Pediatrician Stereotypes Essay

Whereas in recent decades major strides toward gender equality have been made, sociologists are quick to point out that much remains to be done if inequalities in the United States are ever to be eliminated. Behind much of the inequalities seen in education, the workplace, and politics is sexism, or prejudice and discrimination because of gender. Fundamental to sexism is the assumption that men are superior to women.

Stereotypes affect all of us, more so when we are not aware of them. Recognizing stereotypes helps us to move past them. Choose one stereotype about nursing. In at least three paragraphs, describe the stereotype, show an example of the stereotype from literature, television, a movie, etc., and then describe how the stereotype could positively and negatively affect the image of nursing. Cite your sources in APA format. Save your work as a Word document and submit as an attachment in Blackboard.

Gender stereotypes are one of the most common encountered on a daily basis. The infamous ‘Glass Ceiling’ still exists in many areas of the professional world, restricting valid promotions simply based on gender. This type of concept can be verified by looking at comparative weekly wages of other professionals in a variety of industries. Most people will generally see female dominated occupations, such as nurse, teacher and secretary as requiring feminine personality traits and physical attributes for success; whereas male dominated occupations such as doctor, lawyer, and business executive are seen to require male personality traits for success (Sanderson, 2010, p. 344).

Currently, equality is a conflict that many people are striving to resolve. There has been much progress within the last hundred years (Women's International Center, n.d.), since all types of people have started participating in the American workforce, but we still have some ways to go. Certain groups of individuals are guided into certain types of jobs (Skaggs & Bridges, 2013). Research provides support that minorities, women, and people of color tend to be employed and concentrated in low wage work (Blackburn, Jarman, & Racko, 2016). Stereotypes that surround these protected groups are part of the cause as to why they are employed in certain jobs. These stereotypes include; women are mothers and cannot be dedicated to her job or ethnic minorities do not have adequate skill

“Stereotypes are categories that constrain and shape what a person believes about, and expects from, other people” (Bartlett 1910). The workplace is one of the most active environments for women to be stereotyped against. Women are judged in ways such as being weaker than, and not as active as a man. This can be a problem for a woman in a male dominated occupation by making them feel, or seem, not as valuable as a man. For example, women in the police field will face the struggle of being seen as weaker, gentler, and to submissive to fight crime compared to men. This type of behavior leads to women not receiving much earned promotions, and having more struggles applying to male dominating jobs.

The “Glass Escalator Theory” is a theory that explains how men in female dominated branches of the medical field can advance faster than women. The “Glass Escalator” term describes how a man can surpass a woman in the same field and the woman might not even notice (Goudreau 1). Women are often too busy fighting obstacles that keep them from advancing and fail to notice how men are often given the higher advantage, in turn, riding this glass escalator to the top. These two theories are very prevalent in the medical field, especially in the branches that women tend to be more involved in, such as nursing, pediatrics, and gynecology. The Glass Escalator shows how men are able to receive more promotions in pay and positions even if women are more involved in the field.

The glass ceiling is something still very present in today’s society. Women in the workforce are constantly trying to break through barriers set by society to break away from stereotypes. Many women work twice as hard and still get paid significantly less than their male co-workers. They experience sex typing from a young age being pushed to study more “feminine” occupations, such as nursing. While on the other hand men are encouraged to seek positions of power and leadership. If a woman decides to choose an occupation that demands the use of intellectual thinking, they are given boundaries to which they are limited. Women are seen as the weaker sex and have been severely over diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or any other type of mental illness. We see this issue addressed in Virginia Woolf’s “Professions for Women” and Susanna Kaysen’s memoir “ Girl, Interrupted”. Women are taught to that they need to display certain behavior and uphold a perfect appearance in order to be taken seriously in society. Charlotte Perkins Stetson uses the art of writing to bring us along the emotional ride of a woman who’s true feelings were labeled unreliable in her story “ The Yellow Wall-Paper”. For decades women have struggled with being treated as subordinates and this continues today. We are able to see the unjust treatment of women reflected in their salaries, promotions, and general treatment in the workforce, specifically the medical field.

