Womens Day Essay Example for Free

Womens Day Essay Good afternoon. It’s an honor and a pleasure to be invited to speak to you today. International Women’s Day is many things – a cause for celebration, a reason to pause and re-evaluate, a remembrance, an inspiration, a time to honor loved and admired ones and in several countries – including China, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, but clearly not India! – a public holiday1. So I’d like to extend, first of all, a note of thanks to all of you for taking time out of your work schedules to come here, as well as to inviting me to speak. On this day, all over the world, we consider both the steps forward toward better lives for women that have been taken in recent times, as well as the progress still required. Necessarily, we name our enemies: patriarchal structures, perhaps, or more specifically, legislative and political decisions, corporate entities, criminal menaces, culture-based ignorance and economic disenfranchisement. They are all significant things, and I am not suggesting that they are not. But I have felt for a long time n ow that something else is at the heart of female disempowerment. Something that isn’t as easy to deconstruct or dismantle. Something that is difficult to even name, and at times feels bewilderingly counter-intuitive. What, to me, is at the heart of female disempowerment is the profoundly painful fact of how women can be each others’ worst enemies. One of the most famous things that former American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has gone on record to say is â€Å"I think there is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.†2 A special place in hell – can you imagine what torment that would be, and how deeply wounded a person has to feel to condemn someone that way? When you think of what she said, that such a special place is reserved for women who don’t help other women – what associations come to mind? I don’t know about you, but my heart burns to remember the countless times I have been betrayed and ev en sabotaged by women I loved or looked up to – teachers, relatives, peers, friends and colleagues. Haven’t men done the same? Of course they have – but somehow, it stings worse coming from another woman, because of how deeply counter-intuitive it feels. This is the sort of heartburn that makes me think, yes, Albright was right – there is a place in hell for women who don’t help – who hurt – other women. There has to be. Even if there is no Hell – how could there not be such a place? How could such treachery be  left without retribution? There are big ways and little ways to this treachery. The little ways I hardly need to enumerate, because the best examples of these are empirical ones, and you know them in your own life. The big ways tend to be a matter of collusion: for instance, it may have been men who created archaic and repressive social codes, but is it not women who pass them on, who ensure that their families function within and continue to carry forward the same logic? To choose to not break a chain is to choose to propagate it. We can begin by taking a look at the very fact of us all being in this room today. How did we get here? Each of us have overcome difficulties in our own lives, each of us has dared to dream, and fortunately, has been born in a time where we were able to pursue some if not all of these dreams. We have had access to resources and options whi ch were denied to women of just a few generations ago – resources and options which are even denied to other women today, in this country and elsewhere. Some of us have endured bad luck, made bad decisions, or failed at things we tried our hands at – but we haven’t been ruined by these misfortunes. We have alternatives. We have second, third and ninety-third chances. We have more autonomy than our foremothers may have been able to imagine. In short, we are all so lucky. And this is only because of the brave women and men who fought for certain rights and equality, who went against the tide of what was acceptable, who challenged the status quo, who refused to take as an answer that â€Å"that’s just how things are†. We are here because they did not think of themselves alone. They did not relegate their abilities to simply securing a better life for themselves, but put the vision of a better world above their own personal journeys, and in doing so secured a better life for millions. I am asking you today if we too can demand a better explanation than â€Å"that’s just how things are†. I believe that as women, we are conditioned on a deeply embedded level to be wary of or threatened by, and consequently cruel toward, one another. Perhaps there are biological or evolutionary reasons for this. But I refuse to accept that we cannot evolve female rivalry out of our systems. Larger systems of power, yes, but more importantly, smaller microcosms of the same. In our own lives, can we get over our mistrust of other women? Can we leave cliques and factions behind in our school years and embrace a greater loyalty? Can we see that another woman’s success need not necessarily mean our own failure? Can we cease to  be judgmental or jealous? Can we cease to be threatened by other women, for reasons of our own insecurities, and can we stop acting out of that sense of fear? Just as our palette of big life choices continues to expand the more society develops, I would like to think that in our day to day interactions, we should also become more mindful of how we choose to treat one another. Can we make choices that deprogramme the way we have learnt to feel about other women – learnt from all the ways we ourselves have been hurt – and choose to say, â€Å"This stops with me. What has been done to me by girls I went to school with, women in my extended family, superiors I worked under or any other situation, incident or environment that fostered in me a sense of female rivalry or mistrust will no longer control the way in which I respond to individuals now.