Essay on Is Democracy Sustainable in Latin America

Is Democracy Sustainable in Latin America? In order to determine if democracy is sustainable in Latin America, it is important to understand or at least have an idea of what democracy is. There are several types of democracy and each is different. According to the English dictionary, democracy is â€Å" a government by the people; especially: rule of the majority by a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections and the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges (Webster’s Dictionary). It is a common view among American†¦show more content†¦Colonial ideas of fueros, caste systems, and church ideologies during the inquisition, have influenced Latin America socially. Economically Spanish mercantilism has made Latin America dependent on outside res ources and has given rise to corruption and a loss of trust in the government. In order to have sustainable democracy it is necessary to have the support of the people. The society must support the idea of government in which, †there is an absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges.† Fueros, caste, and church ideologies still impact present day Latin American society. During Spanish rule, government officials and military officials had â€Å"fueros,† or special immunity from prosecution. Fueros still exist today in Latin America and give no recourse for complaints of the population. This situation instills hopelessness in the society overall. A democracy cannot exist, even through elections, if the elite rules it. In order for a democracy to be sustained, the government must be kept in check if not through constitutional powers then the people must check it. A democracy should have an educated populace; people should constantly qu estion their surroundings to keep a government in check (Aristotle). Latin America must be capable of producing a literate and educated population. Church control of information and perhaps the desire of the elite to keep the population under control have kept a large majority of theShow MoreRelatedThe Influential Example Of Costa Rica973 Words   |  4 PagesCosta Rica is the country’s brand; it tries to â€Å"sell† and promote Costa Rica as a high tech industry and innovative country, it showcases the nation ´s advanced export capacity as well as its leadership in protecting natural resources and promoting sustainable development. Essential Costa Rica aims to promote the country as a destination for investment and tourism by highlighting the nation’s main characteristics, which sets it apart from its neighboring countries. 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How does gender discrimination manifest itself in a workplace Free Essays

Introduction In 2000 the United Nations established the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These eight goals focused on international development were accepted by 193 member states of the United Nations as well as by 23 international organizations. One of MDGs became to promote gender equality and to empower women (Rao, 2012). We will write a custom essay sample on How does gender discrimination manifest itself in a workplace? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Therefore, women’s rights and gender discrimination have become the important topics on the international agenda with the beginning of the twenty first century. Not only did international community aim to improve social status of women (i.e. living standards) but it also focused on the economic situation of women, in particular on gender inequality at work. Despite these ambitious goals, Global Report prepared by International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2011 warned that â€Å"Women continue to suffer discrimination in almost all aspects of employment, including the jobs they can obtain, their remuneration, benefits and working conditions, and their access to decision-making positions† (ILO, 2011, p.19). In the recent years there was a few well-known cases of gender discrimination at work. One of them is the example of Morgan Stanley’s, investment banking business. The company had to pay $54 million to its 300 female employees after they postulated that they ha ve been treated unequally compared to their male colleagues in reference to payment and promotion opportunities. Following the statistics of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission a number of discriminatory lawsuits have increased in the last decade (Welle and Heilman, 2005). The issues presented above indicate that gender discrimination is still an inherent element of the work places. The following essay is an in-depth analysis of gender inequality at work that aims to examine various types of gender discrimination in a workplace. First, the essay defines term â€Å"gender discrimination† and presents the methods of measuring discrimination in order to gain detail understanding of researched topic. Second, the essay analyzes changes in gender inequality between 1970[1] and 2010 such as labour market participation, pay gap and occupational segregation in order to examine the improvement of women’s working situation within last 40 years. Further, the essay considers current forms of gender discrimination, in particular problem of women’s career advancement and sexual harassment. Moreover, the essay studies the roots of gender inequality at work with an emphasis on gender stereotyping. Finally, the essay presents various actions taken by the national governments and international organizations in the last decade in order to combat gender discrimi nation. Gender discrimination – definition According to the EU legislation, gender discrimination may have a direct or indirect character. Direct discrimination is defined as a case where â€Å"one person is treated less favourably on grounds of sex than another is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation† (Prechal and Burri, 2009, p. 4). Typical example of direct discrimination is wage gap between women and men who perform the same duties in a workplace. Direct discrimination does not include the situations where the sex of the person is a factor that determines the job. For instance, a male role in the movie has to be performed by a man (Welle and Heilman, 2005). In turn, indirect discrimination is regarded as a situation where â€Å"an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice would put persons of one sex at a particular disadvantage compared with persons of the other sex unless that provision, criterion or practice is objectively justified by a legitimate aim, and the means of achieving t hat aim are appropriate and necessary† (Prechal and Burri, 2009, p. 4). A form of indirect discrimination is a part-time contract as a basis of women’s employment, typically preferred by the employers. Over the past years a number of methods have been developed in order to analyze gender discrimination at work. Standard measures are women’s participation in labour force as well as the gender gap in earnings (Cotter et.al., 2004). In 2008 the ILO introduced two new indicators. These indicators were occupational segregation by sex as well as female share of employment in managerial and administrative occupations[2]. It is worth to mention about three groups of indicators developed by the EU. First group are indicators that measure discrimination and aim to expose gaps, disadvantages and other differentials affecting people protected by equality policies and anti-discrimination law. Second group constitute indicators that measure progress with anti-discrimination law. They intend to analyze how quickly and accurately public policies instruments and legal tools are implemented. Finally there are indicators that measure the consequences of anti-discrimination law. Their purpose i s to examine how effective the implemented policies are in combating inequalities (ILO, 2011). It is also important to add that the organizations use different methods of data collection and hence, the data on women employment and gender discrimination may vary. However, in order to gain a detail insight into the problem of gender discrimination at work it is crucial to consider these diversified data. Changes in gender inequality at work between 1970 and 2010 Over the last forty years, there have been massive changes in the gender composition of the global workforce. Women have strengthened their position on the labour market and gender discrimination at work has tended to decline. Three indicators should be considered in order to demonstrate these transformations. These are labour force participation rate, occupational segregation and pay gap, as these indicators are often perceived as prime indicators of changes in women’s status (Cotter, 2004) and hence, have significant implications for gender discrimination at work. Considering first labour force participation rate, an increase of female participation rate has been observed between 1970 and 2008. As Appendix 1 presents women aged 25-54 increased their labour force participation rate progressively from 42% in 1970 to 74% in 2000 while the men aged 25-54 decreased their participation rate from 94% in 1970 to 86% (Cotter, 2004). According to the ILO’s methodology[3], globa l participation rate of women grew from 50.2% in 1980to 52.2% in 1990 and settled at 51.7% in 2008. In turn, male participation rate decreased gradually from 82% in 1980 to 77.7% in 2008 (ILO, 2011). An increased participation of women in the labour market is mostly responsible for the changing composition of the global workforce. Amongst the most important reasons of growing female participation rate are better access to education for women, changing social, religious and cultural norms, marital power or political regime (Acker, 2006). It is crucial to add that female participation rate depends on the factors such as race, age, education level or marital status and hence, may vary across different types of women[4] (Cotter, 2004). In reference to the patterns in women’s and men’s