Born Into Brothels is an inspiring look at the transformative journey of some extraordinary children in Calcutta's red light district. The documentary goes into the life of several children whose mothers work as prostitutes. Zana Briski, a photographer, gave each of the youngsters a camera and taught them how to take pictures, motivating them to look at their world with new, fresh eyes. Together with Kauffman (a director), Briski captures the magical way in which beauty can be found in the most unlikely of places and how a bright, promising future becomes a possibility for children who previously had no future at all.Briski was a photojournalist documenting the brothels' prostitutes and during this time she became very intrigued by their children, and decided to give them cameras and basic lessons of how to use them. The children's photographs are the main area of this film because it was a way for them to escape from their harsh life and express themselves. But the pictures also point to a larger issue: that art can be a liberating and empowering force. As soon as the children start snapping photos, they discover how to express themselves. The documentary stresses the positive aspects of art, how it “can transform and transcend hard realities by bringing light and life to the most challenging existence.” (Born Into Brothels)
The movie shows the children in a hopelessly ruined adult world, aware that their own time is running out. The girls have it the worst: They know only education will save them from the line and that no school in India will take the children of sex workers. In most cases, their own families are pressuring them to take up prostitution as soon as possible and this just shows what kind of society they are living in. As we studied in this course, women are portrayed as less than men. Here they are only good for one thing and men use them for that. In the film the young boy Gour says, ''I take pictures to show how people in this city live. I want to put across the behavior of men." So we can see that changing a society like that is a big process that starts with changing the ideas men have about women, which will in turn change the ideas some of those women have about themsleves.
It is a touching movie and is the kind of documentary that is about making changes and finding the good in a nasty situation. It even transformed both directors and their subjects, in expected and unexpected ways.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Final Paper: Financial Planning
Final Paper: Financial Planning
I chose to research a career in financial planning. I an economics major and after I graduate I will most likely pursue a career working at a financial planning and investment company. Financial planners earn a living by helping people sort through and choose investments, insurance and other financial products. They do retirement planning, college funding, estate planning and general investment analysis.
Finding clients who need those services and building a customer base is crucial to experiencing success as a financial planner because referrals from satisfied clients are an important source of new business. Whether you find new clients by giving seminars or lectures, through social or business contacts or simply by cold calling, you must obtain a client base. Having a broad social network is one reason that many successful financial planners enter the field after working in a related occupation such as accountant, auditor, insurance sales agent, lawyer, or securities, commodities and financial services sales agent.
Financial planning employers look for candidates with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, economics, business, mathematics or law. Courses in investments, taxes, estate planning and risk management are also helpful. Programs in financial planning are becoming more widely available in colleges and universities. Financial analysts may also seek the Certified Financial Planner (CFP), the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) or the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC). Generally, a license is not required to work as a personal financial advisor, but advisors who sell stocks, bonds, mutual funds or insurance may need licenses such as the Series 6, 7, or 63. These exams are administered by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and in order to take most of these exams, sponsorship by a member firm is required.
More than half of all financial advisors work for finance and insurance companies, including securities and commodity brokers, banks, insurance carriers and financial investment firms. However, four out of 10 personal financial advisors are self employed, operating small investment advisory firms, usually in urban areas.According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall employment of financial analysts and personal financial advisors is expected to increase faster than the average (by 27% or more) for all occupations through 2014. This is a result of the increased investment by businesses and individuals, the rising number of self-directed retirement plans and the growing number of seniors. Personal financial advisors will benefit even more than financial analysts as baby boomers save for retirement and as a better educated and wealthier population requires investment advice. In addition, people are living longer and must plan to finance more years of retirement. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Financial planners earn their income in several different ways. Some charge fees to each individual client. Some earn commissions on the investments they sell. Some receive a salary from their employer. And some earn a combination of fees, commissions, and salary. Those who earn mainly fees and commissions do well when the economy is booming and clients are investing money, but they may not earn much when the economy slows and clients are reluctant to invest. Financial planners who freelance can choose how they charge fees, but those who work for organizations that provide personal financial advising services, like banks or accounting firms, must follow the organizations' guidelines for charging fees.
