Aja Kelleher is not an aggressive woman. Ambitious and assertive, yes. But aggressive is a bit harsh even though many men would, perhaps, paint her with that brush as she pushed her way up the corporate ladder as a woman and a minority in a field that is heavy with white men. Standing out and standing up for herself has served her well. More than 15 years of hard work have propelled Aja into a post as senior project manager for the Chicago office of a large investment firm making in the neighborhood of $100,000. Read the rest of this entry »
by Josannah Birman on August 27th, 2009 2:02 | Tags: gender, gender issues, inequality, pay gap, racism, sexism
Posted in career, no thumb | 7 Comments »
Three cultures. Two generations. One bond. This Shift series delves into the lives of mothers who came to the United States from other countries and the daughters they have raised here.
From Agatha dreading Polish school to Dorina balancing her Mexican traditions with her husband’s, second generation daughters often walk a fine line between staying connected to their heritage and mainstream American culture. Read the rest of this entry »
by Josannah Birman on August 26th, 2009 8:16 | Tags: culture, daughter, immigrants, Mexican, mother, Polish-American, Romanian-American, second generation
Posted in identity, no thumb | 2 Comments »
Three cultures. Two generations. One bond. This Shift series delves into the lives of mothers who came to the United States from other countries and the daughters they have raised here.
Dorina was the first person in her family to earn a degree, but she didn’t stop there. She went on to earn a master’s degree and is considering pursuing a PhD. She savors the independence of being an educated woman and describes a very different picture of a woman’s role in Mexico. Education is important to Christine and Agatha as well.
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by Josannah Birman on August 26th, 2009 8:11 | Tags: career, daughter, immigrants, Mexican-American, mother, Polish-American, Romanian-American, second generation, Women, work-life balance
Posted in career, no thumb | No Comments »
Sewer grates. Cobblestone streets. Ice slicks. Traversing these urban hazards in a pair of heels isn’t easy. Just the other day, I was walking from the train station to the office along with a steady stream of laptop-carrying workers. I was just minding my own business in a pair of low heels when, wham! My sensible business-casual heel was stuck in a sewer grate and I was doing a one-foot hop to get it back on. Most women who wear heels probably have had a similar mishap so when I read this Time article about Seoul painting parking spots pink so women could cut down on the high heeled commute, I was all for it. However, it seems this pink paint is brushing over larger gender issues. Read the rest of this entry »
by Josannah Birman on August 7th, 2009 12:45 | Tags: gender issues, High Heels, Korean, Korean American, Parking Spots, Women
Posted in career, identity, no thumb | 21 Comments »
Midge Wilson, a professor of psychology at DePaul University, came of age when there were very few women in academia. The absence of female voices spurred a career focused on researching gender issues and racial discrimination. Wilson, now 57, talks about the wage gap between men and women and how ethnicity factors into the equation.
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by Josannah Birman on August 4th, 2009 3:46 | Tags: African American, gender issues, Hispanic, pink collar, racism, sexism, wage gap, Women
Posted in career, no thumb | 70 Comments »
