Sociology and

Pharmacy
Sociology
Times -Kayley Luttringer

rather I did not

get the position
Women in Pharmacy because I am
female. The
male
technician did
In the 90s you could walk into a pharmacy and not accept the
typically the pharmacist would be a male. Still a job, because he
predominantly male profession, women struggle to said it was too
get ahead in pharmacy still. According to Pharmacy much work. I
Times, it typically takes a woman twice as long to did however
get a management position in pharmacy then a man. accept the
Gender inequality is still not a thing of the past. It is position, after
insane to think that not even 56 years ago men were the switch in
being paid more than women and it was legal! management. I
Women compete daily to earn an equal place among will never
the workforce. We still experience inequal treatment forget the
in the workplace every day. feeling of not
I applied to be a head pharmacy technician at getting
my last job. I was only there for about 9 months at something
this point. The manager I had was older, he made it because I am a
completely clear that women should not be allowed woman.
in the pharmacy or workplace. He made many sexist Women have come so far in the last 50
comments about how women belong in the kitchen. years, hopefully this growth continues, especially in
He started the interview with “even though you are pharmacy. With the research indicating women are
over qualified for this position, I believe the male more successful and have higher profits when they
technician has the job.” Our male technician was have senior leadership roles according to Pharmacy
extremely lazy, rude to customers and just not a Times. Maybe this is step in the right direction?
good team player. I took it to his hire up, who in
turned took away his management position and gave
it to a different manager. He was also on his third
strike for some form of sexual misconduct with the
staff. Although I did not say anything regarding my
gender or how I felt this was sexist.
This was one of the only times I felt gender
inequality in the workplace, I knew that it was not
about qualifications or how well I interviewed,
Poverty and My Family
Poverty effects many Americans, to me
poverty means being poor to the point you can
always afford necessities such as food and clothes.
We experienced absolute poverty, which is when
people lack food, shelter, healthcare, and water at
one point for a week when I was around eight years
old. My great aunt took us in, when she found out
we were sleeping in a car in front of my school. My
mother was never one to ask for help or seek
resources to make sure we were taken care of. We
have also experienced relative poverty, which we
experienced in my teen years.
I remember that my mother would take $50
dollars a week to the grocery store, sometimes it
would have to stretch to two weeks and buy bread,
milk, spaghetti, and ground beef. I remember my
mom having to decided what bill she was going to
pay that month or if she was buying food instead.
She has never been the best with money, her
budgeting skills are horrible, still are. This taught
me the importance of a safety net.
The one thing I struggled with the most is
being in a state of relative poverty, where when she
got a little extra money, she would spend it instead
of safe it for a safety net. You could always tell
when it was tax time at my house. Everyone got a
new outfit and shoes, sometimes there would be a
newer car bought, only to be repossessed within a
few months. I cannot remember ever not struggling,
until I was 16 years old and got my own job to help
with bills and other expenses.
Subjective poverty is one I have experienced but did not
realize it at the time. “Subjective poverty describes
poverty that is composed of many dimensions; it is
subjectively present when your actual income does not
meet your expectations and perceptions.” (OpenStax,
n.d.)
My mom did always say we were doing
better than most, but not as well as some. I believe a
lot of people live like this now, owning cars and
house they struggle to pay for.
My children will never have to experience
poverty or being poor. My oldest does understand
why I worked two jobs and make sure they have an
easier life then I did. She is very receptive and
intelligent when it comes to how people struggle. I
learned to work harder than the next person and take
every opportunity given to never have to deal with
poverty again, in any way, shape or form.
Stratification in My Life
“In the United States, people like to believe every has an
equal chance at success.” (OpenStax, n.d.) It is
believed if you work hard and get an education your
chances at success will significantly increase. You can
change the course of life and not get stuck in a social
standing. Social stratification is a term used by
sociologists to describe the system social standing. It
refers to a categorization of a society’s people into
rankings of socioeconomic tiers. These tiers are based on
factors like income, race, education, wealth and power. It
is important to understand that even though people can
be born into some of these categories, one can also work
hard to move up in the tiers.
For example, I was born to a single mother
who struggled to pay bills and keep food on the
table. Often depending on welfare to feed me. I
watched her struggle to raise me and worked two to
three jobs at a time to make sure I never had to put
my children through that distress. I have had to drop
out of school several times to make sure my
daughters were supported, and I was able to survive
without living paycheck to paycheck as so many do.
One’s chances at success do not always
depend on where you were born and raised.
Statically, I am meant to be a poor white woman on
welfare, barely getting by. I work very hard to make
sure I do not fall within those statics. Even though
parents tend to pass the social standing on the child,
I did not accept those circumstances. I knew I could
do better and provide better. I should also add my
mother was a drug addict and alcoholic, which is
why she struggled to get us out of those
circumstances. She no longer is an addict,
thankfully. I strongly believe that if one works hard
and gets an education, they do not have to settle in
the class they were born into.
 Work Cited

OpenStax, Introduction to Sociology 2e. OpenStax

CNX. Jan 29,

2019 http://cnx.org/contents/02040312-

72c8-441e-a685-20e9333f3e1d@12.1.

https://www.pharmacytimes.com/publications/career

/2018/careersfall2018/women-in-pharmacy-

leadership-where-are-we-in-2018