Women and the Workforce Media Analysis

For my women in the workforce analysis I chose a season one episode of The West Wing entitled “Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics.” I chose this episode in particular because it centers around the White House Press Secretary, a character named CJ Cregg, specifically the dismissive way in which her opinions are treated by her all-male coworkers as well as her reluctance to enter a relationship with a White House reporter because of her concern for her career. The focus of the episode is the president and his chief staff—again, all of who are male except for CJ—waiting for the results of a national poll about one of their new policies. While predicting the outcome of the poll, CJ makes a guess that is wildly opposing to any of the ones made by her coworkers and she is brushed off. It is revealed later that her prediction is the only one that did not warrant mentioning to the president, and when CJ speaks up about this, her opinion is again brushed off with placating remarks and amused glances between the president and coworkers.

The character of CJ Cregg is one who, in addition to dealing with the high demands of her job, struggles in almost every episode to be taken seriously in a workplace where virtually every other female character is either a secretary/assistant, wife, or love interest. This occurs despite her status as a powerful, well-educated woman. Though her coworkers respect and admire her, there are still more instances of them being reluctant to take her seriously than with any of the other chief staff members. In my opinion, this is an excellent example of a statement in the article “Making a Home, Making a Living” that reads, “[Professional women] are halted by unseen structural barriers, such as men’s negative attitudes to senior women and perceptions of their leadership abilities and styles, their motivation, training, and skills” (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 311). CJ Cregg’s character is every bit as capable as her male coworkers and is often treated as such, unless she steps out of line, so to speak, and offers an opinion that differs greatly from theirs.

This episode also touches on CJ’s relationship with Danny, a White House reporter—a relationship that she spends the majority of the series dodging for no other reason than she wants to excel at her job and be taken seriously as a professional. In Ann Crittenden’s article “The Mommy Tax” she says, “For most companies, the ideal worker is ‘unencumbered,’ that is, free of all ties other than those to his job” (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 337). A romantic relationship with Danny is obviously something that CJ thinks she has to sacrifice in order to continue to climb the professional ladder.


Word Count: 456

Works Cited
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010.

Weekly Service Learning Log #2

1. This week was another meeting for just the big sisters in YWLP. The meeting was opened with a few more reminders of key rules for interacting with the little sisters and the usual stating of each sister’s “highs and lows” of the week. The main focus was a discussion of body image, which will be the theme of the little sister meeting after next. The big sisters were each given an ad from a magazine featuring a female model and then told to discuss what we did and did not like about the ad. Afterward, we all sat in a circle on the floor and took turns naming our favorite parts of our bodies. Like most YWLP activities that we go on to do with little sisters, it was both fun and informative, and I could easily tell how such a lesson would make a lasting impact on the younger girls.

2. Honestly, I had a difficult time connecting this week’s activism to our readings. I can see, though, how body image and self-confidence can have influence over a woman’s standing in the workplace. Women who do not hold themselves in high regards tend to allow themselves to fade into the background, both personally and professionally. Viewing their bodies as unattractive may keep them from wanting to draw attention to themselves, maybe even especially so if their workplace is male dominated.

The diversity among the group members reminded me of our class discussion about the Veronica Chambers article and the importance behind women of color focusing more on their own well-being than working themselves to death to essentially support their community. Obviously, I don’t know all of the details of these members’ personal lives, but over the weeks, and during this exercise in particular, it has been easy to see that this is a group of women who are dedicated to carving out their own path in life and doing it on their own terms.

3. This week felt really important from a feminist perspective. A big chunk of feminism, in my opinion, is having a supportive group of people with whom one feels safe to be his or her self around. The exercise we did this week was one that was obviously more difficult for some than others, but the outpouring of encouragement and positivity made it possible for everyone to complete it. I found it inspirational.

Word Count: 399

Weekly Service Learning Log #1

1. Because of the middle schools having Spring Break this week, the YWLP had another meeting on campus with just the big sisters. The main focus was a game called “cross the line” that will be played at the next little sister meeting. The rules of the game are that everybody stands in a line and remains silent while a prompter reads off a list of descriptive sentences that begin with “cross the line if…” (e.g. cross the line if your favorite color is purple), and those who find the sentence to be applicable to themselves step forward. Afterward, we discussed how we felt about this activity and the way it would be handled at the little sister meeting. We also wrote encouraging letters to our little sisters and decorated a “phonebook” for them, which they will use to list the names and numbers of adults they feel comfortable talking to about difficult issues they may be struggling with.

2. In class this week we discussed women’s sexuality, which actually ties in really well with this past YWLP meeting. While we are not allowed to discuss topics such as sex with our little sisters, we are trained to encourage them to talk to somebody with whom they feel comfortable. The facilitators also rightly reinforce that we are not to make assumptions about what gender (if any) our little sisters are physically attracted to. Then there was the cross the line game, which was surprisingly intense. Examples of some of the more triggering prompts include “cross the line if you’ve ever been sexually assaulted “ and “cross the line if you don’t think that you are attractive.” The feeling in the room after the end of the game reminded me of the Lorde article about redefining the erotic as being something that connects us as humans by forcing us to face and embrace our emotional sides. In the article, Lorde writes, “The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers, which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them and lessens the threat of their difference” (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 163). It was interesting to see the different range of reactions to some of the more intense prompts—shame, pride, embarrassment, sadness, joy, etc.—because while not all of them were pleasant, every one of them was very real. Like Lorde states in the aforementioned quote, I felt less threatened by and more understanding of the women in that room after the game from nothing more than sharing in those feelings with them.

3. The YWLP is full of strong, positive women. From a feminist perspective, it is easier to feel encouraged to continue with my activism when surrounded by those who think and feel as I do about the subject of women’s rights.

Word Count: 475

Works Cited
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010.