Sunday, November 24, 2019

Brief Look At Jewish History Essays - Zionism, Land Of Israel

Brief Look At Jewish History Essays - Zionism, Land Of Israel Brief Look at Jewish History The Jews are a people with a multitude of dilemmas. From the Israelite tribes to the prosperous modern day Israel , bigotry towards the Jews has been greatly evident. The Jewish race has acted as Escape Goat for many crisis throughout history including the black plaque which swept across Europe in the 14th century. The establishment of Israel was a great incident was something the Jewish people were striving to obtain for generations. This, however, led to four major conflicts between Israel and the Arab countries. One of the most meaningful wars was the Six-Day War. Events such as the holocaust have also had a dramatic effect on world history and whose mysteries are still being unravelled. For twelve years following 1933 the Jews were persecuted by the Nazi's. Jewish businesses were boycotted and vandalized. By 1939,Jews were no longer citizens,could not attend public schools,engage in practically any business or profession, own any land, associate with any non-Jew or visit public places such as parks and museums. The victories of the German armies in the early years of World War II brought the majority of European Jewry under the Nazis. The Jews were deprived of human rights. The Jewish people were forced to live in Ghetto's which were separated from the main city. Hitler's plan of genocide was carried out with efficiency. The total number of Jews exterminated has been calculated at around 5,750,000. In Warsaw ,where approximately 400,000 Jews had once been concentrated,was reduced to a population of 60,000. They, virtually unarmed, resisted the German deportation order and had held back the regular German troops equipped with flame throwers,armoured cards, and tanks for nearly a month. This heroism was similar to the revolt which took place around 165BC. This uprising was led by the Maccabees, a provincial priestly family (also called Hasmoneans). They recaptured the Temple and rededicated it to the God of Israel. The Maccabees made there last ezd on a mountain and was able to hold back the syrians for more then a month. There is a distinct similarity between the two stories and that is possibly why they are both recognised as holidays in the Jewish faith. These horrific events of the holocaust have let to some consequences which are beneficial and some are unfortunate to the Jewish people. The population of the followers has greatly declined. Also the Jewish people after the war still had problems finding jobs. They had to essentially start there life over. Most of them lost a close relative or at least knew someone who died in the gas chambers of the Nazi concentration camps. This has put a psychological strain on Jewish survivors or no longer having family and friends with them for support. This event has awaken the world up to the needs of the Jewish people. It has given them political power and a justification for some of their actions. On May recognised,1945 ,the end of World War II was seen. Organized Jewry in the European continent was damaged beyond repair. The Jews concentrated on the preservation of Israel and on the bringing of Nazi war criminals to trial. There is a day of commemoration, Holocaust Day, observed in Israel and elsewhere on Nisan (April) 19 and 20. The date is considered the anniversary of the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The emergence of Israel as a Jewish state on the former territory of Palestine was the central political issue of the Middle East after World War II. A movement was established to work on the reestablishment of the Jewish national state of Israel. This movement was given the name Zionism. The Zionists were full of energy,enthusiasm, and skill which led to remarkable accomplishments. Israel was a modern European state in an underdeveloped area. This was the source of there problems and their achievements. The Jews received vast amounts of financial and military support from Western governments. The Israelis also benefitted from a highly trained and motivated citizenry to create a unique nation-state. It had taken the Zionists seventy years to purchase 7 per cent of Palestine. Now the UN was offering them another 50 per cent. The partition plan was objected by all of that Arab and Palestinian Arab governments. The Zionists excepted the plan. They however were upset that Jerusalem was excluded from the Jewish state. The Jews were the most fertile land including the citrus groves upon which the Arabs depended on for their living. Many of the nations of the world felt guilt or grief of the Hitler era. This is

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Hospitality Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 10

Hospitality Management - Essay Example The purpose of communication is to clearly understand people and for the other people to understand me. The different background and personalities along with the different perceptions present great challenges in comprehending people and things. If my communication are, thus, improved, then the benefits are overly broad. Excellent communication skills will help be achieve a successful response from individuals, as well as the surroundings. It will help me build sound relationships in a personal and business setting. It will help me develop efficient problem solving plus decision making skills and improve my level of productivity. Effective communication skills will also improve my work flow and my personal and professional image. Finally, proper communication skills will help in compelling my advocacy. The reality is that proper communication skills are significant