Workplace Gender Inequality
Gender inequality is currently a hot topic in our society. From education, to the entertainment industry, and more importantly, our daily lives, gender inequality has created a powerful divide between females and males with the seemingly same qualifications and background. The same trend follows in the workplace, females are less likely to hold positions of authority compared to their equivalent male counterparts. This is a key contributor to the lack of gender equality in workplaces all across the United States.
Presently, people have numerous common misconceptions about the facts and factors of workplace gender inequality. Most of them sound true and are very believable, but in fact, researchers have proved
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Additionally, labor markets with greater percentages of females had more wage equality for both genders. One other interesting point to note from this study is that female managers were more likely to help and promote their female subordinates, but only if they held managerial positions that gave them the authority to make decisions which directly affected the subordinates (Cohen 682).
Fuller and Schoenberger offered their own insight on this topic with their article titled The Gender Salary Gap which explores the influence of different levels of education, academic achievement, hands-on career experiences, and choice of major, on the starting salaries of college graduates. They narrowed their research by choosing candidates that were business majors, such as finance, accounting, etc. They filled the gaps of previous research by finding measurable factors that affected the salary gap, and they also asked whether a certain set of characteristics have the same effect later on in the person’s career as it did in the beginning (Fuller 179).
By using quantitative methods such as regression analysis, the decomposition of differentials in starting salary, and by quantifying candidates’ characteristics so they could be easily measured and compared, they found that the more educated and experienced a woman was, the higher her starting salary. Education and
In the business setting of inequality, it is much more apparent with the way women are treated opposing to men. In some workplaces based one sheer appearance women may be chosen over other women even though the less attractive woman may be much more qualified. This is a construct of the male design. Studies have shown that men on average get a higher number of hours to work and extra overtime than women, giving them more opportunity to earn pay. Along with this men are likely to gain a promotion before women with the same experience and qualifications. (Young 2017, 179) Another
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
A majority of women across the world are highly accountable for home duties, and child rearing, while men on the other hand are bound for working in higher paid salary jobs. As of a result of this, inequality amongst genders has turned into a controversy in the workplace. And due to this gender inequality, women have been led to poorly paid gender typed positions. The gender pay gap negatively impacts individuals and some elements that play a major role in this issue are: work experience, independent skills, specific length of time at a company, and the level of education the person has obtained. However, the
With the majority of law based rights already having been granted to women, more focus will be put on equalizing the individual perception of gender. Although it isn’t legal to discriminate against women for the amount of work they do, or to give better jobs to men, more women are currently and will continue to push for these thoughts to cease to exist at all. As of 1963, the Equal Pay Act requires that men and women doing equal work must receive equal pay (Cunnea 9). With men and women receiving equal pay for the same work, the only things that should end up mattering for employment other than the usual experience, qualifications, and reviews of past management are an individual person’s work ethic and
Even with women’s increasing workplace successes over the passing years, the gender wage gap continues on. Scholars and researchers descriptions of the pay differences are explained at vaguely two different levels. There are individual differences in workplace results that are sometimes credited to gender specific preferences. At the college level, institutional practices may hinder women, or certain laws in place can balance out the results of these practices. We’re making an effort to rise above this separation by examining the wage gap at both levels; our study plans to contribute to filling this gap.
Unlike racial inequality, females and males are able to get the same education, “in 2012, 57.2 percent of women ages sixteen and older were in the labor force. In contrast to, 38 percent of working age women were in the labor force in 1960” (Giddens et al 268). Although men and women are getting the same education, there is a big gender gap in the workplace. There is an idea that certain jobs belong to a specific gender, for example women should be secretaries and men should be managers, this is called gender typing (Giddens et al. 269). Women make an average of .79 cents to every dollar a white man makes and that price varied based on ones ethnicity and race. Women are getting paid twenty-one percent less than men for doing the same
Women in the workforce still face issues regarding gender wage gap (Equal Pay Day: Are Women Surging or Stalling?, 2018). Even though there has been progress surrounding awareness of these issues, the wage gap between women and men is still very prevalent. Here in the United States, we have enacted a law called the Equal Pay Act that requires employers to pay man and women same wage for the same work (CARD, CARDOSO & KLINE, 2016). Beyond the Equal Pay Act, employers are prohibited from practicing discrimination on the basis of gender. If an organization overall pay their employees higher salaries relative to other organization then salaries for women tend to be more equitable. Organizational practices are also changing. Some organizations
Throughout the history of the world, discrimination in all forms has been a constant battle; whether its race, gender, religion, beliefs, appearance or anything else that makes one person different from another, it’s happening every day. One significant discrimination problem the world population is battling, takes place in the work place. Women, who are as equally trained and educated, and with the same experience as men are not getting equal pay, “The American Association of University Women is releasing a new study that shows when men and women attend the same kind of college, pick the same major and accept the same kind of job, on average, the woman will still earn 82 cents to every dollar that a man earns” (Coleman). This form of inequality dates back for centuries and stems from the common belief that since men provide for women and women take care of the home and children, men therefore are more efficient in the career chosen. This is also known as systemic discrimination. Now in modern times, the realization that man and woman can produce the same results, have the same education, and have the same capacity to accomplish the same overall tasks as men is becoming more popular, especially as the prevalent thought of women as not as valuable as men is constantly being proven to be incorrect.
