Undergraduate / I live in a socialist country where the government has a strong influence on organisations [4]

Describe your intellectual interest, and how it will be found and linked to ILR curriculum

I live in a socialist country where the government has a strong influence on the way organizations are structured and operate. Both my parents have worked for governmental companies so I have been able to grasp some information about how these organizations work. I have visited my parents' offices several times, and have witnessed the condition of women in the workplace in Viet Nam.

I realized how the process of promoting women into management is so confusing and inefficient. Talking to my family I learned that the government has a set quota for women's participation in leadership roles, thus some questions suddenly became apparent. Are women chosen for their performance and skills or just picked randomly to fit the required number? And do women really fight for the positions they want or they simply accepted promotions? Discussed with my friends, I was told that young girls did not need to study so hard because family connections and government quotas would ensure jobs to them no matter how bad they are.

Moreover, I wish to find answers to my curiosity about prejudice against women in Vietnamese organizations. Women are viewed as weak, thus limiting their opportunities to develop themselves and contribute to the organizations. My mother is a department manager, yet I have never seen her being recognized by other colleagues no matter how hard she worked. I later learned that because my mother was given that position to match the government's requirement to have women workers in the management apparatus, men employees have always looked down on her. To make it even worse, most men and women shared this attitude. Female workers do not realize the prejudice in place against them and are unconditionally satisfied with their working conditions.

Women's discrimination is not solely related to managerial level employees. Women workers, not only being discounted, have also faced low wages and have been exploited heavily. In the summer of 2013, when I visited a plastic factory as part of a chemistry class, I was shocked to witness how women were underpaid despite their harsh working conditions. They had to deal with polluted and stuffy air, noisy machines surrounded by thick bare electric wire, and 12 hours shifts all for a minimum monthly wage of $120.

From my undergraduate experience, I wish to have gain a better understanding about this issue and acquire the necessary tools that would allow me to have an impact on it once I go back. Cornell's emphasis on the Labor Relations will give me a variety of viewpoints on the problem, beginning with the "Controversies about inequalities" and "Contract Administration" courses. I can then learn about the relationship between management and subordinates, especially in regards to women, through courses incorporating law and public policy such as "Negotiation and Conflict Resolution", "The Pragmatics of Leaderships". The class in "Labor Union Administration" would offer me fundamental knowledge about role of labor unions in protecting and enhancing the rights of workers and how they interact with the government.

Furthermore, the College of Agriculture and Sciences' electives on "Women, Leadership and Entrepreneurship" will help clear my desire for exploring women behavior, the power that motivate and the obstacles that thwarted them to elect for promotions into leadership positions. With your " Leadership Development in Organizations " course I could develop specific skills to bring change in the organizations through applied projects.

I commit to ILR because I believe that only here can I equip myself with the knowledge skills needed to speak in the voice of women employees, and to bring that into the policy making, and the organizational and governmental levels. I believe the variety of courses and perspective at ILR will prepare me to push my limits further to be aware of not only what I will do but also what I have to do.