Up until the twenty-first century, there has been notable progress in the professional careers afforded to women. However, it seems as though the traditional ideals surrounding women’s work have not changed. Cheryl Jensen’s article titled, “It’s Macho, Without the Men” says reporters were surprised to find out that the designers of the new 2009 BMW Z4 were women. Nadya Arnaout designed the new BMW Z4's interior and Juliane Basi was the exterior designer. I myself was even surprised to discover that the designers for the new BMW were women. I never really gave much thought to the idea of women designing for a company like BMW because one would assume that the company is dominated by men. Furthermore, society associates men with cars and vice versa. In addition, I was surprised to find out that a woman, named Yrma Rico is President of Weber BMW which is located in Fresno, CA.
I asked several people whether they thought a male or female designed the car and their response was overwhelmingly female. When I asked them why, most agreed that the design of the car was feminine because it had smooth and round shapes. Others agreed that the car’s design was sleek and would be appealing to the female consumer. Overall, people tended to generalize and go along with the traditional ideals surrounding women’s work being feminine. On the contrary Ms. Blasi said, “if you look at the car you should not be able to see whether it was designed by a woman or a man.”
Do you think the traditional ideals surrounding women’s work have or have not changed? Do you think women as the presidents and CEO’s of companies are acknowledged in the same context as men? Does it surprise you that the designers of the new 2009 BMW Z4 are women?
Traditional ideas surrounding women's work hsa changed very much over the past few decades. With women gaining more power and independence they have been able to take over jobs that were once male dominated I think that today women are recongnized in higher positions such as CEO's and Presidents. In lower position jobs is where women are still struggling to be equal to men, but when a woman has power over a man's position, she is going to be more respected if only for the fact she is in a place of power. I wasn't surprised to hear that two women designed the BMW Z4, it's not really a thought that would cause me to stop and think whether a male or a female was the designer. I do think that is fabulous that women are designing a very high end car.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting post!!! Wow! That is so cool!!!! I never really thought about women designing cars, eventhough women are really active today in body shops and working as mechanics. Usually when you think of cars, you do attribute that commodity towards men because cars could symbolize aggression and masculine feature. Women in the auto industry today are a huge success and accomplishment that would not have been accepted and seen in the past because of society's patriarchal ideals. Women have come a long way and they are still pushing through areas they were once denied and frowned upon entering. Schools in the past denied women's entrance into the field of mechanics because of their gender, as a result women who were passionate about auto work had to turn to other professions that were considered feminine and suitable for a delicate woman such as cosmetology, nursing and others. The traditional ideals of women's work I believe as changed profoundly because women today are in many professions that they were once denied; they hold high positions such as CEO, Directors, etc; they have advanced degrees and education such as a MS, PhD and combination of others, and they in charge, but the role of women in work is still fuzzy because society continues to remind us of women's traditional role due to old stereotypes that are still prevalent of what it used to be. Some women today do not have such a difficulty getting to where they want to be in their life professionally, but most women continue to struggle because of so many factors such as socioeconomic status, finances, ethnicity and race, and their gender. It is still a challenge for some people to wrap around the idea that women are just as capable and qualified to do and master competently jobs and careers that men hold, and that women can do just as well or even better. Thus, the traditional ideals of women is gradually fading and becoming vaguer as the years go by, and that is progress. Women with leadership positions are constantly critiqued and debated against to try and prove to the male egocentric individuals that they are incapable of being in an authoritative role, but women continue to prove to those masochistic males that they are just as qualified and in most cases even better at handling situations as a leader. This revelation is proven in many areas, and one area the government shows women such as Condoleeza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, First Lady Michelle Obama and many other powerful, daring, educated women leaders holding high positions with grace and force all at once. Women are doing big things! Women are not acknowledged to the same extent as men with the same positions, but women having that high degree and education in order to get where they are presently show that they are unbeatable and noone can truly take away what they work hard to achieve. Women are continuously paving the way for the future leaders. It is wonderful that new BMWZ4 was designed by women. Knowing that women designed the BMWZ4 automobile, do you think more female consumers would be inclined to buy the vehicle? In turn, would women's actions be considered feminist?
ReplyDeleteI think that the traditional ideas have changed, but that the change has certainly not affected the way that everyone thinks. There are definitely still people out there (both men and women) who believe that women should not hold high-powered jobs, such as CEO or president positions. Look at all the controversy there was with Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin running for office this past election. While there were a large number of strong supporters, there were also a large number of people who believed that women in general should not have such a high office in our country. So while things are certainly improving, there are a lot more areas in which society can improve in regards to women in the workplace. When women do hold such a high position, the reactions to this can be polar opposites: people will either really respect her because she has climbed up the ladder and been extremely successful, or they might not believe that she deserves it and try to make her life a living hell at work, attempting to make her quit so a "better qualified" man can get the job.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I have to say that I was surprised that women were the designers of the new BMW. I thought it was interesting that when you asked people if they thought the new model BMW was designed by a man or woman, most people said a woman. Although I did notice the smooth curves of the car, I still link cars with men. Men like sports cars and speed, etc.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I do think that traditional ideas about women in the workplace still permeate today's society. For instance, many of the stereotypical "female" jobs including nurturing, motherly occupations, such as teaching or nursing. When it comes to competitve, high-ranking, and aggressive jobs, those jobs are then typically viewed as "male" jobs, which may include CEOs of corporations, doctors, or political positions.
Lastly, I'm not sure if male CEOs are more famous or viewed better and more powerful than female CEOs. I think that there are probably a lot less female CEOs, and that is why we hear of them less often than male CEOs.
I have frequently thought about the jobs women and men have and defying traditional roles, but I never thought about how I looked at it. If I were to look at that car, I would have thought a man designed it, without even thinking. When it comes to cars my mind automatically associates it with men, I can't even help it. If someone were to mention a mecanic, my mind would automatically picture a man. We have been trained to have these images. Even when we picture women in high power positions they are not necessarily feminie, but rather more masculine. We do not acknowledge women in power positions the same as men. A career women cannot have a family, cannot be feminine, and cannot be strong without being looked down upon. I almost feel a little ashamed that I was surprised that the designers were women. I am a fixer when it comes to things, but I cannot think of how this is fixable. How can you change something that happens unconciously? Perhaps as with everything, time and attention to details is the answer.
ReplyDeleteThis is a different type of post dealing with the topic. I think it makes a very good point though, because I think it IS very stereotypical for men and cars to be associated with each other. And I think that it is funny because for the men who have a very high interest in cars pay a lot of attention to how the car is made as a whole, and like the ultimate appeal that it has. I feel that the women of these companies do not get the credit that they should for their ideas that have been brought to life. I think that it is usually only the people who are manufacturing the cars(which is still a big part) are being acknowledged, but disreguarding the brains behind the process. Unfortunately, I don't think that the traditional ideals of women's work have changed much, but I think there has definately been progress.
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