Blog #19: Interaction with Co-Workers, Supervisors, and Job Satisfaction

In the video Democracy Now, Geena Davis speaks about her thoughts of gender equality in the workplace. She starts off by talking even as far back as cartoon characters in children's shows are mostly men. The girls in these shows are portrayed as less important, and having unnecessary requests. A lot is learned from the media, and especially at a young age, so if this is what the children are being exposed to, they might have a difficult time growing up with another perspective. The first example that came to my mind, is as simple as the little girl in Dennis the Mennis. She is only portrayed as the "stupid" girl who can't do anything except for decorate their tree house and take care of children. These young kids that are watching this movie automatically have an idea of the men's place in society and also the women's place in society.

Many male colleagues, specifically in the correctional facility, do not think that women have the ability to do their job because they aren't physically strong enough or mentally capable to deal with such violent criminals. They often act even more masculine to make up for what they think the woman cannot do herself. This causes problems within the work place because again, it puts the woman in her "place" and can make her believe that she is not good enough to complete the job herself. There is no room to improve if you are are not challenging yourself at work, whether that be in a physical or mental sense. Women have the same training as the men in these positions, so they should be able to know tactics to control the violent inmates without the need of excessive physical strength. If they don't, their training programs need to include this.