Guest Speaker Helen Samhan~Courtney Reid

I thought that our last speaker was amazing! Mrs. Helen Samhan talked to our class about the Arab culture and how we receive a distorted view of what actually is the truth. She also gave us a brief timeline of how Arab families that immigrated to the United States worked to earn money and the laws that were passed by our government [United States] to prevent so a large population of Arab families coming over to would create our country to be an Arab nation.
In 1924, she talked to us about the National Origins Act which meant that only approximately 2 percent of the Western Europe were allowed to enter into the United States. This was called Xenophobia because they were afraid that the cultures from Europe would influence America and make the country seem European itself. This ignorance was soon changed in the 1960s when the New Act (also known as the Country Origin Act) which states that anyone can immigrate over to this country if he or she has family members are proof that they can support themselves while they are over here. Also during this time, institutions for Arabs in many different cultures were being established because of how people were being accustomed to the fact of people immigrating to the country [United States]. However, after September 11, this began to change.
People from the Arab culture would become scrutinized because of their culture by being called a “terrorist or kamikazes.” Even when Arabic institutions want to be started in, our nation people become angry and feel as if the institution wants to promote more suicide bombers. The morale of the men that were from this particular culture did not feel as proud to be of Arabic descent anymore because of the stereotype that was being placed upon them. The women that are of Middle Eastern descent continue to express their love and devotion to their culture because they were not getting such a harsh stereotype as the men because of the attack on the twin towers. However, our media tries to portray that Arab women are being held captive in their homes cooking and cleaning all day. That is actually not the case at all, 63 percent of women that are reside in Arab countries have their bachelor’s degree. Women in Iraq held the most positions in the workforce than any other Arab country! That is not the perspective we see because we want to portray how nothing is or any better than our country and we will continue to do so. We need to open our eyes and understand that there are other countries besides our own, which are able to progress and move forward in the sexism gap than we are. Even though, we “claim” to be more liberating and advanced country.

Speaker Helen Samhan and Documentary

I really enjoyed the documentary shown by Helen Samhan. I thought it was very insightful that it conveyed the perspectives of Arab women from such a variety of backgrounds and upbringings. It was interesting how one of the Arab women discussed how her non-Arab friends used to joke about how she was a terrorist. She said that she use to laugh and joke along with them because she knew it wasn’t a malicious comment. However, she expressed that it affected her deep inside because she knew that many people feel that there is truth to that comment.

I appreciated the ladies in the documentary who were very proud of their heritage and had no problems identifying where they were from. I found it a little strange that the woman who was part Philippino/Arab/American/NYC... said she tells people she’s from a particular place depending on who they are and where their from. For example, if she talking to an Arab she will say she Arab, or if she is talking to someone she doesn’t want to be bothered with she says she’s from New York. I’m curious to find out her reasoning for doing this. I think that she probably doesn’t like to or is tired of explaining her ethnicity, so she keeps it simple. She also can get away with it because she looks like she can be from a lot of places.

I found the different statistics that Helen Samhan read to us insightful as well. It was interesting to find out that more Arab women had a higher employment rate than non-Arab women. She seems very passionate about her work and I admire her goal to educate about the Arab world, especially since so many people are ignorant on the subject and feed-off of stereotypes. It was interesting when she said she spoke at a class in New Jersey and the students were not perceptive to what she was sharing. It makes me feel privilege to be at such a diverse school.

Guest speaker: Helen Samhan

Response to:
Guest speaker: Helen Semhan
Blog posting


Liz. and Sue, did it again, they brought in another great speaker.

Helen spoke on loss of point about how people view people from other states. When she talk about how Arab women not having the freedom as American women, they had to wear there Vail when in the public and how they feel when people look at them and judge them.

Well I think the nuns feel the same way when they had to wear there Vail all the time because they were married to God. And they were also look at funny and some of them had men testing them on sex, she also stated that men were discriminate against more than women.

She also had a good point about the films company and Hollywood, how they only see Arab as in fighting movies and love movie like L. of Arabian and romancing the stone. And cartoons, like Aladdin.

I really love the films she showed where one of the ladies speaks her mind on wearing a Vail. The lady said that she feels freely when she has her Vail on the men don't look at her like they do those women who walk around half naked and look at like a pieces of meat.

The other lady talks about not wear her Vail and wearing it and how she tell people where she was born depending on who asks. I liked the woman who was a dis jockey they had their own way of hip-hop.

When look at all of this from the of Arab and other racism we as Americas or not that much different we are just more free than other countries.

Pat.

Nance and Robin~Courtney

I loved Nance and Robin when they were our guest speakers last week! They were very comfortable with us and they tried their best to have us interact with them. I liked it when Nance put us in her situation when she had to make the decision to take the money or Shell oil or not. We all agreed that she should not have taken the money since Shell Oil had taken part in the apartheid with South Africa and for the 10 protestors who were killed in Nicaragua. She decided that she would not take the HUGE amount of money from Shell Oil because “taking the money would go against the concepts that they the Academy goes by.” I thought it was brave for a woman to say have the courage to approach the men of that corporation and in her workplace that “no we are not accepting the money.” Robin Gerber’s article about Title IX did make it apparent that women deserve equal opportunities and sufficient equipment as the men. I believe that Title IX has helped women but there are still some discrepancies in the amount of money and publicity, but it is slowly changing. So I guess without Title IX, women would not even be noticed in sports, it is just that it is taking too long for it to reach equal status with the men. Like she said “sexism is alive and well in America” but with these laws being enforced it does make a difference. Hearing both of them speak together makes me believe that we [women] are going to reach to the top and share those executive positions with the men.
When they answered the question “If this is what this is the profession that they wanted to pursue?” they both said strongly NO! Nance said that she never believed that she would end up doing higher education, while Robin graduated from law school and vows to NEVER work for the government again so she directed her attention to writing. None of our speakers ever thought that they would have the career that they are currently doing. This reminded me of my interview with Professor Eby. She told me that it is perfectly fine to stray away from the conventional path if there is something that you feel is more important.
The other things that I found connections with the other speakers (including Nance and Robin) were these three things. One was to do what is right to you, the second aspect is to make time for yourself and your individual needs, lastly is to be passionate about what you are doing because if you are going to make a profession you need to love what you are doing. Hearing these women speak just excite me to go and search for my niche and my true love in life. I hope that it will be something that motivates people to do something better for themselves; after these speakers, I am pretty sure that it will be.

Nance and Robin

I really enjoyed the guest speakers last week. One thing that particularly stood out to me was when Robin Gerber quoted that “women are the greatest causalities of history.” For some reason I never realized that barely any women, compared to men, were subjects in the history books that I have been taught from. I was shocked by this realization because, in retrospect, it is so obvious. After I heard this, I started thinking about all the women who never got their story told. I really disliked history in junior high and high school, and I think that my experience might have been more enjoyable if I was taught about important women in history. I find it unfortunate that in order to learn about women in history one has to search specifically for that “branch” of history. I feel inspired to learn more about women in history, and I hope to come across some unbiased information. In addition, I thought the concept of Robin Gerber’s book Eleanor vs. Ike has a very creative storyline. I definitely want to take a look at it. It would have been cool if she brought a copy for all of us, but I guess she’s got to make her money!

