence like the one that happened in Arizona happens, it affects the whole prison. Every other guard and member of the prison was waiting to storm the tower or get that call to make the kill shot. This shows that the institution is a whole object and not just sections. The gender segregating that exists inside the prison showed in the hostage situation. Lois had no idea how to handle the situation because she was a female and males were holding her. She had no training on how to keep herself safe and not to provoke bad situation on her self. She had to teach her self these applications. This is a clear demonstration on how men benefit from women but women do not benefit from men. Britton explains this in his study. He states that men will benefit from the presence of women in the job but women do get any such advantage.
I don’t know if Brittons recommendation would have necessarily prohibited the hostage situation. I believe that it was more a management problem of the facility more than anything. The director did not put any time or resources in to keeping the prison running under safe and secure measures. The staff was determined to be poorly trained and not up to par of standards that should have been set forth. This was the main cause of the problem. There were so many loopholes in the prison itself it allowed for the situation to unravel. The inmates were obviously able to detect that lack of security that existed and saw it as an opportunity to control the tower. With the implementation of Dora’s new training program where the employees of the prison are now all up to par with prison standards, the prison is less vulnerable for another situation for it to happen. The situation was a possibility that never should happened under the right management of the prison. It is a threat that every prison has to take into consideration. Prisons directors always have to think about the what if. What if the guard tower was to be taken over by inmates? How would the facility respond to this situation? What would not be done to make sure that no one including inmates nor officer’s life was taken due to the breach of security. This also shows the importance of making sure officers do not become attached to inmates. The hostage situation occurred because the inmate was able to sue do an officer and taking the uniform along with access to secure checkpoints. This shows that when there is a lack of upper qualified management there are problems that can arise do to it. It is important to keep the facilities running safely.

response # 19

In the democracy now coverage with Geena Davis, she illustrates that the media depiction on females has not changed over the last ten to fifteen years. She discussed some statistics stating that majority of television networks displayed an un-even amount of mal characters to female ones. Brtiiton finds through is stuffy that many men in the years past believe that women did not belong in the prison system unless it was clerical work. However, now men are accepting that fact that women are entering the law enforcement or prison careers. This is fine as long as the women are able to perform the same physical strength as men can. Women were not thought be able to handle the violence in the prisons. Britton finds that women are placed in assignments were violence is low or where men cannot allow to be placed. Such as, the patting down of women within state prisons facilities. This was due to a lawsuit that prisoners filed against the state and federal government for the improper touching of female inmates by male inmates. This is not true however for federal prisons. In federal prisons male officers are allowed to pat down female inmates by using the back of their hands in the chest areas. Females are also discriminated against for administrative positions. In male facilities only one of the administrators who Britton studied was not a male. However females did represent a larger portion of the administration team within all female facilities. Women also receive fewer promotions than male did. This was doing to the value that women held in their positions. Many men felt that a woman did not hold the same value as a man because a male could fill her position. Whereas, if a male filled the position it hold more value do the ability to refill that position. Males are also thought to be able to handle violent situation better than females.

Response # 18

Britton discusses how norms become masculine to establish a gender-neutral policy and practice. This is reinforced in the on-the-job-training. When officers go through their intense training for becoming an officer, they are only taught how to deal with masculine behaviors. They are taught how to be authoritative and to not show emotion. They practice techniques on other men and majority of the time the instructors are also men. This poses a problem with in all women facilities. In all women facilities, women due fight but, many times officers have to deal with emotional fights. There are women who fight with themselves. They become very violent and emotional. Officers are not trained how to deal with emotional violence. Therefore, many times officers use the techniques taught to them in the training to restrain the inmates. There is no teaching of calming the inmate down and determining what the problem is without using some sort of force. Men and women prisons are very different from each other. Women prisons have more women who work in them then do men. Men in male prisons are often times kept within their cells for longer periods of time and are not allowed the same freedoms that women have. The prisons also vary in social structures. The women in the prisons have strong bonds between each other whereas that is not always the case for men. However, both male and female prisons have separation between inmates. Many time gangs form within the prisons for men and women also have special bonds or gangs that exist in their facilities as well. The gender-neutral training and the officers receive have a large part in why prisons are ran the way they are. The prisons are all trained to be the same and the impression that I get, is that it does not matter what gender you are when training, it is all taught to the way, but reflects a more historical masculine characteristics.