† Will we choose to undermine other women, in ways big and small, or will we choose to embrace a less cynical view? Can we work together to create new environments in which all of us can feel free to meet our highest potential without being hindered by unhealthy competition? You may be wondering why I have taken a less festive approach to International Women’s Day and am asking these potentially uncomfortable questions. I promise you I didn’t start out this cynical. In fact, I started out quite the opposite – if I could have had feminist slogans on my diapers, I would have! Throughout my teenage years I volunteered with women’s NGOs, and continue to do so in some capacity today. I was one of those girls who would rather have a tee-shirt that said â€Å"the revolution is my boyfriend† than have an actual human one. I think I limited my own literary forays for some years by refusing to read anything by authors I derogatorily labeled â€Å"dead white men†. I was proudly, radically, obviously and – I must admit, perhaps a little obnoxiously – feminist. And then the disillusionment set in. At some point in my life as a young activist, I began to see that polemics and politics only go so far. How far does philosophy translate accurately into one’s practical realities? One’s fundamental humanity and compassion are all that really matter  œ it is of no consequence if this can be backed up by proselytizing or theory. You know how this works. I am almost certain that there is no one here today who would not name her grandmother, mother, aunt or sister as her personal inspiration – a woman who did not necessarily know of or say that she subscribed to theoretical ideals but nonetheless manifested the best of them in her life and across the lives of all she  touched. Today my feminism is nuanced by the understanding that as with all great adversaries, the most significant challenge to female empowerment comes from within. From within our ranks, from within our own hearts, from within our own inability to look beyond a reactionary and defensive stance. But there is something else that also comes from within. And that is strength. Women have always regarded as being strong, and we are, but in modern times we are also powerful. I think of power as originating from an external source, from the validation of being in a certain position of influence. But strength has a far more esoteric source. It manipulates less, and moves more. There is a difference between strength and power – which do you operate from? And I ask these uncomfortable questions not because I am above reproach but because I also deal with them in my day to day life and work. Sometimes, I frown on the actions of teenage girls because they do not seem as empowered as I was at their age. Or I might secretly judge someone of my generation for having had an arranged marriage, letting her in-laws dictate her career choices, or not realizing how beautiful she is because TV commercials tell her otherwise. But who am I, really, to judge? How would I know what those girls or women have been through and what has shaped their decisions? Why can’t I just respect that they are different, but no less equal? Concurrently, I struggle to undo and unlearn traumas imprinted on me because I am a certain kind of woman, born into a certain kind of culture, in a certain era. I struggle to not be manipulated into being pitted against other women in soci al and professional situations by those who know just how to push those buttons. I struggle to deal graciously with female associates who have backstabbed, cheated and even plagiarized me without having to descend to petty conflict that would only satisfy those who believe that women cannot evolve out of our habituated enmity. Because I believe we can. As we celebrate International Women’s Day this year (and celebrate it we should!) let us also bear in mind that the struggle is far from over. Women’s empowerment should never be reduced to individual success stories. It should be about collective well-being. As long as women continue to operate from that deeply embedded place of suspicion and resentment, we will never be free. No matter what material, social or intellectual heights we scale, we will never be free unless we learn a new paradigm with which to see other women. With which to see ourselves. There are two ways to light a second lamp: you can do so by snuffing out the first as you ignite the second, or you can allow the flame of one wick to touch another, and inspire its own flame. You are a luminous being. Be secure in this knowledge. Let your light illuminate as many lives as possible. It will not diminish your own. I would like to end this talk with a quote from an anonymous source that I came across on the internet. I find it comforting – and I hope that you too will be inspired by it. â€Å"Blessed are the women, who have grown beyond their greed, and put an end to their hatred. They delight in the beauty of the way things are, and keep their hearts open, day and night. They are like beautiful trees planted on the banks of flowing rivers, which bear fruit when they are ready. Their leaves will not fall or wither, and everything they do will succeed.†3 Thank you.

