Flow of Ideas: articles - Gender and Spokesperson in Group Work Issues

A Capital Friendly Culture for Further Education

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Ambassadors of Capital in Schools

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Full Report Ruth Rikowski's Book Launch for Globalisation, Information and Libraries

Gender and Spokesperson in Group Work Issues

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Habituation of the Nation

Higher Education and Confused Employer Syndrome

Hitchcock: classic auteur

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In the Dentist's Chair

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My Tony Blair
New Ideas in Ruth Rikowski[a]s Book - Part 1

New Ideas in Ruth Rikowski's Book - Part 1
New Ideas in Ruth Rikowski[a]s Book - Part 2

New Ideas in Ruth Rikowski's Book - Part 2

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Women in World Wars

SPOKEPERSON IN GROUP WORK AND GENDER-RELATED ISSUES

Ruth Rikowski

“Whenever your class does group-work the same students, usually men, always volunteer to do the feedback. Three quarters of the students in the class are women”

The gender issue is something that I have felt passionately about for many years, so I decided to choose this scenario. Despite the feminist movement of the 1970s we are still far away from having equality between the sexes. The above scenario is a problem that occurs frequently today. Indeed, on the (Certificate of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education) CLTHE sessions that I have been attending myself it has been noted that men rather than women are often the spokespeople. Also, that even on a personal basis, I have sometimes found myself encouraging the male to speak rather than myself or another female within the group!

As teachers, this is obviously something that we need to try to overcome. This could be achieved in a number of ways, and some of these will be discussed here. However, the complexities also need to be, and are, considered, and the situation is not quite as straightforward as it might initially appear to be. The write-up will be based on the 7 points outlined in the CLTHE handout entitled ‘Portfolio work on diversity scenarios’ (2007), in the form of bullet points. This also demonstrates my ability to be able to present material in a variety of ways, other work in this portfolio having been written in an essay or report format. However, ideally, more references should have been included, but time and space did not permit this.

A. Key issues – some of the key issues are listed below:

1. Inequality in contribution between males and females
2. Men and women have different perspectives and can bring different backgrounds to the scenario – e.g. women’s childcare experience. If both men and women are spokespeople this diversity of backgrounds can be shared and appreciated more effectively.
3. Problem of possible favouritism – if tutor says nothing, might appear to be favouring men, but if deliberately change this, might appear to be favouring females.
4. If women are not given adequate opportunity as spokespeople this can hinder their self-development in general – e.g. ability to give presentations, confidence-building. Women often have their confidence undermined in society in various ways anyway. Margolis and Fisher interviewed some female students studying computing and as one woman interviewed said: It’s very disheartening. If you are continually told that you’re hopeless, eventually you will start believing it. How long can you put up with that? (in Margolis and Fisher, 2002, p.84)
5. Employers value group work, so if women are not spokespeople sometimes they are not developing this part of their communication and employability skills very effectively.
6. Students perception of the situation if the tutor taking the session is also the marker – e.g. might encourage males to want to be spokespeople, or might encourage them not to, if seen to be generously giving way and being willing to listen to females.
7. If session is set up in a particular way, then a spokesperson is necessary – someone needs to volunteer. Males are often quicker and more willing to volunteer. But what if they do not volunteer, and then no-one does? The whole session might then fail. This fear might well encourage tutors to just accept the male as spokesperson.
8. On the other hand, it can be good to use silence and space sometimes – more suitable spokespeople might then emerge, for example, and it can also be beneficial to reflect in this way.
9. Teaching practice could be changed – do not have to have group method with one spokesperson. Other possibilities – e.g. each member of the group speak briefly (perhaps from the front of the class) rather than just having one spokesperson, tutor selects a spokesperson, perhaps ensuring that everyone gets a chance to be spokesperson, and this method is explained to seminar group at the beginning of the session. Or do not use the group method at all, or at least, use it to a less extent, along with other teaching methods, such as working in pairs, or go round the class asking questions on an individual basis. Working with pairs and individuals can only work though, for groups that are of a reasonable size (probably 20 at the most).