Response # 17

The NBC prison documentary was an eye opener for me. As a justice studies major, the focus is on the social behavior of the law and society. We looked at the youth and justice, domestic violence, law and social control, and many other social issues. The NBC documentary gave a real life version of what is really happening in present day life. As we study women in justice, it is apparent that it is completely different for women to be in a field than it is for men. In the documentary it takes you through a women prison facility to show the extent to which kinds of women are being sentenced to these facilities and the type of women and men who work in them. We also got to learn about the crimes that many of the women have committed. These crimes related to less offenses of violating parole or first-degree murder without parole. The women CO’s who worked within this facility faced many challenges every day. Women who were locked up often times had severe breakdowns. The CO’s had to then engage in restraining the women to make sure that there is no way for the inmate to harm themselves. The CO also had to make sure that they did not get emotional with any of the inmates because it could lead to unsafe activity. The director of the facility claimed there are very few times when a CO has become intimate with inmates and when this happen, an intense investigation is conducted. The officers try to keep a neutral view on the inmates themselves but, as one officer tells NBC, “some of the inmates are like celebrities” they have been in and out of the prison so often that they know everyone who works inside. This leads some of the officers to believe that many of the inmates will never be able to live a normal life. This can in a indirect way have a judgment placed on the inmates. However, many of the officers do enjoy watching the women being released from the facility. Also, many of the officers enjoy and are thankful to hear that someone has made it out and stayed out. Although this happens rarely, it shows signs for hope, not only for the inmates but also for the officers. The officers are re-enforced that by performing their job whether the inmate likes it or not, it is only to benefit everyone.
The forms of social control the facility used to discipline the inmates were effective. Many of the inmates within the facility had intimate relationships with other inmates. If an inmate was to cause a fight or express poor behavior, they were sentenced to a longer time and most often were contained to solid confinement. This meant the inmate was not allowed to interact with other inmates for a certain amount of time. The serious offenders also were allowed very little free time. And most of the free time was spent outside in what one inmate called “a dog cage.” She felt that she was treated to the same level as a dog. These were all forms of social control the officers were allowed to exploit onto the inmates.
Men who worked in the facilities of all women had even more obstacles than women. Ironically, men had to make sure that no such action could be taken for such of a sexual action. Some of the inmates tried their best to arouse male officers and use that against them or even black male them. When a male officer would walk through the hall way of the women prison, he had to shout before entering “male in the building,” so women were notified that a man was entering so no sexual action was assumed. This was the same for women who worked in male facilities. One women officer wore gloves over her hands when handled men from being transported from one cell to the next. When NBC questioned her on this, she stated that it was to stop any arousal that may occur due to the opposite sex touching the male inmate.
The NBC documentary was very informative with what happens within the prison facilities and how women who work in them are affected and deal with certain situations.

Response # 16

Britton maps the path to becoming a correction’s officer for both men and women. Some interesting results occur when he concludes his findings. He states that most of the correction officers never aspired to become a correction’s officer. That is was true for both men and women. He did see there was a huge difference in the type of work that was performed by men and women before they became CO’s. He found that a large proportion of men who were correction officer have been prior military personnel, whereas women were mostly in clerical work. Some of the reasons as to why they became CO’s were because the facilities were located out in the far part of major cities and there are few well paying jobs that are within the area. Therefore, many are turned to the CO position although it does not have the best pay it includes full benefits and retirement. Some of the social networks that persuade people to become CO’s are due to the figure that CO’s are known for. They are known to be big masculine guards that have great authority. Women often times felt very threaten by this myth and hence this is why so few women are employed within this career. As women realized that this was no necessarily the case for all positions they actively became part of the career. Women also took on the CO position many times when they were recently divorced. They needed to find a job that required little education but offered nice benefits. To become a CO officer a diploma or GED was the only requirement along with passing the academy. This is beginning to change through put the years. Many counties and cities want their personnel to be more educated. The officers also did say that it was not as bad as most people believe to think it is or movies show.