Hazards and Risk in the Workplace

Hazards and Risk in the Workplace Designated substance can be chemical, biological, physical agent or combinations, given as a designated substance where exposure of worker is prohibited, restricted, limited controlled or regulated. Biological Hazards Patients and residents may be carrying germs of which they are unaware. Working in a health care setting or community care, workforce may be exposed to a huge number of biological hazards. Ergonomic Hazards Clients lifting and transferring patients can be very dangerous if the caregiver is not aware of the proper technique and not properly trained and if the lifting devices are not available. Information Risk Guidelines to avoid incidents with regards to information handling are restrict access to patient healthcare information to safeguard integrity of information and diminish the risk of compromising privacy and allow only certified personnel to access patient health information. Healthcare business areas which are high risk is the integration of IT on healthcare systems which are prone to hacks or attacks which includes patient data, equipment and system software issues vulnerabilities on implanted devices Financial risk In Kindly Residential Care Rest Home, the responsibilities for strategic risk management are determined by board of director’s decisions about the goals and direction of the organisation. Board strategic planning and decision-making processes are thorough. Senior leaders of Kindly Residential Care Rest Home are responsible for all aspects of its financial health. They are charged with understandingthe unitsfinancial situation and not allowing unintended deficits to occur. Employment practices In Kindly Residential Care Rest Home, employees and managers are aware and updated in constantly making improved policies, procedures and documentation within the organization. This is important because it will help minimize unwanted risk such as human error. The organisation retains knowledgeable staff and well qualified human resource manager that will recruit and train internal workforce to develop organisation’s competency. One more risk management strategy is the organisation purchased a well-structured and comprehensive employment practices liability insurance policythat helps pay for any settlements or decisions endowed against an employer defense costs.Employment practices liability insurancepolicies not only deliver coverage for accusations of discrimination, but also extend to coverinvasion of privacy ,sexual harassment, wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal, , breach oforal or writtenemployment contract, employment relatedmisrepresentation, wrongful discipline, , wrongful demotion, defamation, wrongful infliction of emotional distress, wrongful failure to employ or promote wrongful deprivation of a career opportunity and others. Fraud prevention measures The organisation is aligned to commit its preventative strategies to control fraud exposure of the organisation. Customer service, program delivery entity and policy entity are responsible for handling the fraud risk. In Kindly Residential Care Rest Home, code of conduct, fraud awareness training and fraud policy are highly emphasized during employment screening. High level of security clearance for staff and regular supplier reviews are implemented within the organisation. Regular and random audit checks are practiced as well to minimize fraud exposure. The controls recognized and their related costs are considered with respect to the nature and measure of the fraud risks designed to address. Health and safety policy Obligations and responsibilities All the workforce have an obligation to comply with the organisation’s workplace health and safety policies, instructions, procedures and to ensure a safe place of work. This means that workforces are required to take counteractive action to watch against hazards at workplace or report all hazards which cannot be instantly corrected. The board of directors envoys responsibilities for the management team of work health and safety. In implementing the obligations, the organisation conform to the Work Health and Safety Act of New Zealand and as expected the organisation established processes for regular risk assessments and self-audits within workplaces. The Organisation also ensures the workplace health and safety of all staffs under their control by avoiding or minimising their risk exposure. All individuals have a responsibility to guard and protect others against any hazards or events as soon as they are identified. If the incidents or hazards cannot be corrected immediately, the individual must report the hazards to the proper staff for investigation and incident. Protection of physical assets The organisation owns both long and short term assets. Risk management professionals of the organisation are the ones responsible for protecting organisation’s assets. They monitor and consider events that might have an effect on the assets such as floods, fire and natural disaster. Appropriate actions are planned. The organisation allocated reasonable cost for property repair and maintenance. Patients’s data and information that are written on a large volume of papers and in the computer are maintained and secured as well to minimise risk of loss and destruction. CCTV camera are also installed in the organisation for security purposes and to prevent theft allegations among staff in an incident of property loss. The stakeholders in Kindly Residential Care Rest Home established a risk committee to monitor exposure, actions taken and risks that have materialised and Health and Safety Committee implemented policies and procedures to minimize or prevent these injuries. Kindly Residential Care Rest Home is able to work closely with the local District Health Board for disaster management in case of these emergencies and plans for these events have been put into place Impact of crisis assessment includes Key Personnel required for such activity facilities used computer processes or Programs required External Providers Affected Stakeholders/ Reputation In threat assessment, to counteract the threat, the most cost-effective solution must be identified and implemented. The design of the solution is based on the findings of threat assessment and Recovery should start after the immediate threat to the enterprise has been removed. Recovery solution design After an incident, it is very essential that thorough examines are carried out to apprehend lessons learned, issues recognised, recommendations to be executed, and planning assumptions to be revised. Implementation and communication In an actual emergency, the duty manager or the chief warden will take charge of the whole plan and what plan to implement The plan can be activated through three consecutive steps which are Standby, Implementation and Stand Down. To keep up the ever changing environment, Kindly Residential Care Rest Home has an annual maintenance and updating of the Business Continuity Plan