occupations, women and men perform very different kinds of job and there is a strong division on female and male occupations. As Appendix 2 indicates most of women have been hired in female jobs. Between 1970 and 2010 a number of women working in female occupations have grown steadily what confirmed their increased participation in the labour market. One the other hand, over the past decades women have also gained an access to the jobs that had previously been unavailable to them. A number of women have successfully found employment in the professions such as lawyers and judges, doctors, architectures or policewomen (Appendix 3), typically perceived as male occupations. It is worth notice that there are still various professions that women have a limited access to. Amongst the most important are automobile mechanics as well as airplane pilots and navigators (Wright and Rogers, 2010). Finally, pay gap between men and women is perhaps the least visible indicator of work-related gender inequality. From 1970 women’s average earnings have grown steadily, while men’s average earnings increased until the mid-1980s, stagnated until the early 1990s and then declined. In 1995 men’s average earnings started to increase again. Although the pay gap between women and men was reduced during the last 40 year, until this day women earn much less than men. In the 1970s the average women who worked full-time earned approximately 62% of the salary estimated for the average men at that time (Cotter, 2004). Currently, there is no statistics on the global gender pay gap, as it varies significantly across the regions. In 2010 the OECD report stated that the average gender pay gap for people being in full-time employment amounted to 17.6 % across the OECD countries (Appendix 4). It indicates that even the countries and regions strongly focused on the elimination of gender inequality at work still struggle with significant earnings gap. Moreover, the ILO postulates that there is still a large number of developing countries where women earn on average between 70-90% of men’s payment (ILO, 2011). The following analysis of the changing patterns in gender inequality between 1970 and 2000 has two main implementations. First, gender discrimination at work still persists. The labour force is still dominated by men. Men and women are still highly concentrated in typically male and female occupations, respectively. Moreover, there is still a large inequality in the average earnings between men and women. Second, gender discrimination in the labour market has decreased since 1970. However, while a sharp decline in gender inequality falls on the 1970s and the 1980s, this decline seems to have stalled from the 1990s. The primary outcomes of the analysis by the end of the 2000s closely resemble the outcomes at the beginnings of the 1990s. It indicates that strengthening women’s position at work has mostly fallen on the 1970s and the 1980s, while the steps taken by the countries and organizations in last two decades brought much less positive changes to gender discrimination. It also indicates that no pattern of stability have been observed over these 40 years in reference to the reduction of gender discrimination (Cotter, 2004). Gender discrimination in a workplace Three primary indicators of the changes in women’s status at work do not reflect fully the problem of gender discrimination in the workplace any longer. In the previous decades a limited access to the labour market and pay gap were the signs of gender discrimination at work. Currently there are various forms of formal and informal discrimination of women in a workplace. While formal discrimination regards the limitations in the access to particular job positions, advancement opportunities and compensation for women, informal discrimination refers to the particular unfavourable situations that woman may face in a workplace. Five forms of discrimination[5] seem to be particularly visible in the current workplaces. Considering first formal discrimination, its major form is women’s problem with promotion and climbing career ladder in a work place. There is a common opinion amongst the employers that the jobs which concentrate the most power (i.e. organizational leadership, public governance) are male occupations. These positions require particular attributes and skills such as decisiveness and task-orientation, believed to be inherent attributes of male workers. In result, women have significantly lower chances for promotions than their male colleagues (Welle and Heilman, 2005). In order to prove that, it is worth to mention the statistics of the European Institute for Gender Equality. Women represent on average 59% of university graduates within the EU. However, approximately 3% of president roles within the European companies are allocated to women. Similarly, only 12% of them find employment in the company’s management board. Moreover, in the EU the unemployment rate remains hi gher for women rather than men (Rchland, 2011). It is also important to notice that the EU is one of the most developed regions in the world that aims to promote equal employment opportunities. It indicates that the problem of promotion and successful career might be more serious in other regions across the world, in particular in developing countries due to the traditional perception of women’s responsibilities and limited access to education for women. For instance, in India women represent just under 1% of all positions in the management boards (Rchland, 2011). Another indicator of women’s discrimination in terms of promotion and career is a percentage of women’s representation in national parliaments, used by the United Nations. As Appendix 5 demonstrates, in the developing countries women’s constitute 18% of the representation in national parliaments, while this percentage is only insignificantly higher for the developed regions and amounts to 23%. Hence, women across the world have also got serious problem with accessing prestige public positions (The United Nations, 2011). Considering informal discriminations, its prominent example is the employment status of women. As Appendix 6 shows, part-time employment is a common characteristic of the female labour participation, even in the most developed countries across the globe. While some women decide to knowingly choose part-time jobs in order to combine employment with household responsibilities, a significant number of women is forced by the employers to choose part-time work, as it is preferable form of women’s employment in most of the companies (ILO, 2010). Additionally, women are more likely hired in informal sectors than man are. This trend is particularly strong in various developing countries such as Kenya, Chad or Bolivia (Appendix 7). These forms of employment have various costs for women such as low job security, low payments[6] as well as limited access to the basic public services (i.e. public health care). As a result, women are exposed to the marginalization (ILO, 2010; The World Ban k, 2012). Another form of informal discrimination is sexual harassment. Research conducted by ILO revealed, that approximately 40-50% of women in the EU complain about various forms of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual behaviours that they had to face in a workplace. Similarly, UN’s analysis in Asia-Pacific countries showed that 30-40% of women in this region experienced similar abuses. In New South Wales (Australia) sexual harassment became the largest category of work-related complaints in 2009 (ILO, 2011). These examples of sexual harassment strongly underline an existing problem of gender discrimination in the workplace. It is important to add that these unwanted sexual behaviours tend to increase in the recent years. Due to the current economic crisis, women’s employment is highly precarious. Many employers and male workers at the prestige position within a company may take advantages of current situation on the labour market in order to increase these negative behaviour s (ILO, 2011). Finally, informal discrimination of women at work also concerns maternity status. The Maternity Protection Convention from 2000 states that the benefits should be provided for pregnant women so they can ensure accurate level of living standards and good health both for themselves and for the child. According to the ILO survey from 2010, in a number of countries across the world the governments do not provides maternity benefits by themselves. They also fail to obligate employers to deliver such benefits. These negative patterns exist in mostly in developing countries. However, there is also a significant number of developed countries such as the United States where the national legislation does not obligate to provide cash benefits to pregnant women. Hence, as a consequence of pregnancy women have been disadvantaged at work (ILO, 2011). The roots of gender discrimination in a workplace As gender discrimination commonly appears in the workplaces, it is crucial to consider the causes of this discrimination. A major determinant of gender discrimination at work are cultural beliefs about the gender, as people translate â€Å"ideas about gender into discriminatory behaviours through sex categorization and gender stereotyping†. (Bobbit-Zeher, 2011, p.766). These stereotypes can be further divided into two groups, descriptive stereotypes and prescriptive stereotypes. While descriptive stereotypes refers to the collection of attributes and traits that has been unique for women or men, prescriptive stereotype concerns a set of characteristics and attributes that define what women and men should be like. These stereotypes of gender may lead to different ways of discrimination. Descriptive stereotyping will cause discriminatory behaviour when the attributes associated with that stereotype does not match the attributes required in a particular job. A good example is tha t women are less likely hired in male gender-typed jobs. Typical attributes of women are relationship-orientation