Women Being Pushed Off the Career Ladder: Rachel Lantz – Well-behaved women rarely make (scientific) history

Women rarely make it to the top of the career ladder. Far fewer women seek PhD’s in science compared to men not because they are not capable, but because both men and women underrate women’s abilities to succeed in a professional setting. Societal standards have sparked a conversation among experts, including Sheryl Sandberg, author of the bestselling novel Lean In.

Last year, my Diverse Learners class read the book to gain perspective on the issue of the lack of women in corporate America. Sandberg provides insight into the business world as the Corporate Operating Officer of Facebook and encourages women to break gender stereotypes. Although my peers and I had limited understanding of the workforce, many of us realized that we unintentionally make assumptions about men and women and certain career paths.

There are some individuals who believe that the main reason why there are not many women in leadership positions in the workforce is because of a disinterest in a demanding career. Sandberg illustrates that many women choose to stay at home with their children and develop the mindset that women who decide to take on a challenging career path are not fulfilling the needs of their family or their duties as women. Therefore, many women are dissuaded from becoming even more successful in their careers which does a disservice to the workforce as many of these women would make strong impacts in management roles.

According to societal stereotypes, women are supposed to be nurturing and motherly. When women do not live up to those expectations they are often viewed as bossy and overbearing. On the other hand, when men are in positions of leadership they are seen as successful and hardworking. Many higher-paying careers are generalized to be predominately male, so women are often not viewed as competent enough for these positions because their gender and characteristics do not fit the schema. Even women underrate women because society has conditioned us to ultimately categorize certain careers by gender. However, we make these generalizations primarily due to biological reasons since it is a survival instinct to be able to make quick assumptions.

Women are discouraged from seeking careers in the sciences because we presume that there are certain characteristics for scientists and researchers. Instinctually, individuals assume that women are less competent than men in the sciences because the field is dominated by the male population. But there are many women who outperform men in science and never have a chance to prove their skills because men are provided an advantage because of gender.

In order to increase the number of women in the sciences, women should not feel constrained by societal standards and should instead make the effort to pursue a career in science if they so choose. It is a shame that many women with great potential in science do not have the chance to hold leadership roles.

Lillie Izo says:

August 30, 2015 at 1:42 pm

Hey Rachel! First of all, I find it interesting that you mentioned and started off your discussion with Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In (I’ve been meaning to read it). I thought that was an appropriate segway into your argument about women and “their place” in the science workforce. I totally agree with your statement that when women divert from the “nurturing and motherly” path, they are deemed “bossy and overbearing,” due to “biological reasons.” Though, in your concluding paragraph you say women “should not feel constrained by societal standards and should instead make the effort to pursue a career in science if they so choose.” I am interested in how you think we/they should do that and somehow overcome all the “mole-hills” (as mentioned in the article) that society has been piling upon us/them, since you argue that society constantly bogs us down and pushes women off the career ladder. What do you think society must do in order to turn this pattern around? How do you think women will break through the constraints?

Sara Camilli says:

August 30, 2015 at 2:23 pm

I really enjoyed this post, Rachel! I agree, it is a shame that women with great potential in science don’t choose to pursue it because of societal expectations. You made the point that women who pursue PhDs and a career in science may feel like they are doing a disservice to their families. I personally feel some of that pressure in my life; many of the women in my family have given up their careers to be stay-at-home moms and dedicate their time to their family. I am glad that I always had my mom around when I was growing up. So choosing to pursue my PhD or having a successful career seems almost selfish – shouldn’t I be spending that time with my kids instead? This kind of family pressure should also be considered when we think of why women don’t pursue careers in science. Women are still expected to do most of the child-rearing, the shopping, the cleaning- maybe when we change these expectations for women, the lack of women in science will also change.