Women have little hope of breaking 'glass ceiling'
'The BBC wants total commitment')
1 a) Why does Mr Llewellyn believe that female candidates are better than men?
b) Why does Mrs Wallis think women make good candidates?
2 Despite their relative success in applying for jobs, not as many women as men get to the top in their chosen careers.
a) What is the 'glass ceiling'?
b) Why does having a baby cause problems in a woman's career?
c) The survey concluded that professional women appeared 'unhappy at work'. What reasons were given?
3 a) What disadvantages do women face, even if they do not have a family, according to these articles?
b) After reading these articles, do you think that women generally receive equal treatment and equal opportunities at work? If not, what action is needed, and by whom, to improve the situation?
Activity
(Women are beating men in graduate jobs hunt
Women have little hope of breaking 'glass ceiling'
Executives reveal bias against women
Blair hints at tax relief on nannies
City: Women in boardroom call)
1 a) What evidence is there that women's career opportunities are improving?
b) What evidence is there that they are getting worse?
2 Do you think that Mr Blair's scheme will solve the problem? Give reasons for your answer.
Activity
(Women fear 'family friendly' jobs will bar career success)
1 Define each of these terms:
a) job share
b) maternity leave
c) paternity leave
d) sabbatical leave
e) workplace créche.
2 What other special arrangements, designed to help women combine work and motherhood, are mentioned in the article?
3 Explain how each of the arrangements mentioned in questions 2 and 3 would help a woman trying to combine a family and a career.
4 a) What disadvantages does each system have for employers?
b) What advantages are there to employers in using these systems?
Activity
(FEATURES: Earning with mother)
1 Working from home is increasingly common.
a) How does a business benefit from using home workers?
b) How does the home worker benefit?
2 a) What kinds of jobs are suitable to do at home?
b) What kinds of jobs are unsuitable to do at home?
3 Do you think that in the long term there will be more female home workers than male ones? Explain your answer.
4 Part-time work is also increasing.
a) Why is this mainly done by women?
b) What advantages are there for shops in employing part-time workers?
c) Do you think the time will come when no-one works full time? Explain your answer.
Activity
(Women are beating men in graduate jobs hunt
Women have little hope of breaking 'glass ceiling'
Executives reveal bias against women
Women fear 'family friendly' jobs will bar career success
Blair hints at tax relief on nannies
City: Women in boardroom call
FEATURES: Earning with mother)
'One problem with British business is that it's still run mainly by men and women generally come a poor second.'
1 Discuss this point of view in a group. Use the articles to support your arguments.
2 a) If you are a mixed group, do you find that the males and the females draw different conclusions from the articles?