and nurturance, while male gender-typed jobs require usually decisiveness and task-orientation that are regarded as typical male characteristics. Hence, the employers often believe that men will be more successful in male occupations due to their congenital attributes. This fact works against women, particularly in reference to highly prestige job vacancies in senior management. These positions are perceived as male gendered-typed and hence, women are less likely to perform them. In turn, prescriptive stereotyping will lead to discriminatory behaviours when the attributes associated with gender do not match expectation of employers and coworkers. This stereotype is based on the assumption what women should be like and how she should behave. If women undermine typical attributes of women by her behaviour (i.e. being extremely successful while performing male gender-typed job) it might lead to disapproval and hostile reactions from employers and coworkers (Welle and Heilman, 2005). It is important to add that also organizational structure, policies and practices contribute to gender discrimination. For instance, the company is dominated by male workers may decide to hire women. It may lead to women’s exposure to sexual harassment and various forms of provocation from their male coworker’s side, as a consequence of men’s attempts to demonstrate their strong position within a company in order to preserve it. Also actions and interactions within a company may cause gender discrimination. Institutional actors are responsible for hiring and firing, performance evaluation and promotions. Therefore, actions and interactions within a company affect both gendered belief and organizational context and hence, may contribute to gender discrimination (Bobbit-Zeher, 2011). Conclusions To sum up, the following essay provided strong evidences that gender discrimination is an inherent element of the contemporary workplaces. Three primary indicators of changes in women’s employment status proved that gender inequality had significantly declined over last forty years while the position of women on the labour market strengthened. Nowadays women have a significant share in global labour force and enjoy an access to these vacancies that were previously reserved for male workers. Nonetheless, until this day women meet significant forms of gender discrimination in the workplaces. One of its most prominent forms are difficulties in climbing career ladder and problems with advancement opportunities that women have to face in most of the workplaces. Until this day there is still a large pay gap between women and men, even in the developed countries. Additionally, women are often refused a full-time employment and are hired on the basis of the part-time contracts. Furt her, women often find difficulties in fulfilling obligations by their employers when they are on the maternity leave. Finally, women are exposed to various discriminatory behaviours from their male colleagues, in particular to sex harassment and various forms of provocation. The gender discrimination has strong roots in the cultural views of gender and the stereotypical concept of women as fragile and weak. Also practices and policies implemented by organizations are in favour of spreading gender discrimination. A number of positive steps was taken in the recent years in order to tackle the problem of gender discrimination. For instance, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprises launched the Female Future programme (FF) in 2002. It was an eighteen months training which main purpose was to identify talented women in the Norwegian labour force and to move them quickly into leadership roles. This program was further accepted by other countries such as Japan, Austria or Uganda (Rchland, 2011). Another example can be EU Strategy for Equality between Women and Men (2010-2015) accepted by the European Commission. The strategy defined five priorities which should be realized to improve gender equality. These priorities were equal economic independence; equal pay for work and work for equal value; equality in decision-making; dignity, integration and the end to gender-based violence as well as gender equality in external actions (ILO, 2011). Further, the International Trade Union Confederation (IT UC) started a campaign, Decent Work, Decent Life Campaign that intended to promote the rights of these workers that are highly vulnerable to discrimination. Over a hundred trade unions from 64 countries have been involved in this campaign. Also some national governments took steps to combat gender discrimination. For instance, Norway developed a program which obligated all the large publicly limited companies to ensure that 40% of their board members constitute women. This program is currently implemented in France (Rchland, 2011). Although a significant number of various initiatives have been developed to promote gender equality at work in the recent years, more time is needed to assess the effectiveness of these steps. List of references: Acker, J., (2006). Inequality Regimes: Gender, Class and Race in Organizations. Thousand Oak: Sage. Bobbit-Zeher, D., (2011). Gender discrimination at work: Connecting Gender Stereotypes, Institutional Policies and Gender Composition of Workplace. Thousand Oak: Sage. Cotter, D., al., (2004). Gender Inequality at Work. New York: Russel Sage Foundation. International Labour Organization, (2010). Women in labour markets: Measuring progress and identifying challenges. Geneva: International Labour Office. International Labour Organization, (2011). Equality at work: The continuing challenge. Geneva: International Labour Office. OECD, (2010). Gender brief. Paris: OECD. Prechel, S., and Burri, S., (2009). EU Rules on Gender Equality: How are they transported into national lawBrussels: The European Commission. Rchland, H., (2011). Discrimination at work. World of Work. 72. P.6-26. Rao, A., (2006). Gender Equality Architecture and UN Reforms. New York: The United Nations. The United Nations, (2011). The Millennium Development Goals Report. New York: The United Nations. The World Bank, (2012). World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development Outline. Washington: The World Bank. Welle, B. and Heilman, M., (2005). Formal and Informal Discrimination Against Women at Work. The Role of Gender Stereotypes. Ohio: Centre for Public Leadership. Wright, E. and Rogers, J., (2010). American Society. How it really worksNew York: W.W.Norton. How to cite How does gender discrimination manifest itself in a workplace?, Essay examples How does gender discrimination manifest itself in a workplace Free Essays Introduction In 2000 the United Nations established the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These eight goals focused on international development were accepted by 193 member states of the United Nations as well as by 23 international organizations. One of MDGs became to promote gender equality and to empower women (Rao, 2012). We will write a custom essay sample on How does gender discrimination manifest itself in a workplace? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Therefore, women’s rights and gender discrimination have become the important topics on the international agenda with the beginning of the twenty first century. Not only did international community aim to improve social status of women (i.e. living standards) but it also focused on the economic situation of women, in particular on gender inequality at work. Despite these ambitious goals, Global Report prepared by International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2011 warned that â€Å"Women continue to suffer discrimination in almost all aspects of employment, including the jobs they can obtain, their remuneration, benefits and working conditions, and their access to decision-making positions† (ILO, 2011, p.19). In the recent years there was a few well-known cases of gender discrimination at work. One of them is the example of Morgan Stanley’s, investment banking business. The company had to pay $54 million to its 300 female employees after they postulated that they ha ve been treated unequally compared to their male colleagues in reference to payment and promotion opportunities. Following the statistics of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission a number of discriminatory lawsuits have increased in the last decade (Welle and Heilman, 2005). The issues presented above indicate that gender discrimination is still an inherent element of the work places. The following essay is an in-depth analysis of gender inequality at work that aims to examine various types of gender discrimination in a workplace. First, the essay defines term â€Å"gender discrimination† and presents the methods of measuring discrimination in order to gain detail understanding of researched topic. Second, the essay analyzes changes in gender inequality between 1970[1] and 2010 such as labour market participation, pay gap and occupational segregation in order to examine the improvement of women’s working situation within last 40 years. Further, the essay considers current forms of gender discrimination, in particular problem of women’s career advancement and sexual harassment. Moreover, the essay studies the roots of gender inequality at work with an emphasis on gender stereotyping. Finally, the essay presents various actions taken by the national governments and international organizations in the last decade in order to combat gender discrimi nation. Gender discrimination – definition According to the EU legislation, gender discrimination may have a direct or indirect character. Direct discrimination is defined as a case where â€Å"one person is treated less favourably on grounds of sex than another is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation† (Prechal and Burri, 2009, p. 4). Typical example of direct discrimination is wage gap between women and men who perform the same duties in a workplace. Direct discrimination does not include