Prejudice Against Women Leaders

Abstract

Prejudice exists among individuals of all backgrounds and in all nations. People learn to fear and distrust certain individuals because of their unfavourable attitudes toward them (prejudice). Because of prejudice, they could act negatively toward members of that group. Acts of hostility are referred to as discrimination. In this paper, I will respond to the claim that “All those women on welfare have it made. All they do is stay home and make babies while the rest of us have to work and pay taxes to support them.” They have no life outside the house except to sit around and have children, while the rest of us are expected to work and pay taxes to provide for them. This statement has two potential sources of bias. One possible explanation is internalized anger. Scapegoating occurs when people attribute blame for a situation to someone or something else while they are not to blame. This man is blaming their tax burden on women for assistance. The money from the taxes goes to various causes, but this person seems only concerned with the portion that helps subsidize assistance for women. The risk to one’s sense of self-worth is another potential contributor to bias. Men who say things like these may think men are better than women. Additionally, he may believe that working men are more valuable than impoverished, housebound women who remain to make babies.

Cultural Pluralism

People are more prone to say things that back up their firm convictions. Although it is human nature to gossip, doing so without solid proof might harm the target of the rumour. Those who are already prejudiced towards others may become even more so. This statement reveals sexism against women who rely on assistance. The term “prejudice” refers to a person’s unfavourable feelings against a group or persons they assume to be a part of that group (Hoffmann & Musch, 2019). The literature will review how the statement, “All those women on welfare have it made. All they do is stay home and make babies while the rest of us have to work and pay taxes to support them,” relates to what we learned in class about prejudice and the strategies that may be employed to resolve this prejudice.

The statement is discriminatory since it generalizes all women on assistance to be slothful while waiting for aid. It is clear that whoever made the statement had strong, unfavourable views against women in general and welfare beneficiaries in particular; they did not refer to any other demographic. As a result of their biases, some individuals think that some groups of people are less worthy of respect than others (Koppelman, 2020). Bias may cause one to have an unfavourable impression of someone before they have met them. As the previous example demonstrates, discrimination in society may be bolstered by the prevalence of prejudiced beliefs and attitudes. Discrimination is a major contributor to violent conflict amongst people. Even though prejudice is ingrained in every human being, it is redeemable because it is entirely avoidable.

All kinds of biases may grow and fester over time as one picks them up from the people around them. The literature claims that prejudice is something that people pick up as they get older. They are founded on one’s predisposition to have a certain view or prejudice (Kopppelman, 2020). The speaker of the statement must have overheard similar remarks from those closest to them. They may have overheard it from a friend or family member at home or a coworker at the office. They gradually came to have negative stereotypes about women on assistance.

The speaker above was either uninformed or biased towards women receiving welfare benefits, as shown by their words. Prejudices thrive on a foundation of ignorance and intransigence. Hatred towards strangers arises for no obvious cause. For example, the person who made the statement dislikes women who rely on government assistance programs strongly. As a result of their prejudice, people assume that these women are usually sitting around doing nothing but “making kids” while waiting for the rest of the community to pay for them through taxation. Although some individuals may abuse the system, most women who rely on assistance do honest jobs yet still struggle to make ends meet.

Different approaches are effective in combating prejudice. One approach would be to learn as much as possible from both the government and the receivers while making any decisions. It is crucial to learn about a woman on assistance before making assumptions about why she does not work and expects taxpayer support. It is by hearing their experiences that this bias may be overcome (Dovidio et al., 2019). This information may cause the person making the above remark to realize they were wrong and alter their position. The issue may be alleviated by disseminating information about the harm caused by bias. We have established that such statements are made due to ignorance. Hence, the issue may be resolved if the right information is available to the right individuals.

In conclusion, this statement exemplifies the bias against women receiving aid. Prejudices may be false beliefs held before all the facts are known. Listening to those around you and dismissing the perspectives of those different from you might contribute to these problems. Having a negative outlook and much animosity against others are two effects of bias. This kind of bias may be eliminated with the help of awareness and education initiatives.

References

Dovidio, J. F., Schellhaas, F. M., & Pearson, A. R. (2019). Prejudice. In Oxford research encyclopedia of psychology.

Hoffmann, A., & Musch, J. (2019). Prejudice against women leaders: Insights from an indirect questioning approach. Sex Roles, 80(11), 681-692.

Koppelman, K. L. (2020). Understanding human differences: multicultural education for a diverse America (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education.