Race, Class, and Gender in the United States, Case Study Example

In the beginning of their existence, human beings are formed equally and within the first weeks of gestation fetuses still only have the X chromosome and are yet to obtain either the extra X or Y chromosome that will determine if they are female or male respectively. Since that initial deviation as a male or a female we develop differently and grow further apart from that identicalness that we had when we were barely beginning to form. This single factor that is obtained from the sperm of the father that is able to enter the egg will determine the rest of our lives as either a male or a female; a mother or a father. With this seemingly insignificant chromosome we develop and exhibit evident differences as we grow older in the way we interact with members of our same sex and with members of the opposite sex. A place where these variant interactions can often be observed very vividly is in the workplace. Gender equality is very much advocated for in most workplaces yet there are always seemingly different interactions of members of the opposite sex in contrast with members of the same sex when discussing how they interact with each other while working. These differences often come as a result of the way each member of a certain gender is raised and in my case I have come to observe these differences most prominently in the things I do in front of people from the opposite sex, strengths I have been cognizant of requiring improvement, and common stereotypes that are frequently imposed by society itself.

Being a woman that works in the food serving industry I am engaged in contact with a wide variety of customers and engage in working situations with both men and women in a rather similar basis. As much as I may strive to work together with everyone cooperatively and efficiently I have always found that I have very different work relations with men than I do with women. Even though I am a woman and to many would logically be more comfortable working with other women, I have always had more pleasant work interactions with men than I have with women. I find that the biggest reason as to why this happens is because women are often very hypocritical and compete in a non-friendly manner. For this reason, I often feel like I act hypocritically with them as well because I will always act friendly since women are more often the ones to report any mistake you might make to the managers. When working with men I feel much more relaxed and try to aid them in anything I can because often women receive far greater tips than men do while working. I find that my biggest strength in working with men comes because they are much easier to understand and are far more truthful about what they do than women (Rothenberg, 2014 p 122). This in turn allows me to seek out to them much more efficiently and make positive work interactions with them. This is most often true with other servers but it is not as true with male managers.

The interactions that I have with male managers have not been as good as I would have liked them to be. Often, male managers take their positions to mean that they have some sort of dominant power over their employees and this is expressed more profoundly in the way they treat women (Wade, 2015 p 85-89). Something that I have found particularly surprising in my time working in the food serving industry is that there has not been a female manager that I have observed during my shift. In the alternate shift I have only heard of one female manager working while the rest are males. This is intriguing and often makes me wonder if females are imposed to stay as servers while males have the potential to grow in their line of work. I find that the areas in which I should improve on while working with male managers is to act less arrogant to them and comply with what they say as they are most often seeking the well-being of everyone. This can sometimes be difficult because of the way I have observed them treat some girls but may ultimately allow me to flourish and become a more efficient worker.

In my time working with men I am aware of the fact that I have often brought upon some stereotypes that have been misguided as they have often been proven wrong. The first stereotype that I often think about is that males should do all the lifting of packages and movement of things as they should be stronger than women. Although this should anatomically and physiologically be true, it does not apply in many situations (Shiver, 2009 p 5). The next stereotype is that males are really dirty in the workplace and this has caused me to avoid working with them in some situations. The last stereotype that I have brought upon often is that males cannot cook as efficiently as females and this has caused me to make my food orders with women cooks far more frequently than with men. The fact of the matter is that males are very proficient cooks with a high dexterity that allows them to cook faster and efficiently. In attempting to fix these issues I could begin by moving boxes that are not a problem for me to move at all. I could also recognize that males can work very cleanly as well and engage in cooperative work within the workplace with them. Finally I could opt to work together with male cooks in completing my orders with them as well instead of restricting myself only to female cooks.

Analyzing the aforementioned facts about my workplace and the interactions I have had with both males and females, gender equality should be a practice that employers as well as employees engage on. In a line of work such as mine, men and women have the same capabilities and therefore should be able to work efficiently together. Although higher positions may mostly be held by men, I find that I should cooperate with them in order to achieve success for the entire company. Working with either male or female is just another opportunity to engage in companionship seeking to provide the best service possible and should therefore not depend on what the sex of the person is. Stereotypes are often inevitable as a result of the way we are raised and the things that society often brings upon us. The road to success is built upon successful interactions with one another.

References

In Rothenberg, P. S., & In Mayhew, K. S. (2014). Race, class, and gender in the United States: An integrated study.

Shiver, M. (2009, October). Retrieved from http://www.in.gov/icw/files/a_womans_nation.pdf

Wade, L., & Ferree, M. M. (2015). Gender: Ideas, interactions, institutions.