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Gender inequality in the workplace introduction
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Since women are naturally maternal and nurturing they obtained the role as the family’s primary caretaker, while the men became the providers for the home. For centuries these gender roles were strictly stuck too. Women stayed at home and did house work as their husbands went out and had a career. Thankfully, society is starting to shed this ideology on gender roles. More women are starting to work proactively in the “mans world”, but they are straining to advance to high executive positions throughout corporate companies. A lot of this is due to a women’s fertility. While the stereotype of women being strictly housewives has diminished, the mentality that women are too maternal is prevalent in business life. Due to this outlook women are perceived to be unable to take on the stressful pressures business prevails, giving reason to why for years women were only secretaries and clerks in business where they received little room for progression in their careers. A great deal of reasoning behind this struggle is due to the Great Man Theory. Author of “Inequality Between Genders in the Executive Suite in Corporate America: Moral and Ethical Issues” Dean Elmuti, describes this theory as society’s perception that men are the superior beings and should be the protectors and providers, while women are weak, helpless and should stay home to raise the family (1). Consequently, this view has led to an increased emergence of men as business managers and the leaders of the country, thus defending the male dominance in the corporate industry, but also preserving the discrimination against women entering the business domain. This theory and mentality that women can’t handle business life is infuriating. However, what is more distressing is due to... ... middle of paper ... ... relocate. More of her time is taken up the children instead of being in the office, resulting in less time invested into the company. As Perry and Gundersen put it, simply “women are missing from the workforce” (2). Therefore providing reason to why women are more improbable to receiving a high executive position. Statistically, there has been a proven correlation between the amount of pay and the time spent in the office, but that refers to any person working is business, not matter what gender, but only women are being reprimanded. This mindset doesn’t give the right for companies to block women from advancing in their careers due the fact they may want children and a family, but women can’t just sit back and let companies abuse the fact that women are fertile. Companies alternatively should be the ones faced with penalties, but they won’t unless something done.
Our nation has a lot of problems that we need to get lined out to become better as a whole, paid family leave being one of them. Some people will say that paid family leave is bad for business, but recent studies of the three states that are currently offering paid leave,” California, New Jersey and Rhode Island -- New York's plan goes into effect in 2018 -- found that a majority of companies experienced positive or neutral effects on productivity.” While it may not be entirely positive, it’s not negative which is a step in the right direction. Other say that it would be hard to keep women in the workforce, therefore, messing up gender equality, but Schulte says that “there's this sweet spot that most studies will show it's between nine months to a year where nine months is where it's positive and up to a year. Anything longer than a year tends to be kind of a detrimental effect to women's wages, women's return to work and their career prospects.” It’s not an easy process but it’s necessary for our future as a prospering
While the median weekly pay for women rose in the past decades, it is still largely inferior to the median weekly pay of men employed in the same jobs. This difference of pay also puts an additional burden on women who are expected to stay home when emergencies arise. They cannot in some cases pay for daycare or rely on their companies’ understanding that someone has to take care of the family obligations. In result, they are penalized when comes the time to find candidates for promotion and are seen as not as dependable as their male counterparts. Finally, women face a social bias against them that encompass gender, appearance and race. It effectively punishes them for reasons that are out of their own control and not related to their job performance and skills. Laws against gender-based discrimination, more flexible workplace arrangements and a change in our culture regarding women may help fight discrimination and help women reach their full potential in the workforce. By starting to allow for more flexibility, paying women on a comparable scale than the one used for men, and support women in their desire to take care of their families, corporations could set the tone for a fairer treatment of women in the
They frequently have a hard time simply being hired because of their gender. Gender discrimination leads to the management hiring or promoting a man over a woman, even if the woman has higher qualifications (Andres). This bias occurs in part because of lack of female leadership in corporate settings. Men make up an overwhelming majority of leadership positions in business and politics. While the results of one study found women to make up 53% of entry level employees, they found that women only made up 19% of top executive positions, such as CEO or CFO, in the same company (Harvard Business Review Staff). These statistics reveal that women are getting cut off at lower level positions with no basis for the actions of those making the decisions other than gender. Known as the glass ceiling, this phenomenon plagues working women. Not only are women denied high-level jobs, but they are also denied the same payment as men for the same work. This wage gap continues to rage on. For example, the Harvard Business Review reports that, in insurance, “saleswomen make only 62.5% of what their male colleagues earn.” Additionally, mothers are offered, on average, $11,000 less than childless women as a starting salary (Harvard Business Review Staff). This is undeniable evidence that women continually face imaginary barriers that prevent them from receiving fair wages. In a fair job market, whether or not a woman has a child would have nothing to do with what she is offered for her starting wage, and she would be offered the same pay as an equally qualified man applying for the same job. Tragically, differences like these are even more prominent in STEM fields, which have been male-dominated for
