Communication Studies

Internal Assessment

Table of Contents
Page
Introduction
Preface
Reflective piece
Analysis
Conclusion
Bibliography

Introduction

This Internal Assessment focuses on the theme Gender Discrimination. The researchers
study goes further in depth to look at how gender discrimination impacts women negatively in
the workplace. According to the National Association of Japanese Canadians, gender
discrimination is defined as discrimination based on a persons gender or sex, which more often
affects girls and women. Because of gender discrimination, girls and women do not have the
same opportunities as boys and men for education, meaningful careers, political influence, and
economic advancement. The candidate chose the topic to study at hand because it is an
underlying problem in which women face in our society and she wishes to inform women of
their rights in the workplace.
This portfolio also consists of a reflective piece, preface, exposition and analysis. The reflective
piece is about a woman who was treated unfairly at her place of work by her male supervisor
because he thought her role was solely fit for a man. The exposition shows the level of
discrimination and extent to which women are discriminated as well as the rights that are there to
protect women. Personally, this interests the researcher because it is still an issue in our society
that has not been fully addressed. Academically, the researcher is currently studying Sociology
and the theme is highlighted in an area called feminism which is helping the researcher to know
more about the topic. This topic also relates to the candidates work related interest because the
researcher wishes to become a psychologist and this topic is relevant to the field of study.

Preface
The following reflective piece will take the form of a short story and it is intended to highlight
the negative impact of gender discrimination on women in the workplace. The story is about a
woman who has been denied multiple job opportunities because the employers think the role is
solely for a man. The story outlines the challenges faced by women acquiring jobs that are
thought to be male dominated even if they have the qualifications.
The researcher wrote the story to highlight a few points such as the fact that women are still
facing gender discrimination in the twenty-first century. The story depicts the effects that this
stereotype has on women. The intended audience is women between the ages of 21- 30. The
story is intended to motivate women who might be victims of gender discrimination , that they
are not alone and that they can riseabove their situation. The reflective piece is then suitable to be
read at a seminar for women.

The Story of Kadee

BLAM! the sound made by the door as Kadee left the room. She was very furious because it
had been her second interview in three weeks and none of the employers thought she was
capable of working as an electrical engineer.
Kadee Miller is a twenty-four year old woman who had recently graduated from college. From
ever since she was twelve years old she wanted to become an electrical engineer because she was
always fascinated with the different projects she saw her father working on. She spent five years
in college studying all aspects of engineering and finally she decided to get a job to help fulfill
her dream. She worked really hard and had to stay up a few times really late just to complete her
assignments because she believed failure wasnt an option. Kadee lived by herself in a small
home not far from the city. Her parents passed away in a tragic car accident when she was
eighteen. She was left on her own because the government did not care for eighteen year olds.
With a scholarship and help from her aunt, Kadee managed fairly well to sustain herself until she
could find herself a job.
She pressed her ear hard against the door and listened;
Don't hire her shell only get pregnant and leave, a male voice said.
Give her a chance! another voice said.
Im sure we dont want the company to suffer again like we did when we hired a woman before
for the role. The same male voice said again
Patrick this one seems different. a much older voice said which seemed like a woman.
After much more chattering, Kadee leaned up and strolled towards the exit when she was
stopped by a voice,
Ms. Miller! the lady called
Kadee turned to look and saw that it was the old lady that was in the boardroom. She strolled
towards her.
You're hired! she said.