In financial planning, women who chose the option of working independently and establishing their own personal base of clients do fairly well. My research showed that when it comes to financial advice, many women prefer getting it from women. A survey sponsored by Securian found that 23 percent of women would rather work with a female financial adviser than with a male planner, while 11 percent of women said the opposite.
Women also are more likely than men to have a financial adviser, according to the national telephone survey released in November. But finding a woman to give that advice has always been difficult. Of the 55,600 certified financial planners in the United States, fewer than one in four is female and countless more women work as financial advisers at banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies, and in their own businesses.
Salaries for financial planners (men and women) vary widely because there is a difference in pay between financial planners who work independently and those who work for a financial planning company. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
· The middle 50 percent of personal financial advisors earned salaries in the $45-110,000 range in 2005.
· The median in Virginia was about $60,000 in 2005.
· In Blacksburg, the average salary of a financial planner is $43,000
Recent statistics show that women are earning less than men. For full-time, year-round workers, women are paid on average only about 77% of what men are paid; for women of color, the gap is even wider. These wage gaps stubbornly remain despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act more than 40 years ago, and a variety of legislation prohibiting employment discrimination. (NOW.org)
So for the salaries mentioned before, a women working as a financial adviser at a bank, brokerage firm or insurance company would earn between $34- $84,000 (33% less than their male counterparts). In Virginia, a woman would only earn $46,000 compared to the $60,000 a man would earn.
I did not find that women and men worked primarily in different subfields. However, there were certain subfields I found that most financial planners offered services in. The following data are the percentages of financial planners (both men and women) who offer the following services:
· Retirement planning --%96
· Portfolio review --%94
· Investment planning --%94
· Tax planning --%91
· Estate planning --%86
I am a man entering a male-dominated field. Only one in four financial planners is a women and I understand that it will be easier for me to begin a career as a financial planner as opposed to a woman. This shouldn’t be the case though. I am definitely concerned about achieving gender equality in the workplace because it is wrong for someone to earn less than I do simply based on gender. That is discrimination and is morally wrong.
Women are still not receiving equal pay for equal work, let alone equal pay for work of equal value. This disparity not only affects women's spending power; it penalizes their retirement security by creating gaps in social security and pensions.
I think there are fewer women in financial planning because we still live in a society where it is not the norm for women to handle money or invest in stocks and bonds. Those are primarily male areas and so young girls don’t even consider pursuing a career in that area. When was the last time you heard a young girl say “when I grow up I want to be a financial planner”. The common perception is that the kinds of work women tend to do in the labor force are clerical, retail, sales and other service-sector jobs and is considered an extension of women’s work at home.
Women do face discrimination. They are perceived as less valuable in the workplace, due to the presumption that they are more likely to be absent more often than men, take maternity leave, acquire less training and skills due to family responsibility and be less committed to their work and jobs. Then at the same time you have society who portrays women as passive, submissive and emotional. As the text says, “sex in terms of raw male and female, is already gendered by the culture within which these physiology facts of biology exist.” This implies that culture forms characteristics associated with male and female behavior and builds boundaries on how each sex has to behave.
There is no evidence to support that women just don’t want to be in financial planning. But there several organizations out there that are working and pushing hard for gender equality in the workforce. NOW.org is taking the following action by encouraging men and women to:
* Send a message to your legislators asking them to cosponsor the Paycheck Fairness Act.I chose to research a career in financial planning. I an economics major and after I graduate I will most likely pursue a career working at a financial planning and investment company. Financial planners earn a living by helping people sort through and choose investments, insurance and other financial products. They do retirement planning, college funding, estate planning and general investment analysis.
Finding clients who need those services and building a customer base is crucial to experiencing success as a financial planner because referrals from satisfied clients are an important source of new business. Whether you find new clients by giving seminars or lectures, through social or business contacts or simply by cold calling, you must obtain a client base. Having a broad social network is one reason that many successful financial planners enter the field after working in a related occupation such as accountant, auditor, insurance sales agent, lawyer, or securities, commodities and financial services sales agent.
