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Essays on gender inequality in workplace
Essays on gender inequality in workplace
Theory on women inclusion in leadership positions
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Women have been considered the weaker gender since the beginning of time. The distinctions between men and women, such as roles within the family, have prevented women from achieving societal progress as men. Gender inequality and the Glass Wall Effect are known inhibiting factors in upward mobility within the workplace. Men experience professional upward movement, both in wages and position, while women are trapped by glass ceilings and glass walls. Education and professional achievements are not deciding factors and women who assert themselves can also be seen as bossy. History tells a story of progression and a continual struggle for women to be seen and considered as equals.
INTRODUCTION
Since the beginning of recorded history women
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A contributing factor to this, according to Mary Brinton, sociology professor at Harvard University, is that women continue to balance family with the demand of work and being available all the time (Gender Inequality and Women in the Workplace, 2016). As a result, women take on a “second shift” when they get home from work and in choosing to progress professionally many are having less children or waiting longer to have children. There seems to be a correlation between gender equality at home and the workplace with lower birth …show more content…
As a matter fact, there is a strong relationship between glass ceilings and gender despite the growing presence of women and minorities in the workplace. Statistically, companies that have women in higher ranking positions tend to do better than companies that don’t. Women play an important role in today’s economy because of their spending power, therefore, their capacity to spend is dependent on their salaries (Merida L. Johns,
Women face many obstacles as they climb their career’s hierarchy and for many different reasons their wage is comparably less than that of males. After the movements toward equality in the workplace, many think that sex discrimination isn’t present anymore. However, many still believe that the glass ceiling hasn’t shattered and still possesses a barrier for many women in the labor force. The glass ceiling and the wage gap exist for various reasons but, like many other women leaders, women can break the glass and abolish the gap.
Women have struggled to reach the top of the corporate hierarchy since the beginning of time. They have encountered prejudiced discrimination and inequality, and those who have noticed this unfairness simply put these problems on the backburner since they were merely the problems of women’s incompetence (Wynn). An intangible barrier blocks women from higher-level positions and equal pay to men, and this barrier is entirely relevant today’s American society. The Glass Ceiling has yet to be shattered despite its familiarity among Americans. Through education, eliminating stereotypes and unjust standards, and enforcing action plans, the Glass Ceiling can be broken (Johns).
The "glass ceiling" has held women back from certain positions and opportunities in the workplace. Women are stereotyped as part-time, lower-grade workers with limited opportunities for training and advancement because of this "glass ceiling". How have women managed their careers when confronted by this glass ceiling? It has been difficult; American women have struggled for their role in society since 1848. Women’s roles have changed significantly throughout the past centuries because of their willingness and persistence. Women have contributed to the change pace of their role in the workplace by showing motivation and perseverance.
The glass ceiling and glass escalator are both important phenomenon that affect women in American society today. The glass ceiling affects the amount of women in leadership roles in politics. As the prestige and level of power increases, the amount of women in those positions fall. The glass escalator shows how men in women dominated fields hold an advantage over their women counterparts. Men in men dominated fields and women dominated fields receive better benefits and
Also, the majority of women have been able to secure employment from traditionally female occupations such as teaching compared to male-dominated careers like engineering. Moreover, democratic country like the United States of America has recognized gender inequality as a fundamental issue and espouse equal right between men and women in contributing to social, economic and cultural life. Despite this improvement, gender inequality persists as women are not represented and treated equally in the workplace (Michialidis, Morphitou, & Theophylatou, 2012). The increasing number of women in the workplace has not provided equal opportunity for career advancement for females due to the way women are treated in an organization and the society. Also, attaining an executive position seem impossible for women due to the glass ceiling effects which defines the invisible and artificial barrier created by attitudinal and organizational prejudices, which inhibit women from attaining top executive positions (Wirth
For years, women have encountered gender bias in the corporate environment. Men have dominated the workplace making it difficult for women to advance in power and leadership. Gender bias has become problematic for the career oriented women creating barriers such as stereotyping, job advancement, power imbalance, and unequal wages. Hymowitz and Schellhardt (1986) described the challenges as invisible barriers, the glass ceiling that prevents women from advancing to a certain level in various institutions. Arfken, Bellar, and Helms (2004) defined it as an invisible barrier that prevents minorities and women from gaining access to leadership positions. For example, in the Fortune 500 companies, more than 83 percent do not have women among their five highest earning officers, and 18 percent do not have women in these positions (Catalyst, 2000). The statistics verifies the fact that the glass ceiling does exist in the workplace. It is unfortunate that women have to face such challenges. In spite of the barriers, there is hope for women (minority) globally to succeed in climbing the corporate ladder. It is only through developing strategies such as: a) performance, dealing with the discrimination, b) understanding and indentifying the sexist culture and working around it and c) educating women to break through the glass ceiling (De Morsella, 2006). To finally have the opportunity to break through the glass ceil and rise to the top of the corporate ladder is a triumphant occurrence for women.