I also enjoyed Nance Lucas’s story/lesson on ethics involved in leadership. It was cool that she shared this story with us, especially because we had just read the section on ethics in Komives. Ethics is a topic I am fascinated with because I really can admire those who are dedicated to their ethical values. One of my major personal goals in life is to be as ethical a person as possible because I believe that internal happiness and ethical values run parallel to each other. Next semester I am taking the NCLC class Ethics and Leadership, and I am excited to go into further detail on the subject.

Guest speakers/Jerri Bird and Robin Gerber

Patricia Williams
NCLC 375
Guest Speakers

Comments on the guest speakers:

Jerri Bird and Robin Gerber

I loved the speakers they were right on time they both talk about the jobs they had to take to get to the one that was right for them. Robin start off working for the YWCA and Jerri, an assisted teacher while being a pre. med major. They both had to put up with BS on their jobs, Jerri left a job because of knowing about the raciest problems there.

I also like the way they both had their question ready to answer. Robin show her book on Roosevelt and Ike, which will be out soon. And talk about her job on capital hill with the labor union as a lobbyist. Robin drop out of collage and went back and got a degree in law.

Jerri, drop out of collage and went back to get her master at Penn State, and her doc. degree at Maryland. They both goes to show you that you can drop out and go back I call that being a leader in yourself. They both had roll models and mentors to lead them on, I liked the way they answer all questions and made us feel comfortable asking them question I know I did.

They really hit the nail on women taking more risks, asking how many of us was risk taker. I believed the point they were trying to make is that taking a risks means you never know what you can do if you don't try. Believed in yourself and know that you need to risk not to fail, it is like if you see a job that you believed in your heart that you can do and it is the one for you, but you don't have the exp. To do it.

So you have to take that risk and apply for it and if you get it do your best to keep it. Taking a risk is like any thing in life if you look at it life alone is a risk, stepping out your door is a risk. So you might as well take a risk for something that you thing is impossible to do.

Pat.

Our Discussions

You all are doing a good job, those of you who are really participating. Some voices are almost completely absent, and I'm sorry about that. However, more power to those of you who are keeping on keeping on. As a teacher, I was a bit disappointed in the discussions in the class when I put you all into groups to discuss parts I and III of the Komives, Lucas and McMahon text, so I was pleased to hear that C'Vette thought it was a good discussion. It just goes to show you that the teacher can't always tell what's happening in the classroom. (It felt as if everyone was totally disinterested to me! smile!) Today, though, when we discussed part II of the text, I felt as if everyone was really engaged and jumped right on the bandwagon. It was very gratifying. Thanks to all of you who joined into the conversation or looked like you were enjoying it! :)

Komives III~Courtney Reid

Since I wrote about section II last time and thought that I was reading section III, I am going to do section III this blog. I thought that this blog described the New Century College first year experience completely. This section described “Interacting in Teams and Groups” which is what we primarily what we do in New Century College. The group experience that was mainly described in this section was when we had the BIG group in Unit IV. Our group pertained to criminal and social justice. There were approximately 32 people in our group and during the duration of our project we had people trying to become so-called leaders in our group. It said that when people get in groups together like of that caliber they tend to act that way. “Opinion givers” are the people that ran our group and who also “threw-out” a tremendous amount of ideas and never came up with any solutions to what we need to do for our project. On page 216, it states how groups act differently pertaining to how long they are in a group together. We were in a group that is called a short-term task group, which is that we are only in a group for a limited amount of time, which puts pressure on the group to get the work down which caused some turmoil within our group. We did not have ample amount of time to get the work done. “Meeting once to discuss a specific issue or completing a task in approximatey 6-8 meetings” (Komives 217). Having time restrictions dampened the group because not only did we not have that many meeting times scheduled in the course, people also had time restrictions which made us have to work harder since we also had limited group members at the majority of the meeting. The stage that I do think went rather well was in the “Storming” part of Group development. When I read about how at this stage people become “geared and differences of opinion begin to emerge” it made me recall this group experience. Our group possessed such strong opinionated people that it was hard to move along the process of the project. But like the book says it can be a short process and it happened around the time of when the project was supposed to be presented. So it did last a short time and least we got our differences and opinions out so we can narrow it down to a final issue.

Not Sure...

Last week I wrote about what we were suppose to right about this week and that was KLM Part II. All I know is that I am really looking forward to the guest speakers tomorrow. I met with my NCC advisor last week and I am actually about to take a course in the spring that is being taught by Nance Lucas. So, this will kind of, but not really be an introduction period for me. I feel as if I am rating my professor tomorrow. LOL!!! No, but I really looking forward to tomorrow and our class discussion on KLM Part II. I really enjoyed the way we discussed KLM Part I and III last week. I felt as if everyone was involved and everyone contributed in their own way. Hopefully we can do the same tomorrow!!! (hint...hint...)

Gust speaker:/Dr. Mary Larson, Jean Cunningham and Panny Rhodes:

All the speaker were very interesting and full of life. They all had so many type of jobs to get them where they are today. And some went thought a lot and over came a lot in life. To me they all seem to be great leader where every they were.

The first speaker was very much and ear full she put every word to perfection. She ans. all question acutely and was very much a comedian. She had the class smiling and laughing.

The other two speaker that were together seem to be people you loved to be a friend they show that no matter who, what, where, and your race is you can work together to make things right and they are true leader to me. One lost her husband but it didn't stop her from raising her kids right and going on with her life and making it and still have time to help others.

The last speaker touch on her life and where she came from she let us know of how life works in other countries. And let us know that no matter where you were born or lived woman all over are not that much different. Some have more freedom than other but they all want the same to be treated right and to be paid good for all they do and to move up to do and be any thing they wanted. She explain very slow and well about Jerusalem and their faith, to stop war, rights for women and how the women of Jerusalem trying to make a different.

All these speaker to me I consider as leader and I will loved to fellow them.

Pat.

Guest Speaker and KLM...

Guest Speaker

Jerri bird was a very fascinating women. I was so into her stories about growing up in the different decades. When she was telling her stories about how they did not have televisions and other electronic devices when she was going up made me think about how life would have been without those things. My mind totally went blank because I really cannot picture growing up without a least one television in my household. Besides that I admired how she taught her children at home because they did not know Arabic or French and the schools spoke both of those languages fluently. The fact that she decided to educate other children was awesome because she could have been selfish and just taught only her children, but she did not. I think that Americans already have a bias view about Middle Eastern people because of 911. The fact that she is the founder and president of "Partners for Peace" which is a tour involving Israeli and Palestinian women voicing their opinions shows her passion and interests on the views of other people from different cultures and geographical locations.



