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Profession Perspectives: Breaking Stereotypes, Building Social Understanding

Organisation

DAFNI KEK

Methodology

Role-playing, theatre-inspired practices

Type of activity / modality

Activity / In presence

Summary

The activity deals with guidance on employment orientation and social inclusion with an emphasis on the social hierarchy of professions and gender-related distinctions. The activity uses the role-playing methodology to facilitate discussion on employment issues related to social status and gendered segregation of professions around personal experiences and stories.

Theme

The activity is orientated to the connection between social and professional life. The main purpose is to highlight the socialising aspect of working by presenting the workplace as the core of adult socialising. Furthermore, during the activity is expected to be highlighted that professions are not subject to hierarchy within the social structure and secondly, that professions are not complying with gendered segregation and characterisations referring to male or female. On the contrary, what really matters is the personal will and satisfaction rather than the public opinion. The combination of theatre-inspired practices motivates participants, aids self-expression, encourages engagement and facilitates effective communication in the activity, making it a useful and helpful experience.

Participants

Girls and Women with migrant background Ages 16+

Objective

  1. Understanding the Social Aspect of Work
  2. Challenging Hierarchical Perceptions of Professions
  3. Breaking Gender Stereotypes in Professions
  4. Encouraging Self-Expression and Personal Fulfillment
  5. Promoting Effective Communication and Engagement

Materials

The activity can be implemented in both indoor and outdoor space, with a preference in the indoor space. As for the equipment, the coordinator needs a list of professions written in small pieces of paper for the “tank” (first major part of the activity) and a list of professions written in larger pieces of paper to be pinned on the back of the participants (second major part of the activity).

Preparation

The whole activity starts with the participants and the youth worker meeting each other and building a safe environment of expression. To achieve this interaction, it is required to focus on building a trusting relationship among the participants, and between the participants and the youth worker. With the use of relaxing games, minor trust activities and team-building activities, such as forming a circle and exchanging experiences and emotions, the group will be ready for the main part of the activity. 

Step-by-step instructions

The activity consists of two major parts:

  1. The first part includes a role-playing session upon several different professions. The participants are invited to pick from a “tank” a piece of paper with a profession written on it. Subsequently, they must use their bodies and expressions to successfully reenact the chosen profession without using. The other participants must guess the profession being reenacted. If participants guess too quickly the profession, the youth worker can give a signal, only after which the participants can begin to loudly guess the profession. People tend to draw conclusions and base their views on professions on their external – often stereotypical – characteristics. Upon this assumption, the activity is intended to provide the possibility of reflection on the portrayal of the professions and on their social definition through their relation to social roles and norms.
  2. The second part is mostly oriented to the social characteristics of occupation. Each participant will be assigned with a certain profession without knowing what it is. All the professions are written in pieces of paper and are pinned in the back of the participants. The group begins to walk around in space and interact with each other based on the stereotypical social status associated with each profession. The group needs to feel free to walk around the chosen space for implementation. Simply give them a short and simple instruction: “Walk around the room and greet each other according to the status and importance of the profession that everyone is assigned with”. After the interaction, the facilitator is recommended to ask the group the following questions: 
    • How did you feel when you greeted someone or been greeted?
    • Did you understand the social status of your assigned profession based on the way you’ve been greeted throughout this stage of the activity?

After the short discussion above, the participants are invited to form a human scale/hierarchy of the assigned professions, according to the previous social experience and interaction. The scale needs to be from the least to the most important profession: participants who felt important during the previous interaction go to the beginning of the scale, while those who felt not important go at the end of the scale). Afterwards, the youth worker asks the group to form a circle (a position in which the starting point and the end aren’t clear), highlighting again the most and the least important profession. In this case it isn’t possible to form a social hierarchy, and each one of the participants finds a unique and necessary position within the social structure. It’s recommended to consider and include the cultural aspect that accompanies the employment choice and orientation. In that way the activity becomes more inclusive towards youth that face social exclusion due to their migrant background.

