Kelly Murray

COM 3014

Podcast Transcript

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Voices: Gender stereotyping, gender stereotyping, gender stereotyping, gender

stereotyping, gender stereotyping

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Kelly: You’re listening to the Communication, Gender, and Identity podcast: A place

where we discuss hot topics related to gender in the modern world. My name is Kelly and today

our topic is gender stereotyping in the workplace. The ​Journal of Occupational Health

Psychology​ states, ​“​United States law recognizes the illegality of sex/gender stereotyping when

it drives formal discrimination in employment” so I wanted to clarify that I am referring to

informal discrimination based on gender. I think that stereotyping is something that we are all

guilty of without realizing it. For example, when I tell you to picture a “nurse” you picture a

woman, right?

K: An article by Clarissa Kugelberg in ​Gender, Work and Organization s​ tates, ​“Intimately

related to this gender stereotyping are assumptions that distinct kinds of jobs and

positions fit either men or women.” ​I wanted to stray away from these stereotypes and showcase

two people who do not fit into the gender stereotypes of their occupations. Today I will be

interviewing a female EMT and a male teacher to take a look at the other side of gender

dominated careers as well as following the emotional and physical wellbeing of stereotypes of
the workplace. I will also be raising awareness to gender stereotyping in the workplace as well as

how common it really is.

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K: My first guest is a EMT from Clearwater. She has been working this job for several years

and has been affected by gender stereotyping in her place of work.

Kelly: Hi thank you so much for joining me.

Female EMT: Oh, thanks so much for having me!

K: So tell me a little bit about your experience as a female EMT.

F: I noticed when I first started working, as I would be on scene, that a lot of the males

would actually try and help me, um, in regards to anything I’d have to lift. Whether it would be

with the medical trauma bags or like the stretcher or helping with the patient, they would kinda

shove me out of the way and say, “Oh let me do it”. As if I’m too weak. Situations like that can

become very frustrating.

K: I can imagine. Where does the negative stereotyping come from the most?

F: I would say the most is probably driving the ambulance. One time, for instance, I was

driving non-emergency, no lights or sirens, and I was sitting in the left hand turn lane. The light

was red, however I made a U-turn, and then my partner made a dumb joke that, you know, cause

I’m blonde and a female, I don’t know how to drive because it was illegal that I did that. I’m

more self conscious driving now because of comments like that.

K: Have you ever had a patient that refused your help because you are female?
F: Yeah, a lot of the times, um, its with the male patients between 18 and 30. They don’t

want a female touching them because for whatever reason, especially during trauma alerts, when

a patient has had significant trauma to the head or even the full body from car accidents. Our

protocol says we have to strip them trauma naked. A lot of our patients are uncomfortable with

that because they find it embarrassing. It’s the same with male patients with catheters. It harms

their ego to have a female helping them like that, even though I’m trying to save their life.

K: Are there any instances of negative comments that have stuck with you the most to this

day?

F: Not so much comments, more of physical actions. I was transporting a patient one time,

and I had to lean over him to take blood pressure on his right arm. He actually groped me and

was making rude sexual comments towards me. Now, our company only transports him with an

all male crew. That sticks with me when I hear that call being dispatched every two weeks or so.

It reminds me of that time and makes me uncomfortable.

K: So you don’t think it would’ve happened if you were male?

F: Absolutely not.

K: What has been the most challenging moment of your career as a woman?

F: Probably the overall process of being hired. It seemed like when I first got hired, even

through school, very fast paced medicine like this is kinda a boys club. It’s intense and there’s a

lot of pressure, you can make a mistake and it will cost you somebody’s life. Pretty much

adapting to my coworkers and the ability to make friends with a partner over 12 hours, it was

clear that I get treated differently because I’m a female rather than a male. Knowing that can be

hard to swallow.
K: Thank you for giving us a little insight into your career. I think it will be helpful for

everyone listening to hear about the struggles you’ve gone through.

F: Absolutely. It’s been my pleasure.

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K: To quote Associate Professor in sociology, Sarah Thebaud, “When gender stereotypes get

attached to a job, it biases the authority that people attribute to the man or woman who happens

to work in that position.” By gender stereotyping, we are tearing people down when they should

be built up. Female EMT’s are trying to save lives while people make comments about their

strengths or appearances. But women aren’t the only ones affected by negative stereotyping.

There are many gender stereotypes in the workforce that affect all genders.

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K: My next guest has been a teacher in Sarasota County for over 20 years and he’s no

stranger to skepticism because of his gender.

Kelly: Hi! Thank you so much for joining me.

Male Teacher: Thank you for asking me to be a part of it.

K: Of course! So tell me your teaching story. Why did you become a teacher?

M: So I was actually going to be an accountant in college. Um, and for some reason decided

that I wanted to coach, uh, got into coaching and that led me to get into teaching where I decided

I liked the little kiddos. And so from that standpoint, um, joined a kindergarten cohort, it's where

I started teaching kindergarten.