KLM Part II



This entire book is about leadership and this section talks about knowing yourself as a leader, understanding other people, being understood by others and leading with integrity and moral purpose. All of which are important when it comes to leading and leadership. The that stood out to me in this reading was the discussing about gender diversity. This section talked about how gender influences our attitudes and behaviors. Sex roles and gender roles are characteristics that we deal with today in society. The book says on page 154, "...sex roles are those expectations resulting from biology, like pregnancy or muscle mass, whereas gender roles are socially constructed expectations that get labeled masculine or feminine." Last week in NCLC 391 we talked about categorization and I remember saying that guys who comb Barbie's hair was considered feminine and gay and girls who played with action figures, sports and played with the boys are considered tomboys. These are two examples of gender roles in a social context. Growing up society set the standards for what is seen as masculine or feminine. Since that is and was the case it has made if hard for people to be themselves especially women. The example the book gave was that "...men's involvement in the development of children has been limited because that role has been considered feminine or nurturing (pg 154)." This is because women were housewives and nurses growing up. Nowadays that is not the case. There still may be some housewives out there, but a lot of women have corporate jobs these days. Since society saw saw women as housewives and things of that nature that image is embedded in their heads. If guys want to be nurses then they are looked down upon because that was considered a feminine job. A job is a job to me. Men who are not athletic or have the muscles and mustaches suffer from what they call "gender role discrimination". This goes for women too. In Wilson it talked about when women speak up or state their points they are considered a bitch, but when men do it they are considered strong and leaders. Why cant that be the same for women? I wonder how life would be if we cleared everyone's minds of stereotypes (by using that little Men in Black laser) and we started life all over from scratch. I really want to know how society would be. This is what I am really interested in and would like to know.

Jerri Bird (Speaker) Courtney Reid

The first thing that I would like to mention is that Jerri Bird was a very intriguing woman. She lived in all of these different countries and had the opportunity to embrace these cultures and even develop quality relationships with some of the people that lived in the Middle East as well. She brought to my attention how we tend to forgot about the perspective of women in the Middle East compared to the women in our society. We think that they are reserved individuals that always succumb to needs of the male person in the household. It is not like that in every situation, she brought to our attention that not all of the women should be seen in that type of situation. She told us that “10,000 Palestinian men are in Israeli prison, and that the only parent to be at home was the woman.” I never saw it that way until she brought it to our attention that day. I remember in Unit III The Social World where the media tells us a distorted view of what is actually going on overseas (known as Orientalism). Since we are not there receiving a first person point of view, they tell us about the situation that they want us to hear for not only propaganda reasons (United States patriotism); but also because we are allies with Israel, and there is some conflict between the two cultures. Jerri Bird discussed how she interviewed this woman from Saudi Arabia and she asked her about the wearing of her veil, the women said “Wearing the veil is something that I do not mind wearing, in my society it is common and it keeps me inconspicuous.” Then the woman asked Jeri about our women [society] in the United States. “Why do you women [U.S] portray yourselves as sex objects. Your women are seen in swimsuits on top of cars.” We view them as being reserved individuals when they see themselves as being respectful. We need to put ourselves in their shoes before we are so quick to judge. We need to open our eyes and see what is around us.

http://c2l2blogspot.com

Komives-1



I think the book tells a lot about leadership and I think that women try to lead but it is not easy because most women look at other woman as a threat more than men. Men can fight and be right back out watching a game or something together just like one of the speaker said, women could be great leaders but they need to work on liking the people they are trying to lead. You can't like one in a group and not the other, take the American top model they so much trying to be better than the other to win they will do stupid things to each other to get on top.



Every time a women get together they rather put someone down or talk about them than try to help with women it has always been the jealousy in them to keep them from bonding. If you call yourself a leader you first need to asks your self or give yourself a test and see how you feel about people around you in a group or something else. If you show any sign of hate, jealousy, envy of someone than you show not call yourself a leader and other should not follow you.



I said it before in order to lead and want people to follow you need to lead yourself to wanting to change the way you are and not hide it while being a leader because most people who have self confident will see though you like glass. So the book talk the true on leadership but you have to practice what you preach, a leader don't give up they tried to make thing better for all.



You can't not be a leader if you have issues and so on that will make others feel uneasy around you. I myself never let someone lead me the wrong way or be around a leader that I see is really not and it is mostly all about them, so the book dose not shine on me because I don't mind leading people the right way and sticking behind my word If I can't help I want hurt I will get someone who can.



Pat.

Courtney Reid~Exploring Leadership Part III

I never thought that understanding yourself would be considered a Leadership trait until I read this section of Exploring Leadership. It states that one must undergo these four points to be well aware of oneself because “No one can teach you but you so how can another what to do if you do not know your self.” The first step is to know that you are your own best teacher, noboby knows yourself better than you do. One must learn about their strengths, abilities and weaknesses so they can apply them to assist others. The second point is to “accept responsibility for your actions. BLAME NO ONE!” In becoming a leader one has to accept that they have faults. Blaming others for your mistakes is not helping you to learn from that experience. The third point that you can learn anything that you want to learn. “Never limit yourself to the amount of knowledge that you can receive,” knowledge is the key to opening the doors to numerous opportunities. “The last point is that true understanding comes from the reflection on your experience.” Take risks and make plenty of mistakes, go out into the world and learn numerous things from numerous people because if you experience a whole different array of things, you learn not only more about yourself but about how to become more aware about situations other than your own. So develop your talents, improve your skills but do not forget to take time to learn about yourself, you might miss something!

Are you a leader or a leader?

In Part I, I felt like it was very important for the authors to make the distinction between the definitions of leaders used throughout the book. The first definition the book gives for a leader is “a person who has been elected, selected, or hired to assume the responsibility for a group working towards change.” The second definition “refers to any person who actively engages with others to accomplish change.” In my mind, I see at the second definition as being the more compelling of the two because it encapsulates that leadership is something that everyone can hold. This idea of a leader is one I never considered and it is very enlightening to me.

I see now that person does not have to be a top official, or something of that nature, to be considered a leader. A person can be a leader if they work with others to bring about a change regardless of how small that change is. Exercising civic duties is an example of this. Say a person is unhappy with the crime in their neighborhood. This person can write a letter to a positional leader that represents the community in which this neighborhood exists. In my opinion this person is a leader in his or her own right because he or she to the initiative to make a change that will benefit those in the neighborhood, and potentially beyond the neighborhood.

Personally, I would like to take a leadership role by being civically active, but I usually end up with the attitude that I cannot make a difference because the issues I would like to address are “larger than me.” I think that many people think this way, and although I many know it’s unhealthy to think this way, it is easier to just give up. I guess that is why it is so empowering to know that become a leader is something that everyone is capable of. If more people thought of themselves as leaders based on this definition, I believe this mindset would give them the confidence to propel them over the obstacle that restrain them.

Group Project

Hey I think that the talk show idea is really great and original! I thought that we were doing something pertaining to women and health care? You know about the differences in how there is more money, advertising and coverage for men's health needs than women's? But anything that we want to do is fine with me!!!

Exploring Leadership~Courtney

I think that the chapter three of Exploring Leadership was pretty much the opposite of what we learned in “Closing the Leadership Gap” by Marie C. Wilson. Wilson talked about how the majority of the time had to stand up for them, or how women are not taken seriously when being compared to men in leadership roles. This book mainly pertained to the characteristics and the skills that are needed to be a good leader.
The quote that I liked the best is on page 76 that states “Leaders and members promote the organization’s purpose through a shared vision and not for self-gain such as achieving a higher leadership position or frame.” Leaders and members go hand-in-hand in an organization not as enemies. One must not fear the leader because everyone would be afraid to make a mistake. This is not the way to go if one wants to be an effective leader and lead a promising career. It is said, “Sometimes leader will fail to act because of the indecision or due to a fixation on perfection. Because “Competent, confident leaders to tolerate honest mistakes that are not the result of negligence”.” Leaders need to make mistakes so they know how to improve there organization/business, and to learn how to become better leaders. This quote summed up the point about making mistakes by saying that “A leader who sets a standard of ‘zero defects no mistakes’ is also saying, ‘Don’t take any chances”’ (Komives).
After reading this section, it made me remember that leadership can be interpreted in different ways. When I did my interview with Professor Eby, I thought that it was weird that she never mentioned be aggressive and competitive. She explained how I do not need to be afraid to make mistakes or take risks. Leaders need to do that to expand there horizon and become better by learning through their own personal experience. “Leaders promote learning in at least three ways: through their own learning on a personal level, by helping others in their units [organizations] learn, and by shaping and contrbutiong to an organizational culture that promotes learning.”

