While there has been some improvement in the treatment of women in leadership over the years, it is valuable to be aware and understand how today’s work-culture treats women leaders; one way to do this is through analyzing the experiences of current women leaders. In order to better understand what it is like to be a woman leading in a business environment, I interviewed Cindy Zimbrich, a manager of an adult education program in Knoxville Tennessee. Cindy’s life experiences have exemplified how one’s childhood environment can influence and shape views on gender roles, that the social role theory exists in the modern day workforce, and that the expectations of gender roles differ by culture. Cindy’s experiences also showed me the the varied
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One interesting part of Cindy’s story is the environment in which she was raised. Cindy explained that the relationship between her parents was not traditional -- they both worked and parented. Both her mother and father worked full time jobs and shared the cooking, cleaning, gardening, and child rearing. Growing up, Cindy had parents who worked an equal amount and also treated each other as equals. I found this interesting because Cindy later expressed to me that while she does subconsciously gender stereotype the people around her, she does not even think about gender very often unless it is in regard to calling for equality. Rather than focusing on gender or how people stereotype or try to limit her due to her gender, Cindy focuses on getting the work in front of her done. I think that her lack of focus on gender roles might stem from the fact that her parents did not adhere to traditional gender roles (ie, father as breadwinner, mother as housewife) -- she felt freedom to pursue the life that she wanted. I think this is a good example of how our perception of gender is at least somewhat shaped by our …show more content…
As Eagly and Carli point out in chapter eight of Through the Labyrinth, it is important to note that gender roles and the way they influence leadership are are different depending on the culture (2007, p 131). While teaching and managing an education program is not outside our society 's expectation of women, a woman having any sort of leadership role over a man is certainly outside the gender expectations of other
One interesting part of Cindy’s story is the environment in which she was raised. Cindy explained that the relationship between her parents was not traditional -- they both worked and parented. Both her mother and father worked full time jobs and shared the cooking, cleaning, gardening, and child rearing. Growing up, Cindy had parents who worked an equal amount and also treated each other as equals. I found this interesting because Cindy later expressed to me that while she does subconsciously gender stereotype the people around her, she does not even think about gender very often unless it is in regard to calling for equality. Rather than focusing on gender or how people stereotype or try to limit her due to her gender, Cindy focuses on getting the work in front of her done. I think that her lack of focus on gender roles might stem from the fact that her parents did not adhere to traditional gender roles (ie, father as breadwinner, mother as housewife) -- she felt freedom to pursue the life that she wanted. I think this is a good example of how our perception of gender is at least somewhat shaped by our …show more content…
As Eagly and Carli point out in chapter eight of Through the Labyrinth, it is important to note that gender roles and the way they influence leadership are are different depending on the culture (2007, p 131). While teaching and managing an education program is not outside our society 's expectation of women, a woman having any sort of leadership role over a man is certainly outside the gender expectations of other