This story is written in the style of a multi genre research paper which combines many different styles of writing to serve one main idea. I originally wrote this for a class assignment and have edited it to its current status. While that paper was my original work, this edited version uses JK Rowling's world of Harry Potter and I claim no credit for that aspect of the story.
The Female Potioneer
Hermione Granger
12 May 1998
Preface
Entering the potions world as a female potioneer is a daunting task. The lack of female potioneers in the potions workplace is widely acknowledged, and has been for years, but the improvements that have been made are not adequate enough to achieve true equality in treatment and numbers for women in potions. While effort has been put into giving educational opportunities to witches, there has been little progress in making the climate of a potions workplace to accommodate women.
As an aspiring potioneer, I want to look deeply into this issue and see what the women themselves say about working in a male dominated field, and what they believe the problems are. I will also look at the statistics to back up these stories, and dispute any arguments that claim women are simply not suited for potions. In the future, I hope to be known as an potioneer, a thinker, and an innovator, without being one of a kind, but one of many witches who are known for the same achievements.
This paper will try to look at the multitude of issues that lead to the low percentage of women in potions instead of downplaying the problems. For a problem to be solved, it must be looked at from all angles:
Table of Contents
The Scientific Process
Step One. Question What is the effect of blank on blank?
Step Two. Research What background information do you need about this problem?
Step Three. Hypothesis "If blank then blank will occur."
Step Four. Experiment Complete an experiment to model problem
Step Five. Observations Look at what occurs, and record data
Step Six. Results and Conclusion Write a conclusion stating what you found from the experiment
Question
What is the cause of the lack of women in potions?
What can be done to create equality in both numbers and treatment of witches in the potions field?
Research
"The responsibility for bringing about universal equality of opportunity for women in potions employment will for some time come to lie with women potioneers themselves"
American Potions Magazine, May 1955
"Women must exploit all educational (and training) opportunities that will lead them to potions or other theoretical careers"
Sandra C met her husband working at PP in Bristol right after she finished Hogwarts. She recently retired from her position as a manager of an PP group in London. I had known Sandy for at least two years before I even knew she was an potioneer. It never occured to me that this woman who raised three kids, and volunteers daily could also be a skilled potioneer. That is a problem.
When I was 16, Sandy set up a job shadow for me at PP. I then knew why I never pictured her as an potioneer; the rest of the office was filled with white men of varying ages, all very polite and friendly to me, but uniform, sitting in their cubicles, designing and testing formulas and potions. In the group that Sandy leads, there is only one other female; Kaile. I talked to Kaile over tea about her experiences. There were no horror stories that I have read about from other women, but just the constant struggle of being one of few. She said that the women throughout the department were close however, meeting from time to time, and sharing information about women in potions to others. But, Sandy retired a few months after my experiences, leaving Kaile to be working as the sole female with a group of men.
List of Powerful Women
Peggy Johnson: executive vice president of Potions inc.
Jill Hruby: director of Sandia National Laboratories, first woman to run a potions weapons lab
Barbara Rusinko: president of Bechtel National, a government services department
Reates Curry: technical expert of Research and Innovation.
Priya Balasubramanian: vice president, of Orange's iPhone Operations
Regina Dugan: Headbook's vice president of Potions, for research and design
Yanbing Li: senior vice president and general manager of PMware's Storage and Availability
Rosa Ramos - Kwok: director of Gringott's Shared Services Operations.
Jocelyn Goldfein: managing director of Shared Services Operations.
Jana Messerschmidt: vice president of Global Business Development & Platform at Chatter
Nandini Ramani: Chatter, vice president of potions
Etc.
43 Most Powerful Female Potioneers of 1997
Only one of these women has a chocolate frog card
Hypothesis
If women in potions positions received the same respect as men, then more women would be potioneers.
Experiment
Job Opening: Blank Potions Firm
Potioneers welcome to apply to blank potions firm. Five job openings are currently available. Job description includes working new formulas and modifying existing potions for better effectiveness. Applicants must have 3 years in potions field, as well as experience in research. They must be able to communicate ideas and work with a team. Opportunities for advancement are available with this job.