to peoples growth. It has to be among the areas which people must give consideration if they are having a personal develo pment plan. I have three areas of communication, which I feel I need to be good at in order to achieve my personal development plan. These areas include listening skills, writing skills and oral communication skills. In writing communication, it is significant that people know my English position, as well as my business English. In both of these views, my writing must be overly effective. I should know these diverse styles in writing and also when to apply each of the style. In listening communication, it is advisable to listen to what my heart and mind tells me. In order to achieve the effective listening skills, I have to maintain eye-contact with the people who speak or listen to me and never interrupt the speaker. I should learn to express my understanding through nodding instead of just interrupting the speaker like I used to do in the past. If I

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The house Queens, New York Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The house Queens, New York - Essay Example The house Queens, New York where I grew up in and spent most of my childhood, looked more formidable and forlorn than awe-inspiring. Its walls have now started to give in a little; the ceiling has begun to leak when it rains and the iron grills on the second floor windows have been leisurely yielding to rust and the changes in weather. At one glance it doesn't seem to show that the house bestowed us the best learning experience children could achieve. The house is now decrepit, dilapidating and in virtual disrepair, almost empty of laughter and gaiety, and wanting of the possessive warmth of its master. Not long ago, Queens was home for the five of us - me my two other sisters and my parents. When we were growing up, we divided the four-bedroom house into two wings; the right wing and its four rooms were our bedrooms. The second half of the house was turned into a library and a study as books, newspapers, magazines and journals littered the whole house from the kitchen to the front porch. We could not remember not reading. Since my mother taught all of us to read at a very early age of three, books have become integral parts of our growing up. My mother was a very persistent and patient woman - not giving up when we give up on learning how to read and understand difficult books. In fact, we started reading difficult books first than study children's books most parents would recommend their young children. My mother did not go to college as she married my father at a young age. We did not know where she learned how to teach. All we know was that, we started learning the alphabet at the age of two or three. Then, she would move on teaching us how to read words, shorter ones, and longer ones after, then phrases, then sentences. There were times when you have to read aloud passages from the American Constitution or Modern History of America as she listened attentively, observing closely if you were making a mistake on the enunciation of each word, and if you did, she wou ld ask you to start from the very beginning. It didn't really matter at first whether we understand a word we were reading or not, what was noteworthy was that we knew how to read simple to complex words. I realized later that my mother prepared us to learn independently. She explained that if you knew how to read words, you would know their meanings by searching for those words in the dictionary. My other relatives would give us a thick dictionary for Christmas as presents because of my mother's constant request for them to do so. As a result, the dictionary had always been our constant companion. Later on, all of us were able to scan and search for the definition of words as fast as we could. My parents bestowed us so much freedom to choose our own individual paths to learning. As the left wing of our house was turned into a library, we were given freedom to choose which books to read and our parents would never dictate on us which book to choose. If we made the wrong choice of book, it was our responsibility to pick and choose a better one next time. Much of my childhood was spent in the left wing of the house. The dingy rooms surrounded by cabinets and shelves reeked with the smell of old paper, ink and gaseous odor emanating from the damp newspapers, oak wood and leaves - but it represents a whole world to me. The cabinets and shelves were shrouded in dusts and soot but it didn't hinder me

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Arguments against the existence of God Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Arguments against the existence of God - Essay Example Philosophers and thinkers who voted against the existence of God include David Hume, Bertrand Russell, and Nietzche. In much recent times, the debate on the existence of God has been discussed by scientists such as Stephen Hawking, William Lane Craig, and David Bentley Feser among others. Whether God exists or not presents a very interesting debate within the popular cultures, in the philosophy of religion and in philosophy itself. So, who is God? The Bible does not give God an exact definition nor any allusion to anything. But it does give Him characteristics like all powerful, all merciful, transcendent, the beginning, and the end, is not physically visible to us, and He exists forever. According to the Bible, God is the creator of heaven and earth and through His word; He created the universe and everything else on it. God has a son, Jesus Christ, who was begotten of the Virgin Mary and sent to save humanity from evil. God is capable of blessing and punishing and is