DEFINITION OF FEMALE MISOGYNY
Female misogyny in the workplace is the phenomenon of intra-gender misogyny amongst women. These negative relationships within the female gender have been found to exist empirically and anecdotally between women on the same level, directed upwards within and organization and directed downwards from management to junior levels or potential employees (Mavin, 2006a; Sheppard & Aquino, 2014; Ely, 1994).
Female misogyny research is often focused on relationships between women in corporate management. (Mavin, 2006a). Women who attempt to balance both being female and being a manager can end up experiencing misogyny from both men and women.
There are various theories about the processes underlying female
…show more content…
SOLIDARITY BEHAVIOUR EXPECTED
Previous research into women in management is based on “assumptions of sisterhood and solidarity behaviour” (Mavin, 2006a).
Mavin’s research into female misogyny pinpoints an expectation from others that women display solidarity within their gender- there is a reluctance not to expect these solidarity behaviours from women as to do so is viewed as to verge on anti-feminism (Mavin, Williams & Grandy). Mavin, 2006a, suggests that the focus needs to move from this demand, to a shift in the gendered structures within which women work. Research on female intra-relations and evaluations within the workplace has failed to find consistent evidence for female workplace solidarity, regardless of various levels (negativity can go upward, downward or within the same level) (Mavin, Grandy & Williams). This common expectation, for which there is abundant anecdotal evidence, fails to come to fruition and can encourage female misogynistic behaviour (Mavin, Williams & Grandy,).
MALE FEMALE BALANCE/ DOING GENDER DIFFERENTLY
Male and female behaviour is found to be different despite similar motivations in some cases- for example, both genders are seen to be competitive, but men compete openly, but are mutually supportive, with strong homosociability whereas competition between women is not as candid, which is found to create distance between women (Mavin, Grandy & Williams).
Traits such as
These perceptions however may not be true. According to organizational behavior scholars, ‘women are evaluated negatively when they adopt a stereotypically male leadership style and occupy traditionally male-dominated positions’. The employees in the case assume that Sally being a woman should be ‘nurturing and … care about their workers’ suggesting preconceived notions of how women should behave. This notion of stereotyping can result in misinterpretation of information because not all people are the same, and many in the same social category may demonstrate inconsistencies with the stereotype.
American sexism has changed dramatically over the years, but it is far from perfect. Today many women in America face sexism in many areas throughout their lives; especially in workplaces. Women face sexist stereotype that holds them back from rising up as corporate ladders, especially in jobs that have a high ratio of men compared to women. Sexist comments such as “women are weak to do this kind of job” , “these are men 's jobs” and ”women are too emotional to work” often causes a woman to be cautious of how she acts, making sure she is not feminine or that she does not cause trouble or repercussions. But, that is not all sexism is doing, often times women face discrimination at workplaces especially after entering motherhood.
According to Metz (2011), women are being deprived of opportunities and being squeezed out of organisations due to preconceptions about their dedication to a long term role, based on outdated gender stereotypes. In general, women experience higher rates of harassment at work, compared to men(McLaughlin, Uggen and Blackstone 2012).
Gender relations - Do stereotypical mind-sets around gender relations lead to gender inequality in this workplace? Do work structures disadvantage women? Is there an alignment of managerial attributes with gender stereotypes, such that male attributes of competitive spirit and technical competence are given
The woman that are effected by sexism in the work place are a part of a combination of interactional and symbolic communities. These woman are a symbolic community of people all across the nation who are treated unfairly in the work place due to their gender. These wean have been interacting with each other for generations forming commits and organizing protest to fight against sexism. It is this interaction with each other that has formed them into being a symbolic community, giving then an image for all woman to rally around.
In the fight for equality, it is obvious to defend against forms of sexism that are used for antagonization. However, chivalrous attitudes that cast women as weak and in need of men are often ignored. Social psychologists have studied the effects of benevolent sexism using experiments testing one’s performance shortly after being labeled as incompetent. Benevolent sexism is not a series of compliments, but rather a threat to one’s ability to think, learn, and perceive information. The workplace is an environment of which benevolent sexism occurs most often and one of which most are familiar with. Benevolent sexism in business does not allow men and women to achieve the same goals within the work place. Forcing an individual into a social role can limit them to only specific simple tasks that do not allow for maximum personal growth.
Starting with one extreme of this spectrum, misogyny is the hatred of women. Misogyny is fueled by society’s ideas of masculinity. The way American culture thinks the actions and thoughts of a man should be places limitations on either sex. One limitation is the sexual division of labor. The sexual division of labor is determining the job or career path based on sex. This notion believes that women should be in the private sphere of the workforce, often focusing on the reproductive part of society, while men should be in the public sphere: the productive part of society. With women in the private sphere of society, the public finds it important to keep women where they are; this establishes male supremacy. (Kosmo 12-13). Kaeleen Kosmo talked
Sexism may manifest itself in many different forms: blatant, covert, and subtle sexism (Swim, Mallett & Stangor, 2004). Specifically,
...is a cultural attitude of hatred for females because they are females according to sociologist Allan G. Johnson, "misogyny
Women are one of the most groups being discriminated against today. They try very hard to fit in and be successful in their careers. Discrimination against women is found in many workplaces. Some managers try to fix this problem, but others just ignore it. Companies that pretend that gender discrimination doesn’t exist are usually the ones that get sued for it more often. Other companies try to avoid law suits by dealing with gender discrimination and resolving conflicts before it gets to the law suits.
From the beginning of time the male and female have been expected to perform certain roles in society. Males have been expected to work and provide for their family while the female raises the children, cooks, cleans and keeps the house in order. Today many women have broken that tradition and are starting their careers and becoming more independent. Even though females today are braking away from that stereotype, they are being discriminated in the work place because there are still individuals out there that believe that women should play a certain role and that they are not strong enough to work in a cooperation or
First of all, sexism is present in the workplace. More women have entered the workforce in the last few decades. After WWII, about 30% of women were employed outside the home, but today, the figure is over 50%, near 75% if part-time jobs are included. However, men and women are not treated equally. Women usually hold lower status, lower paying jobs than men. Only 25% of upper-level managers in large corporations are women. Women in stereotypical female jobs usually hold subordinate positions to men. For example, executives supervise secretaries, who are likely to be women (Sexism in the Workplace, 2014).
Given that the structure of gender qualities has been a large part of our views, in regards to a variety of issues, a number of people take exception to variances from within these rules. Keeping this in mind, we will discuss the reasons why many individuals are discouraged from crossing traditional gender traits, and closely examine parts of the article assigned for this paper.
The concept of gender denotes the distinction between culturally driven and created roles of masculinity and femininity. These specific and normalized attitudes and behaviors transcend and effect how differently men and women live their lives. Based on society’s continual re-enforcement of such gender stereotypes, we see an on-going dilemma of gender inequality. Though some may argue that men experience gender inequality, this seems to exist on a much more invasive level for women. As of recently, the awareness of gender inequality in the workplace has increased. With the fight for equal pay and equal respect, society is already making strides towards the equality of women. With that being said, one aspect of gender inequality that seems
Gender in Management: An International Journal Vol. 26 No. 3, 2011 pp. 220-233 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1754-2413 DOI 10.1108/17542411111130981