C This
This edition of C This looks at the relevance of cavemen to modern office behavior; some lessons from feminists that resonate even more today; the widening financial gap between white and black Americans; and how stilettos may (or may not!) be a predictor of market performance. Enjoy!
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Pre-historic Caves and Modern Offices?
Hearkening back to old stereotypes of “violent cavemen battling with clubs while passive women, fetching in furs, wait helplessly to see who wins her,“ the author ponders recent research on the stereotypes around expectations of strength for men and penalties for women if they show the same assertiveness at work. Men are rewarded; women are accused of poor social skills. I agree with the study’s author on this point: maybe we should be training employers to look beyond stereotypes of how men and women should behave in the workplace. Evolutionary biology is not destiny.
Early Feminists Fighting to Change the World – Lessons for Us?
With a respectful nod to the audacious utopian feminists of the 19th and 20th centuries, this article challenges women in the UK and around the world to imagine what might be and to act on it.
Read: “Feminists Fighting to Change the World,” by Sheila Rowbotham, The Guardian, 5/21/10
The Widening Gulf Between White and Black Wealth
Dr. Tom Shapiro, who directs the Institute of Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University, shares his study on wealth on black and white upper and middle income families over the past twenty-plus years. The study shows that the gap between white and black families more than quadrupled during those years. He points to the whys and ways to restore fairness to a system that may favor the wealthy and white.
Read: “The Black-White Wealth Gap Is Growing,” by Tom Shapiro, The Root, 5/24/10
Stilettos Sink to New Lows
Are high heels an economic indicator? This article explores the so-called correlation between this year’s lower “kitten heels” and our sinking market to the five inch stilettos paraded two years ago.
Read: “Stilettos—So Two Years Ago,” by Ray A. Smith, The Wall Street Journal, 5/22/10
Tags: feminists, market performance, stilettos, wage gap, wealth, women
This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 at 4:32 pm and is filed under C This. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