Komives Part III- Lisa

I have actually read the earlier version of this book for my creative leadership development course and it was interesting to see what the newer version focused on more. I think is a great text because it helped me develop my own leadership skills. The chapters about group interaction and group dynamics were very interesting because the discussion of roles made me consider some of my experiences with working with male dominated groups. I liked the section on conflict because I am a firm believer in the power of conflict to change a group dynamic and help to evaluate the group norms. I think women especially are gifted at working in groups because communication and collaboration are two skills I feel women excel at. The quote on page 242 I thought was very true, " Leaders do not always have to be the ones selected to lead in a group. Sometimes leaders are those who sit back, listen, and help the group move forward without having to be in charge." I think this quote is very true because some of the times I have made the largest impacts on a group have been when I worked behind the scenes and assisted others with their work. My degree is in organizational development and leadership so these chapters are exactly what I learn about in many of my other course. Organizations are very complex structures that have many different components to them but are capable of incredible things when run efficiently. Can anyone give examples of a group project that turned out amazing because everyone in the group worked effectively? I thought some discussion would be helpful when learning about these chapters because we all have experience with group collaboration.

Lisa-group discussion

Morgan I really like your idea about the emergence of women in typically male dominated jobs! Maybe we could do a talk show, perhaps Oprah, and have her interview different women and their experiences in these professions and the historical backgrounds for these jobs. I think we could also portray how their leadership has changed these fields. What does everyone think? What else could we add to our presentation to make it more interactive?

Ideas for Project

Hi Group,

I am open to doing pretty much anything for the project. Here some ideas of topics I have, but like I said I'm open to anything:

1) Women in Entertainment
2) Women in Sports
3) Women in Corporate America
4) Women Emerging in Typical Male Jobs [Mechanics, Labor Intensive]
5) Women in Science

For these topics there's lots of info related to history and timeline, how roles have changed, key figures, pivotal moments, and legal cases.

I won't be able to meet before class as Pat suggested because I have class, but let me know what your thoughts are on these topics.

chapter 9

What I liked in chapter 9 is when they talk about Assumptions About Ethical Leadership:

The book said that good leadership means leadership that is effective, goals were achieved.

Leadership should be reframe to represents values that is good. Also they explain that Ethic leadership.can involved experience, reflection, conceptualization, and application. The book state

that this chapter is really talking about theories ans concepts applied to real-life experiences.
Also they made a point on the misunderstandings about good and bad leadership.

Now here is my view point on all of this about leadership, I feel their right because begin a
leader is important to the person who see you as a role model or an group your in For example
if your a parent you want your kids to grow up and be like you now if there parent that knows
they are good they don't want them to be like them so they may tell the child find a good role
model. Now their is an old saying You can lead a horse to the well but you can't make him
drink, that's the same as being an leader you can propose something to a group or someone but
you can't make them perform what you propose.

A good leader is someone that will lead you right not tell you something else just to see you mes up because they have leader who don't like and don't want to be your leader they will bad mouth
you to other just so they can follow them and believe what ever the leader say. Just like the book say that some leader want to leader their own kind and don't other like different race and people with different life style. An weak person will fellow that bad leader but a strong minded person will talk up and let the leader know that he or she is wrong and need to change or drop down.

You can't be a leader if you have a problem with race, and people style, or thinking your better than the other and they should carter to you only or talk to a person or group any way you please because you feel that it is your right as a leader, now that is all the wrong reason to become a leader. There is nothing wrong with being a follower as long as you don't follow the leader that is leading you down the wrong path.

Pat.

Teams/Groups/Organizations

Interacting in Teams and Groups…

Team and group work, in my experience, can either go really well or can be a complete disaster, and team/group work in college can be especially challenging. I think this is mainly because we all have very different lives, and therefore, completely different schedules. Logistics can be very hard to coordinate and that difficulty only increases with amount of group members. That’s why as a group I think it’s important for all members to be as flexible as possible and make sacrifices to get the group’s task done. Once a group has conquered the first obstacle of “getting together” they’ll have to address the different personalities and group dynamics. Providing that there aren’t any psychotic members or drama queens/kings this set can be relatively painless as long as each member’s role is defined and understood. Page 226, Exhibit 7.2 sums up these roles very well, which include the information seeker, opinion seeker, opinion giver, clarifier, gatekeeper, encourager, mediator, and follower. Personally I am willing and capable of playing any of these roles, and I am will to accept whichever role that will help strengthen to group.

Understanding Complex Organizations…

This section is interesting and a bit intimidating. I say this because it reminds me of my boss’s job. He is a risk-assessment and security consultant for Government and corporations. Whenever he goes to meetings he meets with organizations and sometimes leaders of several organizations. My understanding of his experiences is that all the processes are very bureaucratic and systematic, and they can be exhausting. Luckily I don’t have to go to these meetings, but I do see the importance of their structure.

The section of this chapter titled Organizational Mission, Vision, and Core Values reminded me of this survey that we put together for FedEx Corp. Security. FedEx ask up to make a survey because they felt like they needed to reevaluate their foundational values. We asked several senior employees what they thought FedEx’s mission, vision and core values were, and we collected the data to present to them. FedEx felt that having a clear mission, vision and clear core values would improve the corporation. Since then they have reconstructed their mission statement and corporate values, and they continue to be one of the best corporations. This example shows me that to be the best organization you have to have a solid structure developed by dedicated members.

Group 2 project to talk about

Now I'm in right I can see what I post Elizabeth an I got together and saw why my posting was not showing in the blog the only posting you will see from me will be starting from chapter 9 and so on, will explain later.

Now I have an Idea, for the group project, How about putting on a play about leadership. We can meet in the J.C. an hour before class if that's cool with all of you. Now if some of you have something else in mind to do then bring it up and lets talk and make a decision on which one to go with what ever we decide is cool with me.

Pat.

This is a test to see if I can actually post to this blog.

