Gender Bias In The Recruitment Process At Job Fairs

Gender stereotypes are one of the most common encountered on a daily basis. The infamous ‘Glass Ceiling’ still exists in many areas of the professional world, restricting valid promotions simply based on gender. This type of concept can be verified by looking at comparative weekly wages of other professionals in a variety of industries. Most people will generally see female dominated occupations, such as nurse, teacher and secretary as requiring feminine personality traits and physical attributes for success; whereas male dominated occupations such as doctor, lawyer, and business executive are seen to require male personality traits for success (Sanderson, 2010, p. 344).

Gender bias has continued to be constructed in communication through marked forms. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg discusses, “When people talk about a female pilot, a female engineer, or a female race car driver, the word “female” implies a bit of surprise”(Sandberg, 140). If everyone continues not to discuss gender bias then the world will continue to use marked forms, which Sandberg sees as a tool for people to be-little others (Sandberg, 140). She concludes this thought by saying “We can no longer pretend that biases do not exist, nor can we talk around them. The result of creating a more equal environment will not just be better performance for our organizations, but quite likely greater happiness for all”(Sandberg, 158).

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

“Stereotypes are categories that constrain and shape what a person believes about, and expects from, other people” (Bartlett 1910). The workplace is one of the most active environments for women to be stereotyped against. Women are judged in ways such as being weaker than, and not as active as a man. This can be a problem for a woman in a male dominated occupation by making them feel, or seem, not as valuable as a man. For example, women in the police field will face the struggle of being seen as weaker, gentler, and to submissive to fight crime compared to men. This type of behavior leads to women not receiving much earned promotions, and having more struggles applying to male dominating jobs.

One way to counteract gender discrimination in the hiring process would be to implement policies that would identify highly qualified female candidates throughout the hiring process, along with identifying subconscious bias that interviewers may have toward female candidates.

A research study on race and gender differences in employment typically assumes discrimination as an important causal mechanism (Roscigno, Garcia, & Zeher, 2007). The workplace has sometimes been referred to as an unwelcoming place for women due to the multiple forms of gender differences present (Stamarski & Son Hing, 2015). Examples of how workplace discrimination negatively affects women’s earnings and opportunities are the gender income gap, the scarcity of women in leadership, and the longer time required for women versus men to advance in their careers (Stamarski & Son Hing, 2015). According to Roscigno et al., (2007), Race and gender in the labor market have received considerate attention by researchers over the past twenty years. Researchers have also gained evidence to report that men earn more than women even when they are in the same occupation (Roscigno et al., 2007). In

Second, I would like to talk about the gender roles that play while both men and women are working for the same job or trying to get a job with the same field. When it comes to hiring people mostly go for men because they assume that men will get the job done better than a women would. “Most leadership positions are held by men, so women don’t expect to achieve them and that becomes one of the reasons they don’t” (Anna – Marie Slaughter). With that being said it makes the competition for a job more challenging for women. They have to not only reach all the qualifications that is needed for the job but to go above and try to beat what the men is going to

In addition, women are seen to be less committed to labor force participation than men. "High turnover rates and low productivity levels in females-dominated occupations" produce this stereotype (Adler 450). Gender stereotypes of this nature result in loss of opportunity for women to gain the necessary job experiences for advancement (Bell 67).

When someone goes to create a resume, they do not always consider the effects that their gender has on their pay wage, position of authority and benefits. These factors have changed drastically from the past to the present time, but there continues to be evidence of foul play.

Being gender bias is a subconscious unequal treatment in employment opportunity based on the sex of an individual. This may be an unconscious act to build a diverse workplace but overlooking the qualifications and selecting an employee based on gender is still a form of sex discrimination. Whether it be in favor of woman or men, being gender bias is not the right way to attain gender diversity.

This essay will analysis gender stereotyping and prejudice in the workplace. As part of the analysis, I will reflect on my current part time employment situation using my perspective and incorporating the information that has been acquired in this topic of bias and stereotyping.

Stereotype threats are negative consequences about one’s race, sex, nationality, or social group. Stereotype threats are used a lot more frequently than people realize. Gender is a powerful stereotype that affects many people’s decisions and actions. The stereotype of women in the workplace has come a long way even in the last twenty years. Many businesses tend to want to diversify their demographics by making the ratio of men to women almost equal. “Demographic projections anticipate that by the year 2000 women will exceed 50 per cent of the total workforce…” (Johnston and Packer, 1987). Women were able to make their way in to the workplace when men were off at war during the 1950s. During this time, women proved their ability to do the same kind of jobs men did. Many women worked as machinist, factory workers, and clergies.

Research on networking shows that women are less likely to choose partners with power and authority (Ibarra, 1992, 1993; McGuire, 2000). Lyness and Thompson (2000) found that both genders report different social and professional experiences in reaching top management. This study represents how gender stereotyping affects the women of the workplace and their struggle to reach upper management. Overall trying to bring awareness of gender stereotypes that are not being taken seriously.

A study on the implicit and explicit occupational gender types, Sex Roles, “Occupational gender stereotypes are activated when men and women are considered to be more suited for certain occupations based on stereotyped characteristics and temperaments” (White and White 2006). Matheus represented the following examples, “a stereotypically feminine job would be associated with attributes such as nurturing, caring, and being sensitive to the needs of others and a stereotypically masculine job would be associated with attributes such as decisiveness, coldness and toughness” (Matheus 2010). Nowadays, women are usually seen in the workforce as secretaries and nurses. Meanwhile, most doctors and construction laborers are men. In addition, Anker points out that “Occupational segregation by gender is prevalent in most if not all countries” (Anker 1998). “Women and men work in different fields and within fields at different levels” (Anker 1998). Diekman and Wilde explained that “men’s concentration in leadership and other high power roles led to the assumption that men have “agentic characteristics” such self-assertion and dominance and women’s concentration in subordinate and caretaking roles lead to the assumption that they have “communal characteristics” such as being kind and supportive (Diekman and Wilde 2005).

In this case study, Liz Ames has come up against an all too common problem in business today: gender bias. Effectively managing racial, ethnic and gender diversity is not just a human resources issue; it is a serious business issue.