It Starts With Us

In one of my Psychology courses we were discussing the difference between memory and recollection. My professor asked us to recall what our first grade teacher looked like. Our professor then told us to think about what “she” looked like. My professor then stated “your teacher might have been a male but your teacher was more likely a female so try to recall what she looked like”. This comment raised the question, what if a male was in our class that wanted to pursue a career in elementary education? He would have been taken aback by that statement. On the other hand, it gives the message that it is typical and common for women to be elementary school teachers and that is what is accepted. Last class in Women and Leadership we briefly discussed this idea of degenderizing leadership. As leaders we should disassociate gender from leadership traits and characteristics.That process starts however with our every day decisions . Every day we create comments like the one my professor stated in class boxing women into specific roles and excluding men out of others. Another example is with the cleaning supply commercials. Every commercial involving Lysol, Cascade cleaner and more are all commercials with women. It is the woman who is cleaning the dishes, mopping the floors and in the home. The media has a profound impact on the way women are perceived in our society. Although, the media is not the only thing to be blamed for this kind of gender boxing; we as people must take responsibility for this issue. When someone says that a girl shouldn’t play football, or that a woman shouldn’t be so stern with her colleagues, or a woman should not go into the engineering field, it limits both women and men. It prohibits women from pursuing the field of their choice. In addition, if a man did not want to be an engineer, or a doctor or a firefighter but instead a school teacher or a nurse, that social disapproval could hinder men from pursuing their careers of choice as well. In conclusion, this idea of degendering in leadership is one that should be looked at more carefully. Not just by CEOs, and other enterprises but by every day people. It starts with us!