Today, women are not typically seen in higher levels of position in the work force than men. In Anne-Marie Slaughter’s article “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”, she uses her own experience to convey why it is not possible for a woman to work in a higher position, due to women being more emotional than men. People still believe it’s a women’s place to stay at home to cook, clean and take care of the children, while the men go to work to pay the bills. And it’s considered odd if the man is a stay at home father and the woman is working 24/7 and is never home. Even though it is rewarding to be able to always be there to see your child’s milestones in their life. It is always nice to get away from that life for even a moment. I don’t mean going out with the girls or guys, while you hire a babysitter, but helping your husband or wife pay the bills, so you have two rather than one income coming in at the end of the month. In Richard Dorment’s article, “Why Men Still Can’t Have It All” he states that both men and women can’t have it all. I agree with both Slaughter and Dorment, but not entirely. I believe if you want to be a good
Benjamin Franklin once stated “Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
In the workplace environment it is a known fact that women are passed over for higher positions that would allow them to earn higher wages. Author of “Workplace Gender Discrimination and the Implicit Association Test" Jo- Ann Kadola stated, “Women earn 18 % less per hour than men working the same job, with the same title, with the same credentials even when a woman has a higher education.” (Kadola23) This is known as the gender gap, it happens in all occupations whether in management, directors or any high level position. Overall men and women never earn the same pay for the same job. This is known to be a worldwide fact. On every job women are always asked to prove or provide credentials for a job that men are able to obtain without proof. Kadola also stated, “Women have to show skills more often, they are required to take or be more responsible than men.” (Kadola24) Men are generally respected more. Their opinions hold more value. Men tend to have more freedom in making decisions. When it comes to merit raises they will receive a higher percentage based on the fact that they are men. When women enter the workplace it is a perceived notion that she will get married and start a family. Therefore a working mother is looked down upon based on the fact she is no staying home caring
Although the living conditions of children are getting lot better than when we were kids, the children study more time than we did. The pupils have to get up at earlier than 7 o 'clock to make sure they won’t be late for school. Not only have that, these pupils still had to participate in various after school program, and a lot of variety of training during the weekends. The most pressure is homework. As a summer school teacher, I always can hear kids say that the teacher gave them too much work, had to spend two hours a day to compete the homework, and have no time to play. Is it too much pressure for the kids? That is the question for most of the parents. What should the parents as should do to let these children relax and do not have that much pressure? The author of Help Children Form Good Study Habit, Erika A.Patall points out those parents should not help children do their homework because they need their own practice. Not only that, the author of The
Positions of Power: How Female Ambition is Shaped by J.D. Nordell of Slate Magazine details the female disposition in the workplace. Nordell writes, “...women account for 35 percent of MBAs but only 2 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. Women now make up 16 percent of congressional seats - and 0 percent of U.S. presidents…” (Nordell). The statistics provided above show an obvious discrepancy in the amount of influence women have in the workplace. A popular theory is that this discrepancy is caused by the influence of gender roles on the workplace - men are not taking women as seriously in the workplace. Females’ introduction into the major economy is still a relatively new concept, and the underlying archaic gender role that women should tend to the house and children is preventing women from being taken seriously by the men of the business world, and thus constraining their performance in the economy. This is further supported by the case of Ben Barres: “Recently, the transsexual neuroscientist Ben Barres, who has worked as both a woman and a man in science, noted that he is treated with more respect and interrupted less frequently now that he is a man” (Nordell). This further elaborates on the phenomenon that women are taken less seriously in the workplace. Considering the excerpts from Positions of Power: How Female Ambition is Shaped, it is easy
Stone (2007) conducted “extensive, in depth interviews with 54 women in a variety of professions-law, medicine, business, publishing, management consulting, nonprofit administration, and the like- living in major metropolitan areas across the country, half of them in their 30’s, half in their 40’s” (p. 15). Keep in mind these women Stone (2007) focuses on are “highly educated, affluent, mostly white, married women with children who had previously worked as professionals or managers whose husbands could support their being at home” (p. 14). Her findings revealed women are strongly influenced by two factors: workplace push and motherhood pull. “Many workplaces claimed to be “family friendly” and offered a variety of supports. But for women who could take advantage of them, flexible work schedules (which usually meant working part time) carried significant penalties” (Stone, 2007, p. 16). This quote represents the workplace push, where women are feeling encouraged to continue their rigorous careers with little to no family flexibility being offered from workplaces. The motherhood pull is a term used to describe the way mothers feel when they face the pressure of staying home to raise their children while still expected to maintain a steady job. “Motherhood influenced women 's decision to quit as they came to see the rhythms and
“Management Women and the New Facts of Life” written by Felice N. Schwartz, is an article that created major controversy when published in a Harvard Business Review. In the article, Schwartz, addresses the topic of women in the workplace and the impact that having a family can have on their career and development; A challenge that has yet to be solved then and now throughout corporate America. She also examines the difficult challenges women face in the workplace. Providing readers with a conclusion of a proper solution, suggesting women be willing to omit their sense of privacy as they seek a more fitting work environment and equality.
