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.