I remember my intro Sociology professor said “Glass Ceiling prevents women to advance to higher social class, but it also prevents women from certain professions as well." Nowadays, women are experiencing difficulties for employments because of the traditional values of patriarchy society have triggered the "Glass Ceiling". According to the theories of different perspectives of feminism on Mullaly textbook, our society "plays a central role in the domination of men and the subordination of women"(Muallay 2007). Therefore, these "unequal power relations between men and women, and patriarchy" is seen as the main reason of "women's oppression"
This could be prove on a research study about job searching skills among male and female Mexican immigrants, the study find out that the participants of Mexican male immigrant is more likely to find an employment then Mexican female immigrant because of men are more rely on networking when it comes to job searching, and women are less likely to meet with some people that has significant influences than men (Livington, 2006). The lack of Canadian networks can raise the difficulties for women to find employment.
Additionally, immigrant women have to work harder than men to find a job under a men-constructed environment. In a research of the effectiveness of social capital's impact of finding employment for immigrant women, a participant from South Asia said "I got sick of volunteering actually because we need money to go on living and pay our bills"(George, Chaze 2009). She was volunteering to extend her career network in order to improve her employment skills. Immigrant women are not just carrying the male role of being "breadwinner", but also carrying the female role of being "caretaker" in the family. This is not hard to imagine that women with dual role can be easily exhausted because of time managing.
The Radical Feminism perspective from Muallay Textbook stated that a male-constructed society and unequal power relations with men are major oppressions for women; I think this can be reflected on immigrant women seeking employment in Canada. but the Study also suggest that immigrant women are less likely to volunteer then Canadians in general because they view volunteering as "altruism" and it is more challenging for their wills to volunteer when they are trying to find steady income at the same time(George, Chaze 2009). I think besides newcomer program for immigrant women, like the study mentioned those existing service. I think the welfare state should tell people other significant benefits of volunteering besides gaining Canadian experiences. Then the difficulty gap between men and women finding a job will reduce a lot.
Sarah Poon
Reference:
Muallay, B. (2007) The New Structural Social Work. Canada: oxford university press Canada.
Livingston, G. (2006). Gender, job searching and employment outcomes among Mexican immigrants.
Population Research and Policy Review, 25, 43-66.
Population Research and Policy Review, 25, 43-66.
George, U., Chaze, F. (2009) Social capital and employment: South Asian women's experiences. AFFILIA: Journal of Women and Social Work. Vol. 24 (4), p394-405
Hey Sarah, I definitely agree with your last statement about the welfare state. They should be trying to tell people more benefits about volunteering. I think that by people volunteering not only does it help their career by letting them learn new skills and meet new people it shows people that they are putting an effort into work that will help people. It shows that you are not afraid to get up close and personal. I can see the womans point from south Asia though. Woman need to be earning money to help the family to many times. Volunteering may just be too much for some women to handle especially if they have young kids,a job and chores to do. Well..all in all...good job! Thanks! - Brittany L
ReplyDeleteThis blog opened my eyes and made me realize that it is not as easy as I thought for immigrant women to find employment. Our society has made many improvements over the past years in the participation amongst women in the labour force. Having said that, we have yet to improve the barriers that many women, especially immigrants face when trying to find employment.
ReplyDeleteMelanie. F
This blog is full of true statements. As was stated in class, Society is seen as the male being "the breadwinner" and the female as the "breadmaker." It's hard to change what is so set in stone.
ReplyDeleteWhen women migrate, the country that they came from usually didn't teach them many skills, other then, cooking, cleaning, and looking after the children. Therefore, when they reach Canada where women are seen also and "breadwinners", shifting from being home to the working outside the home would be hard for many of them. Especially when the women that migrated do not posses any working skills.
- Samantha G 7637608