Pipeline and Labyrinth~Courtney

Hey, group C2L2! I found that the article Operation Pipeline by Beth Hawkins was a very intriguing article. We all talk about how we as women are making a breakthrough in politics, when actually we are at a setback. Last class we discussed the chapter nine of Closing the Leadership Gap and we gave a list of advice as an activity on how to advance in power. The advice that we gave pertained to how one should never be complacent with their current position. That is what society perceives women to be at this stage. Hawkins stated in the article that high profile women such as Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi make society see that women prevailing. This is true, but now people are not voting for women in elections because they think that the playing field is equal. In the 2001 election, the number of women that were elected in the state and local elections had dropped (Hawkins 2). That was shocking to read, I had this perception that we are progressing not regressing. I liked the quote that Deborah Rhode said about this “no-problem problem”; “The minute you say we arrived, you start going backwards” we should never be complacent with the status that we are in until we are completely and utterly happy about the status that we have achieved (Hawkins 2). Not only is complacency the reason we are not progressing it is also the issues that are not associated with a women’s views such as terrorism or war.
Women’s issues (and this may not pertain to all women) involve issues such as more affordable health care options, childcare and education. In this moment and time, we are facing a “War on Terror.” People’s main concern is not going to be solely based on those certain issues while a war is going on. There was a survey done by Barbara Lee Family Foundation that males and females feel that men are more credible in the subjects of terrorism or war. I really liked the fact that the White House Project’s Real Security Initiative is trying to help women candidates find their voice on this issue. It will teach women basic security issues, such as the defense budget and will help women tailor their national security message to their own constituency (Hawkins 5). I think that once this process become well on its way, men will not be the only face seen as the force behind war issues.
Every issue that was mentioned in the article Labyrinth, I agreed with. This article went along the same lines as the book we read for class “Closing the Leadership Gap”. It talked about how women’s leadership characteristics are different from men in that they are more communal qualities that portray the affectionate, helpful, friendly, kind, energetic as well as interpersonally sensitive, gentle. While men are seen as being more domineering, assertive, forceful and what people consider a boss or executive to be (5). Women can be just of good as leaders as men but they are being held back by the stereotypes that are placed on them for being a female. The title and reasoning behind this article is completely true. Women are in a Labyrinth because we have to be persistence and ambitious to get through the maze of reaching our goals. Even though we do have to work harder to get to where we need to be, we will get there somehow in some way.

Operation Pipeline- Lisa

I enjoyed the article Operation Pipelie because it reached out to women and challenged us to step up to the plate rather then discuss the problem of not enough women in office. I admire the white house project efforts to support a womens pursuit at office. When I read the blurb on the first page about Kathleen Sebelius and how even though her father was a governor and she loved being around politics she still needed coaxing to run for office. This reiforced my belief in the power women can have in supporting one another and encouraging each other to take a risk. The discussion about how it isn't most women's first instict to think they are going to run for office or talk about themselves or put yourself out there. I think this is an excellent point because it is expected of men who want to be leaders but if a women puts herself out there it is often miscontrued as her being overbearing or controlling. Many women are raised to act like a "lady" and stay within the boundaries of how a lady or good girl should act. Quiet, polite, submissive are all qualities that women are commonly taught as children. I consider myself fortunate because my family has always stressed being assertive and confident in what you want and what you believe. Having strong women role models has affected the person I strive to be today in more ways then I can express. I was very upset when I read one of th main reasons this program was founded was because women rarely nominated themselves so the commitees purpose was to find these canidates and empower them. I agree with the term used in the begining of the article, we are dealing with the "noproblem problem". Many women feel that we are in a good place for women but they arn't looking at the fact that we are extremely unerrepresente in politics and the pay differences by gender are still out of control. Funny enough it doesn't seem to be of much concern to American Women today. Sorry for my rant but this article got me going, Lisa

WACK!

My impression of the exhibit was very different. I saw the depictions of the Vagina as beautiful in the fact that women weren't afraid to express something about their bodies that is considered taboo. The Vagina is very symbolic of the core of women and what differentiates us from men and I think it is interesting to see how these different artists portray this differently then how men artists traditionally portray it. I understand where C'vette is coming from with being frustrated with the fact that many of the photos and painitngs made women look objectified but I feel that these artists were doing so to prove different points then to make women look like sex objects. This leads me to my greatest point of frustration was not having enough time. I felt we were only glancing at all of these amazing works on the surface level and we were not able to take the time to call in to hear about the author and what She was trying to truly say so I feel some work was misinterpreted. My biggest disappointment with the museum was our tour guide. I was insulted in a way by how awkward she was talking about vagina's and sex topics. Why would a tour guide in a museum as innovative as this one not appreciate what these artists are trying to say. I also thought she wasn't prepared which took away from the entire experience. On a more positive note I felt enlightened to see such an amazing collaboration of different genres of women artists and I thought it was interesting to see the issues women wished to portray. The constant theme of loneliness that stay at home mothers experienced was very interesting to see portrayed different ways. Overall the museum was inspiring and I plan to go back when I have time to learn about what each artist was trying to say.

Field Trip: Museum

I agree with you as well C’vette. I did enjoy the trip top the museum but I went in with the wrong mentality as well. I thought that were going to be more paintings that showed protests or statements; more like photographs and paintings of women saying no to violence and rape. Do not get me wrong, there paintings did show that type of resistance. However, more artwork expressed feminism through the vagina than what I expected. Not saying that I am a prude or anything, it is just that I never thought of the vagina being a potent symbol of feminism until we all went on the trip to the museum. I understand that the vagina symbolizes the “power” or “center” of the female. It also symbolizes creation (in my opinion) because of reproduction. I think that those are very powerful things, but I wanted to see more art that showed protesting. The dress that was made of white gloves was interesting and the piece of artwork that had various quotes and pictures of women that were abused was intriguing as well. I guess what I am trying to say is that I am glad that I received a new prospective on feminism, but I wish that I could have seen art portraying obstacles that we as women are going to overcome.

Chapter 9...

The writings in this chapter was amazing. I actually chose a few writings from the reading that applied to me personally and wrote them down and put them on my wall. The writing by Jennifer Blei Stockman was one of my favorites. It said "Be comfortable and secure with yourself...others will flock to you (pg 164)." I totally agree with this because in high school as well as my freshman year in college I can say that I was not comfortable with myself and I still had friends and people who wanted to associate with me, but it wasn't until the end of my freshman year when I became secure with myself as a person and I gain a lot of confidence. I believe that when I started to gain this sense of comfort, confidence and security more people wanted to talk to me and be around me. I was able to come out of my shell and express myself in ways that I would have never done in the past. Anyways besides that I like the quote by The Reverend Dr. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale. Her qoute was also on the same page. It was much longer than the last quote, but the part that stuck out if "Dont ever let anyone stop you from doing your work, and know that they cant stop you unless you let them (pg 164)." I loved this and I actually applied it to the classes, basketball and the working world. I really believe that no one can stop anyone unless they give them the power and the confidence to do so. Another that I thought applied to basketball, this class as well as my intro to leadership class is Helene Lerner's writing that said "A true leader is one who leads with enthusiasm, courage, and faith. Integrity is key. We need people who lead from not only their heads but from their hearts (pg 165)." When it comes to playing basketball this writing is the definition that defines a true leader, player and teammate. This writing also makes me think about decisions that I have made in the past. It makes me wonder if that was the right decision and was I being a leader by making that decision. It also made me think about the people who look up to me as a role model and a leader as well. I think that all of these writings can apply to almost anyone and for the the author to put it towards the end of the book and not scattered throughout the book was a great idea.

WACK...

All I can say is WOW. I enjoyed the trip to the museum and thought that it was a great experience, but I must say that I was a little disappointed. I was disappointed because went there with a open mind and left with a different mentally. A mentality that I personally thought that a majority of the women who were portrayed and also took part in making the paintings, tapes, sculptures and etc. contradicted themselves. Feminist are always talking about how women are used as sex symbols and exploited but yet in 90% of the paintings their was a naked women with her vagina exposed. I do not understand that. I actually got a chance to see the part of the museum that was blocked off because of the nudity. I should not have even gone over there...lol... because there were basically magazine articles, collages and cut outs of women having sex with guys, girls and themselves. Is that art? Where I am from we call that porn, but again that is just my opinion. I would actually like to discuss this in class and get my other classmates views on it.