Response # 16

Britton maps the path to becoming a correction’s officer for both men and women. Some interesting results occur when he concludes his findings. He states that most of the correction officers never aspired to become a correction’s officer. That is was true for both men and women. He did see there was a huge difference in the type of work that was performed by men and women before they became CO’s. He found that a large proportion of men who were correction officer have been prior military personnel, whereas women were mostly in clerical work. Some of the reasons as to why they became CO’s were because the facilities were located out in the far part of major cities and there are few well paying jobs that are within the area. Therefore, many are turned to the CO position although it does not have the best pay it includes full benefits and retirement. Some of the social networks that persuade people to become CO’s are due to the figure that CO’s are known for. They are known to be big masculine guards that have great authority. Women often times felt very threaten by this myth and hence this is why so few women are employed within this career. As women realized that this was no necessarily the case for all positions they actively became part of the career. Women also took on the CO position many times when they were recently divorced. They needed to find a job that required little education but offered nice benefits. To become a CO officer a diploma or GED was the only requirement along with passing the academy. This is beginning to change through put the years. Many counties and cities want their personnel to be more educated. The officers also did say that it was not as bad as most people believe to think it is or movies show.

Response #15

The prison systems have come along way form the very first establishment that existed in the United States. The prisons systems were guarded by only men in the early years and have changed drastically. Women now play a huge role in the correctional facilities that are in place today. Women are now he guards of not only just women but also men. Although most women who work in the prison systems rarely work at the federal prisons, they have increased their presence within the system altogether. Women also have become incarcerated more than ever now. It used to be that men would guard the men and women would guard the women. This is no longer the case. Men will guard women prisons and cells along with the opposite. The biggest change with prisons is the treatment and compensation of prison workers. It used to be that prison workers were desperate for work and were paid very little. Now, prison workers are highly educated individuals that are very self motivated in becoming a better officer. The standards have been rising to only allow the most qualified persons to achieve the status of correction officers. The pay is also comparable to be able to create a living for them. Women have become part of this process. As the prisons have modernized, the gender of the working people has as well. As it is still noticed that women are not paid equally as men are who are performing the same job as women, there has been great movement in the system. Arizona has some of the same effects that early prisons had. Arizona needed roads to be built and constructed. Therefore, the prisoners were the one who built them. (The same as the chain gangs) Arizona also needed a new prison to house inmates due the increasing incarceration rate. Again, the prisoner who was put into the prison was the creator of the prison itself.

Response # 14

Britton uses theory to frame her questions to help better understand how prisons came about. She dates back to the earliest form of prisons that existed within the United States to find that the first prison to be formed was in 1785. From this point there were many types of prisons. One of the statements that Britton makes in her book is “organizations are gendered at the level of structure,” Britton is trying to convey the message of prisons being organized at the gender level within the prison structure. The prisons were mostly guarded with white males who were paid very little. The inmates were predominantly immigrants. Mostly African Americans were incarcerated into the prison system. White females were part of the inmate population and mostly were in there for lurking or “waywarding.” Men were the guards and they also guarded the women within the prisons. As the industrialization period exploded, inmates were used to construct roads and railroad lines. These were soon to be called chain gangs. The chain gangs were worked nearly to death do to the incentive the guards would receive on the side for getting the inmates to complete more work in the day. Women did no play a role in the prison system unless they were inmates of the prison. Britton explains how the culture and agencies all developed the gender gap of prisons. Women were looked at for “mothering” other women who were accused of lurking from traditional roles. The men were the peoples who were in charge of keeping order within the system. Britton’s research and theory helps lay out the map to how the prisons have changed throughout time. We can see from the start of prisons to now how the prisons are ran with in the United States. As the scope narrows to today, we can see that the changes are enormous.

Response # 13

The images of prison guards that are popularized in the media are very distinct. When most people think or prison guards there tends to be the same conceptual figure hat is described. Usually, this figure is a male and he male is of massive size with a stern personality and loud voice. These guards have a very disciplined personality and rarely crack a smile. Their job is portrayed to keep inmates inline within the prison. Many people believe these guards to be very aggressive and use tactics that could be harmful if necessary. On the other hand, women are not seen to be as present. Women guards are not graded with the same rubric. There tends to be much discrimination as to whether or not a woman could control should a hostile environment. Some believe that women would not be able to handle to emotional rollercoaster that guards experiences on a day-to-day basis. This is an assumption that only men can handle high levels of stress and emotional control. As women are beginning to become more involved within the prison systems, there is still segregation as to what job a woman may be able to perform. As described in Britons book, more women are employed in state facilities than federal. Two complications arise with this one, there is more money in the federal facilities than state and second, and women are portrayed as not being able to handle to severe criminals. More so, women are forced or guided to more “women” jobs such as, working in the kitchen or even cleaning. The media has been able to fit the women into the picture of police officers and prison guards. However, from my on experience, the women are enforced to take more masculine characteristics the feminine ones. They tend to be very tough woman who have strong voices and like to “rough” people if needed. They enjoy the hunting for bad people or keeping the criminals in control .

