Equality In The Workplace Essay

Equality is a state of being that can never really be reached in society, most notably, equality between men and women in all aspects of life. Many important gains have been made in regard to women’s rights in the past century. However, advancements in women’s rights have not necessarily meant the advancement of women’s roles in society, particularly the workplace. As equality continues to be sought by women in society, new questions arise on what the exact roles of women must be, and how they can advance from these roles. Although gender roles continue to evolve and progress in society, women are still viewed as inferior in the workplace, which creates a glass ceiling that affects them with issues such as pay, the common view of women’s educational

In Charlotte Krolokke’s book “Gender Communication Theories and Analyses,” Krolokke introduces the argument of linguist, Otto Jespersen, who states that women are quicker to respond in conversations because they are lacking in the amount of information that is stored in their brain as compared to men (Krolokke 64). Jespersen also argues that a more intellectual brain takes a longer time to process the information, therefore, a longer time to respond, which explains why men respond or speak later than women during conversations (Krolokke 64). So as to feel more welcome in the workplace, women tend to feel the need to follow men’s communication patterns (Krolokke 68). In Krolokke’s book, linguist Robin Lakoff argues that women will struggle to be seen as socially and educationally powerful regardless of the communication patterns that they use (65). “‘If she doesn’t learn to speak women’s language, she’s dead: she is ostracized as unfeminine by both men and women’ (pg. 61)” (Krolokke 65). Women who do manage to reach higher positions in the workforce often struggle in how they will be viewed by their coworkers, since there are not many women in high work