From the readings we were to pick from for this week, I chose two articles, both falling under the basis of covering and the pressure to cover. They were entitled, “Teacher Who Was Suspended After She Showed Photo of Her Wife Reaches $100,000 Settlement” by Michael Levenson and “Post-#MeToo, Ernst & Young Grapples With Diverging Views Of Its Culture” by Yuki Noguchi.
Both of these articles had an underlying tone of the basis of covering, of which we’ve spoken about previously in Yoshino’s reading. Covering being hiding characteristics about yourself that others may deem “unworthy” or not “normal.” It can be argued that covering has a lot to do with assimilation in the sense that you’re conforming to other’s ideals in order to make them happier and feel more comfortable.
In the first article I read regarding the teacher who was discriminated against for her sexuality, the idea of covering and assimilation is quite prevalent throughout the article. More-so covering, as she is told that her showing her spouse, who happens to be a female is a “controversial topic” with the school district describing the way she should handle revealing her marriage as, “controversial subjects be taught in ‘an impartial and objective manner.” The school district here was essentially pressuring her to cover, to hide her sexuality in order to be able to teach because they deemed her marriage as something not suitable for children, as they eventually would move her the highschool to continue teaching. This also ties in with assimilation, the idea that she needs to follow these ideals in order to be able to do her job and be deemed a good teacher is also taken away from this. Overall, this reading helps get a better understanding of the different ways covering and assimilation can be portrayed, as this article gives a unique perspective.
In the second article, the idea of pressuring to cover is approached from the perspective of the Me-Too movement. The article speaks about the outdated ideals in the company Ernest and Young where training was revealed that “sponsored a leadership training program for its female executives that promoted outdated sexist views.” (Noguchi) It also went on to speak about Karen Ward, a former employee for the company that was fired after making multiple complaints regarding the atrocious sexual harassment that was made against her, and that was rampant in the company. The training mentioned at the beginning of the article permeates pressure to cover, essentially telling women in order to be seen as professional you must follow these strict sexist ideals, with also ties in perfectly with assimilation as well.
Overall, the two do give insight into helping understand the meaning of covering and assimilation, each giving a unique perspective on the definition itself and helping the reader gain more knowledge on the topic at hand in each article. With each of those definitions in mind when reading each article, it’s easier to read and understand the content being laid out.
Sources: Noguchi, Yuki . “Post-#MeToo, Ernst & Young Grapples With Diverging Views of Its Culture.” https://www.npr.org/2019/11/07/776766570/post-metoo-ernst-young-grapples-with-diverging-views-of-its-culture
One would assume things of this nature should be behind us. As these horrible disgusting displays of abuse of workers should have been made a thing of the past by Title VII. Yet still they plague the world of business and have survived even with the renewed interest in ending these things. These are both abhorrent examples of worker abuse that are illegal under Title VII. With them both having a clear abuse of workers and their mental, emotional, and physical health. With both individuals in these cases being heavily discriminated by their employers. But even if these things are illegal and such efforts to eliminate these things are common place in today’s culture. One must consider why do these issues still commonly occur?