Response # 12

Occupational segregation is a concern in society and the workforce. It has been shown through history that certain jobs are for certain genders. We as a society have begun to accept these terms. Some of the occupation barriers that exist are prohibited by law. There are few reasons as to why the segregation still continues to be upheld. Federal government’s employers and city employment all state they are an equal opportunity employer, which means no candidate shall be judged on the basis of the skin, age, and sex. The reason as to why so many women are not in the police force as to men can stem for the fact that women do not feel as capable to perform the job. Women who do enter the workforce that is predominantly male, often times leave due to the failure to be accepted into the career. Also, men who do pre-screening for applicants may have an ideological mind set which prevents the acceptance of a female application for further consideration. As a previous applicant for a civil service job, I believe that it has nothing to do with the qualifications that one person may possess. As I was perusing the position of a police officer trainee, through a police department in Florida, I completed all portions of the process with an overall score of 89%. I was ranked in the top 10 on the eligibility list. When it came time to offer careers I was not selected. I was only 19 yrs old at the time. Of the 11 positions that were filled none of them were under the age of 24yrs. This was also the same for women. Not one female was ranked in the top 15% of the list. This could have been due to the fact that the interview process was all completed by male officers who have been working for the department for many years. They could have an old mind set as too women are not meant to become police officers.

Response # 10

The adaptive measures that chaudry subjects used to over come the welfare reform act were stressful recoveries for a woman who is trying to make a living not only for herself, but her family. The major adaption was the use of Kin care. Kin care is the basic of childcare. Asking someone whom you may know through family or may not know at all to watch your child. This became very hard for people to use this type of childcare due to the inconsistency. They caretakers were not always the most educated people and often times were not very friendly to the mothers. Many mothers couldn’t turn to family to watch their children because there was so much tension between them.

One of chaudry’s interviewees was a women form Guatemala. She moved to New York City to live with her mother so her child would be born in the US. This would giver her child the opportunities that she never had. Her and her mother did not get along very well and therefore, she could not use her mother as a babysitter for her young daughter. So therefore, she had to turn to kin care. She found Puerto Rican women who lived down the hall form her mother, which made it very convenient while she tried to finish school. This woman took very good care of her young daughter. Her daughter was also very content even though she was very young. The babysitter also did not take any money and if she did it was around $5 a day. After a few months pasted, the babysitter began to convey comments to the baby’s mother on how she was not suitable to be the baby’s mother anymore. She was to young and would never be able to support the baby. This began to worry the mother very much. Finally, the mother was showed a stack of paper that was written by the baby sitter relinquishing all parental rights from her child to the babysitter. This scared the mother dearly. She began to worry tremendously while she was at school if her baby was going to be there when she got home.

Some of the recommendations that Chaudry uses to help with this problem were, increase available care options and supports for families and infants, make educational investments to foster early childhood developments, improve access to child care systems and promote continuity in care, and provide child care assistance to all eligible families.

All of these options would help mothers who are trying to get solid ground underneath them not have to worry about the burden of childcare, their children could be watched by people of education and integrity. There would not have to be a continues search for who will be the next childcare watcher. Nor would they have to worry about whether or not their children are in good watch while they are away at work or school. This would alleviate the kin care option and help ease the family’s tension that may exist due to the hostile environment that may exist between families. Chaudry, gives these recommendations with the hope that one day some of these will be implemented into the poor working woman’s life. We cannot keep suppressing women by giving them hurdles that are impossible to overcome. As we try to solve the poverty issue through this country and world there needs to be multiple factors that are taken into account. We cannot settle on the simple fact that poor people are lazy and that’s why they are there. We also cannot pass policies that prevent woman and other people from becoming something other than government provided lives. We live in one of the most sophisticated countries in the world and yet, we have millions of children who go to bed hungry every night, living on the street, and moving from home to home. This is unacceptable and ignorant for our country to let in continue. We are not all born with the same opportunities but however, our government should be providing us every possibility for that to happen. If we continue to overlook this situation it will only become a larger problem than it already is.

