Women as a Minority in the Workplace

Race and stereotypes of society

Often we are faced with how women are judged by how they should distribute their responsibilities, and at the same time remain feminine on the inside. This is largely due to how members of the opposite sex treat women, mainly in the workplace. It has been discovered that women are the minority in work places since it is believed that their role is taking care of their homes rather than working outside their homes (employed). Researchers have discovered that race in a society plays a major role in women’s life mostly in what they do in their day to day life. In countries such as the United States, black women are very few in workplaces since most of these African American women are classified to be illiterate.

It’s hard for them to work in high positioned jobs because they fear how people will view and judge them. This is brought about mostly by where they come from since most of them did not get a good education and came from humble backgrounds. Of course, this is not the case in modern society. Each of them can create a promising resume using 1 resume writing service.

This is not their fault because if they are treated just like other normal women they would be comfortable to work and earn their living. They have also been left out in work places mostly because of their background and mostly their race. Most African American have gone through tough times in order to be accepted in the society, through their journey in living the tough times they engaged themselves in drugs, prostitution, stealing and other awful behavior since they couldn’t be offered jobs because of their race (Okoth, 86).

Attitude of men to wives’ work

The past experience of the white people towards the black women has not been erased completely. This is because the higher individuals in workplaces believe that black women still live the life they used to live while trying to be appreciated and accepted in the society and that they will practice those practices in the workplaces. The other reason why the African American women are scared in workplaces is because their partners who mostly happen to be black have the mentality that women should not earn more than men.

In short, they are threatened by their success thus giving them a hard time in their homes by convincing them that they should remain back at home and take care of the children. African American men also have the mentality that their wives should not be employed because they want to be seen as the providers in the society and not the women providing for them.

It can also be classified that they want to be viewed as more superior than women; on the other hand, these men want to create attention to people so that they can take care of their wife and children. This is because they believe that when a woman provides for the family they are seen by their fellow men as weak in the society, this is the reason why most black women cannot be found in most workplaces (Toyin, 79).

Mexican women

The other affected race is the Mexicans. Mexican women migrated to the United States mostly because they were smuggled in promises of obtaining good jobs which was not true at all. They did totally different jobs, most of them were prostitutes and others helped in house chores. It was believed that these women were not supposed to work but stay home and provide more children for their husbands and also take care of their families. This mentality used to run and also runs in the minds of their opposite sex whereby they believe that they should not work but stay back at home. This case is the same as the black community because these practices used to be there and are still there but not believed as they used to.

How do women assert their rights?

Occasionally cases are taken to the primary court and PWC’s role is then to help inform the magistrate of the necessary facts on a particular case, which in turn will determine the decision made at court. With the knowledge of the need to empower women in this community, things have been put in place which has resulted in women now feeling empowered and are not as marginalized as in the past. They are able to identify, prioritize, plan and implement issues affecting them in a participatory way.

For example they are able to produce enough food for the household and can even sell some. Seven girls have escaped forced marriages in the last 18 months alone. This was seldom heard of five years ago now, women are participating in politics, village government meetings and school committees. Poverty is being tackled through economic empowerment brought about by successful women’s action groups. This initiative is expanding every year.

Support for Maasai women

The existing groups are very innovative and active in reducing household level poverty. Girls who have received training have returned to assist their fellow community members. Nineteen girls who have all graduated from secondary school now teach in the nursery schools and one runs PWC’s pharmacy. Another young woman now works as an Assistant Coordinator in the District Council Women’s Development Department. Many may also ask her to “pay someone to write my resume“. She uses her position to support Maasai women in the area, and because of her work, she was awarded a contract for an additional job for an international NGO.

Local women have become more actively involved in the program and began to lead it. The PWC Executive Committee, chaired by women, is one of the main strengths of the PWC. Executive Committee members have gained confidence, skills and knowledge from their work with the organization, and PWC’s work is gaining increasing recognition and respect from the communities. She is using her position to support Maasai women in the district and due to the impact of her work she has been contracted to undertake additional work for an international NGO.

There is increased ownership and leadership of the programme by local women. PWC’s women-led Executive Committee is one of PWC’s key strengths. Members of the Executive Committee have gained confidence, skills and knowledge through their work with the organization and the work of PWC is becoming increasingly recognized and respected by communities.

Credit system

The credit system gave women a head start for their financial independence. For the first time, women began to run a business that was previously considered the prerogative of men. This change has been made possible through the credit scheme. Credit also enables women to travel and meet women in other towns; for the   first time, Maasai women are traveling to sell goods at markets in Narok, Kenya and Arusha. Women now own property, unlike before, and are able to learn new skills for becoming financially independent. An increasing amount of money is being raised locally.

PWC has encouraged women to take a self-help approach in raising funds for community projects, building primary schools and funding teachers’ salaries for example. This approach has enhanced ownership of projects by the women involved, as well as increasing trust between PWC and the community (Amin, 34).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is important to say that it is very important to cover this topic. Unlike America and European countries, there are many states were women’s rights remain at a low level. Women should choose the most suitable development for themselves. It does not matter whether it is everyday life and childcare or promotion on the career ladder. We are for freedom of choice!