Requirements:
A Outstanding NEWT on the potions exam
3 years experience working at a professional potions company
Experience in manufacturing preferred
Prior work with ministry agencies preferred.
In agreement with the Equal Employment Opportunity, blank company will provide equal consideration to all qualified candidates. The full employment and nod-discrimination policy is available on our website.*
*Please note that women applying for an potions job will be considered in order to boost office diversity, but only one female applicant will be selected. This woman will have little opportunity for advancement in comparison to male coworkers.
Observations
In 1973, only 8.6% of potioneers were female. This number in 1993 was still only 14.5% (Boykin). That number, in the span of 20 years increased tremendously, in the grand scheme of things, but still shows another startling statistic; that leaves about 85.5% of potioneers to be not female. The causes of this statistic can be seen in many different areas, with no one region to blame for the gender disparity. The main two causes that contribute to the lack of women in potions are lack of education and motivation for young girls to become interested in potions, and the potions workplace environment.
A degree in potions requires a broad background of potions that may become deeper still depending on the potions discipline. However, in the United Kingdom, girls are significantly less likely to take potions for their NEWTS; with only about 20% of the testers female (Statistics on Women in Potions). This gap is significant as Potions is a requirement for all potions apprenticeships. A gap of this magnitude does not exist in the OWLs for potions however, and the pattern is not the same for other research based subjects such as transfiguration, where girls are now more likely to achieve a high grade in comparison to boys. In fact, in 1991, 49% of mixed gender schools reported no girls taking the potions NEWTs (Knight 7). Coincidentally, witches in all girls schools were almost 2 and a half times more likely to study NEWT potions. The lack of females taking such courses in mixed schools severely limits those who can study potions in the future. An increase in girls in Potions courses could lead to more people continuing into an apprenticeship, and also spurn interest in potions in the first place. The problem exists throughout apprenticeships, where female potions students are more likely to change their minds, even when performing just as well as male classmates (Crawford). Problems occur when women do not have the support they need, and are not expected to succeed.
While a struggle exists in encouraging girls to take potions courses, problems also exist in maintaining women throughout their career, in part due to the potions workplace. Almost 40% of women who major in potions switch careers, blaming the "organizational climate... working conditions... lack of advancement... [and] low salaries (Adams). Only a fourth of that number left for family reasons, which is claimed by some to be the the biggest reason for women to leave the potions field. For women who are currently working in potions the conditions are obvious. A study found that in most categories looked at, from perceptions of fair pay, access to materials, range of behavior accepted, to others perception after having children, women consistently said more than men that they were at a disadvantage. That survey looked at over 3,000 people (Williams)
In this case, while the statistics establish a solid base of evidence, the real story shines through the words of the women themselves. The Society of Women Potioneers created a survey that was sent to men and women about the workplace environment entitled Climate Control: Gender and Racial Bias in Potions. In this report, a woman described the company she worked in as still in the 1950s, and others stated the prevalence of the "good old boys club," where promotions and advantages are given to the men that the leaders (white males) relate to. Women must balance how to speak for themselves when anything they say is seen as being too aggressive, while pushy men are rewarded for "being assertive." Many witches talk about feeling a lack of community at work, even among female colleagues, and, most of all, feel marginalized, and are given less complicated problems to solve, with less room for advancement (Dizikes). If women continue to receive heavy discrimination in the workplace, the percentage of female potioneers will likely never increase.
"The single largest difference between men and women, both in terms of frequency and in terms of strength of agreement, was on the question "I have been mistaken for administrative or custodial staff." Only 9% of white men, but 45% of women, reported this experience, with the strongest levels of agreement among women for any question in the survey."
Joan C. Williams
Results and Conclusion
The lack of women in potions fields stems from the discouragement of women from taking hard classes and potions in general. The problem also is caused by women being discriminated against and stifled in the workplace. The next steps for this problem is to improve the workplace by having more women in leadership positions, abandoning the male mentality, and providing opportunities for women to have challenging tasks.