Response # 11

I am currently reading a book titles “The Working Poor” written by David Shipler. In Shiplers book he indentifies with twelve different poor people. Some of them are women, male, Caucasian, black, and other races. He follows them through a period on their current life to determine why they are poor. Much to his surprise, or to the public’s surprise, all of his subjects are working. They work very hard and long hours. What he finds is that due to other outside circumstances, which at times can be out of the persons control, have kept them or put them into the poverty world. One of his many subjects is a poor workingwomen who is a mother.

He interviews these women and finds that many of them grew-up in the inner-city where there is high crime, low quality education, and little resources to a high paying job. Therefore, these women are working for almost pennies an hour. One woman by the name of Caroline explains her current job to her previous jobs. As she is a bit older now in life she had three goals to accomplish. One, to achieve a college education, she completed an associates degree from a local community college, moved out of the shelter and into a place of her own, and last, to have a “good paying job.” Caroline uses the phrase “eludes her.” She states that back in the 1970’s she was working in a factory making $6.00 an hour. Now in 2000, she was making $6.80 an hour as a cashier at Wal-Mart. This shows in real life situations that working doesn’t always work for the poor. Many times it sets them further back. When they get a job the lose government subsides and in return, the victims fall behind on their bills, and are charged outrageous interest rates. Many times women cannot have bank accounts because their credit has been shot due to unpaid bills. With that, it cost money to be poor. They have to pay fees at local cash checking places to receive their money. If they have to buy a car to get to and from work, they are charged upwards of 18 to 25% interest rates on a car that is no more reliable than some public transportation systems.

Response # 9

The working poor women conditions and the statistics on families and children are hand in hand. The working poor women usually have children and therefore, their children experience on the affects of poverty. The poverty line for a family of four, according to the federal government, is $20,000. It is clear that this a ludicrous number to imply poverty. The information given in this article states in order for a family of four to makes “ends meat”, it would need to earn twice that amount. Children poverty has seriously increased since the starting of the 21^st century. There are over 13 million children that live in poverty. This number is statistical data from the year of 2006. The statistical data has increased in every category. Minorities, immigrants, African Americans, Caucasians, etc.. Have all seen a rise in the poverty. Families have also been the largest group that is entering into poverty. As mothers and fathers have lost their jobs, they have not been able to keep the things they once had such as, a house, food, clothes, basic utilities, transportation, and most importantly, medical care.

Children that come from families that are entering in the world of poverty are able to detect that changes that are taking place. Many children are now going to bed hungry; children are also having to move out of their homes and schools and into shelter homes which are much smaller an often times not as safe or clean. The “head of the household” has to take jobs that pay very little with no benefits. Therefore, 41% of families that rent homes spend more than a third of their income on rent alone. This is clear and precise evidence as to why families are not able to afford other basic necessities that are required in life. Many of the children that are poor are also very young. Twenty percent of the poor children are under the age of six. This is another factor that is not being examined by the public eye. If more than a third of a families income is going towards rent, then that does not leave much money left at such low rate of pay. Childcare is expensive. So many parents cannot afford to work because it literally cost them more money than they are bring home in their paycheck to send their children to childcare.

Response # 7

The problems that poor working mother face with low paying jobs in regards to childcare, is the inconsistency, “malnourished”, and unstable outcomes from these types of child care. Low paying jobs do not allow for mothers to put in their children in childcare centers that are fully equipped with resources and quality teachers to care for their children. Therefore, these mothers have to rely on other sources for childcare. Many times they are directed to government support childcare where it is not the best, but nonetheless, they watch their child at a minimal cost. When these places do not work out for mothers due to the altercations the child might have with the provider, or the mothers, then even unstable childcare is brought upon the child. The child will sometimes spend time at friends of the mothers who have children, or grandparents who are old and unable to look after the child, which in return, lacks child safety. This does not let the mom’s have a peace of mind while they are on the job, which can hinder their performance and not allow them to be promoted or even worse, possibly losing their job.

