Why is there still a distinction?

Question

This is truly not a trolling question...it was inspired by the question posted by the Editor of Singapore Weekly Women's magazine....

Why in our world that is striving for equality for women, do we still have women's business magazines? Why can't it just be a business magazine...addressing issues in business, rather than women's issues in business? And why do we have awards for the Business Woman of the Year? Why can't there just be a Business Person of the Year?

No matter how far women have come in the business world, there still seems to be a distinction between men and women when it comes to accolades.

I realize this opens the doors to all who would suggest that the feminist movement is hypocritical, and not really seeking true equality at all...but I am sincerely interested as to why we still have these distinctions...

Answer 1

That's a good question. I can't help but think that it would somehow be more of an honor for a woman if she were given an award that was presented to both men and women.

Answer 2

This comes back to the question what is equality and are men and women the same. They are not they are mentally wired up differently.

Men's style of business differs from a woman's style of business. If you look at the women who have their own business you will see that they tend to specialise in certain fields that suit them best where women have an advantage, such as networking skills and child care, home based businesses, etc. You will find that the focus in the woman's magazine will be of particular relevance to women in business and the types of business and business skills they employ.

It is sexist but in a positive way(benign sexism?). Sexist in that men and women are seen as different but not as better or worse than the other. Why should women be forced to operate businesses the way men run businesses? That would be real sexism and oppressive. Women and men should run businesses in a manner that they are best suited to doing. I don't know if there is any research, but I would imagine male entrepreneurs and female entrepreneurs would organise and run businesses differently.

Answer 3

Baba Yaga.. try "Women's Business Magazine".

Anyway, one thing to consider is that maybe women who read women's business magazines don't just read those magazines and not regular business magazines, maybe they buy the regular ones as well.

I don't think there would be a market for a men's business magazine because men just want the facts. What is weird was that I flipped through one of those women's magazines before and they didn't really seem to deal with actual "women's business issues", the articles seemed pretty generic and I got something out of it. I didn't see any articles about "the glass ceiling" in there. I would wager women who are actually in business don't concern themselves with this sort of thing and more drive themselves towards goals rather than wallowing in victimhood. Particularly by comparison to the feminists on here. So.. maybe there is some novelty value there. The thing that immediately comes to my mind is that women will pay for them anyway. So the reason they exist is because there is a market for them.

The women's business awards is different to magazines, because it is not controlled by market forces. It just strikes me as big victim whining. As if when a woman does something that men routinely do she deserves an award. You have no idea how much men look down on those rewards, they're like "the special business awards", like the special olympics.

Answer 4

I may be speaking out of turn, but the question did come from a Singapore publication. I don't know where their women are culturally, but I agree with you in that in the US the time has come for the idiocy to stop. I'm sure that women read regular ole business magazines without their being geared towards women, simply because they have to in order to stay on top of things.
As for the Woman of the Year in Business awards, aren't those handed out by women's groups? I doubt if that would stop. Unless there aren't business awards being handed out to women by groups that are sexually mixed (and I'm sure there are), then I don't see a problem with keeping the status quo. You can't abolish men's and women's groups.

Answer 5

If women got the recognition they deserved already, I guess there would be no need for such things. However, women still get discriminated against when it comes to jobs- esp. in the "business world", they still get paid less for the same jobs, and they still deal with prejudice. The distinctions exist because if they didn't, women in business would still be ignored or frowned upon. The magazines are raising awareness. Of course there will be some men who might not like it, but I'm willing to bet that most of them are anti--feminists who believe women don't belong in the business world anyway!

Answer 6

If you want a serious answer, I think the reason these magazines still exist is:

Women face different problems in the business world than men do. There is still a glass ceiling in some companies; childcare/family issues still impact women more than men; women don't have frat brothers and the old boys' network to use on their climb.

The idea behind these magazines (in many cases) is to encourage women by providing examples, ideas, and role models.

If you look at the big Fortune 500 companies, most of them are still run by men. Until there are as many women running these companies as there are men, I don't think we can talk about "true equality."

Answer 7

I look forward to the day when those things are no longer needed, believe me. But we're 40-50 years after pay equity and after women started entering the workforce in larger numbers. Women still make less than men on average (before someone jumps on me for this, I'm not saying WHY, but it IS a fact that women make less than men on average, okay?), and old white men still make up the majority of exectutives and senior management. Women are still responsible for most of the unpaid domestic labour, which puts intense strains on their careers. And so being a woman in business is much, much different from being a man in business, and HR departments and executives want to recognize that with separate awards for women, and magazines see a separate market in women in business.

Like I said, I look forward to the day when Women in Business awards and magazines are no longer necessary, but I don't think we're quite there yet.

Answer 8

There are women’s business magazines for the same reason there are black magazines. Everyone likes to read a magazine where they can relate to the subjects in the magazine.

Theadesmoines put it beautifully. Women have unique issues in the business world. A woman’s business magazine will address those issues, and give them role models whom they can admire and emulate.

Answer 9

I think the argument would be because these distinctions will continue until women feel that they will no longer be overlooked due to their sex. It's a double edged sword, we demand equality yet we are still pointing out that we are different by having distinct publications and awards.

Answer 10

"Why in our world that is striving for equality ... do we still have women's business magazines?"

Strange, isn't it! That all those business magazines are aimed at women, but no magazine is aimed at men. It's a good question. Unfortunately I do not have a good answer except possibly that women like to spend out more readily than men?