Bondarenko E.M.
Scientific supervisor: Kyslytsyna O. V. 
Donetsk national university of economics and trade 
named after Mykhaylo Tugan-Baranovsky

 

WOMEN AND CAREER

 

The problem of career obsessed women is rather burning in our society. It is very important to analyze all the aspects of this problem in order to make the right choice: career or family? The arm of this work is to investigate main aspects of the life of women connected with their career. Many working woman have problems, especially in the beginning of their career because they cannot answer two questions: do they want to work in order to have money or to make career? Do they need to display their feminist at work? [1]

Research showed that there is a stay in every woman’s career after about 10 years of work. Some of them have already shown their business qualities and at their   30-35 they became middle managers, having started as secretaries. But the majority didn’t make any career. They have been working hard and truly as secretaries or office-workers.

So, the researchers had two groups of working women. In the first group there were women, who didn’t make any career irrespective of their wants and abilities. Most of them had married in the age of 25-30, though they continued to work. These women divide their work and personal life. It means that they life a tense, two-faced life: these women don’t want to allow bad words about them and sometimes they exhaust themselves at work.

At home they have to take care of children and serve to husband. It is clear that not very woman can bear such amount of work. So, time comes, when she starts to give up both at home and at work. Even if a woman has been working happily for 20 years at the same firm, she comes of age, when birthdays are not celebrated officially. The situation changes again: grown up children have left home, her married life turned into a significant ritual; her work became a boring routine, because she has the professional duties at her fingertips. If her husband doesn’t earn much enough, she continues working another 15 years. Her boss is pleased by the fast he has a reliable worker, though he doesn’t pay much to her. But one fine day she realized that she has been working all her life in her firm and gets less money then young specialists and her pension will not be big, and so on.[2]

Those women who belong to the second group have made career. After 10 years of work they became department managers, they are respected. Their male colleagues say about them with admiration: “They are as capable as men!” That is and rejected their feminity. They were rather reserved, wore quiet suits and severe hairs tiles. Some of them felt offended if a man paid a compliment to them.

In the age of about 45 they made a shocking revelation: suddenly they realized that as woman they have missed everything in their lives. They have neither husband, no children, no family life. Their lives turned into live of a working bee: a life without excitement and emotions. Is this the sense of life?[1]

All the 25 women who took part in the research came to the same decision: they granted a moratorium on career growth, they became less active at work and for the first time in their life they were thinking about life during the whole year. This mental process led them to the same result: from now on they decided “to be women” and to eat as women.15 from 25 of them got married. Their husband was usually, at least, 10 years older. They did it in order to feel what family life is though being late. The other 10 participants were staying single. However all the 25 participants started to attend beauty centers, wear make-up and fashionable clothes.

Thanks to this they improved their communicate abilities, their environment liked the changes. All the men-colleagues said: “Such you we like much better “. Changes in professional life were just striking. Step by step those women started to delegate their powers to the others and to workout the decisions together with subordinate men. They stopped to worry about every trifle and it gave them opportunity to continue their career growth to the level of top-managers.

In order to help a woman to become a good worker and an attractive woman, her husband has to set himself the task in upbringing children and house holding. A woman shouldn’t be deprived of her chance of self-realization according to her own idea. It could be a job or studding. In our society you can meet more and more marriages, which have partnership as their basis. The researchers think it is a very hope-rising fact. Emancipation problems can be solved only by common efforts of men and women.

One more type of women should be mentioned here. These are women who can allow themselves to be managers without suppressing their feminity. The question is about independent businesswomen. From the first day of their work they were the bosses, that’s why they could allow themselves to be both women and chiefs. There is common advice to all women: become independent!

        Considering the fact that women receive the majority of college degrees and that women are well represented in entry and mid-level positions, it is easy to think all the challenges are over and that women can do anything they want. However, a benchmarking study by the White House Project showed that women account for only 18% of our top leaders. How do you provide role models for the next generation of women and help close the gap?

        Research shows that 62% of Gen Y women don’t want the high-powered, extreme hour careers that their mothers had. Gen Y women are more educated, face less discrimination and have more opportunities than ever before, but many of them are saying that they don’t want the top jobs and they don’t want to break through the barriers. The challenge moving forward, is to help women find their own way and chart their own paths. [4]

Women are bringing increased income home to their families and creating jobs through the businesses they run. While governments and private sector leaders discuss new economic models, they should not forget that there are new economic players--namely, women--who are already transforming local and national economies. Women are critical to economic recovery, both as entrepreneurs and workers, and so it is essential that they are at the heart of stimulus packages crafted by governments worldwide.[3]

Therefore, our so often criticized capitalistic society has one great advantage: every hard-working, success determined person can become independent and successful even without starting capital.

 

 Sources

 

1.     Career Woman, «When it is time to take the lead in your startup»// http://www.careerwomaninc.com/blog/

2.     À. ×èðèêîâà// «Ïñèõîëîãèÿ è áèçíåñ». – 2008

3.     I.Nativitad// «Woman and the global economy»  http://www.imow.org/economica/stories/viewStory?storyId=3636

4.     GlassHammer, «Intrepid Woman» 2012 // http://www.theglasshammer.com/news/2012/02/17/intrepid-woman-bonnie-st-john-former-director-for-human-capital-issues-at-the-white-house-national-economic-council-paralympic-champion/#more-8210