Foundations of the Individual

Foundations of the Individual

• Individual identity is shaped by resources, attributes, environment, abilities, family, friends, life experiences, and acquired knowledge.
• Key components of personal development include roles, influences, and social networks.

Family

• Family plays a crucial role in shaping identity, values, and experiences.

Friends

• Friendships impact personal growth, social skills, and emotional support.

Religious Influence

• Religion can provide a framework for values, ethics, and community connections.

Home Environment

• The home environment significantly influences individual behavior, values, and opportunities.

Diversity Terms

• Stereotypes: Generalizations about individuals or groups based on specific characteristics.
• Prejudices: Judgments that reinforce notions of superiority or inferiority among groups.
• Bias: A tendency to consider some groups or ideas as better, leading to unfair treatment.
• Assimilation: Minority groups adapting to the majority group's norms and values.
• Ethnocentrism: Evaluating other groups based on one’s own ethnic standards, often feeling superior.
• Expatriate: Individual living and working in a different country from their citizenship.
• Repatriation: The process of returning individuals to their country of origin.

Types of Diversity

• Diversity: The observable and unobservable differences among individuals.
• Primary Dimensions: Inborn factors influencing socialization (age, race, gender, abilities).
• Secondary Dimensions: Non-visible attributes that define individuals (education, marital status, beliefs).

Gender Diversity Statistics

• Women make up 47% of the workforce with significant employment statistics:
  • 57.4% of working-age women employed vs. 69.2% of working-age men.
  • Women occupy 23% of executive roles, 29% in senior management, and 42% in professional roles.
• Wage gap analysis indicates that men earn a median of $1,007 weekly while women earn $821.

Educational Attainment in Women

• 45% of women aged 25-64 have a bachelor's degree or higher as of 2019, a significant increase from 11% in 1970.
• The percentage of women with less than a high school diploma decreased from 34% in 1970 to 5.4% in 2019.
• Approximately 35% of STEM students are female.

Occupation Distribution by Gender

• High representation of women in certain fields:
  • 98.7% in preschool/kindergarten teaching.
  • 93.4% in childcare.
  • 93.2% in administrative roles.
  • 88.9% in nursing.
• Low representation in traditionally male-dominated fields:
  • 1.7% in construction equipment operation and only 0.7% in construction roles.

Gender Roles

• Gender roles are societal expectations based on perceived sex, dictating what behaviors and attitudes are considered acceptable.
• These roles focus on perceived notions of masculinity and femininity, though exceptions and variations exist.