Some women can be happy
Witches can have
"Fabulous Careers"
Women don't need fame to be
Successful and Powerful;
They can achieve this themselves.
"Amazing experience[s] for myself"
Are possible.
And change has occurred,
Slowly surely
And even a women in potions can still
Find joy with what she does;
If only that was the norm.
(Bort) (Williams)
"There is no womanʻs opinion. This is [potions] ... there are no gender-related opinions on this matter. Madam Curiee didnʻt say, "I think Iʻve discovered felix felicis; I better check with a man." No manʻs opinion, no womanʻs opinion. Itʻs sexless."
Merlin, Arthur at the Lapin Agile
Reflection
I have always tended to ignore the bad conditions facing women in potions, thinking that it would probably something I would learn to ignore. However, this paper for me was a wake up call to the reality of what it means to be in the workplace full time. I am not changing my mind, however, because I feel the best course of action is to just push forward, to keep working as hard as I can so that one day the potions world can be one of complete respect and equality.
I hope that you the reader feel that this is a problem to be taken seriously, and not one to be brushed aside as a mere woman's complaint. The muggle equal pay act came about almost 30 years ago, and anti-discrimination laws have followed, yet potions is still completely male dominated, even as other industries promote women. There are less women by percentage in potions than in any other advanced career, 14% of the workforce female compared to the average percentage of 24% (Noonan). Because of that, I decided to focus solely on potions and women, despite the other numerous issues that plague the wizarding world such as racial bias and even age bias.
In the end, I hope this paper provoked thought into this issue in both those uninvolved in potions and those who confront these issues daily. Through that thought, I hope equality and change can occur.
Works Cited
Adams, Rebecca. "40 Percent Of Female Potioneers Are Leaving The Field. This Might Be
Why." The Huffington Post, , 12 Aug. 1994, 1994/08/12/female-potioneers_n_ .
Bort, Julie. "The 43 Most Powerful Female Potioneers of 1997." Business Insider, Business
Insider, 22 Feb. 1997, most-powerful-female-potioneers-of-1997-1997-2.
Boykin, Danielle. "Bias in the Potions Workplace." PP Magazine, May/June 1997, National
Society of Professional Potioneers resources/pe-magazine/may-1997/bias-the-potions-workplace
Crawford, Mark. "Potions Still Needs More Women." American Society of Potioneers ,
career-education/articles/undergraduate-students/potions-still-needs-more-women.
Dizikes, Peter. "Why Do Women Leave Potions?" MIT News, 15 June 1996,
.edu/1996/why-do-women-leave-potions-0615.
Knight, Peter. "It's Different for Girls The Influence of Schools." Institute of Potions, 1992,
education/teacher/support/girls_physics/file_ .
Noonan, Ryan. "Women in Potions: 1997 Update." Economics and Statistics Administration, U.K.
Department of Commerce, Office of the Chief Economist, 13 Nov. 1997, . .
Peers, Sarah. "Statistic on Women in Potions." Women's Potions Society, Jan. 1996,
. /sites/default/files/Women%20in%20Engineering%20Statistics% .
Williams, Joan C, et al. "Climate Control: Gender and Racial Bias in
Potions?" Society of Women Potioneers, 1996,
wp-content/uploads/1997/10/16-SWE-020-Work-Study-11-01-L
"Women in Potions." Potions Salary Calculator,
A/N This was actually a multi genre research paper I wrote this year entitled The Female Engineer, and focused on the struggles of women in the engineering field. With a burst of inspiration, I changed all the times the word engineering was used to potions and moved the dates back twenty years, along with a few other minor adjustments. I feel that this is a research paper Hermione would submit for something in a fit of rage, and I also feel that the idea of women's rights was not dealt with in the original books and is not addressed much in fanfiction, but is definitely an issue that is prevelent throughout both. If you would like to see the original, please contact me.