Mason Media Blog

Looking to get promoted at work, ladies? You better keep those masculine behaviors in check.

A new study by researchers at George Mason University and Stanford University found that women who demonstrate stereotypical masculine traits should be mindful of their behavior if they want to get ahead in the workplace.

Previous research has shown that women who exhibit conventional male characteristics such as self-confidence and dominance may suffer from the “backlash effect” in which they are viewed negatively for not acting in a traditionally feminine manner.

But according to researchers Olivia O’Neill, assistant professor in Mason’s School of Management, and Charles O’Reilly, professor in Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, women who are able to self-monitor their masculine behavior use it to their advantage and get more promotions at work than both men and other women.

“Although masculine women are seen as more competent than feminine women, they are also seen as less socially skilled and, consequently, less likeable and less likely to get promoted,” says O’Neill. “Our research shows that self-monitoring this behavior can have beneficial effects for masculine women, leading to more promotions and success in the workplace.”

Results of the study showed that masculine women who are good at self-monitoring, or knowing when to ‘turn on and off’ these masculine traits, had a higher likelihood of being promoted than those women who were not as successful at self-monitoring. By contrast, self-monitoring did not make a difference in the number of promotions men received.

More information can be found here.

Located just 25 miles south of Washington, D.C., the Occoquan Workhouse, now a historical site and museums in Lorton, Va., represents an important, and often unknown, era in women’s history.

Judy Kelly stands next to her exhibit.

In 1917, women began picketing the White House as part of a campaign to win the right to vote. After being arrested, many of these women were brought to the Occoquan Workhouse, which was generally used to detain women arrested for soliciting, prostitution, disorderly conduct and drunkenness.

At the workhouse, the picketers were physically abused, forced if they refused to eat and made to live in filthy conditions.

As a tribute to these courageous women, Mason alumna Judy Kelly, who graduated in May 2010 with a Bachelor of Individualized Study (BIS) degree with a concentration in women’s social movements, created a permanent exhibit for the Women’s Suffrage Museum at the Occoquan Workhouse as a capstone project when she was a student. The museum stands on the same site where the suffragists were imprisoned.

“Torture at the Workhouse” sheds light on the grisly conditions in which the suffragists lived and how their actions helped contribute to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“I hope this exhibit inspires people of all ages and genders to recognize that the efforts of these brave women happened not very long ago and that, although women have come a long way, we still have so much farther to go to gain equality,” says Kelly. “If the suffragists’ actions shown in this exhibit encourage just one person to continue fighting for what they believe in, I will consider this project a success.”

More information can be found here.

George Mason University and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars announce a year-long series of dialogues on issues such as climate change, ecosystem change, energy demands and demographic trends.

The first discussion, taking place on January 19, 2011, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Woodrow Wilson Center in D.C., will include Dennis Dimick, executive editor of National Geographic; Molly Jahn, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Thomas Lovejoy, University Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University; and Juliet Eilperin, reporter for The Washington Post. The event will be webcast live at www.wilsoncenter.org

The series hopes to illuminate the environmental challenges of climate change, ecosystem change, energy demands and demographic trends, among others. Leaders from George Mason University, on Earth Day 2010, identified a need for a public forum of science-anchored discussions on planetary management. The Environmental Change and Security Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center joined this effort to explore the science/policy interface of planetary management. The program will be developed jointly by Mason and the Woodrow Wilson Center and will actively foster discussion with academics, managers, policymakers and other interested sectors.

“The living planet is degrading,” says Vikas Chandhoke, dean of Mason’s College of Science. “Only collective action at the level of managing the biology and systems of the planet can ameliorate the trends and move the planet and humanity to a more sustainable future. This can only be achieved with the best of the sciences (including social sciences) and an integrated effort with the world of policy and practitioners.”

“These global issues—biodiversity, demography, climate change, energy use, and water scarcity—require big thinking. This series will bring scientists and policymakers together to bridge the gaps between sectors and disciplines,” says the Wilson Center’s Geoff Dabelko, director of the Environmental Change and Security Program.

Managing Our Planet dialogues will be held monthly on Wednesdays between 3 and 5 p.m. at the Woodrow Wilson Center (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20004-3027) beginning January 19, 2011.  Directions can be found at: www.wilsoncenter.org/directions.

Once again, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine has named Mason to its national top 100 “Best Values in Public Colleges 2011″ list. Mason is ranked 61st for in-state students and 90th for out-of-state students.

“Everyone at George Mason appreciates being recognized by Kiplinger as it validates our efforts to maintain our institution as one of high quality,” says Mason President Alan G. Merten.

“Even in these challenging economic times, we continue to do all we can to provide our students with access to leading-edge facilities and with opportunities to work with and learn from the best faculty and academic scholars in the nation.”

According to the magazine, schools on the list are ranked based on a combination of academics and affordability. Mason’s “value” has edged up slightly from last year’s ranking of 64th for in-state students and 95th for out-of-state students.

Narrowing down a list of more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, the measures of academic quality cited are SAT and ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates.

Factors used to assess cost and financial aid include total tuition, fees, room and board and textbook expenses, which are factored in for both in-state and out-of-state students, along with financial aid and the average debt a student accumulates before graduation.

The magazine states that academic quality carried more weight than costs in its scoring system.

The full list is in the February 2011 issue of the magazine.