Financial planning employers look for candidates with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, economics, business, mathematics or law. Courses in investments, taxes, estate planning and risk management are also helpful. Programs in financial planning are becoming more widely available in colleges and universities. Financial analysts may also seek the Certified Financial Planner (CFP), the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) or the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC). Generally, a license is not required to work as a personal financial advisor, but advisors who sell stocks, bonds, mutual funds or insurance may need licenses such as the Series 6, 7, or 63. These exams are administered by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and in order to take most of these exams, sponsorship by a member firm is required.
More than half of all financial advisors work for finance and insurance companies, including securities and commodity brokers, banks, insurance carriers and financial investment firms. However, four out of 10 personal financial advisors are self employed, operating small investment advisory firms, usually in urban areas.According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall employment of financial analysts and personal financial advisors is expected to increase faster than the average (by 27% or more) for all occupations through 2014. This is a result of the increased investment by businesses and individuals, the rising number of self-directed retirement plans and the growing number of seniors. Personal financial advisors will benefit even more than financial analysts as baby boomers save for retirement and as a better educated and wealthier population requires investment advice. In addition, people are living longer and must plan to finance more years of retirement. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Financial planners earn their income in several different ways. Some charge fees to each individual client. Some earn commissions on the investments they sell. Some receive a salary from their employer. And some earn a combination of fees, commissions, and salary. Those who earn mainly fees and commissions do well when the economy is booming and clients are investing money, but they may not earn much when the economy slows and clients are reluctant to invest. Financial planners who freelance can choose how they charge fees, but those who work for organizations that provide personal financial advising services, like banks or accounting firms, must follow the organizations' guidelines for charging fees.
In financial planning, women who chose the option of working independently and establishing their own personal base of clients do fairly well. My research showed that when it comes to financial advice, many women prefer getting it from women. A survey sponsored by Securian found that 23 percent of women would rather work with a female financial adviser than with a male planner, while 11 percent of women said the opposite.
Women also are more likely than men to have a financial adviser, according to the national telephone survey released in November. But finding a woman to give that advice has always been difficult. Of the 55,600 certified financial planners in the United States, fewer than one in four is female and countless more women work as financial advisers at banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies, and in their own businesses.
Salaries for financial planners (men and women) vary widely because there is a difference in pay between financial planners who work independently and those who work for a financial planning company. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
· The middle 50 percent of personal financial advisors earned salaries in the $45-110,000 range in 2005.
· The median in Virginia was about $60,000 in 2005.
· In Blacksburg, the average salary of a financial planner is $43,000
Recent statistics show that women are earning less than men. For full-time, year-round workers, women are paid on average only about 77% of what men are paid; for women of color, the gap is even wider. These wage gaps stubbornly remain despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act more than 40 years ago, and a variety of legislation prohibiting employment discrimination. (NOW.org)
So for the salaries mentioned before, a women working as a financial adviser at a bank, brokerage firm or insurance company would earn between $34- $84,000 (33% less than their male counterparts). In Virginia, a woman would only earn $46,000 compared to the $60,000 a man would earn.
I did not find that women and men worked primarily in different subfields. However, there were certain subfields I found that most financial planners offered services in. The following data are the percentages of financial planners (both men and women) who offer the following services:
· Retirement planning --%96
· Portfolio review --%94
· Investment planning --%94
· Tax planning --%91
· Estate planning --%86
I am a man entering a male-dominated field. Only one in four financial planners is a women and I understand that it will be easier for me to begin a career as a financial planner as opposed to a woman. This shouldn’t be the case though. I am definitely concerned about achieving gender equality in the workplace because it is wrong for someone to earn less than I do simply based on gender. That is discrimination and is morally wrong.
Women are still not receiving equal pay for equal work, let alone equal pay for work of equal value. This disparity not only affects women's spending power; it penalizes their retirement security by creating gaps in social security and pensions.