When moms have to look else where for childcare, the child does not benefit. Many mothers work for childcare center and yet cannot afford to pay for their child to attend these centers. This is called exploitation. When someone is exploited for work and yet cannot afford the service or item they produce.

In the reading of Putting Children First, written by Ajay Chaudry, he gives of real life examples on what mothers do when adequate childcare is not affordable. One mom gives her story on how she had to have her neighbor, who she barley knew, watch her daughter. It went well for a while but then turned south. She went to pick up her daughter one day, gave her neighbor a call to let her know she was on her way, which she did everyday, but this time she did not answer. She then rang the doorbell and no one answered. Come to find out she was supposedly in the house the whole time and must not have heard the doorbell or phone ring.

Response # 8

The specific problems that “urban poverty” creates for poor working mothers are numerous. Poor workingwomen have little access to childcare centers. The childcare centers that do exist are poor in quality and do not provide the utmost quality care a child needs. The “urban poverty” also prohibits poor working mother from transferring jobs because the jobs are moving out of the city and into the rural areas. Many times this is because the people want to be in a safer neighborhood. The problem with the jobs moving out on the inner city is that, the poor do not have access to transportation most of the time and therefore, their employment is harder to achieve when the jobs have been moved out of the city. Jessica explains how it is hard for her to drive places because her car can only rive in gear two due to her transmission being broke. If she had to drive any long distance, it would be very difficult for her to arrive to work on time.

The gentleman who works as a janitor for a complex in South Carolina is paid very little money and drives around 30 miles one-way to work. He currently lives with his mother and therefore, is able to save some money on rent cost, but if he were to have to live on his own, it would become a lot more difficult for him to ay for his transportation. If something were to break down on his car that enabled him from getting to work, it would be very possible that he could lose his job. The urban poverty makes it much more difficult than the “poor” who live in mix income areas. The mix income areas tend to have more versatility and opportunity for people. The mix income helps the education within the area stay positive because their children are attending the same schools as the poor.

Response # 6

The struggle for parents to be able to enroll their children into quality childcare is a struggle that is based on the income in which the family is able to create or earn. The cost of quality childcare across this country is astronomically high. It has been statistically proven by the findings of an ASU professor, Mary Romero, that child can cost more than the average yearly tuition for a public college institution. The problem that many low-income families face is the ability to be able to send their children to childcare, and not be financially burdened. Many families who are labeled low-income receive some sort of financial support from the government to subsidize the cot of childcare. Although many people benefit from these subsides, many still cannot afford to send their children to quality daycare. Therefore, parents are sending their children at the most essential developmental stages of their lives, to childcare centers that are “malnourished.” Meaning, the centers do not have the resources to provide the children the utmost quality care.

When parents have to send their children to these types of institutions, the parents do not have peace of mind while they are away from their children. There is a lack of trust and reliability in the centers itself. Some families have to turn to other resources that maybe do not cost anything but in return, do not provide the childcare learning environment their children may need. Some parents rely on their friends of friends, or elderly family members, neighbors, who they barely know, to provide childcare while they are at work.

The problem that many childcare centers face are, high enrollment and few instructors, instructors are poorly paid and receive little benefits if any, and there is high turnover in regards to the teachers/instructors within the centers. These factors prohibit the children from building the trusting bond with the teachers, and also prohibit the parents from knowing who the people are that are watching their children. Many states have federal funding to help with these matters, and yet small portions if any, are being spent to lower the cost of childcare and improve the resources in which the centers have. By keeping childcare cost high, families who earn little money or just enough to support their families, parents are not able to keep the current jobs they have. In return, the economy is sacrificed, and unemployment begins to rise along with government dependencies from families with children.