the situations where the sex of the person is a factor that determines the job. For instance, a male role in the movie has to be performed by a man (Welle and Heilman, 2005). In turn, indirect discrimination is regarded as a situation where â€Å"an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice would put persons of one sex at a particular disadvantage compared with persons of the other sex unless that provision, criterion or practice is objectively justified by a legitimate aim, and the means of achieving th at aim are appropriate and necessary† (Prechal and Burri, 2009, p. 4). A form of indirect discrimination is a part-time contract as a basis of women’s employment, typically preferred by the employers. Over the past years a number of methods have been developed in order to analyze gender discrimination at work. Standard measures are women’s participation in labour force as well as the gender gap in earnings (Cotter et.al., 2004). In 2008 the ILO introduced two new indicators. These indicators were occupational segregation by sex as well as female share of employment in managerial and administrative occupations[2]. It is worth to mention about three groups of indicators developed by the EU. First group are indicators that measure discrimination and aim to expose gaps, disadvantages and other differentials affecting people protected by equality policies and anti-discrimination law. Second group constitute indicators that measure progress with anti-discrimination law. They intend to analyze how quickly and accurately public policies instruments and legal tools are implemented. Finally there are indicators that measure the consequences of anti-discrimination law. Their purpose i s to examine how effective the implemented policies are in combating inequalities (ILO, 2011). It is also important to add that the organizations use different methods of data collection and hence, the data on women employment and gender discrimination may vary. However, in order to gain a detail insight into the problem of gender discrimination at work it is crucial to consider these diversified data. Changes in gender inequality at work between 1970 and 2010 Over the last forty years, there have been massive changes in the gender composition of the global workforce. Women have strengthened their position on the labour market and gender discrimination at work has tended to decline. Three indicators should be considered in order to demonstrate these transformations. These are labour force participation rate, occupational segregation and pay gap, as these indicators are often perceived as prime indicators of changes in women’s status (Cotter, 2004) and hence, have significant implications for gender discrimination at work. Considering first labour force participation rate, an increase of female participation rate has been observed between 1970 and 2008. As Appendix 1 presents women aged 25-54 increased their labour force participation rate progressively from 42% in 1970 to 74% in 2000 while the men aged 25-54 decreased their participation rate from 94% in 1970 to 86% (Cotter, 2004). According to the ILO’s methodology[3], globa l participation rate of women grew from 50.2% in 1980to 52.2% in 1990 and settled at 51.7% in 2008. In turn, male participation rate decreased gradually from 82% in 1980 to 77.7% in 2008 (ILO, 2011). An increased participation of women in the labour market is mostly responsible for the changing composition of the global workforce. Amongst the most important reasons of growing female participation rate are better access to education for women, changing social, religious and cultural norms, marital power or political regime (Acker, 2006). It is crucial to add that female participation rate depends on the factors such as race, age, education level or marital status and hence, may vary across different types of women[4] (Cotter, 2004). In reference to the patterns in women’s and men’s occupations, women and men perform very different kinds of job and there is a strong division on female and male occupations. As Appendix 2 indicates most of women have been hired in female jobs. Between 1970 and 2010 a number of women working in female occupations have grown steadily what confirmed their increased participation in the labour market. One the other hand, over the past decades women have also gained an access to the jobs that had previously been unavailable to them. A number of women have successfully found employment in the professions such as lawyers and judges, doctors, architectures or policewomen (Appendix 3), typically perceived as male occupations. It is worth notice that there are still various professions that women have a limited access to. Amongst the most important are automobile mechanics as well as airplane pilots and navigators (Wright and Rogers, 2010). Finally, pay gap between men and women is perhaps the least visible indicator of work-related gender inequality. From 1970 women’s average earnings have grown steadily, while men’s average earnings increased until the mid-1980s, stagnated until the early 1990s and then declined. In 1995 men’s average earnings started to increase again. Although the pay gap between women and men was reduced during the last 40 year, until this day women earn much less than men. In the 1970s the average women who worked full-time earned approximately 62% of the salary estimated for the average men at that time (Cotter, 2004). Currently, there is no statistics on the global gender pay gap, as it varies significantly across the regions. In 2010 the OECD report stated that the average gender pay gap for people being in full-time employment amounted to 17.6 % across the OECD countries (Appendix 4). It indicates that even the countries and regions strongly focused on the elimination of g ender inequality at work still struggle with significant earnings gap. Moreover, the ILO postulates that there is still a large number of developing countries where women earn on average between 70-90% of men’s payment (ILO, 2011). The following analysis of the changing patterns in gender inequality between 1970 and 2000 has two main implementations. First, gender discrimination at work still persists. The labour force is still dominated by men. Men and women are still highly concentrated in typically male and female occupations, respectively. Moreover, there is still a large inequality in the average earnings between men and women. Second, gender discrimination in the labour market has decreased since 1970. However, while a sharp decline in gender inequality falls on the 1970s and the 1980s, this decline seems to have stalled from the 1990s. The primary outcomes of the analysis by the end of the 2000s closely resemble the outcomes at the beginnings of the 1990s. It indicates that strengthening women’s position at work has mostly fallen on the 1970s and the 1980s, while the steps taken by the countries and organizations in last two decades brought much less positive changes to gender discrimination. It a lso indicates that no pattern of stability have been observed over these 40 years in reference to the reduction of gender discrimination (Cotter, 2004). Gender discrimination in a workplace Three primary indicators of the changes in women’s status at work do not reflect fully the problem of gender discrimination in the workplace any longer. In the previous decades a limited access to the labour market and pay gap were the signs of gender discrimination at work. Currently there are various forms of formal and informal discrimination of women in a workplace. While formal discrimination regards the limitations in the access to particular job positions, advancement opportunities and compensation for women, informal discrimination refers to the particular unfavourable situations that woman may face in a workplace. Five forms of discrimination[5] seem to be particularly visible in the current workplaces. Considering first formal discrimination, its major form is women’s problem with promotion and climbing career ladder in a work place. There is a common opinion amongst the employers that the jobs which concentrate the most power (i.e. organizational leadership, public governance) are male occupations. These positions require particular attributes and skills such as decisiveness and task-orientation, believed to be inherent attributes of male workers. In result, women have significantly lower chances for promotions than their male colleagues (Welle and Heilman, 2005). In order to prove that, it is worth to mention the statistics of the European Institute for Gender Equality. Women represent on average 59% of university graduates within the EU. However, approximately 3% of president roles within the European companies are allocated to women. Similarly, only 12% of them find employment in the company’s management board. Moreover, in the EU the unemployment rate remains hig her for women rather than men (Rchland, 2011). It is also important to notice that the EU is one of the most developed regions in the world that aims to promote equal employment opportunities. It indicates that the problem of promotion and successful career might be more serious in other regions across the world, in particular in developing countries due to the traditional perception of women’s responsibilities and limited access to education for women. For instance, in India women represent just under 1% of all positions in the management boards (Rchland, 2011). Another indicator of women’s discrimination in terms of promotion and career is a percentage of women’s representation in national parliaments, used by the United Nations. As Appendix 5 demonstrates, in the developing countries women’s constitute 18% of the representation in national parliaments, while this percentage is only insignificantly higher for the developed regions and amounts to 23%. He nce, women across the world have also got serious problem with accessing prestige public positions (The United Nations, 2011). Regarding informal discrimination, its prominent example