Importance of Character in Homers Odyssey Essay -- Odyssey essays

Importance of Character in Homer's Odyssey Odyssey, by Homer, is about Odysseus, the king of Ithaca. Odysseus fights in the Trojan War and wins. He travels towards Ithaca but does not reach it because he is not in favor of Poseidon, god of the sea, who prevents his return. For many years, Odysseus wanders the seas and has many adventures. Meanwhile, suitors attempt to marry Penelope, Odysseus' wife, but she remains faithful to her husband. The gods pity Odysseus and assist in his safe return to Ithaca. Though Odysseus has the help of the gods, his personal qualities contribute to his survival in the seas and the return to his family in Ithaca. Odysseus' personal qualities of bravery, self-discipline, and intelligence also help him to survive. Bravery is one of Odysseus' qualities that enable him to survive his adventures. In one adventure, Odysseus encounters the goddess, Circe who has turned his men into pigs. Eurylochus escapes from Circe and tells Odysseus what has happened. When Odysseus offers to rescue the men, Eurylochus says that no man can return alive. Knowing this, the brave Odysseus says, "very well, Eurylochus, you may stay here in this place, eat and drink beside the ship. But as for me, go I must, and go I will" (Line #). In another adventure, Odysseus must visit Hades, the kingdom of the dead. When he arrives, he takes out a cup of blood for the prophet, Teiresias, which attracts all of the dead souls. "All this crowd gathered about the pit from every side, with a dreadful great noise, which made me pale with fear" (Line #). Despite Od... ...sp; Odysseus' intelligence with the Sirens, the Cyclops, and in his plan to kill the suitors, helps him to survive and regain his family. Odysseus' personal qualities of bravery, self-discipline, and intelligence contribute to his survival at sea and his return to his family in Ithaca. His bravery is shown through his encounters with Circe, the dead souls, and Scylla. Self-discipline is shown through the adventures with the wooden horse, Nausicaa, and in disguise as a beggar. And intelligence is shown through the encounters with the Sirens, the Cyclops, and the suitors. Professors Comments Always underline titles of long, epic poems. When quoting, always give the line number of the quote. You have a clear thesis statement, which you fully discuss in your paper.

Women at Work Essay -- Workplace Gender essays research papers

Women at Work Throughout the 20th century women have had to fight harder to get ahead in the male owned workplace. With obstacles such as discrimination, lower wages, and the lack of management positions, how are women competing with men? Are women accepting the treatment from society or is this the way it should be. No way! That is why women are fighting back. In today’s society women are as active as they have ever been in our workforce. In recent studies (Sociology Text Book) women have taken to the forefront in starting there own businesses yet they lag far behind there male counterparts in positions of corporate management. The Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor lists the 20 leading occupations of employed women. Of these occupations which include teachers, nurses, and secretaries women outnumber men by more than 80 percent. Some of the other occupations that women perform more than men include retail sales clerks, customer service representatives, and office clerks. Women and men traditionally have worked in different specific occupations within the professional occupational category, a pattern that continued in 2005. For example, women were less likely than men to be employed in some of the highest-paying occupations, such as engineers and mathematical and computer scientists. Instead, women were more likely to work in lower paying professional occupations, such as teachers. Women have been know as the care givers in our society and that may be why wo...

Essay --

Word Count: 1486 The Differences in Lucy Salyer’s and Cybelle Fox’s Criteria For Citizenship Throughout American history, the United States government created policies that decided who can and cannot come to America to be recognized as a full fledged citizen: an individual who has been recognized as a loyal member of a nation and receives benefits granted by the government. Lucy Salyer, author of Baptism By Fire, and Cybelle Fox, author of Three Worlds of Relief, emphasize that the government based their immigration policy on issues such as race and occupation. Despite their agreement that the United States government played a major role in deciding who can and cannot become full fledged citizens, Salyer and Fox disagree on the main criteria in which they decided which immigrants could have this recognition. Salyer argues that immigrants’ race and service decided whether they should be included or excluded from full citizenship, while Fox asserts that individuals’ occupation determined this matter. As Salyer and Fox both mentioned, the government played a vital role on deciding who can become citizens through legislation, organized groups, and judicial rulings. The government can be defined in this case as legislatures, agencies, and the justice system. Throughout American history, legislatures made laws in which included and excluded newcomers to America. Aristide Zolberg, author of A Nation by Design, emphasizes this by stating, â€Å"nationality involves the delineation of a boundary, denoting simultaneously inclusion and exclusion† (Zolberg,17). A country can tend to be welcoming or unwelcoming to foreigners. In the United States, legislatures have been inclusive and exclusive to foreigners depending on the national interest. Lu... .... 56% of workers were covered, while 67% of them were Europeans and 57% were white. According to Fox, Europeans benefitted the most since majority of them held manufacturing jobs and were more likely to turn sixty-five when it was grandfathered in. Yet, approximately 38% of Mexicans and blacks were covered. This was due to the majority of them being agricultural workers or domestic workers. Therefore, Europeans held occupations that allowed them to meet the criteria for social security benefits, while Mexicans and blacks did not (Fox, 251-253). Salyer and Fox agree that the government played a role in shaping immigration during the 1920s and 1930s. Yet, they disagree with the criteria that the government used to decide who received full-fledged citizenship. This debate still continues today and this nation continues to base a criteria on who to include and exclude.