In the past, many people believed that women’s exclusive responsibilities were to serve their husband, to be great mothers and to be the perfect wives. Those people considered women to be more appropriate for homemaking rather than to be involved in business or politics. This meant that women were not allowed to have a job, to own property or to enjoy the same major rights as men. The world is changing and so is the role of women in society. In today’s society, women have rights that they never had before and higher opportunities to succeed.
About 75 percent of the 68 million women working in the United States will become pregnant at some point in their careers. Women with children are one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. labor force. In 1975, 47% of women with children under the age of 18 were employed; by 2008, this number grew to a notable 71% (Miner et al. 60). Compared to other workers, mothers are often viewed as less competent, less productive, and less committed to their job, which is assumed to result in increased absenteeism and resignation (Byron and Roscigno 5). Also, employers may doubt a mother’s ability to balance their work and home lives (Nunenmacher and Schnepf 172). A study conducted by Shelley Correll, Stephen Benard, and In Paik found that mothers were 79% less likely to be hired, 50% less likely to be promoted, and offered $11,000 less in salary than identical women without children. In the study, the subjects revealed that they assumed the mothers to be inherently less competent and less committed (Williams and Cuddy 96). Given these statistics, discrimination against mothers is one of the strongest forms of gender bias.
“Statistical research by Catalyst demonstrate that women account for 46.7 percent of the U.S. labor force” (Evans, 2011, p.62), but gender bias continues to distort employers hiring decisions intensifying the challenges women endure in the workforce. Controlling bias has been a goal of American society resulting in federal, state, and local laws preventing hiring discrimination in the workplace. There is a natural tendency for superiors to prefer to work together with members of the same sex or hire applicants close to their age. Male leaders are likely to hold stereotypes about women that influence employment decisions not based on an applicant’s ability, but rather categorization. Management often perceives male applicants as the only candidate or the best fit for the job, even though the position does not require masculine characteristics. Koch et al. (2015) highlighted that highly qualified women are seen “just as competent as men” however; these women are still unlikely to be hired over their less qualified male counterparts. Laws prohibit prospective employers from asking women about family responsibilities outright, nevertheless this subject often surfaces during the interview process. As a result, hiring personnel pass over experienced female candidates when they suspect women struggle between the conflicting demands of family and career responsibilities. Men have quite different roles and responsibilities regarding family giving the...
It is, therefore, natural for most companies to think that women cannot be as capable as men in terms of assuming strenuous or challenging positions because women, by default, become less participatory and more vulnerable when they start to have family and children. Apparently, this situation has led to various gender discriminations in the labor market. In conclusion, although the roles of men and women have radically changed over the turn of the century, it is still inevitable to have various gender-related occupational differences because the social and biological roles of women and men do not really change. Society still perceives women as the home makers and men as the earners, and this perception alone defines the differing roles of men and women in the labor market.
The roles women typically play in the family may not always be consistent with success in the occupational arena. Staying home to care for a sick child may conflict with an important meeting (Broman 1991:511). Sometimes there has to be a change of plans when it comes to the family. Most people believe that family comes first no matter what. Men 's engagement in paid work fulfills prescriptions of hegemonic masculinity by facilitating their ability to gain status in the public sphere. A man can judge his worth by the size of a paycheck (Thebaud 2010:335). Most research shows that women are more likely to be effected by the household and men are more likely to be effected by their job. Some people feel that the goal is to reach higher on the occupational