The End

In chapter 9, the concept I felt to be the most profound and relevant to my life is that advancing to leadership roles involves taking risks and taking oneself out of one’s comfort zone. I consider myself to be an introverted person, so naturally I like to stay in my comfort zone. This can be a major disadvantage because I won’t be challenged to move to the next level. However, this reading has made become aware of this obstacle, and as much as I don’t want to do anything uncomfortable, I am going to put myself into situations that will give me more experience and help me grow as an individual.

In the Afterword, I thought it was cool that in 1998 those apart of The White House Project predicted that 2008 would be the year that the United States would be accepting to a female president. In retrospect, 10 years isn’t a long time, but it must have seemed like it would take an eternity to get to where we are now in 2008. I think it’s great that there are so many organizations and programs that help women get into political leadership roles in poli. As Wilson mention, hopefully all 50 states will have these programs by or before her next book update.

WACK!

Wuts up group? I really enjoyed the WACK! exhibit at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. I didn’t really know what to expect when I arrived, but when I realized that we were going to observe art from the feminist revolution I thought that was kind of cool. I don’t know much about feminist, and honestly, before when I hear the word feminist I thought of radical hairy women running around causing chaos for women’s rights. Rationally, I know that this is a misconception I had and I am interested in finding out more about feminist and the feminist revolution.

The piece that stuck with me the most was the Abakan Red by Magdalena Abakanowicz. This piece reminded me of a part of the female genitalia, the hymen which many associate with virginity. I thought this piece was especially interesting because on one side of the massive red cloth was a protruding sharp knife-like object. I interpreted this sharp object as a protector of a women’s virginity, which to some is sacred, and perhaps even as a protector of a female’s innocence. On this note, it could also be an acknowledgement or tribute, if you will, to rape victims that is reclaiming their innocence from men and restoring their sacredness.

Wilson: Chapter 9 and Afterword

I really do think that the ending of the book was the best part of the book in my opinion! Wilson was brilliant in the fact of using numerous quotes that were the answers two her questions. Her questions were “What were your biggest obstacles to attaining leadership, and what helped you most to overcome them?” The other question was “If you could give leadership advice to the generation that will ultimately replace you, what would it be?” Out of the all of the quotes that were presented; there were two that were my FAVORITE quotes.

“Women’s leadership means doing what needs to be done without waiting to ask for permission.” – Diane Rosenfeld
Law Professor at Harvard University

I loved this quote because it is brief but has a powerful message! I took from the quote that a woman has to do what needs to be done in order to develop power or a voice. It also insinuates that women should not settle and wait for someone to give them the chance. In the movie Iron Jawed Angels, President Wilson told the suffragists repeatedly to be patient that their time will come. It never came until they took action on the situation and got their voices heard. Never be complacent about a situation until it suits the needs of yours and the greater good.

Never “know your place.” Never “shrink to fit.”
– Geraldine Laybourne, chairman and CEO, Oxygen Media

I like this quote because it shows that no one knows how far he or she can go in life. One should never get to a certain place in their life and believe that is as far as one is going to get. Exceed your expectations and try to go to limit. It also states to “Never “shrink to fit”; meaning never let anyone tell you how far you can go in life. Nobody knows “you” as much as yourself, so never limit yourself to someone’s expectations. If you do then you are succumbing to the person who is trying to hinder you from succeeding in life. So go the extra step! No, don’t go the extra step lets make it an extra mile!

Mary Jo Larson (Speaker)

Yes, I do agree with you Lisa that Mrs. Mary Jo Larson was such an amazing speaker. I thought that she was genius for approaching her topic by saying “Women tend to stray away from “power.”” It was shocking to hear her say such a thing but in reality, it is true. No one has ever gotten to the “top” of the economic ladder by not exhibiting some type of power. We as women need to discontinue the thought that aggression equals masculinity and the fact that society will categorize us as being evil. Showing aggression to accomplish a goal or task is not being seen as psycho but more as ambitious. When Mrs. Larson asked all of us to write down who we admired or who we thought were considered role models, I thought of two people. These two people are Oprah and my basketball coach in high school Coach Vicky Hayes. I said that these women are of course “powerful” but also “strong,” “understanding” and “emotionally involved.” Seeing these characteristics in them has inspired me to become the same way. I want to make a difference to someone’s life as they have done to mine. That is why I agree with you Lisa when you said, “leaders are never born but rather made.” Everyone learns by observing what someone else has done. One improves by taking the characteristics that they admire from someone else and upgrade those traits to better suit their needs. I hope that I will take some of the characteristics that my coach possesses and use them to help me succeed in the future as well.

Ch 9 and the Aftterword

Well as I came to the end of the book I was sad to see it ending but I also felt extremely empowered. My favorite part of the entire book were the quotes she collected about the biggest obstacle these women leaders had faced and what advice they have for other women leaders. I highlighted a couple of the quotes that grabbed my attention. The first one that I read that really hit me was

"A true leader is one who leads with enthusiasm, courage, and faith. Integrity is key. We need people who lead from not only their heads but from their hearts." Helene Lerner

I think that quote is very powerful because as discussed about earlier in the book woman often feel that they have to compensate and try to be less emotional in order to be looked at as a leader. I completely disagree. If you learn how to lead both with your heart and mind you are a much better leader because you are considering all parts of a situation.

My other favorite quote from the chapter was "Don't ever agree to take on a leadership role for the money, power, title, or prestige; take on the role because you have a passion for the cause". Colleen Barrett

I especially liked this quote because I feel like it is difficult to not ger caught up in the superficial things but the truth is unless you care about the cause you work for then you will not be happy for very long. As money, power, and prestige all fade when you look back on your life you will not be fulfilled unless you helped someone or changed something for the better. This quote is a great reminder for both women and men about what really matters.

What were some of everyone else's favorite quotes? How did you feel at the closing of the book? Lisa

Mary Jo Larson

Hi everyone,

I guess I wanted to take a little time to talk about the discussion we had with Mary Jo Larson. I thought she was an incredible example of a woman leader. Her ability to not be afraid to jump head first was inspiring because for me I am trying to map my future out but she helped me to realize how limiting that can be. She helped me to realize how important it is to never settle without considering all of your options. The activity we did in class was very helpful for me because I feel like I know who I am but it was interesting to evaluate how I got to the place I am and what effected me. My concentration is in leadership development so I am very interested to learn about how a leader is made and what things affect their leadership development. I am a firm believer that a leader is never born but rather made. What do you all think? Some of the people who have encouraged me to believe in myself were my family members. My parents always made me feel intelligent which made me believe I was smart. Having the confidence in myself really helped me have the courage to take on new experiences. Who were some of your supporters and what did they do for you to prepare you for your self leadership? Some of the values I cared about during the activity include balance, passion, hardwork, caring, ambitious, pioneer, innovation, and not be afraid to go against the grain. What values did you write down as important and who in your life if anyone inspired you to value those things? Ok hopefully this will get a convedrsation going... hope everyone is having a great week!!!