James Madison Essay

James Madison, Federalist Paper #51, 1788 â€Å"In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate governments, Hence a double security rises to the rights of the people. The different governments will each control each other, at the same ume that each will be controlled by Itself. † Note: Madison’s Idea of division of power between central and state governments is known as Federalism, Specific power divisions can be seen in the chart below. Document Analysis 1. A â€Å"compound† is something made of two or more pieces. What are the two pieces that make up Madison’s compound government? The central/national government and the state governments 2. What word ending in â€Å"ism† is another word for this kind ot compound government? Federalism . How does this compound government provide â€Å"double security’ to the people? The central and state governments will check each other’s power. Also, the branches within each level of government will provide checks and balances. 4. Using the chart above, can you see a pattern In the types of power the Constitution reserved for the State governments? States seem to have power over the more local and personal issues (school. marriages†¦ ). These personal liberties were too important for the framers to put into the hands of the national government. Governments closer to the people (the state overnments) would be more in tune with the feelings and cultures of their arem 5. How does federalism guard against tyranny? By distributing certain powers between the central government and the states neither could tyrannize (gain absolute power) over the nation or the nation’s people. Document

Meeting Conflicts and Interventions

Meeting Conflict and Intervention We spend a lot of our working lives in meetings; some are fruitful and some, less so. Meetings are often called to discuss a project or an idea so it is almost inevitable that conflict will arise; there is certainly a strong potential as it is unlikely that everyone will be in agreement. Let us first define what is conflict: Conflict refers to some form of friction, disagreement, or discord arising within a group when the beliefs or actions of one of more members of the group are either resisted by or unacceptable to one or more members of another group.Conflicts in meetings. Many of us have experienced tension and conflict in meetings. This can be exciting, energizing and helpful, but it can also hurt the team's progress, morale and be very disruptive. Remember, conflicts are disagreements. If the person who is disagreeing with you is raising valid questions, it may benefit the group to address the issues they are presenting. In fact, by listening t o them, you may gain valuable insight into what is and what is not working within your organization.However, if the person continues past the point of disagreement to the point of disruptiveness, specific steps should be taken. If you're in charge of a meeting and onflict occurs, what is your role? How do you restore peace? How can you assure that these conflicts dont harm your work? While you can't always prevent conflict in meetings, there are things you can do to deal with disagreements from damaging your team's wider goals. Dealing with Conflict. Conflict resolution is a way to diplomatically settle disputes by finding the root of an issue and creating a solution that all parties can agree upon.This can be a complicated process, especially if the conflict is personal (three main areas where conflicts occur: in interpersonal one-on-one relationships; in meetings; nd in negotiations), however it is important to recognize and address issues that arise. Identifying and Mitigating Co nflict. When conflict arises the first step is to identify the cause and ensure that it does not adversely disrupt other scheduled activities. Below is guidelines to help your meetings stay on track when conflict occurs. . Allow the opposing party to state their issue – Find some â€Å"grain of truth† in the other person's position that you can build upon. 2. Identify the problem to the best of your ability – Identify areas of agreement in the two positions. 3. Check with veryone in attendance for opinions/suggestions – See if someone else in the meeting has a response or recommendation. 4. Present any ideas or comments you may have, but do not make demands – Present your view, but do not force agreement.At this point it is possible that the conflict has been quickly resolved and the meeting can that progress is not being made it may be time to table (defer the subject to later in the meeting to handle) the discussion or schedule a special meeting to discuss the conflict. When tabling an issue until the next meeting remember to; a. Ensure the meeting minutes include all arguments b. Make resolving the conflict the first topic for the next meeting c. Avoid tabling an issue if you feel it will be tabled at the next meeting When scheduling a special meeting: i.Hold the meeting at a neutral location/ground, such as a conference/war room. it. Plan multiple meetings for more complicated issues iii. Keep regular business and conflict resolution separate And to conclude, always remember that the goal is to reach a compromise that all parties can live with. Online References: www. cs. ucla. edu/†klinger/articles/conflicts. html some portion are adapted from The University of Michigan Managing Conflict online handout