Unit 7 Women: making a difference today
RART 1 UNDERSTANDING AND LEARNING
Overview
The unit aims at exploring a current social issue: gender roles, a topic that could spark a lot of
debates and arguments. Text A gives students a big picture of a how women have played an
important role at the management level, along with their challenges and frustrations. Text B
portrays a happy full-time housewife who considers her job at home absolutely important. The
implication of it is that the job at a housewife should be respected. The two articles are
theme-bound since both relate the topic of the role played by women, though one is at work and
the other at home. The writing style of the tow texts is very different as well. One is a featured
article on female working styles by way of presenting various scenarios at work, blended with
many direct speeches and present verb tenses such as says, report, agrees, proclaims, feels, pauses
when referring to the past; the other is a narrative about the author’s personal experience of being
a housewife. Though the language used in both texts is somewhat casual, the tone of the first one
is more serious and in a report style. Women’s working style and way of thinking are clearly
depicted, which will surely provoke an interesting debate on gender issues as a springboard for
in-depth class discussion. Activities may revolve around the main theme of the unite: Should
women stay home or work outside.
Section A Women at the management level
Background information
Women leaders
In today’s economy, women are a strong force in the workplace. Gone are the days of men
working outside and women staying at home. Women are filling the ranks in many professions
and many top companies. Many of today’s global business leader and powerful entrepreneurs are
women. Indeed, women are increasingly working in upper management roles, serving as leader in
a variety of settings. Interestingly, research says women behave more emotionally in certain work
situations.
Regardless of what the studies says, the data support the benefits of gender diversity at the
workplace. So what does such diversity in the workplace mean? It means that it is beneficial to not
only hire but also retain female employees. The text vividly unfolds how females are working in
different business sectors at the management level.
Detailed study of the text
1 when Monica applied for a job as an assistant in 1971, she was asked whether she would attorney. (para.1)
administrative
Meaning: Monica was asked if she would like to work for a male or a female lawyer when she
applied for a managing job at a law firm in 1971.
Administrative: a. relating to the work of managing a company or organization 行政的；管理的
Although administrative positions may pay more than teaching salaries, they often require more
hours on the job. 虽然行政工作的薪金比教学工作的更多，但它们却往往需要更多的工作时间。
Sentence structure NOTE
“would rather”句型
1 would rather的意思是“宁愿；宁可；更；最好；还是…为好”，后接动词原形，表示优先选择的一种方式。其否定形式是would rather not do sth. would rather没有人称和数的变化，所有的人称一律用would rather。例如：
If you/he would rather be alone, we’ll all leave here. 如果你/他宁愿独自呆着，那我们会都离开这儿。
would rather 后接从句时，从句中的谓语动词用一般过去时，表示希望或宁愿某人按某特定的方式做某事，这个结构常常表达的是现在或将来的行为。例如：
I’d rather you didn’t make any comment on the issue for the time being. 我想目前你还是不要对此事发表任何评论。
2 ”I felt that a male-boss/female-employee relationship was more natural, needing no personal
accommodation whatsoever.”(para.1)
Meaning: I felt that there was no need to compromise in a relationship between a male boss and a
female employee since it was more natural.
employee: n. [C] sb. Who is paid to work for sb. else 受雇者；雇员
knowing what an employee is looking for in a potential employee can help someone to prepare for
an interview. 了解雇主在寻找什么样的潜在雇员可以帮助人们准备面试。
accommodation：n
1）【sing.,U】(fml) a change in behavior or attitude that helps people work together or end a
disagreement 迁就；通融；调和
The two sides failed to agree on every point, but they settled on an accommodation for their
differences. 双方未能对所有的意见都达成一致，但对他们的分歧达成了和解。
1）[U] a place for sb. To stay, live, or work 住处；工作场所
Having decided to find an appropriate accommodation, we set about contacting all the rental
agencies in the city. 我们决定要找一个合适的住处之后，就开始联络这个城市所有的租赁公司。
3. But 20 years later, when she was asked the same question, she said, ”I was pleasantly surprised
that female bosses are much more accessible to their employees; they’re much more sensitive and
intimate with their employees.” (para.1)
Meaning: However, when she was asked the same question 20 years later, she responded that it
was a nice surprise to find out that female bosses had been much easier to approach, more
understanding, and closer to their workers.
