Personal History Statement Examples

Personal History Statement
Growing up in two different cultures (Singapore and the United States) has highlighted for me the socially-constructed and culturally-dependent nature of gender roles and attitudes. For example, one of the starkest contrasts that I observed was the way that my mother was treated in Singapore versus the U.S. She was unable to be employed while my family lived there, and constantly had to go through my dad to get anything done (e.g., repair men would wait around until my dad got home, unwilling to speak to my mom about issues perceived to be above her head). I started to notice these disparities and became curious about the social factors that lead to these differences in attitudes towards men and women. Acknowledging these cultural differences spurred my research interests in psychology, especially the relations among gender, prejudice, and educational outcomes. My mother often says that Singapore is a male dominated society. While living in Singapore, my dad had the employment pass and my mom had the dependent pass. Women were in charge of the nannies and the children while men were in charge of decisions. While my dad was working for a major oil company, my college educated mother was forced to be a Girl Scout …show more content…
Not only with my mother and father, but with my live in nanny. It was common for expats to have nannies, called Amahs, who resided in their households with them; often times they slept in a separate space outside the house. My nanny, Digna, was from the Philippines. She was married with children but unfortunately the employment she could gain was as a nanny in a foreign country. Amahs were always women and from poor countries. The Amahs in Singapore were treated with great oppression, working long hours and sometimes only receiving one day off a month depending on their employer. It was standard that the nannies received one home leave every two