is the employment status of women. As Appendix 6 shows, part-time employment is a common characteristic of the female labour participation, even in the most developed countries across the globe. While some women decide to knowingly choose part-time jobs in order to combine employment with household responsibilities, a significant number of women is forced by the employers to choose part-time work, as it is preferable form of women’s employment in most of the companies (ILO, 2010). Additionally, women are more likely hired in informal sectors than man are. This trend is particularly strong in various developing countries such as Kenya, Chad or Bolivia (Appendix 7). These forms of employment have various costs for women such as low job security, low payments[6] as well as limited access to the basic public services (i.e. public health care). As a result, women are exposed to the marginalization (ILO, 2010; The World Bank, 2012). Another form of informal discrimination is sexual harassment. Research conducted by ILO revealed, that approximately 40-50% of women in the EU complain about various forms of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual behaviours that they had to face in a workplace. Similarly, UN’s analysis in Asia-Pacific countries showed that 30-40% of women in this region experienced similar abuses. In New South Wales (Australia) sexual harassment became the largest category of work-related complaints in 2009 (ILO, 2011). These examples of sexual harassment strongly underline an existing problem of gender discrimination in the workplace. It is important to add that these unwanted sexual behaviours tend to increase in the recent years. Due to the current economic crisis, women’s employment is highly precarious. Many employers and male workers at the prestige position within a company may take advantages of current situation on the labour market in order to increase these negative behaviour s (ILO, 2011). Finally, informal discrimination of women at work also concerns maternity status. The Maternity Protection Convention from 2000 states that the benefits should be provided for pregnant women so they can ensure accurate level of living standards and good health both for themselves and for the child. According to the ILO survey from 2010, in a number of countries across the world the governments do not provides maternity benefits by themselves. They also fail to obligate employers to deliver such benefits. These negative patterns exist in mostly in developing countries. However, there is also a significant number of developed countries such as the United States where the national legislation does not obligate to provide cash benefits to pregnant women. Hence, as a consequence of pregnancy women have been disadvantaged at work (ILO, 2011). The roots of gender discrimination in a workplace As gender discrimination commonly appears in the workplaces, it is crucial to consider the causes of this discrimination. A major determinant of gender discrimination at work are cultural beliefs about the gender, as people translate â€Å"ideas about gender into discriminatory behaviours through sex categorization and gender stereotyping†. (Bobbit-Zeher, 2011, p.766). These stereotypes can be further divided into two groups, descriptive stereotypes and prescriptive stereotypes.While descriptive stereotypes refers to the collection of attributes and traits that has been unique for women or men, prescriptive stereotype concerns a set of characteristics and attributes that define what women and men should be like. These stereotypes of gender may lead to different ways of discrimination. Descriptive stereotyping will cause discriminatory behaviour when the attributes associated with that stereotype does not match the attributes required in a particular job. A good example is that women are less likely hired in male gender-typed jobs. Typical attributes of women are relationship-orientation and nurturance, while male gender-typed jobs require usually decisiveness and task-orientation that are regarded as typical male characteristics. Hence, the employers often believe that men will be more successful in male occupations due to their congenital attributes. This fact works against women, particularly in reference to highly prestige job vacancies in senior management. These positions are perceived as male gendered-typed and hence, women are less likely to perform them. In turn, prescriptive stereotyping will lead to discriminatory behaviours when the attributes associated with gender do not match expectation of employers and coworkers. This stereotype is based on the assumption what women should be like and how she should behave. If women undermine typical attributes of women by her behaviour (i.e. being extremely successful while performing male gender-typed j ob) it might lead to disapproval and hostile reactions from employers and coworkers (Welle and Heilman, 2005). It is important to add that also organizational structure, policies and practices contribute to gender discrimination. For instance, the company is dominated by male workers may decide to hire women. It may lead to women’s exposure to sexual harassment and various forms of provocation from their male coworker’s side, as a consequence of men’s attempts to demonstrate their strong position within a company in order to preserve it. Also actions and interactions within a company may cause gender discrimination. Institutional actors are responsible for hiring and firing, performance evaluation and promotions. Therefore, actions and interactions within a company affect both gendered belief and organizational context and hence, may contribute to gender discrimination (Bobbit-Zeher, 2011). Conclusion To sum up, the following essay provided strong evidences that gender discrimination is an inherent element of the contemporary workplaces. Three primary indicators of changes in women’s employment status proved that gender inequality had significantly declined over last forty years while the position of women on the labour market strengthened. Nowadays women have a significant share in global labour force and enjoy an access to these vacancies that were previously reserved for male workers. Nonetheless, until this day women meet significant forms of gender discrimination in the workplaces. One of its most prominent forms are difficulties in climbing career ladder and problems with advancement opportunities that women have to face in most of the workplaces. Until this day there is still a large pay gap between women and men, even in the developed countries. Additionally, women are often refused a full-time employment and are hired on the basis of the part-time contracts. Furthe r, women often find difficulties in fulfilling obligations by their employers when they are on the maternity leave. Finally, women are exposed to various discriminatory behaviours from their male colleagues, in particular to sex harassment and various forms of provocation. The gender discrimination has strong roots in the cultural views of gender and the stereotypical concept of women as fragile and weak. Also practices and policies implemented by organizations are in favour of spreading gender discrimination. A number of positive steps was taken in the recent years in order to tackle the problem of gender discrimination. For instance, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprises launched the Female Future programme (FF) in 2002. It was an eighteen months training which main purpose was to identify talented women in the Norwegian labour force and to move them quickly into leadership roles. This program was further accepted by other countries such as Japan, Austria or Uganda (Rchland, 2011). Another example can be EU Strategy for Equality between Women and Men (2010-2015) accepted by the European Commission. The strategy defined five priorities which should be realized to improve gender equality. These priorities were equal economic independence; equal pay for work and work for equal value; equality in decision-making; dignity, integration and the end to gender-based violence as well as gender equality in external actions (ILO, 2011). Further, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC ) started a campaign, Decent Work, Decent Life Campaign that intended to promote the rights of these workers that are highly vulnerable to discrimination. Over a hundred trade unions from 64 countries have been involved in this campaign. Also some national governments took steps to combat gender discrimination. For instance, Norway developed a program which obligated all the large publicly limited companies to ensure that 40% of their board members constitute women. This program is currently implemented in France (Rchland, 2011). Although a significant number of various initiatives have been developed to promote gender equality at work in the recent years, more time is needed to assess the effectiveness of these steps. List of references: Acker, J., (2006). Inequality Regimes: Gender, Class and Race in Organizations. Thousand Oak: Sage. Bobbit-Zeher, D., (2011). Gender discrimination at work: Connecting Gender Stereotypes, Institutional Policies and Gender Composition of Workplace. Thousand Oak: Sage. Cotter, D., al., (2004). Gender Inequality at Work. New York: Russel Sage Foundation. International Labour Organization, (2010). Women in labour markets: Measuring progress and identifying challenges. Geneva: International Labour Office. International Labour Organization, (2011). Equality at work: The continuing challenge. Geneva: International Labour Office. OECD, (2010). Gender brief. Paris: OECD. Prechel, S., and Burri, S., (2009). EU Rules on Gender Equality: How are they transported into national lawBrussels: The European Commission. Rchland, H., (2011). Discrimination at work. World of Work. 72. P.6-26. Rao, A., (2006). Gender Equality Architecture and UN Reforms. New York: The United Nations. The United Nations, (2011). The Millennium Development Goals Report. New York: The United Nations. The World Bank, (2012). World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development Outline. Washington: The World Bank. Welle, B. and Heilman, M., (2005). Formal and Informal Discrimination Against Women at Work. The Role of Gender Stereotypes. Ohio: Centre for Public Leadership. Wright, E. and Rogers, J., (2010). American Society. How it really worksNew York: W.W.Norton. How to cite How does gender discrimination manifest itself in a workplace?, Essay examples

