Stereotypes In The Workplace

Humans have used stereotypes ever since the day they were born. Stereotypes have played a significant role in the real world and are the main way that humans predetermine each other. They are existent in high school when categorizing people into different groups such as the emos, jocks, cheerleaders, or nerds. They are also prevalent in the workplace and are considered when deciding whether to hire someone. As wrong as this may sound, stereotypes have developed to be a big part in today's society. As a result of the recurrent use of stereotypes in various parts of the world, misconceptions were born. Misconceptions are originated from stereotypes but in many cases, are viewed as incorrect or false. Stereotypes and misconceptions are used in

According to Merriam Webster, a stereotype is “... a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgement”. Stereotypes could be based on truths but in most cases, they are overly exaggerated. According to the article “Stereotypes” by Saul McLeoud, stereotyping is “...a major way in which we simplify our social world; since they reduce the amount of processing (i.e. thinking) we have to do when we meet a new person” (7). In order to reduce thinking so much it is common for people to place someone in a group and assume that they have all of the common characteristics of members of that group. Misconceptions on the other hand are “A wrong or inaccurate idea or conception” (Merriam Webster). They are false ideas that are developed from stereotypes. Misconceptions can also lead people to believe that just because someone acts a certain way and is in a certain group, the rest of the members of that certain group must act the same and have the same thoughts. Stereotypes are different from misconceptions in many ways. Stereotypes are used to pre determine a person and assign them into a group while misconceptions are untruths or lies about a certain group. In the article, “About Men” written by Gretel Ehrlich she clarifies some of the stereotypes about cowboys that

It’s 6 am, dad wakes up and gets the kids ready for school while mom gets ready for work. After preparing their breakfast and school lunches, dad rushes to drop off the kids at their schools. Soon after that, dad goes to the grocery store to pick up items for the meals that he will be preparing for his family during the next week. Dad rushes home and quickly puts the groceries away. He then washes dishes, sweeps, and puts a load of dirty clothes in the washing machine. After finishing the work in the kitchen, he picks up the toys and vacuums the rooms. It is noon now and he still hasn’t finished half of the chores on his list. Dad goes on to do the yardwork outside for an hour and when he returns he begins to prepare dinner for the kids, since they will be starving when they return from school. After spending two hours preparing the dinner, it is 3:00 and he goes to pick up the children from school. Even after doing all this work he is stereotyped to be a lazy, couch potato that does nothing but sit around and watch tv all day. Because he stays home and does chores, he is perceived to be unmanly. Because he takes care of the children, he is believed to have lost his job. Because he prefers to stay home instead of working a 9-5 job, he is teased and ridiculed by society and even looked down upon. He is like a rock, bringing down the family’s name by being a stay at home dad. Although this is how most people look at stay at home fathers, others such as