Should Parental Status Differentially Affects Men And Women Essay

This research also shows that when women take these leaves of absences, it will impact their career by decreasing their earnings in the long run (Patten, 2015). This is seen as an indirect form of discrimination in the workplace because even though an employer is not neglecting a woman for simply being a woman, they still are the ones who are expected to leave their occupation in order to care for their family and that creates much more significant long-term impacts on their careers than on a man’s career. This is quite unfortunate because as stated earlier, women are becoming a much larger force in high-paying jobs that are typically overrun and controlled by men, for instance, professional and managerial positions. However, research still shows that women

The negative mind-set of employers on pregnant employees plays an important role in causing discrimination. Women’s performance ratings were seen to decline after being pregnant, from “superb” to “terrible” as shared by one victim of pregnancy discrimination. This is because they are perceived as “overly emotional, often irrational, physically limited, and less than committed to their jobs” as compared to their non-pregnant woman counterparts and are hence “less valuable and dependable.” There is also the problem of additional workload for remaining staff or the potential need to hire temporary staff to tide over the maternity leave period. To compound the issue, employers suffer uncertainty as to when the employee will return to work, or worse, the employee leaves for good after their maternity leave period. In fact, a study done shows that only 60% of women go back to work within two years of their maternity leave. It is hence unavoidable that employers, being cost sensitive, worry that all the extra cost incurred will ultimately become a meaningless loss if their pregnant employees do not return to work.

“Although national laws are beginning to curb overt acts of sexual harassment, such as demands for sexual favors in return for a promotion, women still experience less obvious sexual advances, most often from men in higher positions” (Black Enterprise). Harassment at work involves people overpassing their limits. Such as, them singling you out or treating you any different than your coworkers. “Unwelcome sexual conduct in this context sends the victim a clear message that she is an intruder in the workplace by reminding her of the historical myth that a woman’s place is in the home” (Chan). The myth sets standards for women which lock people into a certain belief and idea in their perspective towards single mothers. In the same article it states “It is not shocking that a single mother in an unskilled position would allow her supervisor to sexually harass her in exchange for the paycheck which enables her to feed her child” (Chan). Single mothers will do anything to fulfil the needs of their children. Even when that means, permitting harassment to take place against them. “Bias against one subset of employees: caregivers, particularly working mothers. This type of discrimination has a name: “maternal wall bias.” It takes the form of comments like “Don’t you feel bad leaving your kids at home? Don’t you miss them?” (Williams). Coworkers harass the single mothers into thinking that going to work makes them an

It also undermined the Congressional goal of eliminating discrimination in the workplace” (National Women's Law Center). Women also face discrimination because they are often penalized for having children. Women must face outdated ideas of what a woman can accomplish if she’s pregnant or already has children. The jobs that are considered traditional for women and are more understanding about women being mothers, are usually the lowest-paying jobs.

For example, becoming a mother and having to deal with motherly responsibilities can take an abundance of time out of the hours in which they could be earning money, thus “[skewing] pay-gap statistics, as they decrease the average total hours worked by women” (Cholensky 16). Working mothers spend at least twelve unpaid weeks on maternity leave. Regardless, an abundance of mothers need more time to bond with and take care of her newborn baby. There is a term that was coined for this exact disadvantage; the motherhood penalty. This argues that working mothers encounter disadvantages in pay, perceived competence, and benefits relative to childless women. However “ fathers earn somewhat more than childless men with the same characteristics—referred to as a fatherhood bonus” (Misra 27). Fathers and mothers may both work the same amount of hours and have very similar jobs, but the father will almost always get paid more than the working mother. This is because assumptions have made it so that women take responsibility of household chores and take care of their families. In the past, male counterparts have made the money to support their families and households. Standards in society have also been made, which influence the decisions that couples make in their

With the rise of the modern age economic survival has become difficult for families based on a single income. This economic need along with modern attitudes toward gender equality has resulted in women being represented in the workforce in greater numbers. However, until the 1960’s women faced severe discrimination when trying to enter and maintain a position in the workforce. Often qualified women would be passed over for men with less experience and education. Employers were fearful that women were too emotional and were not equipped to handle the stress of the work environment. Also driving the decision to not hire or promote women was the concern over the additional health care expenses and leave time pregnant