Walt Disney Research Paper free essay sample

The opening of the park impacted the world because it showed the world a different perspective because the kids weren’t the only ones who could ride on attractions. The parents were able to ride as well because Mr. Disney dreamed of a place where families could have fun and make memories. Furthermore, the opening of the park was kind of a letdown, but Walt Disney didn’t let that stop him from improving the park. He once stated, â€Å"Disneyland will never be completed. † To this day Disneyland is getting bigger and opening new attractions. Both Disneyland and Walt Disney World are a big vacation destination to people around the world.And also, throughout his lifetime and after his death Walt Disney has received many different awards, nominations, and etc. The awards he receives vary from his films to the creation of Disneyland. Disney also holds the records for most Oscars won; he has been awarded 22 Oscars. Those are a lot of award s that he won! Walt Disney did do some extraordinary work so he truly did deserve all the awards. Most of the awards he won were for his films that he either made or directed. With this is mind, the most famous he has received is the Honorary Award for his creation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.Walt also holds a record for the most nominations for the Academy Awards. Those nominations were mostly for the cartoons he made! He ended up winning 21 awards in all the categories he was nominated in. Also, some other honors that Walt Disney has gotten are 3 stars; 2 of them being located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the other on the Anaheim Walk of Stars. â€Å"One of the stars in Hollywood was awarded to him for motion pictures and the other for his television work. † (â€Å"Walt Disney†) Two stars? He must be really proud of his work that he achieved! Walt will be forever honored for the extraordinary work he did throughout his career.In like manner, Disneyland is supposed to be the happiest place on earth and that is what Walt Disney dreamed of when building the park. The public gave him a lot of great criticism and really liked Walt Disney’s idea of building a family-friendly park. â€Å"He dreamed of a place where families could come together and experience something unique yet familiar. † (â€Å"Classic Hollywood†) This is very true because Walt did dream of a place where all types of families could come together and have fun and sort of forget about their problems. People from all over the world have visited the theme park.Disneyland attracts tourists from around the world every single day. â€Å"The tourists come to enjoy all the shows and attractions that the park has to offer! He created a place where cutting edge technology and animatronics could create an immersive virtual reality of an idealized past and future, relying on each family to provide the present. † (â€Å"Classic Hollywood†) This means that Walt Disney created a place where really high-tech technology could combine with animations and create a new dimension of entertainment for families. Disneyland still has many original features that Walt Disney created himself.The theme park was a great success for Disney company. In addition, The well-known author Neal Gabler changed the way that the world sees things because Walt Disney used his imagination to change American culture.. He states, As I see it Mickey Mouse’s creator and alter ego, refined traditional values. † He believes that Walt Disney changed America’s 20th generation. â€Å"He reinforced American iconoclasm, and he helped mold a counter cultural generation. † (â€Å"The Critics†) He helped form a multi-cultural world because a lot of different races came together to celebrate the different events that Walt Disney held.Everything that Walt Disney did changed all of America one way or another that is how much he impacted society. â€Å"He also credits Disney with helping to establish â€Å"American popular culture as the dominant culture in the world. † (â€Å"The Critics†) The American culture dominated because we were known for many different things that were made for Walts request. Furthermore, The American traditions were also changed because the different movies Disney directed encouraged the world to expand their imagination. â€Å"Disneyland combined nostalgia for a halcyon; nonexistent past with utopian fantasies of Tommorowland,† as Mr.Gabler sees it. This means that he combined a regular and normal world with his imagination of the future and combined them to make a unique world! So in the end Walt Disney did change American culture forever! Likewise, filmmaker Jon Favreau states that he is truly proud of what Walt Disney achieved throughout his life. He was once quoted as saying, I understood more about him not as the man but what he was able to achieve, and that is the genius of Walt Disney. (Classic Hollywood) This is very true because mostly everyone knows Walt Disney because of his many successes either from his films or Disneyland. WaltDisney was very well talented and known by people around the world! Walt Disney will always be a legend for many people. In particular, Jon is mostly proud about Walt Disneys success on Disneyland. Disneyland was made in honor for families to come together. Jon says, Some of my earliest memories are of the park, my eyes pinched closed as my father described everything we passed in the Haunted Mansions doom buggy. (Classic Hollywood) Walt Disney will remain an American icon for many including Jon! In Conclusion, Walt Disney has become one the biggest, most successful film producers, directors, animators, and entertainer of all time.Because of his early films/cartoons, creations of the happiest place on Earth also known as Disneyland, and the benefit the critiques have given him. With his big imagination, he has created many popular animated films such as Snow White, Bambi, Dumbo, Mickey Mouse, and many more. Through the many ups and downs, Walt has never given up on what he believed and achieved. He took risks to improve his films that not many producers took. He also created Disneyland. In this case, people from all around the world praise and love him.

The Impact Of Ethical Sourcing Essay Example

The Impact Of Ethical Sourcing Essay The sourcing companies are preferred to source products at the lowest possible price, while at the same time ensure he suppliers produce the products With social and environmental considerations. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that products and raw materials purchase by or on behalf of a company consistent with the mission to develop and promote ethical responsibility at every stage in a fashion supply chain. In 1 9905, fashion retailers mainly focused on the economical aspect i. E. Sweet cost with reasonable quality, of achieving the products. While ethical issues are increasingly concerned recently in supply chain management. Globalization is likely one of the factors that contribute to the ransom, which many companies move the production lines offshore to those developing counties for the reason of lower production costs. Concerns on the human right of the workers and the environment protection have been raise in these countries. Change in consumer purchasing behavior may be another factor. This change may possibly increase pressure on fashion retailers or producers to sell or use products that are produced environmentally friendly and respecting human rights. Any failure would probably destroy the companies trustworthiness and even threaten corporate survival. International brands Gap and Nikkei are examples that suffered negative publicity as a result of failing to maintain the ethical issues in their production process. This appears to force fashion companies to adopt ethical sourcing and ensure their suppliers in all stages of supply chain act accordingly. 2. Finding and Discussion The impact of ethical souring on the selection of production sources can be divided into two aspects: the selection of suppliers and the selection of production materials. 2. 