September Pundit 3
Jennifer Senior
"Sheryl Sandberg Can't Have It All"
Published November 23rd, 2018
Link
Jessica Senior analyzes Sheryl Sandberg's multifaceted personality and her appearance in the recent news. Sheryl Sandberg is Facebook's chief operating officer, a women's self-confidence advocate, and the co-author of a book about coping with grief. As of November of 2018, it has come to light that Sandberg worked to cover up findings regarding Russian meddling in the 2016 election on Facebook. This self-help guru has a corrupt, power-hungry side. Senior poses the question, "Why do we assume female leaders are inherently gentler and less egomaniacal?" This appeal to logic opens up a bigger discussion, later in the article, about how many women can't "have it all." Like Sandberg, women often have to pick between being successful and ambitious and having a gentler side. Sandberg uses personal evidence to support this claim. She was voted "most likely to succeed" her senior year of high school, but got the yearbook editor to remove the designation for fear of not getting a prom date. None of the boys would want to go with a girl smarter than them. This dilemma rings true for many women in corporate and political settings who are told to "dumb it down" when dealing with male coworkers, further reinforcing Senior's claim that women often have to pick between facets of their personality.
"Sheryl Sandberg Can't Have It All"
Published November 23rd, 2018
Link
Jessica Senior analyzes Sheryl Sandberg's multifaceted personality and her appearance in the recent news. Sheryl Sandberg is Facebook's chief operating officer, a women's self-confidence advocate, and the co-author of a book about coping with grief. As of November of 2018, it has come to light that Sandberg worked to cover up findings regarding Russian meddling in the 2016 election on Facebook. This self-help guru has a corrupt, power-hungry side. Senior poses the question, "Why do we assume female leaders are inherently gentler and less egomaniacal?" This appeal to logic opens up a bigger discussion, later in the article, about how many women can't "have it all." Like Sandberg, women often have to pick between being successful and ambitious and having a gentler side. Sandberg uses personal evidence to support this claim. She was voted "most likely to succeed" her senior year of high school, but got the yearbook editor to remove the designation for fear of not getting a prom date. None of the boys would want to go with a girl smarter than them. This dilemma rings true for many women in corporate and political settings who are told to "dumb it down" when dealing with male coworkers, further reinforcing Senior's claim that women often have to pick between facets of their personality.
Ms. Senior, you make a compelling argument about how women having multifaceted personalities can negatively affect their workplace success and can be used to undermine intelligence. I like your example with your senior superlative- I understand that sometimes men can feel threatened by ambitious women enough and try to lessen their ambition.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this article and your response to it. This is a topic I have been told countless times by my mother while growing up. It is the sad truth that at this point, women have to make this choice between how they want to be perceived by others. However, I think that our society is moving towards ending this stigma by exemplifying smart, successful business women who are still respected in their work communities.
ReplyDeleteThis article is different others I have commented on--it addresses the untold truth. Perhaps it is because the history of women, as they have basically been objectified, but yes, I agree with Senior's statement. I believe men still think they are superior and dominant in society, simply due to biology. Because of the sudden increase in feminism, the Equal Pay Act, and moments in support of women in authority figures, this whole idea of men being afraid seems to be finally coming to an end. Hopefully.
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