Pancultural Associates, Inc. - Appreciative Inquiry

Why So Slow?: the Advancement of Women
by Virginia Valian

This book is a comprehensive account of the relatively slow rate of advancement for women in the professions. Using extensive data from psychology, sociology, economics, and biology, the author talks about the social construction of gender through her description of people's hypotheses about gender differences, or "gender schemas," that create small sex differences in characteristics, behaviors, perceptions and evaluations of men and women. These small differences accumulate, resulting in systematic underrating of women and the advantaging of men.

Although most men and women in the professions sincerely hold egalitarian beliefs, those beliefs alone cannot guarantee impartial evaluation and treatment of others. Only by understanding how our perceptions are skewed can we begin to perceive ourselves and others accurately. The book makes its point with experimental and observational data from laboratory and field studies of children and adults, as well as with statistical documentation on professional men and women. The many anecdotal examples provide life to the statistics. Valuable for anyone working in the field of gender equity, it is an excellent reference work with numerous highly useful citations. To order this book, click here.

Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood
by William Pollack

The social construction of 'masculinity', the 'boy-code' in the author's words is destroying our young men and boys. He has seen behind the stoic masks of modern boys as they struggle to cope with the messages, conflicting expectations, and increasingly complex demands they receive from our evolving society. The author draws upon nearly two decades of research examining contemporary boyhood and the ways boys manifest their social and emotional disconnection through anger. He describes the unspoken "boy code" that teaches boys how to act and demands that they cover up their emotions.

The author submits that boys are lonely, they are loyal, they are depressed, struggle with self-esteem issues, they are at risk, they need to be understood, and they need to be listened to. Boys can be empathetic and sensitive, Pollack stresses, as he convincingly disabuses readers of a number of myths: that testosterone controls a boy's behavior and that boys are toxic, "psychologically unaware creatures."

Real Boys also provides ways for parents to talk with their sons, read their moods and emotions, and help them become confident men with genuine voices of their own. Good reading for all that wish to explore some underpinnings of the socialization that continues the constructs of gender inequity. To order this book, click here. Also available on audio cassette.

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"If there is right in the soul, there will be beauty in the person; If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the home; If there is harmony in the home, there will be peace in the world." Chinese Proverb