1 . Selection of suppliers Traditionally, under limited information about the suppliers, fashion buyers end to use price as a standard for selection Of suppliers in which the lower the price a supplier offered, the more likely the supplier will obtain the business in a pool of potential suppliers. In addition to price, quality, delivery time and services provided may also affect their choices. We will write a custom essay sample on The Impact Of Ethical Sourcing specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Impact Of Ethical Sourcing specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Impact Of Ethical Sourcing specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Today, however, fashion companies take into account two additional concerns, i. E. Social responsibility and environmental sustainability, when selecting new suppliers. Price used to be considered as a critical factor in evaluating and determining suppliers as the price of raw materials contribute most in the production sots. Therefore to cut the production costs, fashion companies may choose the suppliers with the lower price. This low price, however, may reflect lower standards in response to the workers treatment and environmental protection. As to keep costs low, suppliers may pay low wages, require the workers to work long hours, provide poor working environment for their workers and employ child labors in order to gain the business and undercut other potential suppliers. These unethical social problems are now widely criticized by public and therefore trigger a change in supply chain management. Cooperate with those unethical suppliers may have a risk of reputation damage , and consequently many companies start to consider ethical issues when they are choosing suppliers. The main barrier for ethical souring On selection Of suppliers may possibly be the Costs. It seems difficult for the suppliers to produce products as cheap as before and at the same time adherence to ethical production, because they may have to increase the wage rate, improve working environment, and use safe and environmental friendly raw materials. This apparently lowers the opportunities for suppliers o gain the business unless they undercut other potential suppliers on cost. Also, the costs of sourcing ethical clothing, inevitably, will increase accordingly. A fashion buyer may face a tradeoff when selecting suppliers between lower costs and concerning ethical issues. When adopting ethical souring, fashion buyers may not be able to access to the interior of the suppliers and evaluate whether the products are produced according to code Of ethics and environmental standards. Evidence from third parties, therefore, may be required to provide advice for the companies. For example, United Nation Global Compact (UNC), requires companies to follow universal teeth kcal principles, is a standard to encourage companies worldwide to adopt sustainable social and environmental policies. Also, several non- government organizations (NAG) were established to encourage fashion companies to sourcing materials or clothing produced by manufacturers with ethical concerns. The Clean Clothes Campaign, the Ethical Trading Initiative (IT) and Fair Labor Association are the examples of NAG to promote ethical standards in clothing production. However, these organizations that help in ethical sourcing may be criticized as not reliable. For example, one of the members in the IT, Gap, had been found inconsistent with the ethical standards by employing child labors. Consumers, therefore, may need self- adjustment on the companies performance and the information on the companies official website may provide a way. Some of the fashion companies, such as Patagonia and People Tree, provide transparency of information about where the raw materials come from and where the production is carried out on their websites. This is because these companies recognize that any inappropriate and unethical corporate actions in supply chains may affect the companies image and reputations in the market. 2. 2. Selection of production materials Selecting appropriate raw materials would be very important as the features of raw materials could have a great influence on the finished products. There is trend for fashion buyers to source clothing made from sustainable cottons and produced by Fair Trade manufacturers. For instance, Marks Spencer had sold clothing made from Fair Trade cotton since 2006; Monsoon sold Fair Trade clothing; New Look sold t-shirts made from organic cotton; Houses sold clothing made from recycled cotton fabric. Sustainable cottons refer to the cottons that are produced in response to social ethics and environmental protection. Examples are organic cotton, better cotton and recycled cotton. Organic cotton takes an important role in ethical souring and there are a growing number Of fast ion companies that start to take step towards using organic cotton. Timberland could be a typical example that does a lot to reduce damage to the environment in which 80% of the shoes are manufactured from organic cotton or recycled materials. HM, another example, is one of the leading users of organic cotton in the world. Cotton is regarded as the most popular fiber used in garment. Standard cotton farming is criticized for produce significant environmental problems as it is accounted for 1 1 % of the worlds pesticide consumption. Organic cotton, which is grown without pesticides and fertilizers, is therefore used to improve farmers health and reduce considerable environmental pollution. This kind of farming may possibly minimize the adverse effect on rivers or water source nearby. Better cotton, which is introduced by Better Cotton Initiative to promote good farming behavior, also growth with less irrigate water, chemical, and with more concern to the soil, natural environment and working condition for farmers. Recycled cotton, which is made from the scraps produced by textile mills or post-consumer cotton waste, is important to minimize unnecessary wastage and environmental impacts. Recycle cotton reduce waste to landfill and the use of virgin cotton, chemicals, water and land. Although it is environmental friendly to use sustainable cottons, there are several imitations regarding the usage of these cottons. There seems to be physical limitation for organic cotton and better cotton of having less output because of the absence of chemical pesticide and fertilizers. Apart from physical limitation, there is also economical limitation in which using sustainable cottons is very expensive. Cost of farmers will be increase as the certified organic seed is expensive. Farmers may possibly transfer these extra cost to manufacturers for producing sustainable cotton fabrics. The cost of fashion companies will increase accordingly as extra expense is resulted from using expensive cotton fabric, getting organic cotton certification and paying a Fair Trade premium to farmers. A huge investment of money, time and effort may be required to develop and train farmers skills for producing sustainable cottons in order to meet the international standard. 3. Conclusion Ethical sourcing may conceivably be the critical souring strategy for every fashion companies worldwide in the nearest future as it brings a great deal of benefit to the society while at the same time minimizes the environmental impact. It mainly affects the supply chain in the selection of suppliers and production materials. Although the change in criteria of selection production source may discourage the economic aspect as higher purchase price, it does promote the companys reputation and good image to be an ethical corporate as consumers concern. This may actually reduce operation costs of a company as more recycled materials are used and less effort may be put on promoting brand image. Reputation is a key to maximum corporate benefit and there is no other choice than employing ethical sourcing to maintain or improve reputation in the long term. With increase in reputation, new marketing opportunities could be found.

Pre-College Summer Programs Should You Go

Pre-College Summer Programs Should You Go SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you're contemplating your summer plans, you may want to consider pre-college summer programs. These programs offerhigh school students the opportunity to live and learn on a college campus. In this article, I'll explain the different types of programs and let you know the benefits and drawbacks of attending them. Furthermore, I'll let you know if doing one of these programs can help you get into college. What Is a Pre-College Summer Program? A pre-college summer program offers high school students the opportunity to take classes at a college and experience college life during the summer. Many programs offer a residential and commuter option. Students can stay in dorms with their peers, or they can commute from home if they live close to the college. Typically, these programs range anywhere from one to eight weeks. During these programs, not only are students able to take classes from college professors or visiting scholars, but they’re also able to listen to lectures from alumni and participate in social activities. Many selective private colleges, including Stanford, Harvard, and Columbia, offer pre-college summer programs for high school students. Some of theseprograms are open enrollment (anyone can attend), and others require admission through an application process. The selective programs typically require teacher recommendations, application essays, and standardized test scores. Check a specific program’s website for its admissions requirements. Possible Benefits of Pre-College Summer Programs Spending part of your summer studying at college or a university may not sounds like the most fun, but it canoffer a number of potential benefits. Prepare for College Life For many students, adjusting to college life can be very difficult. A pre-college summer program enables you to spend time on a college campus and take classes from college professors. These programs can help ease the transition to college life when you go to college. You’ll be more familiar with the expectations of a college class, and you’ll be more comfortable navigating a college campus. Explore Your Academic Interests Pre-college programs allow you to take classes in subjects you’re interested in, or you can discover new interests. You can take courses in a wide variety of subjects like computer science, theater, economics, and philosophy. Enhance Your College Resume Colleges do like to see that you’re taking advantage of your summers to participate in meaningful activities. By attending a pre-college summer program, you can demonstrate your interest in academics and show that you’re motivated to do more than what’s required to pursue your academic passions. Exposure to a Specific College If you're strongly considering attending a certain college, going to its summer program can help you figure out if it's the right place for you. You'll get a feel for the campus and its location, and you may get the opportunity to interact with current students and professors. You'll come away with a better sense of whether you can see yourself thriving in that environment. Make New Friends You shouldn’t discount the social benefits of attending these programs. You can meet people from around the world and form meaningful relationships that will last beyond the program. Keep in mind that there are potential costs of