Chapters 6, 7, and 8

I agree with everyone about the chapter Authenticity. Wilson makes plenty of great points that portray how women conform to the “men” to become successful. Men have to get with the program while women change themselves; and that is exactly how I feel at work (Wilson 98). At work, I tend to be more timid and get emotionally involved when someone has a problem that is clearly out of my control. I had a meeting with my boss who instructed me that I needed to be more confident and seem more secure with my answers before I can work independently. I am timid when I give answers or instructions to people because I want to be sure that I am not hurting there feelings or that the information that I am giving them is correct. Now I feel as if I have to lose some of myself to conform to the “male role.” Wilson discusses this situation because she said that “women expand the definitions of authority, ambition, and ability, they begin to bridge disconnect between “leader” and “woman” (Wilson 99). I feel that I need to be more aggressive in work but not lose sight of whom I am and what I stand for. “We can be valued for the original we are, rather that the man we sometimes try to be” (Wilson 99). We, as women need to strive for excellence within ourselves and not the opposite sex. We need to continue being the strong women that we are meant to be. Without losing whom we actually are in that process.
I also thought that it is intriguing how the media influences the public. On the show 24, there used to be an African American playing the role of the President. The actor said that it feels great when people would approach him on the street and say “hi, Mr. President”. It is a coincidence that now we are actually having minorities that have a prominent chance in becoming the next leader of our Nation. People are more accepted to these candidates running for office because the media has provided a leeway for it to be accepted. Another example of how media influences that public is how Gloria Steinem turned fifty, and people talked about how great she looked. She received such a mass amount of praise that she decided that it would not be a bad idea to make a shirt that says, “This is what fifty looks like” (Wilson 136). If millions of women get motivated and show activism towards the equality issues that we face now we might be able to move up in society. What degree will it take for every woman, rich or poor to take a stand for an issue that is not being “pushed”? There is a problem and we can force it to be noticed if we get it out to the public. People notice things if it is in their presence; as women just need to push harder to be noticed because we cannot always rely on the media to do it for us.

The Buisness of Transformation

In this chapter I thought about how difficult it is to change a societal norm but just how important it is that we change it. The quote that said "...and that how change begins...- a little bit business, a little bit personal. That sentence struck me because it is so true how in order to inspire change in people you have to convince both their logical and moral beliefs. Over the last few years I have learned the lesson of how ineffective coercion is when trying to prove a point, especially when trying to change someones beliefs about women and leadership. When I read about the No Glass Ceiling task force it made me proud of some of the progress women have made in the workforce but it also paralyzed me because as a senior I am having a lot of anxiety about moving into the workforce and trying to balance grad school and work and eventually a family. I know that now it is more possible to balance all of those things but most work environments are still not equipped to help women interested in a career and a family life on top of school. I thought Susan Toscani brought up a good point about the identity women have to balance if they want to be in more then one role. I really hope that I do not have to choose which role I want to be in. I enjoy reading this book but it definitely stirs up the way I feel about women in our current society and how this is going to effect me for the rest of my life. See you in class!

Chapter 7 culture

I started thinking about how powerful culture is and how the media has the potential to sway the way we completely view leadership. For some reason while I was reading about the President barbie doll I found myself more upset then content with their efforts. why did it take this long to have one female gendered toy represent a woman with leadership. For hundreds of years boys have had soldiers and GI Jo to represent leadership and heroism. Like we talked about in class traditionally girl toys have always been portrayed as house wives with all kinds of exciting appliances etc. I have to run but I will finish this thought later!

Authenticity and Culture

In response to your post, I also found the "Authenticity" chapter very interesting. While reading, I also highlighted the quote on page 98 about how women lose their qualities to "blend in with the boys". Because women are not seen as leaders, and the fact that word "leader" is gendered masculine (99) women are not receiving the credit they deserve and are criticized for trying to be like men.

I was a little upset with the section about Take Your Daughter to Work Day. When I was a little girl I used to go to work with my dad at the news station and I was always put on the air as a specimen of this special day. Over the years they ended up changing it to Take Your Child to Work Day, and I was really jealous. Why should the boys get to go to work too? Shouldn't this be OUR time to experience what our mothers and fathers do on the job? This should be a day for girls to go out into the work force and see what it is like. I do understand why boys should be allowed too - after all it is a day off from school! But I still think it should have remained Take Your Daughter to Work Day.

In the "Culture" chapter, I absolutely loved the idea of President Barbie and her Barbie White House! What an awesome way to express to young girls that they too can become the President of the United States someday.

Authenticity

Hello group,

I think Wilson makes an interesting point in chapter 6, “Authenticity,” when she explains the differences between the reasons why men and women leaders sometimes change their agendas. When men shift agendas they conform to the expectations of other male leaders (98), so the “maleness” of the agenda and atmosphere are preserved. On the other hand, when women shift agendas they do it to “blend in with the boys,” therefore, sacrificing their female qualities. This point really puts this chapter into perspective because one has to be true to onesself in order to project authenticity. It makes me wonder how different the world would be if all the women leaders in the past and present would have never had to face this obstacle. By increasing awareness and gaining support, a more accepting platform will open up for women leaders to project their authenticity in the future – especially with the increasing recognition that women hold qualities and traits that are ideal for leadership.

Another interesting point in this chapter, that I never considered, is that when girls become adolescence they begin to comprehend the lack of leadership of women in the world. Because of this, young adult females use the “quest of perfection” as a way to gain acceptance from authority figures, who are mostly men. This can then translate into creating unhealthy relationships with men in the future.

Women and Leadership Group 2 Contract

Interaction:

• Positive interaction shall be reached by responsible, respectful behavior

• Negative interaction shall be avoided by demonstrating common human courtesy and respect for others. Also, by completing assignments on time and to the best our ability.

• Each group member will blog at least once a week towards the beginning of the week (by Monday or Tuesday) in order to create a strong conversation and dialogue about the class readings, discussion, and activities.

Projects:

• Project work will be broken up fairly based upon personal preference, strengths, and necessity

Conflict Resolution:

• Emergency meetings will be scheduled as needed to deal with group conflicts

• During the meetings we agree to maintain composure, an open attitude, and humane communication

As a group we are committed to working to our highest potential together throughout the class. We will maintain open communication and honest feedback for our fellow group members, as well as respect and understanding of one another’s personal opinions. We agree to take responsibility for our own actions and our contributions to the group. Most importantly we are committed to making this a fun, positive, and productive learning experience.

Women in power...

Last night I decided to watch the news. While watching the news (Fox 5) the media was talking about women in power, particulary African American women. Do not qoute me on this, but If I am not mistaken it was said that out of 47 states there are seven women mayors who are black. Seven, I am not sure how many women that may be of another race or ethnicity, but I thought that was a very small number. Fox 5 was talking about the African American women who are in power in Baltimore, Maryland and they ended up interviewing a number of people and asked them about what were their thoughts about women in power. I think all of the comments were positive comments. Most of the people acknowledge that women are smart and are capable of being in control. It was also said that woman have come a long way and are making statements and big moves day in and day out. Personally, I agreed with everything that was said about the women who are in power. When I was reading the chapter two I thought it was interesting that "seventy-nine percent of Americans are ready for a woman president." What about the other twenty-one percent? Why isn't all of America ready for a woman president? With the diverse population that the U.S. has as of now I would think that people would grow out of the traditional males ruling everything attitude, but I guess that the naive and conservative politicians are not ready for that yet. What harm will it do if we have a woman president? I mean if a woman can be in charge of a household, company, or etc. what makes it any different then running a country? That is only if she is a capable candidate. The meadia influences others decisions and I think it puts a prejudice on people who follows it.

