[Essay] The Glass Ceiling vs. the Glass Escalator PDF

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Instructor: Bryan Parham...

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Student 1 Student Name Professor Parham Soc. 1306 October 13, 2015

Essay 1 1.) The Glass Escalator is used when referring to a situation in which males who enter female dominated professions are promoted exceptionally faster than their female coworkers. It is common for the promotions to push males into administrative positions. In contrast, the Glass Ceiling refers to a situation in which females in various fields of work find it exceptionally more difficult to acquire promotions. Some examples of “Hidden Advantages” available to men in female-dominated occupations are; greater marketability based on gender and hiring based on gender discrimination. A specific example of these advantages can be seen in the field of nursing. An instance of preferential treatment over gender is seen when school districts choose to hire males over females. A specific example of this is found in an interview with a Texas librarian at a junior high school. The librarian said this happens “because there are so few” males in these positions and that the few males that are employed there have done very well (Williams, 1992, 322). Another instance of preferential treatment over gender is seen in the marketability of individuals solely based on their gender. This can be seen in an interview with an Arizona teacher, whom specializes in elementary special education, says that he is “extremely marketable in special education” because he is a man (Williams, 1992, 323).

Student 2

2.) Not all of the men in the interview saw this preferential treatment as an advantage. A disadvantage to one aspects of the Glass Escalator is that some men do not want to be pushed into administrative positions because they are content with were they are. An example from the text is the public librarian whom specialized in children’s collections, “in his first six-month’s evaluation, his supervisors commended him for his good work in storytelling and related activities, but they criticized him for ‘not shooting high enough’ (Williams, 1992, 324). His marketability as a man was deemed as more appropriate for an administrative position. Pressure for males to continuously want to seek higher positions in their field of work are very common. If it is seen that a male is becoming complacent with his position it is frowned upon. Whereas the exact opposite is true for women. Women are expected to be complacent with their work. If women are not, they still have the challenge of defying the Glass Ceiling.

Student 3 Work Cited Williams, Christine L. The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the “Female” Professions. 1992. Print....