B. Implications for student learning – these include:

1. Fears of possible discrimination if there is the perception that there is gender inequality.
2. If men are spokespeople more than women, then they get better at it and more confident, then they will feel even more able to be effective spokespeople – so the inequality between the sexes will continue to escalate.
3. However, can also get confidence from silence and from developing listening skills – so females could benefit in other ways. Intelligent females might decide not to speak for this reason alone, thinking that there is little to be gained from them being the spokesperson if there is nothing all that significant to report. If students have not read around the subject beforehand and prepared for the seminar, group discussion might not be very rich, and therefore feedback sessions might not be as worthwhile as they could be.
4. If students do not speak in class, especially in regard to being a spokesperson, this could hinder the development of English for the foreign/overseas students. If male students from ethnic minorities are spokespeople more than their female counterparts then once again, females could suffer, this time in regard to the improvement in their spoken English. Also, some people from particular cultural backgrounds (e.g. some Asian and Chinese cultures) may be particularly quiet, and thus would benefit in particular from the opportunity to be spokespeople. So, females from these cultures could suffer even more discrimination.
5. Quiet people should not be forced to be spokespeople – this could actually undermine their confidence and could be detrimental to their learning in the long-run. Subtle methods are required from the tutor in this regard.
6. If quiet people are forced to speak, it might have a negative effect on the whole teaching and learning experience for the class. They might not present the points in an interesting and engaging way, for example, and might not even be heard clearly.
7. Men in general have louder voices than women. This it could be argued that it could be beneficial for the whole class if there were more male spokespeople than female spokespeople, giving a clear and confident delivery – the benefits for the whole class have to be weighed up against the benefit for individuals!

C. Viewpoints of others in the scenario – these include:

1. Allow time (in lesson plan) to discuss gender inequality issues in regard to spokespeople, if this seems to be necessary. Some of the issues raised in this piece could be discussed.
2. Suggest having a seminar session on a gender-related topic specifically
3. If referring to actual topics covered in the seminar, this should come through the seminar groups and the spokespeople
4. Consider student feelings – e.g. if men continue to dominate as spokespeople, women could have feelings of resentfulness, injustice, feelings that tutor not having sufficient regard for equality issues etc. Tutor needs to consider how to deal with such viewpoints and feelings
5. Students having to take some responsibility re who is to be spokespeople and how the delivery is to be given.

D. Legislation and Policy – these include:

The Sex Discrimination Act (1975) and the British Equal Pay Act (1970), which was strengthened by the European Court in 1982, are of relevance here, as is the Equal Opportunities Policy within the university. The Sex Discrimination Act bars discrimination on the grounds of sex in employment, education and the provision of goods, services and premises. In our teaching practice we need to try to ensure that we are not discriminating against female students, but that instead, we are providing them with equal opportunities.

The implementation of sex discrimination legislation and equal opportunities policies for employment, education and training can all actually now be considered together within the university. In both my teaching at the University of Greenwich and at South Bank, I work with students on employability issues in various ways, for example, and help to prepare students for the world of work. This is very explicit at Greenwich, where I am involved with actually giving mock job interviews to students, but at both universities I take seminars on topics such as CV writing, job interview skills, communication skills and the strengths and weaknesses that students have (SWOT analysis).

All this can be related to the diversity scenario in various ways. Where men tend to be spokespeople more in seminars, this will increase their confidence in general, and their oral communication skills, in particular. This can help to put them in a favourable position in the job interview, in comparison with females. This could enable them to answer interview questions more effectively, which could even include questions on equal opportunities itself – given that this is a question that interviewers frequently ask! It would be ironic if in seminars that focused on employability (such as some of the sessions that I take, as outlined above) males were spokespeople more than females, thereby helping to give them the edge in the job market. Particularly, if in the real interview situation, they answered the questions more effectively than the females (including questions on equal opportunities policies) thereby resulting in more males being appointed to the better jobs. Then this would all lead to men earning more money than females, having more status and power etc, and would help them to further their way more quickly up the career ladder! So, whilst the Sex Discrimination Act seeks to ensure an equal playing field in the job market for males and females, as academics we could actually find ourselves working against it, if we are not fully aware of what we are doing, and what is going on in our classrooms and in our seminar activities. Therefore, giving careful consideration to all the issues raised in this piece become even more important!