called the Most High Father. In classical theism, God is defined by the same metaphysical attributes by being timeless, sovereign, the first and also simple. The approach is no different in Eastern religious thoughts, Christian, Hebrew traditions or even Islam. The empirical arguments extended against the existence of God largely rely on the knowledge that is acquired from observations that in turn proves their conclusions. One such argument emanates from the inconsistency in revelations on the existence of a deity called God from the scriptures. These scriptures include the Christian Bible, Muslim Quran, Hindu Vedas, Jewish Tanakh and the Book of Mormon. There exists an apparent contradiction between different scriptures, within a single scripture in different books, for example, the Gospels, or between the scriptures and some well-known facts. The problem of evil also fuels the argument that indeed, God does not exist. According

Friday, November 15, 2019

Finishing Techniques for Leather

Finishing Techniques for Leather Summery These papers make a brief clarification of some of the finishing technique which is to applied to two finishing procedure and clarification for full grain aniline leather finish and a full grain pigmented leather finish the material to be used in it and whey to apply such material for such both finishing type . also an observation on the needs for the finish for the leather . also a describe for the difference between the pigment and the dyes from their origin and behavior and other points of study for them . and after that an investigation about the organic and the inorganic pigment and the difference between them . plus a brief explanation about the comparison between cationic and ionic dyestuffs. more a study about two formulation for shoe upper finish for aniline and pigmented full grain leather plus study for the material to be applied for them . then end with product understanding from stahl mentioning their use and needs in the finish formulation and monitoring their behavior. Introduction Finishing The term finishing is applied in the leather industries to help enhance the properties and the appearance of the final piece of the leather its gives the leather more enhanced color and remove defaults that could be caused through the leather operation or a nature defect. The piece of leather is enhanced by treating it with dyestuff solutions, pigments, preparations, top coating then it enters he mechanical treatment in terms of plating. The basic rule in the leather finishing is the fewer blemishes on the raw hide The less finish has to be applied. The more grain layers is damaged layer is damaged, the more coats the leather required to replace The natural grain. Also the purpose of finishing is to provide different types of leather with special characteristics satisfy the requirement markets, The processes of finishing the leather give the leather upgrading of the following characteristics such as Color , brightness , matting , feel , softness , print pattern , water resistance and more . Part 1 Dyes and pigments Both dyes and pigments are powerful colorants material used to color other substances Pigments Pigments are the special type of dyeing material for wet processing technology. Pigment can also be define as a water insoluble coloring material and a coloring substance that makes the color of the product look different because of its absorption of certain wavelengths . dyes Dyes are substances found naturally and also made synthetically too . Dyes have the ability to change the color of the leather and material which they are applied. In earlier times, most of the dyes were obtained from plant sources , roots ,wood , stem bark and plants leaves . also in the 19th century synthetic dyes were produced and since then many of synthetic dyes have been produced . Special needs for the dyes in the surface coating where a high level of transparency is required, Dyes vs pigments Organic and inorganic pigments . The difference between organic pigments and inorganic pigment are based upon some principle factors. Such as Molecular structure of the pigments Carbon chains or carbon rings are always presented in the molecules of the organic pigments. But in the molecules of the inorganic pigments , the cations of metal are found in an array from the non-metalic anions . which with this arrangement does not allow these pigment to dissolve in the solvent . Source of pigments the main source of organic pigment are plants and plant products. The inorganic pigment are manufactured from topical cosmetic and dirt . Inorganic pigment are non-ferrous metal oxides , or some metal insoluble metal salts . Main difference between inorganic pigment and organic pigment Cationic and ionic dyes . Anionic dyes have a negative charge and attached to cationic surfaces, Cationic dyes have a positive charge and attached to anionic surfaces, The cationic dyes react with anionic sites on the surface of the substrate, the cationic produce a bright shades. The solubility of these dyes is very good in water in the presence of glacial acetic acid . Both anionic and cationic dyes have poor levelling properties . Part 2 One can ask the question. Why are there so many different types of leather ? simple answer is its all down to cost . The tanner should have the experience to sort and select the leather after the chrome tanning to forward each type leather batch selected and sorted to its category end use type product . The tanner forward the sorted chrome leather batches to the retanning and dying process. Such sorting is done according to the hide size, grain condition, surface grades , extra†¦ When it comes to finish the leather. The tanner already sort the leather in previous