K: What's the biggest issue that you faced as a male teacher?

and teaching elementary and the reason why you would want to do that. Um, it's not a big money

making venture and so sometimes you get looked at sideways by parents, um, moms, dads that

don't know what your intentions are as a male in the teaching field. Um, it doesn't help that I'm

six foot five as well. Um, so extra loud, extra questions, people that once they come to the

classroom just to make sure I'm doing what it is I'm there to do.

K: So how often would you say you've received skeptical comments?

M: I think it happens at the beginning of every school year. Um, I'm 20 years into it so I

think parents always have their children's best interest in mind or most of the time. And so

they're always skeptical of a teacher that's male that's going to work with kindergarten students.

K: Do you think that society discourages males from becoming teachers?

M: I would say it's harder for males to be in the teaching profession. Um, they're mostly

thought of as the breadwinners and teaching doesn't pay a lot. Um, most male teachers are in the,

I would say, the middle and high school years and not in the elementary years. And I think it's

discouraged inside of the elementary years because males are not usually known as caretakers of

children. Uh, instead they're thought of as again, the money winners inside of a family structure.

K: What are some other professions, do you think, that have faced the same issues you

faced?

M: Um, that's a great question. I would say probably, you know, you probably don't see very

many males in daycares, um, unless they're in the administrative piece of it. Um, secretaries,

nursing. I would say those are probably the biggest ones that probably have the, some of the

same, uh, thoughts from, uh, a male going into those professions.
K: So have you give one piece of advice to aspiring male teachers or aspiring men at any of

the other professions you listed? What would it be?

M: Do what you love, make sure you take care of kids, make sure you're transparent along

the way. Um, don't have a hidden agenda to anything. Um, don’t be discouraged by it being

known as a field for women. Instead go in and make you mark, uh, for education. Males are

needed at the youngest grade levels. Uh, they just provide a different personality, a different

teaching structure, a different altogether makeup, um, that females can't provide, um, the dad

structure in a lot of cases.

K: Okay. Great. Well, thank you so much for talking to me today.

M: Thank you for having me. I appreciate you, uh, wanting to have that conversation.

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K: Gender stereotyping in the workplace is not just an issue for women, it is an issue for

everyone, that holds people back from effectively doing their jobs. I have one more story to share

and it’s my own experiences with gender stereotyping in the workplace.

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K: I’ve been working since I was 15, and every job I’ve had has been stereotypical of a

woman. I worked as an after school care counselor, I worked as the assistant for a wedding

planner, and currently I have a job for a non profit organization as a special events intern.

K: In all of the jobs I’ve held, I’ve watched the way I’ve been treated differently, and the

way my female coworkers have been treated differently by men. Contrastingly, I’ve noticed the

way men have been treated at these jobs, that are more “suitable” for women. At after school
care, I worked with women ranging from the ages of 15 to around 50 years old. We rarely hired a

male and if we did, it was usually a teacher or staff member’s son.

K: When we did have male coworkers, they were watched more closely by parents and staff.

One young man even got fired for “being too rough” with the children. I believe he was more

active and hands on, but never rough.

K: As an assistant for a wedding planner, the only men we collaborated with were gay

because the wedding planning industry is “no place for a straight man”.

K: At my non profit job, I’m told not to lift heavy objects because I could “hurt myself” or

“break a nail”. My boss’s superiors often make jokes about how she can be emotional and that’s

why they are on the board and not her because she could not handle it. Recently, we had a male,

who is the same age as me, apply for our special events internship program but my boss

immediately tossed his resume aside because of the stereotype that men are not good at special

events. I think that as long as I stick with the event planning industry, I will be surrounded by

these draining stereotypes, but I want to change the way people view my job.

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K: I’ve learned a lot about myself and others during this podcast experience. I think it is

important to take people’s genders into consideration at the workplace, but to never allow this to

affect the way we treat our coworkers or even view ourselves. An article by Emily Leskinen in

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law points out that we are more satisfied in our jobs when we

are supported and encouraged by coworkers.

K: No matter who you are, gender stereotyping will be in every area of your life. If we don’t

end the stigma now, the problems will only worsen. I hope you learned something today and will
go into your next work shift with a different, more open-minded perspective. If you are

interested in learning more about gender stereotyping in the workplace, my email is listed below

this podcast. Feel free to contact me for more information. Thanks for listening.

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“Constructing the Deviant Other: Mothering and Fathering at the Workplace.” Gender,

Work and Organization, no. 2, 2006, p. 152. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1111/j.1468-0432.2006.00301.x.

Leskinen, Emily A., et al. “Gender Stereotyping and Harassment: A ‘Catch-22’ for

Women in the Workplace.” Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, no. 2, 2015, p. 192.

EBSCOhost,

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N=RN600986130&site=eds-live​.

Thebaud, Sarah. “The Enduring Reason You Believe All Nurses Are Women.” Quartz,

Quartz, 25 July 2017, [Link]/1037132/ the-enduring-reason-you-believe-all-nurses-are-women/.

Quick, James Campbell, and [Link] McFadyen. “Sexual Harassment: Have We Made

Any Progress?” Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, vol. 22, no. 3, July 2017, pp.

286–298. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1037/ocp0000054.