attending these programs. Possible Drawbacksof Pre-College Summer Programs Though many students really enjoy attending these programs, there are some issues to consider. Cost Pre-college summer programs are expensive. For example, an 8-credit course at Harvard’s seven-week secondary school summer program costs $5,900 for tuition and $5,400 for housing. That doesn’t even include transportation costs if you don’t live near Harvard. However, Harvard does offer some financial aid that covers partof the tuition forstudents with outstanding academic records who demonstrate financial need. The all-inclusive cost for the three-week Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes is $6,300. That includes room and board and transportation between Stanford and San Francisco International Airport. These Programs May Not Help You Get Into College Many college experts believe that going to a pre-college summer program may in fact hurt your chances of getting into a selective college. If you go to a summer program at Brown and you apply to Cornell, Cornell may assume that you’re more interested in Brown. Also, due to the cost of pre-college programs, some admissions counselors believe that these programs are basically summer camp for wealthy students. Many advise students tofind more creative and low-cost ways to explore their passions. For example, you can volunteer to do research with a local college professor or work at an art museum. However, there are summer programs that will undoubtedly impress college admissions officers. Free, highly selective summer programs like Research Science Institute and the Young Engineering and Science Scholars will greatly enhance your college application because they only admit a limited number of exceptional students. Perfect Zero/Flickr Is a Pre-College Summer Program Right for You? I won't advise you whether or not you should do a pre-college summer program. That's your decision. However, if you can afford to attend one of these programs and feel like it would be a good option for you, I recommend tailoring it to your interests. Take courses that are related to your intended college major, or go to a program at a college that you may want to attend. Also, I don't think that doing a costly program will substantially hurt or help your college applications. However, it can be helpful if you excel in the program and get an outstanding recommendation from a professor. Additionally, if the program stimulates an academic interest or prepares you to do well in school, it can indirectly help your chances of gaining admission to the most selective colleges. What Are Some Well-Known Pre-College Summer Programs? If you do decide attending one of these programs is a good choice for you, here are some popularoptions to check out: Duke TIP Duke TIP serves students as young as 4th grade. It's meant to provide opportunities for academically gifted students. We've written articles on Duke TIP 7th grade Talent Search and Duke TIP SAT requirements. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes and High School Summer College These are two different summer programs at Stanford. At the High School Summer College, you can take a quarter of Stanford classes with Stanford students. The Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes offer a three-week residential program for students to live in Stanford housing and take a class not often given at the high school level. Summer Institute for the Gifted This program is conducted at colleges across the country. It is designed for gifted and talented students from 5-17 years of age. There are residential and commuter programs. Summer@Brown Summer@Brown offers nearly 200 courses that range from 1-4 weeks. They are designed to reflect Brown's liberal arts curriculum, and they're taughtat the level of first-year college courses. To find the right program for you, there are a number of factors to consider: your budget, the length of the program, the available courses and credit options (some programs offer courses for college credit), and the location of the program. If there's a college that really intrigues you, check the school's website to see if it offers a summer program. You can use the Summer Program Finder to identify a program that fits your needs and interests. You can spend your summer at the beach or college. Or both. Recap Pre-college summer programs provide you with an opportunity to experience college life, explore your academic interests, and make friends. Even though these programs can help prepare you for college, just going to one won’t significantly impact your chances of getting into a selective college. If you’re interested in a pre-college summer program, you can find one at colleges across the country. You’ll be able to take classes in many subjects that aren’t usually offered at the high school level. What's Next? Find out what you need to get into Ivy League schools and the most selective colleges. Are you still uncertain if a pre-college program is right for you? Get some more ideas onhow you can spend your summer. If you're going into your senior year of high school, maybe your summer plan should include preparing for the SAT/ACT. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Allemande Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Allemande - Essay Example Allemande is played through the musical voice of the cello, giving a reverberatingly cool voice somehow imitating in voice the cool gush of winds on the forests. Musical notes seem to dance in a waltzing style through the fast and happy beat of the classic, making use of the cello’s wide voice range to construct a melody playing from the lower end of the pitch range, to the higher end and on the middle. Allemande’s composition consists mostly of repetitive movements or of movements with somehow similar style as the master style of the song. The song does make use of a lot of vibrato that it adds up to the regular yet well-placed interval pauses from the rapid and graceful movement of the lower notes. The ritardando placed from the transition from one movement to another adds up to the smooth switch from the two movements. The song seems to require a high-level technique of switching hand positions and powerful bowing and strumming of the cello. ... The thick musical background song of drums percussion and electric overdrive characterizes the up-beat and metallic rhythm to convey a message of a New World Pop Culture based on Rock ‘n Roll and Metal Gore. The song portrays a protest against the classics that is primarily based on techniques, forms, and structure, by changing everything and basing the song on expression and not just on the technique of the song. The use of untraditional sound effects of the song on the intermission part of the song where the lead guitar and the drummer bangs their instrument portrays an unconventional utilization of sounds to produce a musical composition that appeals to the ears of the public mass. Lyrically, the song seems to convey a testimonial of a user addicted to depressant drugs, or maybe an obsession to a beautiful girl. Crazy Crazy, like the previous song, Purple Haze, does not follow a uniform pattern for its movements, and just like the previous song, it expounds more on the expre ssion of the message rather than the technique used on the song. Unlike Purple Haze, however, Crazy makes use of a soft harmonizing background to relay the message of the lyrics effectively to the audience for a smooth and understandable listening even for just a single run of the song. Patsy Cline’s soft tremble voice, projecting the subject as innocent and pure, makes the lyrics more powerful to the audience, and thus, the impact more intense. As for the background tune, on the other hand, makes use of repetitive chords to harmonize with the melody of the song, which eventually adds up to the aesthetic value of the song. The bass guitar further thickens the harmony, along with the second bass vocals. The bass, the vocals, the percussions, the keyboard, and other instruments mix up

How Can an Understanding of Micro- And Macro- Economic Help Business Essay

How Can an Understanding of Micro- And Macro- Economic Help Business Deal with Their Market Situation and Their External Environment - Essay Example This paper illustrates that among micro-economic theory, one of the most important concepts is supply and demand analysis that is related to analyzing the supply and demand graph to measure the shift of the graph. It is necessary to explain these concepts before describing their importance for businesses. Supply and demand analysis of a business implies looking at the two variables of supply and demand. Demand can be defined as a phenomenon in which consumers agree on a certain amount of goods to purchase at a particular price. Therefore, demand is determined by various factors among which price of goods are an important factor as a law of demand states that high price of goods cause consumers to demand less and vice versa. However, supply is the quantity of goods that the manufacturers are agreed on selling at a certain price. According to a law of supply, the high price enables manufacturers to sell more whereas low price makes them manufacture less quantity of goods. Thus the supp ly and demand determine the businesses operations and helps them make important decisions about their selling of products. The supply and demand have a close relationship with concepts of equilibrium and elasticity. Equilibrium can be defined as the condition in which both consumers and manufacturers agree on a certain price on which goods would be sold or purchased. However, the concept of elasticity implies the responsiveness of consumers and manufacturers toward the change in some variable. For instance, the change in the price of a good affects the consumers and firms to lead them to make a decision. There are numerous factors that are related to the concept of elasticity such as a price of a good, income of consumer or cross-elasticity of supply and demand.