Discuss the following:
I think everyone has been stereotyped somewhere along the way either in school or at your job. I was stereotyped early in my big kid job area. "One problem of stereotypes is that they are widespread and often useful generalizations, though they may not contain a shred of truth when applied to a particular person or situation." (Robbins, Judge, 2017, p. 173) I was stereotyped because of my age, and it was like I was a young nieve kid so I couldn't possibly be able to run a team. Let alone run a team that is successful and profitable for the company, but my boss saw something in me and took a chance on me. I was at that company for over eight years before I moved on to a more significant opportunity. I learned a lot and got a lot of skills that I still use today. Therefore, when I wasn't even thirty yet I was able to go against the stereotype and walk into a male-dominated field and own it like I've been doing it for years. Therefore, I was able to work against the stereotype. In fact, my peer said to me about six months into my new job that they were surprised by my abilities and thought since I was a woman, and young that I wouldn't be able to hold my own. Sad to say I have been a stereotyper. I looked at a young twenty-something and thought there is no way he would be able to know how to do something, and I was blown away when he did it and did it better than some of the people who have been doing it for years. "There are things that we have picked up - generalities that we've picked up in our experience. So they can affect our perception of things in our behavior without us having much awareness of it." (Steele, 2010, p. 22) Your perception of someone is huge in stereotyping. We are adopting two African American boys; when we go out, I notice people look at us differently. Not as bad as I would assume back in the day, but there are still looks. Some are judgy, but some are curious
Robbins, S. P. & Judge, T. A. (2017). Organizational behavior (17th ed.). Pearson Publishing
Steele, C. (2010, June 24). Author: Stereotypes Shape Our Perceptions And Ourselves.