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Ethical Issues In Michelle Harper's The Beauty In Breaking

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In the memior “The Beauty In Breaking” by Michelle Harper, we are presented with many ethical issues Dr.Harper faces as an African American female emergency medicine doctor. Doctor Harper is overqualified for many occupational positions and opportunities she is turned down for because she is female. It is essential to recognize that even though progress has been made to prevent sex-based discrimination in the workplace, it still occurs. Although discrimination against gender in the workplace has lessened in recent years, women will still face unfair systemic inequality in professional settings, including underrepresentation in leadership roles and lack of authority.
Women also commonly face a lack of promotional opportunities in the workplace. Men are often favored or given more opportunities than women for leadership positions. Women are even overlooked for these positions, even when highly (or overly) qualified. Michelle Harper covers this issue in many different interviews and in her book. She was often turned down promotional opportunities due to being a woman in medicine. Harper refers to when she is turned down from a promotion, not because there was someone more …show more content…

Being a doctor requires patients to feel confident in their provider, and when coworkers provide a sense of powerlessness, it can make patients feel scared to be treated. This is a continuation of the idea that women are underqualified for their positions. Doctor Harper is also faced with this issue, being discriminated against by her coworkers. “... I am waiting for a callback from hospital ethics. I told them the whole case because I do not think he can refuse an exam and medical interventions… Her tone was more indictment than question” (Harper 103); Harper is referring to the “questions” she received from her coworker that seemed to question her authority more than it intended to ask a

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