Written for human resources managers, trainers, and supervisors, this groundbreaking study examines whether gender-based differences are pervasive in the workplace and, if so, how they influence the work practices of men and women. Drawing upon their own empirical research as well as others in the field, the authors argue that women do not view work and organizations very differently from men and that both men and women need a sense of purpose and want inclusion in the decisions that matter. Rizzo and Mendez then investigate how human resources practitioners can strengthen the capacities of women to become organizational change agents and present a series of creative strategies designed to develop employees, devise training programs, define personnel retention policies, and build work teams. They also include details about workshops, activities, and source materials that trainers and human resources development specialists can use to begin building participative and productive work teams. The result is a practical handbook that not only provides a sound theoretical model for organizational integration but also practical, tested how-to strategies and advice for building an effective workplace that derives maximum participation and productivity from all members.

The book begins by looking at common stereotypes of working women and how these stereotypes contribute to the underutilization and devaluation of women in the workplace. Rizzo and Mendez then examine feminist perspectives concerning women's status as well as epistemological explorations of how we know what we know about gender differences. Turning from theory to practice, the authors propose a model for organizational integration, analyze a case study of how women influence others at work, and outline a workshop designed to empower women managers. Detailed tools, strategies, and approaches for the trainer and human resources professional are described in detail and are accompanied by the authors' recommendations and advice for the reader's use. Finally, the authors consider how individuals in authoritative capacities can help to transform work cultures by working one-on-one with individual employees. With radical changes in the demographic makeup of the American workforce and a shrinking pool of available workers already beginning to exert a strong influence on companies and public policy, the full integration of women in the workplace becomes an important strategic goal. This volume takes an important first step in that direction.

Baltimore seen through the eyes of John Waters, Anne Tyler, Charles S. Dutton, Barry Levinson, David Simon-and also ordinary citizens. The city of Baltimore features prominently in an extraordinary number of films, television shows, novels, plays, poems, and songs. Whether it's the small-town eccentricity of Charm City (think duckpin bowling and marble-stooped row houses) or the gang violence of "Bodymore, Murdaland," Baltimore has figured prominently in popular culture about cities since the 1950s. In Come and Be Shocked, Mary Rizzo examines the cultural history and racial politics of these contrasting images of the city. From the 1950s, a period of urban crisis and urban renewal, to the early twenty-first century, Rizzo looks at how artists created powerful images of Baltimore. How, Rizzo asks, do the imaginary cities created by artists affect the real cities that we live in? How does public policy (intentionally or not) shape the kinds of cultural representations that artists create? And why has the relationship between artists and Baltimore city officials been so fraught, resulting in public battles over film permits and censorship? To answer these questions, Rizzo explores the rise of tourism, urban branding, and citizen activism. She considers artists working in the margins, from the East Baltimore poets writing in Chicory, a community magazine funded by the Office of Economic Opportunity, to a young John Waters, who shot his early low-budget movies on the streets, guerrilla-style. She also investigates more mainstream art, from the teen dance sensation The Buddy Deane Show to the comedy-drama Roc to the crime show The Wire, from Anne Tyler's award-winning book The Accidental Tourist to Barry Levinson's movie classic Diner.

Histories of gay and lesbian urban life typically focus on major metropolitan areas like San Francisco and New York, opportunity-filled destinations for LGBTQ migrants from across the country. Yet there are many other queer communities in economically depressed cities with majority Black and Hispanic populations that receive far less attention. Though just a few miles from New York, Newark is one of these cities, and its queer histories have been neglected—until now.    Queer Newark charts a history in which working-class people of color are the central actors and in which violence, poverty, and homophobia could never suppress joy, resistance, love, and desire. Drawing from rare archives that range from oral histories to vice squad reports, this collection’s authors uncover the sites and people of Newark’s queer past in bars, discos, ballrooms, and churches. Exploring the intersections of class, race, gender, and sexuality, they offer fresh perspectives on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, community relations with police, Latinx immigration, and gentrification, while considering how to best tell the rich and complex stories of queer urban life. Queer Newark reveals a new side of New Jersey’s largest city while rewriting the history of LGBTQ life in America.   

Histories of gay and lesbian urban life typically focus on major metropolitan areas like San Francisco and New York, opportunity-filled destinations for LGBTQ migrants from across the country. Yet there are many other queer communities in economically depressed cities with majority Black and Hispanic populations that receive far less attention. Though just a few miles from New York, Newark is one of these cities, and its queer histories have been neglected—until now.    Queer Newark charts a history in which working-class people of color are the central actors and in which violence, poverty, and homophobia could never suppress joy, resistance, love, and desire. Drawing from rare archives that range from oral histories to vice squad reports, this collection’s authors uncover the sites and people of Newark’s queer past in bars, discos, ballrooms, and churches. Exploring the intersections of class, race, gender, and sexuality, they offer fresh perspectives on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, community relations with police, Latinx immigration, and gentrification, while considering how to best tell the rich and complex stories of queer urban life. Queer Newark reveals a new side of New Jersey’s largest city while rewriting the history of LGBTQ life in America.