Acts and Policies go to great lengths to try to lessen sexual discrimination in employment, training and education - e.g. having an interview-panel which is gender-balanced; providing reasonable childcare facilities; not inserting preferences for a male or female in job advertisements; equal pay; providing equal opportunity in education. Increasing numbers of women are entering education and the employment market. As Crompton and Lyonette (2006) point out, over two-thirds of women are now in paid employment, which is in contrast with 55% in 1989 – (British Social Attitudes Survey).

The aim is to provide both equal opportunities and equal treatment. As academics we need to do all we can to make sure that we are supporting the legislation and the policies.

E. Difficult dilemmas – some examples are listed below

1. Tutor favouring a particular gender
2. Reasons why people do and do not want to be spokespeople – cannot all be explained by gender. Tutors need to further their understanding here
3. What are effective teaching methods? Group work with spokespeople is known to be a successful method. Other methods might help to overcome this gender problem, but might also be more risky.
4. Also, good to use this group method with spokesperson sometimes, because it does force some students, at least, to be more outspoken which should increase their confidence and their oral communication skills.
5. How to deal with and encourage quiet students that might not want to be Spokespeople
6. What should the main focus be on? – providing a good and effective teaching and thinking experience, dealing with gender issues, or ethnic issues, or what?

F. How to deal with the situation – some examples are listed below

1. Mixing groups up, so that there are some males and females in each group. Change the composition of the group re gender divide.
2. Find strategies to encourage women to be more vocal
3. Get key points from student groups, set up a blog and encourage everyone to contribute, including those that did not want to be spokespeople – this overcomes communication problem to some extent, although not ability to be able to confidently present in front of others and does not develop oral communication skills
4. Ask the group if there were any disagreements within the group
5. Speak about my own background, especially in regard to feminist issues, and my published work on I.T. and gender issues (see for example, Rikowksi, 2003)
6. Ask for volunteers from females to be spokespeople at the beginning of the session or have a spokesperson rotating system
7. Refer to equal opportunity policy
8. Video group session with spokesperson and then discuss it. Preferably, have one female spokesperson and one male one. What, for example, were the differences in presentations between the sexes?
9. Is it necessarily good to focus on gender issue as criteria for selection for spokesperson? Instead, should the focus not be on how to have the most effective lesson, how to ensure that students learn effectively, and develop the ability to be able to think for themselves? Example: in school, teachers often pick those pupils that they think are the best at reading out loud, particularly when it comes to reading novels out loud in English classes. Perhaps, the same type of approach should be adopted here? If so, this lessens the value of focusing so closely on the gender issue re who should/should not be spokespeople.
10. Might appear to be patronising if women feel they are selected to be spokespersons in some sort of token way.
11. The assumption seems to be that it is always beneficial to be a spokesperson but might not always be – e.g. the value of silence and listening
12. Perhaps, ask students to think carefully themselves about who would be the best and most effective spokesperson, in order to ensure a rich learning and thinking experience. It might not necessarily be beneficial, for example, to have a quietly spoken person, or someone that speaks very fast, or someone that has a very broad accent – others in the group might not be able to understand that person very well. The whole group needs to be considered, not just the individual.
13. If tutor decides who is to be spokesperson, this could be interpreted as a way of undermining student democracy and might go against what students actually want to do.
14. Sometimes, people might decide not to be spokesperson because they cannot see much to gain from it.
15. Consider using other teaching methods as well, which does not require the use of spokespeople.

References

Crompton, Rosemary and Lyonette, Clare (2006) Gender, attitudes to work, and work-life ‘balance’ in Britain. Available at: Gender, attitudes to work, and work-life ‘balance’ in Britain

Equal Pay Act, 1970

Haralambos, Mike and Holborn, Martin (2004) (6th ed) Sociology: themes and perspectives, London: HarperCollins

Margolis, Jane and Fisher, Allan (2002) Unlocking the clubhouse: women in computing, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London

Rikowski, Ruth (2003) Females, computers and libraries, Managing Information, July/August, Vol. 10, No 6, pp.6-10

Sex Discrimination Act, 1975

January 15th 2008

This piece of work was originally written as part of the Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (CLTHE) course which I successfully passed in 2008.

© Copyright, Ruth Rikowski, March 2009

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