Gender Inequality in the Workplace

sex·ism: (n) discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex, as in restricted job opportunities; especially, such discrimination directed against women.

Historically our society drives men and women toward different socially acceptable behaviors and careers. Stereotypically men are the capable breadwinners that choose careers as: firemen, policemen, mailmen, garbagemen, milkmen, and the list continues. However, women are the warm caregivers that may choose one of three titles: teacher, nurse, or secretary. The above career pathways have been driven by societal norms, subsequently leaving women with marginal room for vertical mobility and limited leadership representation.

Human brains, for the sake of processing information efficiently, use a shortcut known as social categorization. Humans categorize people into different groups based on common features. The three primary social categories for humans are: sex, race, and age (Yoder, 2013). Although categorizing is helpful during life experiences, there’s a negative backlash to compartmentalizing human-beings. The backlash lies in the small leap between categorizing and stereotyping. Stereotyping is used much in the way of categorizing, in that, we simplify complex information, organize, and store the data we collect. The difference between categorizing and stereotyping is when human’s stereotype they ascribe certain attributes to particular individuals within a group based on perceived affiliation with said group (APA, 1991). Once the stereotype has been formed, an increased level of expectation arises, which influences human behavior, that then reinforces the stereotype creating a circle of negative attitudes. These negative attitudes give way to sex discrimination; ...

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...rall strong personality (Walsh, 1997).

These comments demonstrate examples of sexist prejudice, sexist stereotyping, and sex discrimination in the workplace. The prejudicial acts and stereotyping occurred when evaluators perceived Ms. Hopkins independence and assertiveness as nontraditional. The sex discrimination occurs at the point in which Price Waterhouse denies Ms. Hopkins partner based on these gender stereotypes.

Works Cited

Janice Yoder. (2013). Women and Gender Making a Difference (4th ed.). Sloan Publishing.In the Supreme Court of the United States:

Price Waterhouse v. Ann B. Hopkins: Amicus curiae brief for the American Psychological Association. (1991). American Psychologist, 46(10), 1061–1070. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.46.10.1061

Paludi, M. A., & Coates, B. E. (2011). Women as Transformational Leaders: From Grassroots to Global Interests. ABC-CLIO.