Objectives:

• Outline the varying goals that men and women may have regarding occupations and careers and clarify how sex-typing and sex-roles impact those goals.
• Explain how equal or unequal the workplace is for women and men.
• Outline the various obstacles women face in the workplace.
• Clarify how women balance work and families to include risks and benefits.

Essential Question:

1. What barriers do women face in advancing to leadership positions?
   • This includes examining structural, cultural, and individual obstacles.
2. How do gender biases and stereotypes impact women’s career progression?
   • Investigate how perceptions and biases influence hiring, promotion, and evaluation processes.
3. What are the benefits of gender diversity in leadership roles?
   • Explore how having women in leadership positions affects organizational performance, culture, and innovation¹.
4. How do work-life balance policies affect women’s participation in the workforce?
   • Assess the effectiveness of policies like flexible working hours, parental leave, and childcare support.
5. What role do mentorship and sponsorship play in women’s career development?
   • Look into the impact of formal and informal support networks on women’s career trajectories².
6. How do organizational cultures support or hinder gender equality?
   • Examine the influence of company values, practices, and norms on gender inclusivity.
7. What strategies can organizations implement to promote gender equity?
   • Identify best practices and successful interventions that have been proven to close the gender gap².
8. How do intersectional factors (e.g., race, socioeconomic status) influence women’s workplace experiences?
   • Consider how overlapping identities affect women’s opportunities and challenges at work.

These questions can help frame a comprehensive study on women’s roles in the workplace, providing insights into both the challenges and opportunities for achieving gender equity.

Teacher Background

Procedure

Step 1 Have students search the internet for;

• % of women who work in the steel industry today
• 3 names of influential females in the steel industry today

Step 2 Ask students to answer the following questions in either paragraph form, graphic organizer or poster:
If you were Rebecca Lukens, would you have been able to do what she did?
Yes or no and why or why not.

Essays and Articles:

• (Wo)Man of Steel:  How Women Shaped the Steel Industry
• AIST-Association for Iron and Steel Technology
• AWMI-Association of Women in the Metal Industry a Woman of Steel