Chapters 1-5

I agree with what everyone is saying about how the media picks at women politicians and portrays women in general. But another issue that really aggravated me while reading this was seeing how much effort women are having to put forth for something where men are not putting any.



"Through exercises we would explore a wide range of company policies. Men always spoke authoritatively about these policies, but later, when the women asked the men how they knew so much verbatim, the men admitted they had been winging it with their answers; the women never did that, and only spoke when they had all the facts. As explanation, the men simply said they knew they could correct their responses later if need be. The women felt they would never get a second change if they misspoke." (Wilson 41)



I find that excerpt upsetting because it really shows how women are not taken as seriously as men are. On page 49 there is a list of things women should abide by to be respected, while men don't have to do shit (pardon my French). Although the list seems to be successful, it should not have to be that way!



Monday night, I attended at "Careers in Event Planning" seminar held by the Women's Center in McLean. My mom (a member of the Women's Center) suggested that I attend considering I just changed my major to Tourism and Event Management. Not knowing what to expect, I found a panel of three women sitting at the front of this classroom speaking about their jobs and how they started this event planning company called The Webster Group.



Their presentation was not only focusing on the event planning part, but a lot on their accomplishments as women leaders. One thing that stood out to me that they touched on was the fact that women in the work force compete against each other while men support each other. And while this may not be the situation is all cases, it is very common. I found this interesting and I read at the end of Chapter 4, "If we hold one another back instead of pushing one another forward, we will most certainly stay stuck." (Wilson 72) Although that was just one of the conclusive quotes for the chapter, I found a lot of "Ambition" inspiring.



After watching "Iron Jawed Angels" in class the other day we were asked to reflect on the movie. One student expressed how she did not realize, or rather took for granted just how hard it was for women to gain the right to vote. Also in the "Ambition" chapter, I highlighted a quote from Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's book, "The Majesty of Law," that stated, "Young women today have no concept about how hard it was for women to get the vote (in 1920) and how my generation couldn't get jobs. They just think, 'Oh, that was the Dark Ages...'" (Wilson 69) This immediately reminded me of the movie as did the rest of the "Acting 'As If'" section.



I sat down and read all 5 chapters in a row one evening because I found this book so compelling and I did not want to put it down! It's amazing how far women have come, but we still have so much farther to go!

The Media's Role

I found Chapters 2 and 3 to be the most insightful chapters. Before reading these chapters, I did not really paid attention to role of the media and the influence it has on portraying a leader. It is disappointing that the media can be so critical of women’s appearances, and so influential on society’s perception of a leader. Because of this, many qualified women have missed opportunities of gaining positions of power. However, it is encouraging to know that this barrier is getting recognition, so that we can take the steps of redefining the image of a leader. Hopefully these high profile news shows will take some of these studies into consideration and start giving more women airtime so that women can get the same exposure as their male counterparts.

tonight on television- Woman in a leadership position

Tonight I sat down to watch an episode of scrubs not expecting what we are reading about in class to be demonstrated in front of my eyes. On the show scrubs there is a woman doctor named Elliot. First I think it is not coincidental that her name is traditionally a males name. On the show she runs around the hospital flustered with low cut shirts on. She is overly attractive and the show is constantly portraying her as a dumb skinny blonde whose emotions are unruly. I think this is a good example of how the media chooses to portray a female physician in a comedic, unprofessional light. Many people may say this is just comedy and nothing serious but then why in the show do they not portray any other female physicians? Why are women constantly shown as lacking ability and motivation? Just a thought..what do you all think?>

Closing the Leadership Gap Chapters 1-5

Many women are CEO’s and Executives that operate popular television stations and computer companies. However, plenty is equivalent to a few when being compared to all of the men that hold prominent jobs in the same field and even the government. Women have been trying to break the “glass ceiling” and emerge as an equal in the workforce. Marie C. Wilson gives a vast array of statistics regarding how women are slowly rising in the corporate world. Unfortunately, women tend to lead as “men” in order to hold a position as a woman.
Women are “better communicators and listeners, more nurturing, more willing to involve others in decision making, and more likely to roll up there sleeves and work as a team” (Wilson 9). These qualities are impeccable and tend to help govern things nicely. Unfortunately, it is not enough. The stereotypes that are held within genders hinder the way equality can be distributed among them. All over the media and in entertainment there are women who are seen as great leaders but because they fit the “aggressive male” persona. Women do not meet the characteristics of the “traditional male leader” and when something is not in the “norm” people tend to get nervous. However, women have to act irrational in order to gain respect. Movies such as Norma Rae and Erin Brockovich were movies that contained strong, sensitive, hard-working women that gained respect from their emotional drive for the greater good. Now movies such as Laura Croft Tomb raider and Alias portray women as being “male warriors” (Wilson 28). This is because the majority of people vision successful leadership in a masculine point-of-view.
Wilson promotes women to be ambitious, courageous in there attempt in gaining a much greater voice in the country. She talks about ambition and ability in chapters 5and 6 and how women should take the extra step to be noticed. Wilson uses Hillary Clinton as an example of being a courageous woman. Before she began her journey to the White House as a candidate, she was first at the White House as a wife. When former president Bill Clinton put her head of a committee for the nation’s health care, the project failed. It did not fail because of her qualities, it fell because of the complexity of the project and the stigma that men place on women in power (Wilson 57). Hillary was scrutinized for trying to be in politics when the First Lady is supposed to stray away from political affairs. Even though criticism can hurt, she did not let it break her. She had an ambition and that ambition took her from being the First Lady to becoming a Senator and a prominent candidate for being President of the United States.
Women are great leaders; we forget to notice that the “skills of mothering translate to leadership” (Wilson 75). There was a study done at Wellesley College that “identified a framework for understanding the roots and practices of leadership through mothering.” (Wilson 75). Mothering is a skill that is not usually taught but instilled in us. If women can automatically mother, then why cannot we lead a Fortune 500 company or the country? Wilson said that “If women can manage a group of children, they can manage a group of bureaucrats” (9). So why walk away from the opportunity to have a bigger voice in the world.
After reading these five chapters, I realized that yes; I do have to work a little harder for the job, for money and for respect. However, I know that it is not impossible for me to have it if I wanted it. I am going to accomplish the goals that I have set in my mind. This reading has empowered me to work hard because it shows that we all have the ability to lead; the obstacle is showing this to everyone else who does not believe.

Chapter 2 and 3

After reading chapter two and three I felt a sense of disappointment in our media and the negative effects they have on how the world views women and power. It sickened me to read the nit-picky detail that the journalists pick our about a woman politicians appearance rather then her opinion on an issue. One part of these two chapters that I couldn't believe we the letters between Abigail Adams and her son. It was heartbreaking to me to see a son speak to his own mother in that way and view her in such a negative light. It is clear that the reason why women can not move up in the world is the mindset that many people have about women and leadership and what a leader is suppose to look like. This should get our discussions started!

This is Group 2 of Women and Leaderships blog! Welcome!

Our Group members are Lisa, Laura, C'Vette, and Courtney