I think there are fewer women in financial planning because we still live in a society where it is not the norm for women to handle money or invest in stocks and bonds. Those are primarily male areas and so young girls don’t even consider pursuing a career in that area. When was the last time you heard a young girl say “when I grow up I want to be a financial planner”. The common perception is that the kinds of work women tend to do in the labor force are clerical, retail, sales and other service-sector jobs and is considered an extension of women’s work at home.
Women do face discrimination. They are perceived as less valuable in the workplace, due to the presumption that they are more likely to be absent more often than men, take maternity leave, acquire less training and skills due to family responsibility and be less committed to their work and jobs. Then at the same time you have society who portrays women as passive, submissive and emotional. As the text says, “sex in terms of raw male and female, is already gendered by the culture within which these physiology facts of biology exist.” This implies that culture forms characteristics associated with male and female behavior and builds boundaries on how each sex has to behave.
There is no evidence to support that women just don’t want to be in financial planning. But there several organizations out there that are working and pushing hard for gender equality in the workforce. NOW.org is taking the following action by encouraging men and women to:
* Wear red on Equal Pay Day, April 24, 2007.
*Host an "Un-happy hour" on April 24 to signal our dissatisfaction with the wage gap.
* Attend a local rally or plan one.
* Start a wage club.
Also there is affirmative action which rrefers to policies intended to promote access to education or employment aimed at minorities and women. Motivation for affirmative action policies is to redress the effects of past discrimination and to encourage public institutions such as universities, hospitals and police forces to be more representative of the population. This is commonly achieved through targeted recruitment programs, by preferential treatment given to such applicants and in some cases through the use of quotas. Affirmative action has helped considerably but has many people who oppose it and call it unfair. Hopefully we reach a point where actions such as affirmative action are no longer needed.
One day we will all be leaders working for a better world in the future. All of us – men and women – will be in a position to reflect critically on the barriers to women’s achievement and to gender equality in our chosen professions. I personally will keep an open mind and educate other men about equality in the workforce. Holding discussion meetings with other men about sexual harassment in the workplace, or other women’s’ rights is a good move to help make changes and although it would be hard to get a group together, it is worth a try. Hopefully I will be in a position where I can help change how things are and help achieve gender equality in the workplace.
Bibliography
* Start a wage club.
Also there is affirmative action which rrefers to policies intended to promote access to education or employment aimed at minorities and women. Motivation for affirmative action policies is to redress the effects of past discrimination and to encourage public institutions such as universities, hospitals and police forces to be more representative of the population. This is commonly achieved through targeted recruitment programs, by preferential treatment given to such applicants and in some cases through the use of quotas. Affirmative action has helped considerably but has many people who oppose it and call it unfair. Hopefully we reach a point where actions such as affirmative action are no longer needed.
One day we will all be leaders working for a better world in the future. All of us – men and women – will be in a position to reflect critically on the barriers to women’s achievement and to gender equality in our chosen professions. I personally will keep an open mind and educate other men about equality in the workforce. Holding discussion meetings with other men about sexual harassment in the workplace, or other women’s’ rights is a good move to help make changes and although it would be hard to get a group together, it is worth a try. Hopefully I will be in a position where I can help change how things are and help achieve gender equality in the workplace.
Bibliography
NOW.org
<http://www.now.org/issues/economic/factsheet.html#facts">
Career Prospects in Virginia. “Financial Planners”
<http://www3.ccps.virginia.edu/career_prospects/briefs/E-J/FinPlanners.shtml#earnings>
TIME.com
<http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1613829,00.html>
BusinessWeek.com
<http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_29/b3741711.htm>
Venturacountystar.com. “Female financial planners sought”
<http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/aug/03/female-financial-planners-sought/>
Investopedia.com. “Is A Career In Financial Planning In Your Future?”
