286+Westerhof

WORLD ONLINE CONFERENCE – CAROLINE S. WESTERHOF, PH.D //(not accepted, -byk)// //VIRTUAL COLLABORATION IN ANDROGYNOUS SOCIALIZATION//

Androgynous socialization has impacted the concept of “women leaders.” Leadership is a statement of mind, a title, a concept that puts someone ahead of someone else through guidance, commands, taking charge, being at the head of the line, and other factors.

The purpose of this paper is to open the door for “Instructional models for collaboration in virtual worlds.” Such a topic would generate interest in virtual collaboration. We would note diversity, similarity, belief, misconceptions based on culture, language, experience. It would result in a book collaborated upon within the virtual world.

Between the covers of the 20th and the 21st centuries, women have fought the glass ceiling, shattered the mirrored ceiling, and have tried to find their own identities for themselves and for others. Some have succeeded at all costs; some have not. Some have changed the philosophy of women at work; some have not; some have fought discrimination; others have not; some did not know they were being discriminated, and continued their personal and professional quests. What I seek in this presentation, as a woman leader, is to demonstrate that the gender concept of woman as leader is a learned phenomenon. It is instilled by a cultural, so-called normative sociological behavior, as women seek to question why they are not where they believe they are supposed to be, whether personally or professionally. The children of, today’s female generation X and Y, are not beset with stereotypes. They want what they want; go where they want; husband staying home to care for children; wives being breadwinners, whether in the military in Iraq, or in some profession at home. Two physicians, married to each other, the male is staying home to care for the family, and plant vegetable seeds in the garden; the female, a pathologist in a local hospital is bringing in the family income. This paper defines the concept that the glass ceiling could begin to be a myth and the mirrored ceiling, shattering the glass, and the androgynous individual succeeding whether priest, rabbi, president, engineer, police chief, plumber…or whatever!