Bailey King

COMM 4312

Dr. Brojakowski

8 August 2021

Final Paper

For decades, women of authority have been ostracized, discriminated against, and

criticized by their colleagues and subordinates. Why? Does the gender wage gap play a role in

the disproportionate treatment? Or is gender bias the root cause? How can the next generation of

powerful women continue to combat these pressing issues? These questions are some that I have

asked myself over the course of this class. Through the study of gender communication, I believe

I have found several solutions for the problems that have plagued women vying for equality for

decades. Growing up as a girl in a society where the odds are stacked against me, I have always

been interested in the difference in treatments of the sexes. From the workplace to the school

system to professional athletics, gender bias has always been present. As a young adult, it is my

job to combat gender bias and make the world a more equal place. I chose this topic for my PSA

because I think it is important to acknowledge our bias, even if it is a difficult conversation. I

became interested in this topic because I wanted to see how big of a hold it still has on our

society. A problem cannot be corrected if it is not first acknowledged and discussed. The book

makes a point that I have referenced before, "Wherever there is change, we find communication"

(p. 10). Even if the conversation that I start does not change the world, it begins to move society

to combat gender bias in our own lives. Change does not have to be big and extravagant, it can

be a change in ourselves and our peers. Through this class, I am able to make myself a better

person while also working to improve gender communication in my community.

 Historically, women have been underpaid for the work that they do when compared to a

man doing the same amount of work. Women’s rights advocates, like Susan B. Anthony, fought

the gender wage gap in the ’60s, and even after six decades, the progress is minuscule. Today, for

every dollar a man makes, a woman makes only 82 cents for the same job (Daughtry, 2021).

These discrepancies go past wage, and into women’s representation in the workplace. Gender

bias in the workplace stems from the incorrect notion that men work better than women in

positions of power (Dunham, 2017, p. 60). The workplace, and the workforce for that matter,

mirrors the beliefs of society as a construct. Therefore, the beliefs that are displayed in the

workplace show the general beliefs of society while also providing insight into how society

views a woman in a position of power. Bias exists in every aspect, from many American

companies failing to recognize maternity leave to the wage gap. Gender equity has yet to be

achieved, and the concept of the “motherhood disadvantage” proves this to be true. Gungor and

Biernat discuss how women, who are already viewed to have lower competence when compared

to men, become mothers, they drop even lower on the competence totem pole (2009, p. 234).

Maternity leave is yet another example of workplace inequality and bias. In the United States,

many women receive unpaid maternity leave, some even having to take sick days to recover

from childbirth. This, in turn, affects yearly reviews for women in the workforce, many of whom

are penalized professionally for starting families (Pasternak-Malicka, 2021, p. 63). When

discussing this topic with my own mother, she told me that when I was born, she missed a

promotion because she had “taken too many sick days after having a baby,” in turn affecting the

rest of her career. Gender bias in the workplace is more than the wage gap. It is the

microaggressions and pre-existing policies that penalize and inhibit women from taking positions

of authority from their male peers. For the sake of research and discussion, let’s assume that a
woman avoids all the previously mentioned hurdles and is more qualified to fill a position of

power than any other prospective employee. She still runs into the glass ceiling that exists in the

workplace. The glass ceiling, defined by Weiss, keeps women from advancing to positions of

power, regardless of their ability or qualifications (1999, p. 11). The glass ceiling presents in

many forms, from disrespect from superiors to a lack of responsibility given on projects. So how

does a woman in business combat this barrier? The Equal employment opportunity guarantee

only does so much. Dismantling the glass ceiling begins with the average woman in the

workplace. By selecting places of employment with care and setting themselves apart from their

peers, women are actively dismantling the restrictions that have been evident for decades. With

all these roadblocks facing women in the workplace, victories are still being made daily. Today,

there are more women fortune 500 CEOs than ever before, forty-one to be exact (Hinchliffe,

2021). The progress for women in the workplace has been great over the years, but, once again,

much is still to be done to achieve the level of gender equity that our generation deserves.

With the Olympics coming to a close, questions regarding gender equality and underlying

bias in professional athletics are at the forefront of people’s minds. There are several examples of

red-flag behavior that have occurred at the 2020 Olympics that need to be acknowledged. The

case of Sha’Carri Richardson has been in the headlines for the last several weeks. Richardson, a

female track and field athlete from Louisianna, was suspended from competing after testing

positive for Marijuana (Draper, 2021). This suspension prohibited her from competing in the

100-meter Olympic dash, an event she was a favorite for winning the gold medal. Only a week

after learning of her mother’s death, Richardson’s dreams of Olympic victory were stripped from

her, but not from Olympic competitor Alan Hadzic of the United States Fencing team.

