When people ask what type of career I hope to pursue after graduating, I excitedly say journalism, specifically broadcast journalism. I cannot count the number of times I’ve been asked after this, “So in a few years will we be able to watch you anchor on T.V. and give interviews?” Flattered, I always respond, “Thanks, but I’m actually more of a behind-the-scenes girl.” From here I go on to explain that I love videography, filming interviews, writing, editing videos, et cetera. To this I receive surprised reactions, but not nearly as surprised as when I say that I am a production assistant in Video Services with the U.Va. Athletics Department. Being a woman working in a male-dominated career, this is just one of the things I have to deal with frequently. While I’m happy to break the stereotype, it’s upsetting to constantly be reminded that such a stereotype exists. Fortunately, I know I am not alone.
In March of this year Sheryl Sandberg published her book, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, in which she examines certain societal barriers that prevent women from taking leadership roles in the workplace, and urges women to feel confident in pursuing their career goals. Sandberg is one of these women who has absolutely transcended gender boundaries: she is currently the chief operating officer of Facebook and is the first woman to serve on Facebook’s board of directors. Some of her previous jobs include serving as chief of staff for the United States Secretary of the Treasury, and as Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google right before attaining her position with Facebook.
One of the most interesting claims that Sandberg makes in her book is that women create some of these workplace barriers themselves by internalizing societal gender roles. The “stereotype threat” is a force that causes women to do this. Sandberg writes that the stereotype threat “means that the more we’re aware of a stereotype, the more we act in accordance with it. So, stereotypically we believe girls are not good at math. Therefore, girls don’t do well at math, and it self-perpetuates. If you ask a girl right before she takes a math test to check off ‘M’ or ‘F’… she does worse on that test.”
While the results of this study are unfortunate, a silver lining does exist in the fact that this experiment helps to prove that women are at least aware of these gender stereotypes. Some may act in accordance with the stereotype, but then there are other women who choose to fight the stereotype. In an article in The Atlantic published in March 1970 and titled “Job Discrimination and What Women Can Do About It,” a female engineering student at MIT said, “For years I have had to fight to retain my interest in aeronautics. My high school teacher thought I was crazy to even think of going into aeronautical engineering. My mother said I’d never find a man willing to marry a woman who likes to ‘tinker with motors,’ as she put it. My professors say I won’t get a job in industry and should switch to another engineering specialty.” As negative as this student’s story may sound, it also portrays her awareness of preconceived notions about gender roles and that they are, for the most part, silly. I say “silly” because it’s unfair for a person to give up their interests because they go against gender norms.
I have always been fortunate to have supportive people by my side who push me to pursue what interests me, and not what would be a more “feminine” occupation in the journalism world. I have no interest in being in front of the camera as an anchor, but major kudos to those women who do want that-it takes a special skill set and mentality to be an anchor, which I greatly admire. Working behind the scenes, I handle all types of technology from video cameras to digital video editing programs, from machine routing to changing graphics on a video board, and much, much more. Add a sports setting to that, and I am in a very male-dominated environment (most days, I don’t interact with another female for nearly five hours at a time). While my gender still sets me apart in ways that are out of my control (for example, not being strong enough to lift some equipment), I realize that those are just minor setbacks; what truly matters is my attitude. As the saying goes, “It’s just mind over matter:” once you get your mind over the matter of gender discrimination (which may not even exist outside of your own mind), all that truly matters is pursuing your interests.