31 Oct Work and Family: Bias, Balance, and the Structures We Inherit
Step 1: Engage With This Week’s Resources
This week’s discussion is built on three distinct pre-work activities. Please complete all three before you begin writing — your post should address each one, and skipping any of them will leave gaps in your analysis.
???? Activity 1: Watch the TED Talk
Sheryl Sandberg: “Why We Have Too Few Women LeadersLinks to an external site.” (15 minutes)
As you watch, take notes on the specific factors and advice Sandberg discusses. Think about which ideas resonate with you — and which ones challenge or complicate your thinking.
???? Activity 2: Take the Implicit Association Test (IAT)
Visit the Implicit Bias websiteLinks to an external site. and complete the Gender-Career IAT.
To access the test:
Click “Take a Test”
You will need to register an email or proceed as a “Guest” in the box labeled “Project Implicit: Social Attitudes” to access the test.
Review the “Preliminary Information” which describes the research project, participants in the study and data usage. You will need to agree to participate by clicking on the bottom where it reads, “”I wish to proceed”
You will then see a variety of test options. Please select the Gender-Career assessment from the list (3/4 of the way down the page – not the second item Gender-Science)
You’ll notice there are several other tests available — including a race-based IAT and others. You’re welcome to explore them out of curiosity, but the Gender-Career test is the required one for this week.
A few important notes before you take the test:
The test is designed to reveal subconscious bias— associations you may hold without being consciously aware of them. Your results may surprise you, and that’s entirely the point.
The test uses forced-choice responses based on speed and accuracy — this is intentional. The speed requirement is what makes it a measure of unconscious association rather than deliberate thought. If you slow to think, you are using your conscious beliefs.
Take the test only once. Retaking it shifts the experience from unconscious to conscious, which defeats the purpose of the assessment.
A result showing “traditional” gender associations does not mean you actively discriminate. It means you’ve been exposed to the same cultural messages we all have and may have internalized those messages subconsciously. Awareness is the first step toward conscious, intentional decision-making.
???? Activity 3: Review the FMLA Materials
Review the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)section of Chapter 10, paying close attention to who is covered, what the law requires, and what the data tells us about who actually uses it — and who doesn’t.
Step 2: Write Your Initial Post
Your initial post has three required parts — one for each pre-work activity — plus your quote. Please make sure all parts are present before submitting.
Part 1 – The TED Talk: Sandberg’s Argument (part of your 250–350 word response)
After watching Sandberg’s TED Talk, reflect on the following:
Which specific factors or pieces of advice resonated with you most — and why?
Were there arguments she made that you found compelling, surprising, or worth pushing back on?
How do her observations connect to the concepts in Chapter 10 about gender, leadership, and workplace structures?
There is no single right answer here — what matters is that your response is specific, grounded in what Sandberg actually said, and connected to the course material.
Part 2 – The IAT: What Did You Find? (part of your 250–350 word response)
Reflect honestly on your IAT results:
Did your results indicate any “traditional” gender-career associations? Were you surprised — or not?
Whether your results were expected or unexpected, what do you think shaped those associations? Consider the role of family, media, education, and cultural messaging in forming implicit bias.
How does understanding your own implicit bias connect to Dworkin and Dworkin’s concepts from earlier in the course, or to the broader themes of Chapter 10?
A note on honesty: You are not being graded on what your results were — only on the thoughtfulness of your reflection. Students who engage honestly with surprising or uncomfortable results consistently write the most interesting posts.
Part 3 – FMLA: Policy, Expectations, and the Cost of “Choice” (part of your 250–350 word response)
The Family and Medical Leave Act has been on the books since 1993. Using Chapter 10 and your own analysis, respond to the following:
Consider FMLA from three perspectives: the employer, the employee, and the broader cultural expectations about who “should” be responsible for caregiving. How do those perspectives align — or conflict?
How do our cultural expectations about gender and caregiving reinforce existing employment patterns and career trajectories for both women and men?
What are the material and emotional costs of these patterns — for women and for men? Are both harmed by existing structures? If so, how and to what extent?
How might traditional gender role assumptionsinfluence both the formulation of FMLA and the degree to which employees actually use it?
What specific changes or improvements would you propose to make FMLA more effective in supporting work-family balance for all employees?
Support your analysis with specific citations from Chapter 10. Use APA format for all embedded citations.
Part 4 – Your Own Quote (quote + APA citation)
Find a quote from the Chapter 10 reading that resonates with you — something unrelated to the discussion prompt above. Include:
The quote — copied accurately, in quotation marks
APA citation — author, year, and page number
Part 5 – Your Response to the Quote (100–150 words)
Why did this quote stand out to you? What does it make you think about? What question does it raise for you or for the class?
Choose a quote that will open up a new thread of conversation — something that invites your classmates to think, respond, and engage rather than simply agree.
End your post with a complete APA References section for all sources cited, including the textbook.
Step 3: Return and Respond to Your Peers Due: Sunday at midnight
After the Thursday posting deadline, return to the discussion board and respond to at least two classmates. This week offers a particularly rich opportunity for peer engagement because everyone took the same IAT — but likely got different results and drew different conclusions.
For this week’s peer responses, seek out a classmate whose IAT results or FMLA analysis led them to a different conclusion than yours. Strong peer responses this week might:
Compare your IAT experience and results — what might explain the differences?
Build on or respectfully challenge your classmate’s proposed improvements to FMLA — are their suggestions realistic? What barriers might they face?
Connect your classmate’s reflection on implicit bias to a specific workplace scenario or policy implication they didn’t address
Ask a follow-up question that bridges the personal (IAT results) to the structural (FMLA policy) — how do individual biases scale up into organizational and legislative outcomes?
Plan to visit the discussion board on three separate days:
Thursday — post your initial response
Friday or Saturday — find a classmate whose results or conclusions differ from yours and respond thoughtfully
Sunday — follow up on any questions directed to you and continue the dialogue
Questions? Reach out by email or visit Zoom office hours. The combination of a personal bias assessment and a policy analysis makes this one of the most thought-provoking discussions of the semester — I’m looking forward to reading your reflections.
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