states So he knows what is he going to do with such sorted leather to apply the required finish to it . Almost all types of hides and skins can be finished . The final uses of the different leather leads to the type of the finishing to be applied . Type of the finish the tanner choose depend on the appearance he want sell his leather with it . Among of the types of finishing types of leather is. a – Aniline finish ( full grain aniline leather finish ) Aniline leather is the most natural looking leather with the unique surface characteristics of the hide remaining visible . To get such aniline leather you need to apply what’s called â€Å" aniline finish â€Å" Leather with an aniline finish is colored with dyestuffs only which means no opaque finish ie transparent finish so that the original grain surface can be seen through. Another transparent top coat can be applied to give bright finish and water repellent surface . Aniline finished leather has excellent tooling , polishing , and redyeing properties . B – Pigment leather finish ( full grain pigmented leather finish ) Such pigmented finish contains no aniline dyestuffs . the dyestuffs are all replaced with an opaque inorganic pigment , such mixture is bound together using a small amount of casein and a use of a binder ( mostely is thermoplastics type ) to form a continuous film , resulting in a more level finish and better coverage of the finish skin . The presence of such small amount of casein contained in the finish ensures the leather does not become sticky . After the leather is finally coated with a matt or bright water based lacquer emulsion to enable sealing the finish to give certain amount of resistance to wet , dry rubbing . Full grain aniline finish vs full grain pigmented finish

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Using the Sports Industry as a Medium

I am using the sports industry as a medium to illustrate how the scales of inequality are weighted in favour of males. In particular, we are looking at the ways in which women are breaking through the barriers into areas that could not have been envisaged fifty years ago. The sports industry is extremely diverse and is currently experiencing rapid growth and development. The industry†s profits run into billions each year. The business of sport has certainly not been immune or isolated from gender inequalities. Traditionally, professional sports management has been the exclusive realm of males. Sport is often regarded as one of societies most traditional male institutions. However, one of the most important phrases of the '90†³s† has been ‘gender inequality†. This involves offering equal opportunities to both men and women to participate in sport. The table below illustrates just how little coverage women†s sport receives in the media: The Times Daily Express Guardian Daily Telegraph Given the changing face of the international workforce, sports managers must now make ethical decisions regarding hiring in order to make the management of sport both more appealing and available to women. Although recent changes within sports leagues, such as professional women†s football has opened the doors to women – it is found that they rarely attain positions of power and wealth. It could still be argued that women have not been accepted into the industry, as the roles offered within it tend to be opposed to the typical ‘ideology of women†. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world with over 117 million players across 175 countries. There are now over 8 million women playing the game worldwide. It is no longer just a sport for men. Speed, agility and tenacity are among the most important factors for success in soccer. All of these are qualities that women have in abundance. And not only are women becoming more prominent as soccer players, they are also breaking the closed ranks of refereeing. In September, huge progress was made in the field of female refereeing when, for the first time in the world, control of a senior mens' match was placed entirely in the hands of women. Wendy Toms refereed a Nationwide Conference match with the assistance of Janie Framptom and Amy Raynor running the lines. Brendan Phillips, the manager of one of the teams involved commented after the match on how impressed he was with the quality of the officials. And it is perhaps worth pointing out at this point how rare it is for referees to be praised, especially by football managers! Other successful women in soccer include: Karen Brady – Birmingham City Managing Director Gaby Yorath – Football presenter and player On top of these advances made in soccer, a major step was recently taken in female boxing when, in America, a female fought against a male and won the fight. However, cynics might suggest that the fight was more of a publicity stunt than a fair contest. A newspaper report on this landmark contest can be found in Appendix I. Also in female boxing, Laila the 21-year-old daughter of the legendary Muhammad Ali recently entered the history books when she took part in a professional boxing bout. Again, a newspaper article on this event can be found in Appendix I. Stereotyping identifies a gender role at a very early age and can be traced back to the family – in particular, mother child relations. Bandura illustrates that young children acquire sex role behaviours through imitation, identification and observation of parents, teachers, media, personality and peers. Sex differences are reinforced through the pattern of childhood games for example, if a girl was given ‘Action Men† to play with, although they may play with them for some time, they will have a natural tendency to favour toys that will encourage their traditional female roles. The continued