Response # 5

Chaudry’s argues this issue with children being born into disadvantaged communities, is a public problem not a personal problem because the children are born into the families and do not get to chose. He also argues that many times the working poor have bee suppressed by the public and therefore, can not uplift themselves from the poor communities in which they have grown up in. In Annette and Aaron’s case, Annette grew up in the neighborhood in which she is raising her family. She dropped out of school at a young age to never go back and finish. The public problem that exists within the projects of cities is the fact that education does not play an important role within their society. With her low education achievement she receives low paying jobs that never give her the opportunity to bring her family out of the poverty state that live in. Another factor that is apparent that Chaudry argues is how the “projects” do not have adequate resources for working mothers to raise a family with. In the videos that presented many of them described or showed what the working poor class was, It also shoed why people fall into the working class poor. The two videos that really support Chaudry’s argument is the one with the gentlemen who once had a job and now is jobless looking for another job. The second was the one were the family was going to lose their house because the father lost his job due to his company moving things overseas. This shows how it is a public problem not a personal problem because; both of these persons had a job that was paying decent money and giving them a life style that was enjoyable. One family was able to buy a house and the wife was able to stay home and care for their children. The second gentlemen went from living in a two-bedroom apartment in a safe neighborhood, the basement in the projects and eating at local soup kitchens. All of these examples supports his argument on how it is a public problem not a personal one.

Response # 4

Each family has a different situation than another, however, there are some basic family qualities that each family should posses. These characteristics may seem minute, but in realty will help maintain a stable family life. One of the most important characteristics every family should posses, is taking time out of the day to be a “family”, whether this may take place at the dinner table, or at the end of the night with everyone sitting in the living room talking. Another characteristic that can create stable family life would create reasonability not only between the parents, but also the children. One many argue in regards to the video of the single mother and her two children, which it is wrong and not safe for them to be cooking in the house. However, this creates a reasonability and form of trust in the child. When children are treated as adults to a certain point they tend to act mature like adults.

One major affect in having a “good family life” is the parents being able to balance their career and family time. This is ultimately a choice in which the parents have to make, but nonetheless, it is crucial one. Parents need to be able to set time aside from there employers to be able to have interaction with their families. As seen in the videos some women had trouble in this area and therefore, had to leave the workforce. This seems to be extremely unjust. Why, why should a mother not be able to work part-time, and raise a child? Another question that needs to be asked, is why is it okay for the men to work long hours? The balance in a career and family could be one of the most stressful situations a parent can encounter. The couple who work split-shifts have made the ultimate sacrifice. The father works the night shift and the mother works the day; to make sure their children do not have to spend time at a day care or a sitter. This may not be the best resolution for every family. However, each family needs to separate the work and family. At the end of the day the work needs to be set aside for another day and total focus needs to be directed to the family.

The gender roles that have taken place in the current revolution have made the household a much more complex entity. As described in the past, the household was very simple. The father was the breadwinner and the mother was the caregiver. Post WWII, women began to realize that they are also capable of performing the same task that men are completing and started demanding more opportunities for work. The other factor that played into this revolution was the aspect of inflation. The breadwinner’s dollar was not going as far as it used to, which led to the duel income. As women began to take on fulltime careers, men were aspect to start performing some of the household duties that women used to complete. What has been discovered through research is men have taken on some of the opposites gender roles in the household, but not enough. Many women call coming home from work, their “second Shift.”

Employer’s have to understand the stress and reasonability that people are facing in the world today. Mothers and fathers not only have their careers to pertain to, but also a family, sometimes with children who depend on them. Employers need to become more flexible wit schedules and hours worked through the week. I do not have children, but can say that my kid my play more than one baseball game, but he/she won’t play the game more than once a child that day. Employers need to implement family functions into the careers itself. This was something that was very usual about 10, 15 years ago. I can remember as a child once a month during the summer being able to go to a local theme park which was paid for by my mothers work. Here we got to meet other kids and it was a time where families had the chance to reunite and be thanked by their employer.

The support of family members, neighbors, or friends can make the balance of caregiving much less stressful and painful. As it was showed in the video, many family members were responsible for taking care of other family members on their own. When there are people to help you this can allow you to still run a semi-normal life. One of the main programs that the federal government has implemented for all workers is FMLA. This stands for family medical leave act. If a serious illness occurs to you or one of your family members, you are given time off with pay and the security of your job upon return. The may not last the whole time but allows you to step back from your career to take care of the situation with your fullest cooperation.

Response #3

The process of carework in my household has an equal balance. My fiancé and I both take part in the household chores and responsibilities. As a child, my mother and father both worked fulltime careers, my father is a firefighter and my mother is a nurse. Both of them have very demanding jobs, which took a lot of time to complete. As I was the oldest of their three children, I was given much of the reasonability, of my mother and father when they were not able to be home. I would be in charge of getting my younger bother and sister up and ready for school, packing lunches, locking the door, and many other task. This thought me a lot because I saw the stress that can be caused by having such a heavy workload, and performing well in school along with participating in after school activities.

