Biological Differences

Words: 684
Pages: 3
Open Document
1. What is the author’s main purpose?
a. “Although research shows that the sexual division of labor is determined by multiple social, economic, and political forces, day-to-day struggles of women for safe and equal integration in the workplace confront discourse on biological differences. Perceived differences between men and women may influence job assignments, sick leave policies and access to workers compensation payments, taking precedence over the reality of job/worker interactions.” (Messing & Lippel, 2000, p. 21). The author’s main purpose is to inform readers that many jobs, more specifically labor demanding jobs. Women are denied these jobs due to their physical appearance and biological differences compared to a man’s.
2. What was/were …show more content…
Key questions that the authors had in mind when they researched and wrote the article were: How do “biological differences” play important factor in “women’s struggle to achieve equality in the workplace” without compromising their own safety and health? (Messing & Lippel, 2000, p. 22) “What kind of tasks designs minimize male-female differences in lifting strength?” (Messing & Lippel, 2000, p. 22) Do companies focus too much on a women’s menstrual health to the point where it becomes a key factor on why they are limited to certain jobs?
3. What evidence (facts, data, experiences, sources – be sure to look at the footnotes) does the author use to support his/her conclusions?
a. “Research findings on the average performances of white women and men…” (Messing & Lippel, 2000, p. 23) “A case appealed successfully to the Supreme Court of Canada…” (Messing & Lippel, 2000, p. 23)
The authors acquired evidence from studies conducted by scientists, journals, and Supreme Court Cases to support their conclusions. The journal itself received support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Experts in genetics, ergonomics, law, and physiology contributed information to the …show more content…
“Essentialist conceptions of the workplace would put men in jobs requiring endurance, repetition and fitness…” otherwise an increase in illnesses will occur. “By evidence that, in a sexually divided workplace, both women and men become ill from their jobs.” (Messing & Lippel, 2000, p. 39)
b. One of the authors key conclusions is that “women’s specific occupational health problems…do not rise from their biology, but from sexism and from the workplace’s failure to recognize and accommodate diversity” (Messing & Lippel, 2000, p. 40)
5. What are the most important ideas (key concepts/contextual information) that you would have to understand in order to understand the author’s line of reasoning?
a. The most important idea to understand in order to understand the author’s line of reason is that women aren’t limited to “tough” jobs because of their physical appearance or biological composition but rather by companies who lack the desire to adjust jobs for all shapes and sizes.
b. Men encounter many occupational accidents but no one questions their abilities. Instead, companies who have male-dominate jobs invest a lot of money into accident prevention. (Messing & Lippel, 2000, p. 40)
6. What, if anything, might the author be taking for granted? (Put another way – What assumptions does he/she make that might be
Show More

Related Documents: Biological Differences

Gender Differences In Biological Research

and women have differences in their human biology, these differences can cause the genders to experience events differently. Pain is experienced by both genders and the differences in biology have cause people to question whether there is a difference in how genders experience pain. This is mainly surrounding the idea of which is worse, childbirth or a kick in the balls. Research in this topic is vast and have concluded that genders do suffer pain differently. The biological difference however doesn’t…

Words 978 - Pages 4

The Difference Between Biological Sex And Gender

the meaning is also in the way people actually do task throughout their day. If someone says they love their job but turn in incomplete or low quality work, they might not necessarily love what they are doing. 10. The difference between biological sex and gender is that biological sex is what biologically defines a man or a woman. Physical characteristics such as facial hair, adams apple, breast, and wider hips are used to define if someone is biologically a man or a woman. Gender are the accepted…

Words 494 - Pages 2

Chapter 5Compounds and Their Bonds57Electronegativity and Essay

Electronegativity and Bond Polarity General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. 1 Electronegativity The electronegativity value  indicates the attraction of an atom for shared electrons  increases from left to right going across a period on the periodic table  decreases going down a group on the periodic table  is high for the nonmetals, with fluorine as the highest  is low for the metals General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education…

Words 370 - Pages 2

Becoming A Gendered Body Analysis

certain biological differences between the sexes (i.e. hormones, genitals), none of these account for the social difference that exist between genders. She accounts this gendering of the body to practices that take place as early as preschool, including: dressing up, permitting and forbidding of certain behaviors, controlling voices, verbal and physical reactions between teachers and children, and physical interactions among the children. This article and the theme of how perceived biological differences…

Words 253 - Pages 2

Comparison and Contrast of Biological and Social Constructionist Approaches to Self Essay

Running Head: APPROACHES TO SELF Comparison and Contrast of Biological and Social Constructionist Approaches to Self [Name of the Writer] [Name of the Institution] Comparison and Contrast of Biological and Social Constructionist Approaches to Self Introduction The ‘self’ is the perceptions, thoughts, emotions, or the essential qualities that makes a person different from all others. There have been a number of approaches for defining the self with each providing distinctive aspects to the…

Words 2401 - Pages 10

Gender Identity Week 5 Essay

terms of the ways they present themselves to the world through their manner of dress, behavior, physical comportment, and so forth. Both distinguish between a person's biological sex (male or female) and gender identity (masculine or feminine)” (Malti-Douglas, 2007, para.). However, many have argued that anatomical differences between the sexes are the result of historically specific conceptualizations of the body, such that even something as apparently "objective" and "neutral" as biology must…

Words 1492 - Pages 6

Race As A Social Construction

Google defines race as a group of people thought to share certain distinctive physical characteristics. For this reason, race can sometimes be confused as a biological construction when in reality it is a social construction. Physically, people may vary in appearance but genetically we are all the same. On average, all human sequence are 99.5% similar to each other. While humans may express these genes differently, it does not mean that we are that much different. For example, skin color is determines…

Words 215 - Pages 1

Evolution and Complex Biological Organisms Essay

infer God’s existence from the existence of certain entities, complex biological organisms: humans, mammals, other animals, etc. In general terms, the reasoning is that the complexity exhibited by biological organisms such as humans, mammals, and other animals makes probable the existence of a supremely intelligent designer (i.e., God). How does this argument go? -Humans, mammals, etc., it is claimed, are highly complex biological organisms. -They have a complex biology: nervous systems, brains,…

Words 1065 - Pages 5

Gender Dysphoric Brain

Regional volumes and spatial volumetric distribution of gray matter in the gender dysphoric brain. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 55, pp.59-71. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhr032 Gender dysphoria (GD) is defined as the continuous conflict between an individual’s biological sex and experienced gender identity. The study aimed to examine whether signs of non-gender specific cerebral programming is present in the brains of gender dysphoric adolescents, and hypothesized that individuals with GD have undergone a non-gender…

Words 1040 - Pages 5

Race Social Construct

controversial and misunderstood ideas in human history. From shaping social dynamics and power structures to influencing individual identities, race has played a significant role in human societies. Despite the widespread belief that race is based on biological differences, research has shown that race is a social construct with no scientific basis. A social construct is an idea or concept created by people through interaction and agreement (“Social Construct,” n.d.). By examining the works of scholars like…

Words 891 - Pages 4