existence of toys such as ‘A La Carte Kitchen†, ‘Barbie and Ken† and ‘Cindy† simply reinforce the stereotype typically associated with women in the past is still present in a huge way. It has been suggested that society in general, and schools in particular, have led girls to lower their aspirations for no good reason. In primary school it is often found that the Physical Education lessons involved either no provision whatsoever for ‘girl orientated† sports (for instance Netball), or the girls were encouraged (or forced) to get involved in ‘male orientated† sports such as football or rounders. There was little provision for girls who didn†t wish to participate in these sports, with the best alternative being a skipping rope. Women aren†t encouraged to compete as speed, power and excitement are all games associated predominately with males. They see themselves as being suited to work which is of a different nature and less prestigious than that of their male counterparts. Part of the reason for the concentration on ‘male orientated† sports in schools, particularly primary schools, could be related to the fact that most sports teachers are male and so they have more interest in such sports and so are biased. In 1996 for example, the average number of women in athletic administrative structures was less than 1% per school . Ideals about suitable jobs for men and women have reflected prevailing notions of man and womanhood. Hence, familial ideology is one of the critical factors in exploring the deep seated and taken for granted nature of gender differentiation. In the past two decades there has been an uprise of women in positions that were previously dominated by men, and although women are now engaged in virtually every occupational category, few of them manage to reach the top. So, there is obviously a need to promote women in society and to encourage female leaders and emphasise the qualities that they can bring to the workforce and workplace. They need to be encouraged to aim for the top. However, the problem is that â€Å"whilst women are increasingly gaining entry to jobs demanding high levels of expertise, they are only rarely translating these into jobs with high levels of authority and organisational power† . High occupational achievement accompanied by a high salary has traditionally been reflected by the masculine role. The International Review of Employment conducted a study that revealed a huge discrepancy in the number of female directors in the UK. The UK has trailed behind the USA both in the number of female directors and in adapting corporate cultures to the presence of women executives at the top level. There are 140 female executive directors and 138 non-executives working in a total of 2349 listed British companies. Of these, just 22 women made it to the top positions of Chief Executive or Managing Director. And it is also interesting to note that women managers â€Å"earn on average only 65% of their male counterparts† earnings†. Refer to Appendix II for an interview conducted with a female Section Manager at Tesco Plc. The interview highlights some problems and issues that women managers face in today†s workplace. So why does this glass ceiling exist? One obvious answer lies in discrimination, which is both covert and overt in the persistence of male dominated or paternalistic corporate cultures. Together with this women have factors such as child bearing to adopt within their careers and macho workaholic cultures currently make it difficult for female executives to fit in time for their children and family. Another reason for the glass ceiling may be because women are constantly fighting against the many stereotypes that exist concerning every aspect of life and female roles within it. This list is by no means exhaustive but it illustrates some of the underlying issues. Instead of trying to break the ‘glass ceiling† perhaps women need to find their own personal windows through which they can climb. Because men and women are obviously different, it would be foolish to suggest that or to hope that men and women can be distributed in the labour force in exactly the same jobs, i.e. men are always going to be suited to some jobs better than women and vice versa. But, despite this, society can offer various solutions to the gender inequalities that exist. Advancing equal opportunities is never an easy task and history shows that simple solutions rarely work. The present generation has addressed sexual inequalities in a number of ways, for example, increased education and increased support for interest in the female labour market. Many believe that for major changes in gender roles to take place it would be wise to look at the potential intervention in education at a younger age. By doing this, many of the stereotypes that children grow up believing and adhering too could be banished before they become inbred within the individual. However, schooling is only one part of this education and society as a whole and in particular home life has to play a part in this ‘new† education. Although there are presently a number of changes in parenting and the workforce, as well as the sexual familial division of labour it is far from certain that such changes will, in the near future, be sufficient to alter present social roles or position in the hierarchy of gender so that young children will receive clear, delineated and understandable concepts of equalised gender roles. Almost 25 years after the foundation of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) it would be nice to say as the millennium approaches that things have changed significantly changed for the better. However, reality would suggest that although changes have taken place the extent of these