Kadee felt very eated as she knew she deserved this job. She started working the week
after.There were very few female engineers at the oil refinery and she showed the executives that
she was a dedicated woman and capable of completing any task she got. Her colleagues loved
her except her supervisor. Kadee remembered him from the interview viewing her coldly. He
never thought she did anything right and would often make remarks such as I don't know why
you women don't stay home and cook your husbands dinner or I know you soon get
pregnant. And sure enough after a couple of years, she did get pregnant.
Everything was running smoothly. She still managed to complete her assignments and finish her
projects. During her third trimester she began experiencing serious complications and she had to
be hospitalized until the baby was born. Despite serious complications with her pregnancy that
impacted her health, she returned to work within just a couple of months. On her return she was
greeted by a hard-faced Patrick.
I'm sorry to inform you but your services are no longer needed at this organization, youre
fired. and with that he turned and strolled towards his office.
Kadee stood there frozen on the spot. She was stunned at what she just heard. After working at
an organization for three years devoting her time and skills she was fired and a reason was not
provided. She became furious as Patricks words began replaying in her head ; You're
fired,Your services are no longer needed, you're fired, Youre fired! She walked briskly
to her office tears streaming down her face. When she arrived she saw that her tools and
materials had already been packed into a box. She was still puzzled at what happened
As she tirelessly carried a box to her car she was greeted by the old lady who was in the
interview room. She had seen her couple times around the complex but have never exchanged
words
Ms. Miller, what is the issue? Why are you crying?
Well Ms. Knight, thank you for your concern but I do not think there is anything you can do to
help me. I just got fired by Mr. Pitkins.

He did what now! Ms. Miller, Im positive Mr. Pitkins made a mistake but what he meant to say
was that you have been promoted to manager
What? Really? But why would he
He doesnt believe in having a woman being a manager
Oh I see. Please tell him that his new manager is calling him to a meeting in her office
They both laughed and Ms.Knight turned and walked away.
Kadee was stunned once more. First she was fired, now she became the manager. She tried
endlessly to gather her thoughts. She entered into her new office quite proudly. She sat and
awaited Mr. Pitkins. He entered;
Mr. Pitkins
Yes?
Youre Fired!

Analysis
This is a linguistic analysis done by Shauna-Lee Dixon on the theme Gender Discrimination
The reflective piece The story about Kadee is about a woman who has been denied multiple
job opportunities because the employers think the role is solely for a man. A wide variety of
registers , attitudes to language, communicative behaviours and dialectal variations were used

throughout the story. Areas that will be focused on are communicative behaviours and language
registers.
Communicative behaviour is what is communicated to the listener by the speaker. It's the
impression that they get. The speaker may be unaware of these impressions but they say a lot
about a person. Communicative behaviour is shown throughout the story by the use of kinesics.
Kinesics was shown in the story when certain descriptive words such as: viewing her coldly in
the fourth paragraph and hard-faced Patrick in the fifth paragraph were used to describe
Patricks facial expression. These images showed that he was disgusted with the situation.
The other language technique that will be discussed is Language Registers. Language
Registers refer to the perceived attitude and level of formality associated with a variety of
language There are five given levels of formality : casual , consultative, formal, frozen and
intimate.
Frozen register was shown in the 6th paragraph when when Mr. Pitkins gave Kadee this speech
regarding her termination; Im sorry to inform you but your services are no longer needed at
this organization, youre fired. This statement came as a shock to Kadee and such she did not
respond at the moment therefore depicting the effective use of the frozen register. This was
effective as it showed Kadees shock, disappointment and surprise to Mr. Pitkins statement.
Formal register was also shown throughout the piece where the characters communicated. An
example was shown in the 9th paragraph where Kadee and Ms. Knight communicated. Formal
register was used because they communicated in a professional way.
In concluding, the story has a number of language techniques which were used to enhance its
presentation to the audience. The two that were highlighted and discussed were Language
Registers and Communicative Behaviours which were present throughout the story.

Conclusion

In concluding, the writer effectively discussed the theme gender discrimination. The negative
impact of the the topic was highlighted in the short story. Also , various communicative
behaviours and dialectal variations were present throughout the story in which the writer
highlighted in the analysis.

Bibliography
Websites:
www.slideshare.net
www.cape-commstudies.blogspot.com

www.books.google.com
Newspapers:
The Gleaner
Jamaica Observer
Books:
Women and Workplace Discrimination: Overcoming Barriers to Gender Equality
By Raymond F. Gregory

Appendix