Observation: Gender Roles In The Workplace

For this observation, I decided an appropriate setting would be the mall, due to the fact that people from many different races, ethnicities, and backgrounds tend to be present on any given day. I observed people mainly near Barnes and Noble and Starbucks, however, I also examined people walking about the mall in general. To narrow the scope of my observation, I decided to focus on a number of interconnected themes: gender roles, race, ethnicity, and kinship. Gender roles is a major theme found not only in the mall, but in the grocery store, at school, at work, and even at home. A gender role is defined as a set of standards that a society puts forth to dictate what types of behaviors are generally deemed acceptable for either gender. …show more content…
For example, I observed a couple walking, in which the father was pushing the stroller as the child was walking near him. Additionally, on more than occasion I observed a father alone with the children, and from these instances it can be inferred that the mother was most likely completing any leisure or needed shopping. On two of these instances, I observed a father, without his spouse, with his children walking next to him. These observations fit very well into the theme of gender roles due to the fact that, until very recently, a man caring for his children, especially alone, would have been considered very strange and out of place. Additionally, caring for children has most always been considered a woman’s job. On one occasion, I observed, in the lounge area outside of Starbucks, …show more content…
In my observation I found that most of the people within the mall tended to be there with their family. This observation was one that I expected to find, due to the fact that the mall has commonly been a place where leisure activities occur, most commonly with friends and family. An instance in which my prediction was confirmed was when I observed a girl in purple leggings and a pink shirt playfully running with her family following close behind. On multiple occasions, I saw groups of kids with sets of parents, perhaps on a playdate. On one instance I observed a father, mother, and their special needs son walking into Barnes and Noble. All of these occurrences exhibit that kinship plays an important role in how people go about both their everyday and leisure