Now, I am much older and starting a life of my own with someone, I know that the best way to keep both people less stressed and happy is to share the household responsibilities. In my home I do all the cooking, but in return my fiancé will do the cleaning up after dinner. We try to keep the chores equal and do them together. We will both fold clothes, wash dishes, and what I seem to realize is these are great ways for her and I to catch up on our live with each other. We ask each other how there day went, let out frustration from work or school, and remind ourselves that we are in it together and that we are never alone.

The UK and European countries look at work and family care much different than the U.S. The UK has a great program designed to help with the care for their families and themselves. The average vacation time an employee receives from its employer is only two weeks, whereas in Europe and UK, they receive as much as 6 weeks of vacation. The program that helps employee’s joggle work and care is great in many ways; the benefits are both in favor for the employee and the employer. As the video discusses, employee’s who need to take time off from work to deal with family issues, actually are less stressed and perform their job well during this stressful time. The employer benefits because they do not lose and employee and the workload the employee performs. The employer in return does not have to spend more money to rehire a new person, or out source the work because they lost an employee. This also creates loyalty and dedication from the employee; when an employee’s employer is caring and sympathetic in situations, the employee and loyal in return. The program has great purpose and needs to be implemented here in the states.

Response # 2

 Sex Segregation can be defined by the role a male of female take on in the employment industry. Many men and women who are in the careers they are in are because of their gender. As it was discussed din the reading and the videos women are taught to be more in touch with feelings and caring than men. Men are “stereotyped” to make money. As I have been on the campus at ASU for almost two years now I can see where the sex segregation plays it role. I have switched my major twice in process of completing my bachelor’s degree.  In both of my majors I had female advisors. I have not encountered a male advisor in any of the two departments I was enrolled. Ironically, things have changed in the justice studies major because there is now a male advisor.  Another sex segregation in the employment at ASU is within the top directors of the university itself. The president of the university is indeed a male. I also searched for many of the colleges within ASU to find that majority of the Deans were in fact male deans.  In my childhood the socialization within my household was very stereotypical. My father had the fulltime job and my mother was a stay at home mom who cooked meals, cleaned the house, raised us kids etc… The gender roles were produced very early in life. My brother and I were involved in every athletic sport through the school. Socialization is related to patriarchy because they work hand in hand. Women are socialized to do the women tasks. Men are socialized to do men task. The patriarchy is defined as the man has the supreme power.  In the radio interview titled “Moms Become Breadwinners As Job Losses Hit Men,” it discusses that the one stable job market that exist is the health care profession. Women make up around ¾ of the health care profession. As the construction industry and other industries are laying men off from their jobs women have to become the breadwinners for their families. The problem that still exist is that women even though they have a lower unemployment rate then men, they are still being paid less. A woman makes around $.77 to a men’s dollar.  This gap still persists because women are paid less. The radio host explains how 14% of women, who are working fulltime, have gone out and got a second job. 

Intro

Hello fellow classmates and Professors. My name is Ron Laszczak. I entered ASU in the fall of 2008 and will be graduating in this coming May. I started ASU as a biological science major and took a justice course for an elective. That is when I decided to change my major as I was more drawn to the justice and law that is use in today’s world.  I am a Justice Studies major with a concentration in Law and policy. Upon graduation I hope to be moving onto law school in the fall of 2010. As I am entering into this fall semester I am carrying a huge workload, as I’m sure most of you all are as well.  I chose this course particularly because I feel that many of the justice studies course are generalized on the whole population. (E.g. Youth and Justice, Law and Social control etc…) I wanted to dig a little deeper in to the justice issues with women and society. I hope to receive a great amount of knowledge on women and the justice system that is current within our society. One of the other reasons as to why I chose this course is for the simplicity of indulging in a variety of justice topics. As a pre-law student I feel it is essential to have a diverse amount of knowledge in many areas.

 

Women have a different role in the workforce in relationship to men. Some women are labeled as what is called the “breadwinners” and others have a fulltime job of raising the children. Women play a huge role in every part of society. I feel that I have a firm grasp on the theories of justice and the ability apply them to everyday situations. In the next sixteen weeks I hope to have engaging “blog” conversations with other classmates on the issues that women are faced with.