The movement of promoting gender equality is exponentially growing every year; however, gender inequality is still a persistent problem in today’s workforce. Each year, gender inequality, especially employment equity, the distinct barrier between genders in the workforce, has become a topic of contention as its affecting working individuals worldwide, especially women. Before examining this problem, we must further understand what gender inequality is in the workplace. Gender inequality is an ascriptive factor, in which limits individuals to reach their full potential in their area of expertise by discriminating based on gender (module …). Both genders can have the same qualifications for an occupation, but a specific gender, mainly men, are seen to be more qualified than their female counterparts are. This can result in the refusal to allow the individual to take on leadership roles due to socially constructed views on gender. In addition, they may receive unequal wages compared to the opposing gender due to statistical discrimination which is the idea hiring or promoting individuals based on the average characteristics of their gender group rather than solely focusing on the individual( Textbook, 169). As we strive towards the goal of gender inequality, we must understand it in order to construct a proper solution.
We live in a patriarchal society with men in positons of power in politics, the workplace and in family life. Throughout history, women have been viewed as unequal compared to men. However, with the suffragette movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s leading to women gaining the right to vote in 1920, and The Civil Rights Era of the 1960s creating laws to protect the rights of women in the workplace, our society has moved closer towards a goal of gender parity. Achieving this goal in the workplace remains a social issue that does not have one simple solution; the attitudes and cultural expectations that are deeply embedded in the institutions of corporate America and in society must first be eliminated. Disparity in pay between men and
How do you feel about women holding higher positions within corporations? In today’s society, there are several inequalities between women and men. These inequalities between women and men have been around since the beginning of time and will always be a factor. Gender inequality can be seen in many different ways across our society today. One major area that this inequality can be seen is in the workforce. There are many women who have jobs in today’s society, but there are not a lot of chances for women to obtain higher positions. Women do not receive the same chances to hold high positions within corporations as men do. Women who are in the workforce are constantly having to choose between work and family. Women also feel the need for whole-self authenticity, which means that one is true to one’s own personality and character even against external pressures. In this scenario, people are themselves at work as they are in their private life. Gender inequality in the workplace is a serious issue that affects women socially, economically, and physically.
Inequality has been a dilemma for several years in countless different ways. A persistent problem with disproportion of income between women and men has been lingering within many companies in the United States. It has been said that women earn less money than men in the workplace for many different reasons. Some of these reasons are that women have not spent enough time in the office to be rewarded with raises and bonuses because they are busy with their home lives and taking care of their children, they, unlike men, have been taught to be timid and unaggressive which ultimately steers them away from requesting higher pay, or they do not meet the qualifications to receive promotions (Hymowitz, 2008). This essay is in response to On
Even though numbers are slowly rising in the United States, there are still more men in executive positions than women. According to one survey, female workers only made up 43% of legislators, senior managers, and senior officials whereas male workers made up 57%. In congress, congresswomen make up only 17% of representation compared to congressmen making up 83% (Ferrante, 2011, p. 312). Gender stratification is one explanation for the tremendous gap. Ferrante (2011) describes gender stratification as the unequal distribution of opportunities and resources amongst male and female employees. (p. 311) For example, male workers have an increased opportunity to receive a promotion than a female worker. According to Tinsley (2013), women are more likely to receive executive positions when a company is doing well, rather than when a company is suffering. Some companies stereotype that women workers will leave the workforce soon to bear children, limiting their chances of achieving executive status (Ferrante, 2011, p. 316).
Gender equality in salary is always unfair. Men employees always receive higher wages than women employees had received. Companies would like to hire men employees compared to women employees because they believed women employees are weak and cannot competent in the workplace although they have abilities and skills. As a conclusion, our research has proven that this theory was true.
“The wage gap has narrowed by more than one-third since 1960”(Hegewisch, 2010) and “the share of companies with female CEOs increased more than six-fold” (Warner, 2014) since 1997. As well as the truth that men and women’s earnings differ for many other reasons besides the presence of sexism. “Discrimination in labor market, in education/retiring programs, unequal societal norms at home and the constrained decisions men and women make about work and home issues” (Hegewisch, 2010) are also factors that can contribute to the unequal treatment of man and women in the workplace. Yet even with most of these variables removed women are still being paid less than men, sexually harassed in the workplace and hold very little managerial positions.