Women in the work force suffer a great deal with multiple consequences for not only being a woman, but for being a mother as well, either married or unmarried. Research shows that mothers pay substantial wage penalties for having children. The average penalty one study found is 5% to 10% per child among women in their 20s and 30s (Anderson et al., 2003; Budig & England, 2001; Waldfogel, 1997). The motherhood penalty differs with race and ethnicity. Studies show that white women pay larger motherhood wage penalties than African Americans (Neumark & Korenman 1994; Waldfogel 1997). For African American mothers, only married mothers with more than two children will pay the wage penalty. African American mothers who have never been married do not pay a wage penalty. For White women, all mothers pay the wage penalty, married, never-married, and divorced, as long as they have at least one or two children (Glauber

Childfree women are also being offered more career promotions than women with children. The pay gap might also increase with age because women hit the infamous “glass ceiling” at the top of their professions. The “glass ceiling” is the highest level they can obtain in their careers’. In supporting my statement, many women hit the “maternal wall” of discrimination before they ever reach the “glass ceiling.” Sarah Glazer provides a perfect example, “A civil engineer in Pennsylvania was awarded $3 million in a lawsuit because she was passed over a promotion after the birth of her son. She testified that the president of the company asked her if she wanted a career here of if she wanted to have babies” (Glazer 36). The president of this particular company obviously came to the assumption that her level of production in her chosen profession would decrease due to raising her child.

Sex-based wage discrimination is against the law, as is stated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The same Act prohibits pregnancy discrimination and states that employers cannot refuse to employ a woman because of pregnancy or terminate her, force her to go on leave at an arbitrary point during pregnancy or penalize her because of pregnancy in reinstatement rights credit for previous service, and accumulated seniority. Family responsibilities typically still fall more heavily on women, and neither society nor employers have found good ways to mesh those with job demands. Employers see parental leaves as a lack of commitment to the job and therefore more likely not to give promotions to the female workers (Kleiner & Kuta, 2001:45-47). Women can get equal treatment, but mostly when they behave like traditional men and leave the primary family responsibilities at home. Many women choose to take time off or to work part-time to be with their children rather than stay on the job and mainly because of lack of day care and flexible job options (Kleiner & Kuta, 2001:45-47). Some women drop out of work force for as long as two or three years,

Researchers have proposed a variety of explanations for systematic gender inequality in the workplace. Cultural benefits, the actions of male employees, the actions of the female employees, and the actions of the employer can contribute to intentional or unintentional gender discrimination (Ngo, Foley, Wong, & Loi, 2003). It has also been mentioned that women make less money because their work environment is generally safer than the stereotypical male work environment; childcare, cashiers, and secretary positions as opposed to firefighters, truck drivers and construction workers (Parcheta, Kaifi, & Khanfar, 2013). Perhaps the most dominant reasoning for women receiving less pay is the carrying over of biological roles into the workplace. Female employees often take time off to have a family, take care of a family, and are the primary caregiver of said family.

In the past 30 years, one of the most dynamic social changes in the history of the United States has taken place in the area of employment, specifically of women with children. Although, to some degree there have always been employed mothers, today a greater proportion of mothers are employed than ever before. Statistics show that in 1976, 48% of the population of women categorized as “married women with children” were employed and it increased to 62% in 1986 just 10 years later. What are the causes for this and how does it affect the children?

A second key issue is the hiring process. Many companies prefer to hire men over women for a positionregardless of their education or experience. Some reasons this may be is because most females have to balance work and family duties which may be a huge barrier in helping advancement in an organization, so an employer may prefer to hire a man who will not come with the baggage of children or the issue of balancing work and family duties. During an interview some women are not hired because they cannot be taken seriously because some may wear too much make-up or their pants suit or skirt may be too tight. Women that are pregnant are also sometimes not considered for a position because the manager may worry about the women wanting time off work on maternity leave. This may not be a direct financial concern about paying women while on maternity leave. It's more about the cost of replacing and training someone to cover their role while they are off.

Psychologist scientist, Bear and Glick found that the motherhood penalty and fatherhood bonus is suggested by the employer’s assumption about an employee role within their family. Fathers are mostly cast as “bread-winners” of a family, while mothers are assumed to be

Equality between Women and Men, or Gender Equality, means equality of rights and freedoms. For equal opportunities for participation, recognition and appreciation of women and men, In all areas of society, political, economic, labor, personal and family.

During this last century societal views towards women have drastically changed, from being looked at as a homemaker, to a businesswoman, to a mother, and now a working mother. One thing that hasn’t changed through the years is how women are critiqued for what they do and how they do it. If a woman takes care of the house she’s lazy and doesn't use her potential. If a women works in the office more than she’s at home she doesn’t connect with her family enough. The latest judgement women are facing: are working mothers better mothers. Today, women are being put against each other to be viewed as the “better mother” just by looking at their profession.