has neither been fast moving or dramatic. Julie Mellor, Chair of the EOC believes that ‘there is still a huge amount of work to be done – we get lulled into a feeling of more significant change than is actually reality†. There is no doubt that there are still many obstacles that face women when trying to further their careers. It is now the job of organisations and society to build upon the foundations laid over the past 25 years by the EOC and Government legislation, such as the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. The balance is being redressed and it must be understood that such changes can†t and won†t take place overnight. Maybe one of the most important points when looking at the future and the ways forward can be summed in this quote by Judi Marshall: â€Å"Equality should not be contingent on sameness but should recognize and welcome differences and accord them equal social worth.† Using the Sports Industry as a Medium I am using the sports industry as a medium to illustrate how the scales of inequality are weighted in favour of males. In particular, we are looking at the ways in which women are breaking through the barriers into areas that could not have been envisaged fifty years ago. The sports industry is extremely diverse and is currently experiencing rapid growth and development. The industry†s profits run into billions each year. The business of sport has certainly not been immune or isolated from gender inequalities. Traditionally, professional sports management has been the exclusive realm of males. Sport is often regarded as one of societies most traditional male institutions. However, one of the most important phrases of the '90†³s† has been ‘gender inequality†. This involves offering equal opportunities to both men and women to participate in sport. The table below illustrates just how little coverage women†s sport receives in the media: The Times Daily Express Guardian Daily Telegraph Given the changing face of the international workforce, sports managers must now make ethical decisions regarding hiring in order to make the management of sport both more appealing and available to women. Although recent changes within sports leagues, such as professional women†s football has opened the doors to women – it is found that they rarely attain positions of power and wealth. It could still be argued that women have not been accepted into the industry, as the roles offered within it tend to be opposed to the typical ‘ideology of women†. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world with over 117 million players across 175 countries. There are now over 8 million women playing the game worldwide. It is no longer just a sport for men. Speed, agility and tenacity are among the most important factors for success in soccer. All of these are qualities that women have in abundance. And not only are women becoming more prominent as soccer players, they are also breaking the closed ranks of refereeing. In September, huge progress was made in the field of female refereeing when, for the first time in the world, control of a senior mens' match was placed entirely in the hands of women. Wendy Toms refereed a Nationwide Conference match with the assistance of Janie Framptom and Amy Raynor running the lines. Brendan Phillips, the manager of one of the teams involved commented after the match on how impressed he was with the quality of the officials. And it is perhaps worth pointing out at this point how rare it is for referees to be praised, especially by football managers! Other successful women in soccer include: Karen Brady – Birmingham City Managing Director Gaby Yorath – Football presenter and player On top of these advances made in soccer, a major step was recently taken in female boxing when, in America, a female fought against a male and won the fight. However, cynics might suggest that the fight was more of a publicity stunt than a fair contest. A newspaper report on this landmark contest can be found in Appendix I. Also in female boxing, Laila the 21-year-old daughter of the legendary Muhammad Ali recently entered the history books when she took part in a professional boxing bout. Again, a newspaper article on this event can be found in Appendix I. Stereotyping identifies a gender role at a very early age and can be traced back to the family – in particular, mother child relations. Bandura illustrates that young children acquire sex role behaviours through imitation, identification and observation of parents, teachers, media, personality and peers. Sex differences are reinforced through the pattern of childhood games for example, if a girl was given ‘Action Men† to play with, although they may play with them for some time, they will have a natural tendency to favour toys that will encourage their traditional female roles. The continued existence of toys such as ‘A La Carte Kitchen†, ‘Barbie and Ken† and ‘Cindy† simply reinforce the stereotype typically associated with women in the past is still present in a huge way. It has been suggested that society in general, and schools in particular, have led girls to lower their aspirations for no good reason. In primary school it is often found that the Physical Education lessons involved either no provision whatsoever for ‘girl orientated† sports (for instance Netball), or the girls were encouraged (or forced) to get involved in ‘male orientated† sports such as football or rounders. There was little provision for girls who didn†t wish to participate in these sports, with the best alternative being a skipping rope. Women aren†t encouraged to compete as speed, power and excitement are all games associated predominately with males. They see themselves as being suited to work which is of a different