Evaluation

Each part of the activity ends with an evaluation/reflection session with the participants discussing their experience, the perceptions created and the possible change of attitudes on the issues dealt with in the activity.

First part:

During and after the reenactment of the professions certain questions will give the context of discussion:

  • Do you think that we tend to rely on stereotypical representations of professions?
  • Do these characteristics affect our perception of the significance of professions? 
  • How do you feel about this categorization? 
  • How did the activity challenge or agree with what you’ve heard about those jobs?
  • How do people’s ideas about jobs affect how they see you (women from different countries) doing those jobs? How does this affect your (women’s) chances and experiences at work?
  • How can we work together to change ideas about jobs and show that women from different countries can do any kind of work they want to do?
  • Can you think of a time when you felt pressure to fit into a certain idea because of the kind of work you do? How did it make you feel?
  • Have you ever seen or felt treated unfairly because of ideas about certain jobs? How did it make you feel?
  • How can we make sure that everyone has a fair chance to choose the kind of work they want to do, no matter where they come from?

Second part:

The activity concludes with a discussion of the importance of career choices and their significance. The chosen profession is a part of a socialisation process that eventually leads to social inclusion. The facilitator is recommended to keep in mind the following points:

  • How did you feel when you greeted someone or were greeted based on the profession assigned to you? Did it affect how you perceived yourself or others?
  • Reflecting on the greetings you received, did you gain a better understanding of the social status associated with your assigned profession? How did this compare to your own perceptions or experiences?
  • Were there any surprises or insights that emerged during the interaction based on the stereotypes associated with different professions? How did these stereotypes affect the dynamics of the activity?
  • After the interaction, you were asked to form a hierarchy of the assigned professions based on your social experience. How did you decide where to place yourself and others on the hierarchy? Did your own background or cultural perspective influence your decisions?
  • When forming the human scale/hierarchy, did you notice any patterns or trends among the participants? How did these patterns reflect broader societal attitudes or stereotypes?
  • In the final part of the activity, when asked to form a circle, how did it feel to have no clear hierarchy based on profession? How did this challenge or reinforce your understanding of social structures?
  • How do you think cultural factors influence the perception of professions and social status? In what ways do cultural backgrounds shape our understanding of work and social roles?
  • Considering the cultural aspect of employment choices, how can we create more inclusive environments for immigrant women who may face social exclusion due to their migrant background?
  • What changes would you suggest to make the activity more inclusive and sensitive to the experiences of immigrant women? How can we ensure that all participants feel valued and respected throughout the activity?

Reflecting on the overall experience, what insights or learnings will you take away from this activity? How can we apply these insights to promote diversity, inclusion, and empowerment in our communities and workplaces?

Tips – Safety

Tips and considerations for facilitators is the box where you find ideas that might apply to some of you or are important for further exercise development. The process of developing an exercise in a heterogeneous group offers a rich and diverse amount of questions and suggestions to implement the activity. Some safety instructions will also be given here.

Group size

This activity can be implemented with a group of 15-24 persons.

Complexity

The complexity can be rated at 2. You need more time and material to prepare the activity and you also need more experience in delivering it.

Time

The activity is estimated to last 2 hours, but it can last longer according to the group dynamics.

Author(s) – Sources

CYCLISIS

(The activity was documented during the ReCAP Project (Recovering inclusion through Creativity After Pandemic) – 2021-2-FR02-KA220-YOU-000049250

In this section you will find the official translations of the activities in Italian, Portuguese, Swedish and Greek when they will be ready

In this section you will find the official translations of the activities in Italian, Portuguese, Swedish and Greek when they will be ready

In this section you will find the official translations of the activities in Italian, Portuguese, Swedish and Greek when they will be ready

In this section you will find the official translations of the activities in Italian, Portuguese, Swedish and Greek when they will be ready

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