<http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financialcareers/06/financialplanningquiz.asp>
Friday, August 3, 2007
CRJ #3
I think there definitely exists a relationship between gender (masculinity and femininity) and sexual violence. Although violence can go both ways it is primarily against women. Today, violence against women and girls is one of the most disturbing aspects of living in a culture that promotes power in human relationships based on tings such as class, race, and gender. In the U.S., a woman is more likely to be assaulted, injured, raped, or murdered by a male partner than by any other type of attacker. There are many different statistics out there and all of them are disturbing.
· Approximately 3 to 4 million women are beaten each year and more than 1,000 women-an estimated 4 per day-are murdered by their husbands or partners (The National Woman Abuse Prevention Project).
· According to statistics, a rape is committed every 6 minutes (WHO)
The relationship between this kind of violence and gender masculinity comes from cultural norms that socialize males to be powerful, aggressive, unemotional, controlling, and as society sees it, dominant. Then at the same time you have women whose expectations in society are the opposite. Women are deemed as passive, submissive and emotional. These do nothing to help violence against women because it just makes them appear weak, powerless, and dependent upon men. This is how society portrays gender. As the text says, “sex in terms of raw male and female, is already gendered by the culture within which these physiology facts of biology exist.” This implies that culture forms characteristics associated with male and female behavior and builds boundaries on how each sex has to behave. Another example from the text which also enforces how society affects us is how it is so easy for a female to say that she was a tomboy and so difficult for a male to admit being called a sissy. Society feels that being a tomboy is acceptable because men are strong and have more value than women.
But this idea of male superiority goes even further. We see it in the media, schools, work and even sports. Nelson touches on that when he brings up ideas about gender in the institution of sports. It is a common assumption that men are better at sports than women when in fact that is not the case. In truth it all depends. Men are better at certain sports than women but women are also better at other sports. These norms serve to create stereotyped gender-role definitions in which males are encouraged to exercise control and authority aggressively. As a result, violence against women and girls has become a part of society.
I think a lot of these social and cultural norms of men being dominant over women also come from the classrooms. These stereotypes send mixed messages to young children and these young children are the most easily influenced out of everyone. Recognition of violence is the first step in addressing this issue. Schools must also go beyond this in order to have a deeper impact on these children. Addressing false stereotypes and sexual violence workshops will go a lot further in changing this idea of male dominance over women. Therefore, issues of violence must be addressed both as a problem affecting students and adults, and as a social issue to be discussed in the classroom.
· Approximately 3 to 4 million women are beaten each year and more than 1,000 women-an estimated 4 per day-are murdered by their husbands or partners (The National Woman Abuse Prevention Project).
· According to statistics, a rape is committed every 6 minutes (WHO)
The relationship between this kind of violence and gender masculinity comes from cultural norms that socialize males to be powerful, aggressive, unemotional, controlling, and as society sees it, dominant. Then at the same time you have women whose expectations in society are the opposite. Women are deemed as passive, submissive and emotional. These do nothing to help violence against women because it just makes them appear weak, powerless, and dependent upon men. This is how society portrays gender. As the text says, “sex in terms of raw male and female, is already gendered by the culture within which these physiology facts of biology exist.” This implies that culture forms characteristics associated with male and female behavior and builds boundaries on how each sex has to behave. Another example from the text which also enforces how society affects us is how it is so easy for a female to say that she was a tomboy and so difficult for a male to admit being called a sissy. Society feels that being a tomboy is acceptable because men are strong and have more value than women.
But this idea of male superiority goes even further. We see it in the media, schools, work and even sports. Nelson touches on that when he brings up ideas about gender in the institution of sports. It is a common assumption that men are better at sports than women when in fact that is not the case. In truth it all depends. Men are better at certain sports than women but women are also better at other sports. These norms serve to create stereotyped gender-role definitions in which males are encouraged to exercise control and authority aggressively. As a result, violence against women and girls has become a part of society.