Thesis: The glass ceiling has always been a major issue for many minorities especially women Preview of main point 1: how the glass ceiling affects women Preview of main point 2: how the society supports it (media) Preview of main point 3: Body Main point 1: Society builds norms for men and women that demean women from achieving certain positions and professions and disables them from having a stable life Sub-point : As we grow up we learn from our parents and relatives, but most importantly what we are taught and how we are taught in school has a great impact on our decisions and capabilities in our lives ahead. According to Margaret Anderson, the author of Thinking about Women, young boys and girls are separated into two human groups at a very early age and are divided by gender, which then later establishes the level of their confidence and their mindset of being inferior or not (Anderson 41). Sub-point: Along with gender socialization, gender roles impact the degradation of women and work - Social institutions such as schools, the government, and even our households teach us that women have a place at home which is to take care of the family or get jobs that are “feminine” -Although women are given the equality of getting jobs, the jobs that women are able to actually get are very low paid -By eliminating gender roles, and enhancing socialization not based on gender, we can change the way people think of women, which in the long run can eventually destroy glass ceilings among women. Main point 2 : The media has a great impact on our lives.
They highlight that even though laws exist which prevent from blatant gender discrimination, “today discrimination against women lingers in a plethora of work practices and cultural norms that only appear unbiased” (Meyerson & Fletcher 128). An example of this would be how when women defended their turf at a company, they were labeled as “control freaks” whereas men appeared “passionate” another situation which supports how females attempting to adopt successful male practices fails them (Meyerson & Fletcher 129). This is perhaps because businesses are designed to be male-oriented and for men, and most women are still left with the burden of motherhood despite societal progress, which gives them less chances of workplace success. However, this does not mean the answer is to blame men or women for these transgressions, though often women appear to blame themselves. Additionally, companies have tried to improve their workplaces for women, including methods such as assimilation, accommodation, and promoting uniqueness, but none of these address the source of gender inequality.
This is when comparing employees where both genders spend the same amount of time working. Not only do women encounter unfairness in work pay, they also face a “glass ceiling” on a promotional basis. This glass ceiling is a “promotion barrier that prevents a woman’s upward ability” (2). For example, if a woman is able to enter a job traditionally for men, she will still not receive the same pay or experience the same increase in occupational ability. Gender typing plays a huge role in the workplace.
After college graduation many women will go into the work field, which will eventually lead them to the discovery of gender inequality in their designated area of study. According to the Huffington post “Women make up the majority of college graduates in the United States and many other developed countries, accounting for more than 40 percent of the workforce worldwide”. Regardless of these records, “Part of the problem stems from a small pool of female executives to choose from, resulting in women holding less than 15 percent of Fortune 500 executive officer positions”(Hayzlett). Due to this the term ‘glass ceiling’ is born, which is an unofficial term that is described as a barrier to prevent women from making an advancement in their profession. This shows how qualified
Gender Inequality at a Workplace Historically, males and females normally assume different kinds of jobs with varying wages in the workplace. These apparent disparities are widely recognized and experienced across the globe, and the most general justification for these differences is that they are the direct outcomes of discrimination or traditional gender beliefs—that women are the caregivers and men are the earners. However, at the turn of the new century, women have revolutionized their roles in the labor market. Specifically in industrialized societies, the social and economic position of women has shifted. Despite the improving participation of women in the labor force and their ameliorating proficiency and qualifications, the labor force is still not so favorable to women.
Gender inequality is “the unfair treatment of an applicant or employee because of the person’s sex”. Gender inequality or gender discrimination is illegal. Gender inequality did not only start in the workplace. It began before that. In history women were always expected to be the ones at home taking care of children, while the men were the breadwinners of the family.
More and more, women are bound by the glass ceiling in the corporate world. The glass ceiling is a barrier “so subtle that it is transparent, yet so strong that it prevents women from moving up the corporate hierarchy." From their vantage point on the corporate ladder, women can see the high-level corporate positions but are kept from "reaching the top" (Ann Morrison, 1987). Ann Morrison goes ahead to say that the glass ceiling "is not simply a barrier for an individual, based on the person 's inability to handle a higher-level job. Rather, the glass ceiling applies to women as a group who are kept from advancing higher because they are women.” Even in the event that a woman does make it to the top, she is discriminated against when it comes to pay. In 2015, Canadian working women are making about $8,000 less a year than men doing an equivalent job, says a study that highlights the persistence of gender inequalities in the workplace (Mary Beach, 2015).
All throughout history people strove for equality; however, equality is still far from being reached. For working women, the term glass ceiling has been created to describe their fight for equality. If a person listens to people talk of high powered women they may hear that someone is "breaking the glass ceiling." Despite this, women are still finding it hard to work in, and operate, certain fields. Therefore, the problem in today's world is that there is exploitation of women from all races and objectified based on sex; as a matter of fact, women face sexual abuse in the workplace, mistreatment in regards to maternity leave, and exploitation of skills from those in positions of leadership.
Gender is defined as the scopes of genetic, physical, mental and behaviour characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity and feminity, meanwhile inequality is defined as in a situation where there is an unfair situation or treatment in which certain people have more privileges or better opportunities or chances than other people. Thus, from the definition stated gender inequality refers to unequal or unfair management, treatment, or perceptions of persons or individuals are based on their gender. In a parallel sense, gender inequality can be said as the world in which there was discrimination against anyone based on gender. In this introductory, the general understanding of gender inequalities will be discussed further into three significant factors that influence the allocation of housework between men and women. Household chores can be classified as cleaning, cooking and paying bills. Division of housework serves as an important element in the continuation of the function of a family and it requires contribution from both spouses (Tang, 2012). However, current society’s perception on housework is based on gender, so the three major factors that influence the division of household chores within the couples are education level, economic resources, and time availability (refer to Figure1 in Appendix 1).