nature and less prestigious than that of their male counterparts. Part of the reason for the concentration on ‘male orientated† sports in schools, particularly primary schools, could be related to the fact that most sports teachers are male and so they have more interest in such sports and so are biased. In 1996 for example, the average number of women in athletic administrative structures was less than 1% per school . Ideals about suitable jobs for men and women have reflected prevailing notions of man and womanhood. Hence, familial ideology is one of the critical factors in exploring the deep seated and taken for granted nature of gender differentiation. In the past two decades there has been an uprise of women in positions that were previously dominated by men, and although women are now engaged in virtually every occupational category, few of them manage to reach the top. So, there is obviously a need to promote women in society and to encourage female leaders and emphasise the qualities that they can bring to the workforce and workplace. They need to be encouraged to aim for the top. However, the problem is that â€Å"whilst women are increasingly gaining entry to jobs demanding high levels of expertise, they are only rarely translating these into jobs with high levels of authority and organisational power† . High occupational achievement accompanied by a high salary has traditionally been reflected by the masculine role. The International Review of Employment conducted a study that revealed a huge discrepancy in the number of female directors in the UK. The UK has trailed behind the USA both in the number of female directors and in adapting corporate cultures to the presence of women executives at the top level. There are 140 female executive directors and 138 non-executives working in a total of 2349 listed British companies. Of these, just 22 women made it to the top positions of Chief Executive or Managing Director. And it is also interesting to note that women managers â€Å"earn on average only 65% of their male counterparts† earnings†. Refer to Appendix II for an interview conducted with a female Section Manager at Tesco Plc. The interview highlights some problems and issues that women managers face in today†s workplace. So why does this glass ceiling exist? One obvious answer lies in discrimination, which is both covert and overt in the persistence of male dominated or paternalistic corporate cultures. Together with this women have factors such as child bearing to adopt within their careers and macho workaholic cultures currently make it difficult for female executives to fit in time for their children and family. Another reason for the glass ceiling may be because women are constantly fighting against the many stereotypes that exist concerning every aspect of life and female roles within it. This list is by no means exhaustive but it illustrates some of the underlying issues. Instead of trying to break the ‘glass ceiling† perhaps women need to find their own personal windows through which they can climb. Because men and women are obviously different, it would be foolish to suggest that or to hope that men and women can be distributed in the labour force in exactly the same jobs, i.e. men are always going to be suited to some jobs better than women and vice versa. But, despite this, society can offer various solutions to the gender inequalities that exist. Advancing equal opportunities is never an easy task and history shows that simple solutions rarely work. The present generation has addressed sexual inequalities in a number of ways, for example, increased education and increased support for interest in the female labour market. Many believe that for major changes in gender roles to take place it would be wise to look at the potential intervention in education at a younger age. By doing this, many of the stereotypes that children grow up believing and adhering too could be banished before they become inbred within the individual. However, schooling is only one part of this education and society as a whole and in particular home life has to play a part in this ‘new† education. Although there are presently a number of changes in parenting and the workforce, as well as the sexual familial division of labour it is far from certain that such changes will, in the near future, be sufficient to alter present social roles or position in the hierarchy of gender so that young children will receive clear, delineated and understandable concepts of equalised gender roles. Almost 25 years after the foundation of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) it would be nice to say as the millennium approaches that things have changed significantly changed for the better. However, reality would suggest that although changes have taken place the extent of these has neither been fast moving or dramatic. Julie Mellor, Chair of the EOC believes that ‘there is still a huge amount of work to be done – we get lulled into a feeling of more significant change than is actually reality†. There is no doubt that there are still many obstacles that face women when trying to further their careers. It is now the job of organisations and society to build upon the foundations laid over the past 25 years by the EOC and Government legislation, such as the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. The balance is being redressed and it must be understood that such changes can†t and won†t take place overnight. Maybe one of the most important points when looking at the future and the ways forward can be summed in this quote by Judi Marshall: â€Å"Equality should not be contingent on sameness but should recognize and welcome differences and accord them equal social worth.†