Allegations of sexual misconduct with fellow team members dating back to 2013 have surfaced
against Hadzic, yet he was still permitted to compete for Team USA at the 2020 Olympics. With

his teammates sporting pink masks in protest against him, it would only make sense that Hadzic

experienced the same sort of treatment as Richardson, yet there was a disparity in the treatment.

After his suspension from the U.S. Center for Safesport, his presence at the Olympics has been a

major point of controversy (Tillman, 2021). Following the 2016 gymnastics sexual abuse scandal

of the last Olympics, abuse prevention measures should be at the forefront, yet he was still

present. Gender bias is present, even at the highest level of professional athletics, and the way

the Olympic committee handled these scandals showed that, even in the modern-day, women still

receive harsher treatment. While the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will go down in history for having

the highest number of women athletes representing their respective countries, there are still many

problems that are present and need to be dealt with. Furthermore, even with the highest

representation, media still frames these Olympians as objects, rather than world-class

competitors. For example, the New York Times published an article in July titled “Meet the

strongest and sexiest athletes at the Tokyo Olympics.” This article features fifteen athletes that

the author has labeled the “sexiest” Olympic athletes. Of these fifteen features, nine of which are

women, who are featured for their looks, rather than their athletic ability (Cost, 2021). When the

best athletes in the world are not recognized for their insane abilities, but rather their physical

attributes, red flags should go up. With controversy over sexism, sexual abuse, and gender bias

facing the Olympics, discourse like this is the most progress that has been made and must

continue to exist to improve the conditions in the world of professional athletics. Athletes outside

the Olympic stage also experience the same kind of discrimination and mistreatment. Schmidt

discusses how female sports are under-broadcasted and female journalists feel the pressure put

on by their male counterparts (2018, p. 60). This idea was evident during the NCAA Women’s
basketball tournament, where they played in a conference room of a hotel while the Men’s

NCAA tournament was held in the largest basketball stadium in the nation. The world is

watching, but the sports we value are doing little to nothing to combat the gender bias that is

blatantly obvious within these organizations.

Much research is present about how women are disproportionately discriminated against

in the workforce, yet minimal research exists as to how we can effectively decrease this level of

discrimination. Throughout this class, I have found several aspects very interesting. The root

cause of gender bias stems from us. Everything we do and allow, from sexist news stories to bad

jokes on TV to demeaning songs and music videos, perpetuates the cycle of gender bias and

discrimination, not only in the workplace but everywhere. Gender bias has become a taboo

subject that, unfortunately, is not talked about enough. It is 2021, and women still make less than

men for the same jobs? How does that make sense? My generation specifically prides itself on

being the most progressive generation to ever grace the world, yet the problems that faced our

ancestors still exist today. From gender-stereotyped toys as kids to gender-stereotyped jobs as

adults, bias exists because we allow it to. I have spent the last four weeks asking a lot of

questions about the modern-day perception of feminism, the effects of the patriarchy, and how I

can succeed in a world that is built for me to fail. Through this research, I was hoping to gain

more tools that could help me succeed in a man’s world, but I feel as if I have been left with

more questions instead of the answers I crave. At the beginning of this paper, I acknowledged

that women are at a disadvantage and asked why. The answer is that we live in a society created

by men for men. The gender wage gap is only the tip of the iceberg for the disproportionate

treatment. The gender bias that we have allowed to exist for decades is the cause and the effect of

all the problems previously mentioned. As far as steps for the next generation, I am at a loss.
Starting this conversation and continuing the discourse my ancestors have started only does so

much. The problem will not ever see resolution until the effects matter to every single person,

not just those who it affects. With the media hungry for clicks and shares, I do not see a world

where gender equity truly exists. At least, not in my lifetime. I am shocked and disappointed

with how many people truly do not care, or recognize, how the actions that they take affect the

people around them. I wish more people cared about the inequality that exists, and that saw the

additional hurdles that women face in the workplace and in society. My wish for future

researchers is simple. Obviously, you cannot make people care about a problem. I just hope that

future researchers can use their data to show the effect it has on society as a whole. I am grateful

for the knowledge that I have gained throughout this class and I hope to use the newfound fire I

now possess to influence change and educate my peers. From Olympic athletes to A-list

celebrities, gender bias is a disease that affects everybody, and nobody will be cured of it until

everybody does their part to combat it.

 Resources

Cost, B. (2021, July 23). Meet the strongest and sexiest athletes at the Tokyo Olympics. New

York Post.

https://nypost.com/2021/07/22/olympics-2021-the-sexiest-athletes-to-watch-for-in-tokyo-

2/.

Daugherty, G. (2021, July 28). The history of the gender wage gap in America. Investopedia.

https://www.investopedia.com/history-gender-wage-gap-america-5074898.

Draper, K., & Macur, J. (2021, July 2). Sha'Carri Richardson, a track sensation, tests positive for

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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/sports/olympics/shacarri-richardson-suspended-ma

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