In the healthcare sector, gender equality is based on providing equal opportunities for men and women in all areas or settings. Gender can be defined as those characteristics of men and women that are socially constricted and determined while sex is associated with characteristics that are biologically determined. There is a lack of demand and support for advanced research on women health and diseases, specifically decision makers, support staff, or even researchers and authors. Many young women and adolescents have found it difficult to access, utilize, or even make their own decisions in context to reproductive health, specifically abortions, unsafe pregnancies, and pacing. Women and men from low-income, culturally background, and poor socio-economic conditions are deprived of basic healthcare facilities. In the past decade, gender inequality in the healthcare sector has been associated with age, poverty, socioeconomic condition, and ethnic diversity of men and women. Gender inequality is not only restricted to healthcare access and utilization but also affects men and women who seek employment opportunities. In most cases, only men are dominant in working for specific healthcare positions. Contribution from women healthcare workers or staff is lower compared to the male workforce that is huge in many areas of the healthcare system. There is a lack of services and products for women and men coming from culturally minority or low-income groups.

If you are a female physician working in this community you are considered to be at a disadvantage, outnumbered. Here is a situation, in the twenty-first century, where gender plays a factor in social context of work and learning. Considering these examples require understanding the workplace surroundings, where work and learning occurs is all the more important.

An example of people describing the way she felt about men in the nursing field was cited by Tom O’Connor in his article, Men choosing Nursing: Negotiating a Masculine Identity in a Feminine

A stereotype could exist when a person in one group do something that cause all people in that group get blame which makes them get the same perception. For instance, when a male nurse fails in one area in nursing, all the male nurse as a group are getting blame to be failed on that area; however, not all the male nurse fail on it. The nurse uniform evinces a feminine image that causes negative influence for men as nurse (Evans 447). When people think of nursing, they think of women in nurturing roles, as handmaidens to doctors. However, it is more complex than that because to become a nurse, they require having numerous education and

Stereotype threats are negative consequences about one’s race, sex, nationality, or social group. Stereotype threats are used a lot more frequently than people realize. Gender is a powerful stereotype that affects many people’s decisions and actions. The stereotype of women in the workplace has come a long way even in the last twenty years. Many businesses tend to want to diversify their demographics by making the ratio of men to women almost equal. “Demographic projections anticipate that by the year 2000 women will exceed 50 per cent of the total workforce…” (Johnston and Packer, 1987). Women were able to make their way in to the workplace when men were off at war during the 1950s. During this time, women proved their ability to do the same kind of jobs men did. Many women worked as machinist, factory workers, and clergies.

Stereotypes originated from ideals and images that society is continuously exposed to from, not only the people around them but also the media. Every group has a stereotype or a misconception about them whether it is the jocks or the emos. Working mothers are not only strong and independent, but in addition they teach their children to be more independent. Working moms provide positive examples to their daughters to focus on their career. Nevertheless society will always have these fix opinions about each group of individuals, however, if individuals can learn to develop their own opinion and not judge a person by whom they hang out with or by the clothes they wear just maybe these fix opinions or assumptions will begin to

A study on the implicit and explicit occupational gender types, Sex Roles, “Occupational gender stereotypes are activated when men and women are considered to be more suited for certain occupations based on stereotyped characteristics and temperaments” (White and White 2006). Matheus represented the following examples, “a stereotypically feminine job would be associated with attributes such as nurturing, caring, and being sensitive to the needs of others and a stereotypically masculine job would be associated with attributes such as decisiveness, coldness and toughness” (Matheus 2010). Nowadays, women are usually seen in the workforce as secretaries and nurses. Meanwhile, most doctors and construction laborers are men. In addition, Anker points out that “Occupational segregation by gender is prevalent in most if not all countries” (Anker 1998). “Women and men work in different fields and within fields at different levels” (Anker 1998). Diekman and Wilde explained that “men’s concentration in leadership and other high power roles led to the assumption that men have “agentic characteristics” such self-assertion and dominance and women’s concentration in subordinate and caretaking roles lead to the assumption that they have “communal characteristics” such as being kind and supportive (Diekman and Wilde 2005).

Stereotypes are a part of everyday life. They help us differentiate and categorize to make quick decision on a person's character; however, stereotyping can be misleading or incorrect resulting in false judgment and mistreatment. In the workplace, this can show to be especially heinous. Stereotyping is a preconceived notion that all members of a group are the same, and behave in the same way. This act of judging others based on perception can cause many problems; especially when linked to the work environment.