Gender Discrimination In The Classroom

Five people were interviewed for this experiment; the interviewees are all college students enrolled in undergraduate programs in New York State. Chad is a white, eighteen year old first-year college student. He self-identifies as gay and considers himself to be middle class. Tatianna is a Native American, nineteen year old second-year college student. She self-identifies as a lesbian but has not come out to her family or the public and considers herself to be lower-middle class. Alyssa is a white, Jewish, nineteen year old second-year college student. She self-identifies as straight and considers herself to be upper-middle class. Katya is a white, twenty year old second year-college student. She self identifies as straight and considers herself …show more content…
Katya, wanting to pursue a career in the business world, is aware of the demands of her potential career and realizes the differences for her being a woman and being of lower middle-class. Tatianna has seen racial discrimination against her family for their Native American heritage. Alyssa has grown up learning about the wage gap and other unequal opportunities for men in schools but has yet to see it affect her in the real world, not being completely convinced of the gender bias. Chad has had similar exposure to unequal work opportunities as Alyssa, learning about them in school, but is not naïve; he is aware of his sexual orientation being a potential issue when applying for jobs in fields dominated by men. Finally, Max does not see any potential problematic forces creating unequal work opportunities, especially for …show more content…
Alyssa, for example, has been brought up with many positive female role models that promote the concept of women being able to “have it all.” That mentality has encouraged Alyssa, but simultaneously created an ignorance that devalues the preexisting disadvantages women face in the workplace. Alyssa denied the existence of the wage gap and believes that hard work is rewarded, no matter the race, gender, or class. Chad, on the other hand, viewed his father as a positive role model who consequently was also the breadwinner of his household. He was raised to believe that he could do anything he wanted, and was encouraged of the same beliefs throughout grade school. However, he is now afraid of discrimination due to his sexual orientation. Knowing that hegemonic masculinity is the most valued in society, he worries that a straight man will show more promise in the