I think a lot of these social and cultural norms of men being dominant over women also come from the classrooms. These stereotypes send mixed messages to young children and these young children are the most easily influenced out of everyone. Recognition of violence is the first step in addressing this issue. Schools must also go beyond this in order to have a deeper impact on these children. Addressing false stereotypes and sexual violence workshops will go a lot further in changing this idea of male dominance over women. Therefore, issues of violence must be addressed both as a problem affecting students and adults, and as a social issue to be discussed in the classroom.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Activity #6
Worldwide governments and organizations actively work to combat violence against women through a variety of programs. A UN resolution designated November 25th as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. There are many different kinds of violence against women that occurs:
Domestic violence
State violence
Labor camps
War and militarism
Sexual slavery
Trafficking
There are numerous studies out there that show statistics of violence against women. I chose to share with the four people I talked to a few of these statistics so that they could get a better picture of the topic at hand and also where I was coming from. I decided to share both statistics from the U.S. and also globally to see the comparisons and magnitude of it.
U.S. Violence
Fact #1: 17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape. Of these, 21.6% were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4% were between the ages of 12 and 17. (Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000)
Fact #2: Fewer than half (48%) of all rapes and sexual assaults are reported to the police (DOJ).
Fact #3: About 81% of rape victims are white; 18% are black; 1% are of other races. (Violence Against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice)
Fact #4: Only about half of domestic violence incidents are reported to police. African-American women are more likely than others to report their victimization to police Lawrence A. Greenfeld et al. (1998).
Fact #5: Boys who witness their fathers' violence are 10 times more likely to engage in spouse abuse in later adulthood than boys from non-violent homes. (Family Violence Interventions for the Justice System)
Fact #6: An estimated 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the United States annually for sexual exploitation or forced labor. (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2000)
Global Violence
Fact #7: Globally, at least one in three women and girls had been beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime. (UN Commission on the Status of Women, 2/28/00)
Fact #8: More than 90 million African women and girls are victims of female circumcision or other forms of genital mutilation. (Heise: 1994)
Fact #9: At least 60 million girls who would otherwise be expected to be alive are "missing" from various populations, mostly in Asia, as a result of sex-selective abortions, infanticide or neglect. (UN Study On The Status of Women, Year 2000)
After I showed them these statistics, surprisingly they were not too shocked by them. One of the guys I interviewed, Josh, said he knew there was a lot of violence against women in the world. To him it was not right but unfortunately it was true. I asked what he was doing to help stop the violence and he said he showed support for the cause and had attended “Take Back the Night” marches before. My other interviewee, Daren, was surprised that the number of women in the U.S. who had survived a completed or attempted rape was so high. He said “I knew it was a lot but I didn’t expect that much”. Josh did know of a girl that had been raped at his old high school a few years ago but he did not go much into it. As far as the two girls I interviewed goes, they both felt very strongly about ending violence against women. Jess repeatedly said she felt that what has been done still isn’t enough. “Things might be better in the U.S.” she said, ”but globally it’s a disaster.” She mentioned that the fact that worldwide 1 in 3 women are abused shows that a lot of work still needs to be done. Also both girls were horrified about the female circumcision that occurs in some African countries. Jess had heard about it but my friend Nicole was shocked to hear that they even did that in some places.
Josh and Daren both felt that the main cause of violence against women is through the poor upbringing of young men. They said that young boys who are raised right from childhood and do not come from a bad home where violence occurs frequently tend to not show signs of violence against women. Jess felt that it was that as well as the media and society. “I think the media has a lot to do with violence at home. All we see on TV everyday is non-stop violence and we take it in. Men see this and some feel as if it is ok to hit a woman. It’s wrong”.
All seemed to some what agree on how to end violence against women. Organizations that promote and enlighten people as to how serious the problem is definitely help. Also it starts at home; if you raise your children the right way then you can avoid them having violent behaviors later on in life. And lastly tone down the violence on TV. Especially where you see images of men beating women and it’s deemed as okay.
I felt this assignment was a good one because I got to see how other people felt about the topic. Personally I feel very strongly about violence against women. I have three sisters and I am an only boy in the family so I look out for all my sisters. Also my father was influential in my life because he is very passive and calm and I never saw him lay a hand on anyone so I am the same way. I think raising your children right is a big part of ending violence against women. Also stricter laws with more jail time for people who do commit these crimes.
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