Women Is Not A Bed Of Roses

Over the past few decades, great strides have been made by women in the workplace. This increased number in women in the workplace does not mean equality however. Even with equal qualifications and achievements, women are still not given all the opportunities that men have. The chapter in the textbook, “Gender at Work”, shows us more of these inequalities in the workplace. Such inequalities cause gender segregation of jobs and can be linked with the pay inequality in the labor force. Even in jobs that are predominantly filled by women, men earn more than women. Women are often stereotyped as being family focused and not as able to travel, therefore they tend to get passed up for promotions (Garson p.353). This invisible barrier that keeps women from moving up the executive ladder is referred to as the “glass ceiling” (Baxter and Wright p. 346). Women also tend to do more domestic work, or unpaid labor and caregiving. This extra unpaid work is referred to as “the third shift” and is largely rested on the shoulders of women (Gersel p. 352). Consequently, this seems to be one of the biggest things holding women back from taking on jobs that are normally considered male

Therefore, the men feel they have superiority over the women and the women were thought to be small-minded about critical issues.

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and being squeezed out of organisations due to preconceptions about their dedication to a long term role, based on outdated gender stereotypes.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).

This stereotype has definitely faded in the modern business world, but the modern woman still unjustly needs to "prove" herself to be an equal to her male counterparts. Gender differences can be rather large in today's workforce. From different pay scales to fewer opportunities for advancement, women can often find themselves getting the "short end of the stick". Women also have the unfortunate chore of dealing with sexual harassment. According to the U.S. EEOC, of the 12,679 sexual harassment charges filed in the U.S. during the fiscal year of 2005, 85.7% were filed by women. (http://www.eeoc.gov/types/sexual_harassment.html) Everyday countless instances of sexual harassment go without charges being filed.

Determining women to be less productive, competitive, intelligent, or any other characteristic because of her gender disvalues her, turning her into an object instead of a subject.

Women are burdened with many obstacles to achieve equality in the work place. In the corporate and

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.

This myth has been perpetuated throughout history and in result; we have barriers such as the glass ceiling in existence. If we were to pull up a list of the Board of Directors for any given company, the probability of it being a predominately male group is high. This notion alone shows how companies have continued to dwell in olds days where men are considered more capable than women. The Glass ceiling effect has continued to place barriers against women endeavor in achieving success in their careers and participation in their work place. Women have not been able to realize their potential in their work places since they are not offered equal chances as compared to their men counterparts who enjoy great opportunities in organizations. The fact that an organization is ran by men, may cause an adverse effect on the performance of men. Obviously, a man thinks differently than a woman. It is likely that a decision made by men only is likely to ignore the interests of women in the organization. This creates a domino effect because it affects the woman’s performance in business since they only get limited chances to learn, and limited job assignments that will enhance their skills. Hence, low or limited skills and experience will lower their overall

Women treat men with equal respect, whereas men do not. “Women tend to be receptive to both men and women in superior roles, found a 2014 study titled A Man’s (Precarious) Place. Men, on the other hand, were more likely to be threatened by women in superior positions and were more assertive with female leaders, according to the study.”(Kirkham 2015). Elyssa Kirkham states that women are more willing to receive input from men. This capability creates diversity within the workplace. Diversity leads to more talent within the workplace, an advantage for companies determined to strive. Pallab Dutta, of Demand Media, states, “Access to a larger talent pool is one of the biggest advantages of having an employment recruitment policy that values diversity.”(Dutta 1). This diverse environment leads to more talent, which results in “creative solutions for problems and better organizational productivity”(Dutta 1). Having employees that can endorse equality, accept both men and women’s input, is key to success within a business. Without it, a companies who do not support equality will not thrive. This acceptance towards both men and women creates a positive atmosphere within the workplace. This positive energy, that women acquire, inspires motivation within employees which results in an increase of business

The belief that women are subordinate to men directly intertwines

This is the subordination of women that is part of the everyday working of social institutions (Newman, 321). Women have been seen as inferior in the workplace for decades. This started because of the old norms that women are supposed to stay home and take care of the children while men work. So when women wanted to work or had to work, they faced prejudice from men and even some women. They were seen as weak and incapable of doing the job correctly. Many times women faced sanctions from others for trying to work in a “man’s world” and violating the typical roles of women. Which were cook, clean, and take care of the children. Many women didn’t want these imposed roles. They wanted pursued roles or roles that they chose to do. There are many cases of objective mechanisms of status generalization for gender in the workplace. One of the best examples would be the Rizo v Yovino case. In 2009, Rizo was employed as a math consultant. Years later, she became aware that her male peers were being paid more than her. The company argued that the pay was solely based on salary history. The difference was only present because the men had previous jobs with better salaries than the women (H27, 4b). The employers were not trying to intentionally discriminate the women. They were just following the rules of

In all areas of society, this idea of male superiority is evident. The very position of certain jobs, most often higher paying and thought to be only done by those with a higher IQ are meant

Gender roles is a very controversial topic in today’s society, especially when it comes to working. 100 years ago, in Europe, women were working long hours in factories. Women also worked as nurses, cleaned wealthy people 's homes, and were craftswomen. Meanwhile, 100 years ago in the United States women were expected to stay home and take care of the family/home, while the men went out and worked an average of ten hours a day for six days a week, compared to the traditional five day weeks and 8 hour days.

Another stereotypical belief is that women aren’t as intelligent as men. If this were true, then the female generations of our past would not have come as far as they have today in the workplace. There are women involved in politics, the medical field, and education. If men were truly more intelligent, then women would not be capable of being successful in those fields. Linda Tapp, president of Crown Safety in Cherry Hill, and a very successful female, states that “gender discrimination is still live and well. No matter how much we like to think things have changed, there are more than a few people out there who think a woman can still not do the same jobs a man can do”(Eglash). In my own experience, I have learned that female teachers and doctors do an equally good job as males in those fields. A woman is fully capable of doing a job that requires high intellect, just as a man is. I believe that it is ridiculous and unjustified for a man to treat a woman at work poorly because he believes that men are more

The term glass ceiling was coined more than twenty years ago by the Wall Street Journal to describe the barriers that women face at workplace. The word ‘ceiling’ suggest that women are blocked from advancing their career while the term ‘glass’ is used because the ceiling does not always visible. Women might work as hard as men do but they only earn about seventy-five per-cent of the men’s income though they might be of the same seniority, experience as well as education level. The earning differential is due to the traditional responsibility for family and childcare tasks assigned by the society towards women. This is because the society still assumes the high-paying professions as masculine and feminine women could not fit the requirements of holding the position and they better do a more nurturing job. This typical thinking causes men to be numerically dominant in almost all area like in key global and national decision-making position such as international organisations, governments, and as well as the board of CEOs and directors of private enterprises. As an example, rarely are women seen to sit in the parliament seat or hold the superior position in a government party. Take the case of our own Datuk Ng Yen Yen who did not succeed in her bid for the MCA’s vice presidency in October 2008. She challenged the tradition within the male-dominated party but then her failure indicates the hesitance of the