Gender Inequality in the Workplace
In today’s society, gender inequality is still one of the most talked about issues in our corporate world. It’s common to hear about discrimination or gender inequality occurring in our home country on an annual basis. Although these issues have decreased immensely over the past twenty years, it still unfortunately occurs in our world today. There are a variety of ways that gender inequality can occur in the workplace, but one of the most commonly discussed issues is the disadvantage that women have over men.
For hundreds of years, men have had more power in the corporate world than women. To dig deeper into that situation, white males have had an advantage over all races and genders. As time has progressed, laws and rules have been formed to decrease the amount of gender inequality in all businesses. Women are beginning to succeed in roles that typically males would have and this is extremely positive for all females. Christine Williams, the author of The Glass Escalator, created the term “The Glass Escalator”, which stands for “the advantage that men receive in women’s professions” (Williams, 2013). She explains how men can easily succeed in a women’s profession, while women can easily fail in a male’s profession. For instance, nurses are typically known to be women in today’s society, but men are beginning to take over the profession. If a male applies for a nursing or doctoral position, they are more than likely going to get the job if they have the proper education and experience. Women have a certain label in society that makes it seem as if they cannot complete a male’s job at an effective rate. This has been a major topic of discussion recently and many have already started standing up for their rights and abilities.
Williams continues on in the article explaining how “work is increasingly characterized by job insecurity, teamwork, career maps, and networking” (Williams, 2013). The business world can be a great place to succeed, while having a big chance of failure for a variety of reasons. In the “Glass Escalator” article, Williams talks explains how companies are more likely to hire a male over a female simply because males have less distractions away from the workplace. Many in our society today say females are more likely to be focused on other areas in their life, such as their family, rather than the workplace. Although this idea may be skewed, companies feel as if males are more liable to be focused on their work than other areas of their life. This is simply a label that has been put on both genders and it will stay the same until individuals viewpoints change.
“True gender integration in the workplace faces barriers at several levels: societal, organizational, interactional, and individual” (Miller-Loessi, 1992). This statement by the author who wrote “Gender Integration in the Workplace: Issues on Multiple Levels”, indicated inequality occurs in multiple areas of our life. Society, along with organizations, have had the same viewpoint on genders for many years. It’s the level of individualism that is influenced the most by gender inequality. Individuals are solely responsible for the lack of success that women may have within an organization. It’s up to our culture as a whole to change the major issues that occur in our corporate world.
Although there are a many different forms of issues that are present in our corporate world, it’s vital that our internal labor laws are strict and followed correctly. The importance of managers and hire level positions in any business has greatly increased over the years. Managers who are responsible for all employees are being held to higher standards than ever before and are also accountable for the unity of the whole company. Matt Huffman, the author of “Organizations, Internal Labor Market Policies, and Gender Inequality in Workplace Supervisory Authority”, focuses on the importance of managers creating a comfortable and successful work environment for all employees. Women are now being hired as managers, general managers, vice presidents, and even CEO’s of some corporations. The importance of having men and women working together as a team is growing in our society, simply because both genders need one another for valuable information or lessons. As time progresses, gender inequality will continue to become less of a common topic due to the changes of viewpoints that all individuals should have. There should be no difference between gender or race in the workplace. All individuals should have the right to accomplish whatever dream they have, no matter of their gender, religion, or race.
Resources
WILLIAMS, CHRISTINE L. “THE GLASS ESCALATOR, REVISITED: Gender Inequality in Neoliberal Times, SWS Feminist Lecturer.” Gender and Society, vol. 27, no. 5, 2013, pp. 609–629. www.jstor.org/stable/43669820.
Addi-Raccah, Audrey, and Hanna Ayalon. “Gender Inequality in Leadership Positions of Teachers.” British Journal of Sociology of Education, vol. 23, no. 2, 2002, pp. 157–177. www.jstor.org/stable/1393282.
“
Miller-Loessi, Karen. “Toward Gender Integration in the Workplace: Issues at Multiple Levels.” Sociological Perspectives, vol. 35, no. 1, 1992, pp. 1–15. www.jstor.org/stable/1389366.
Mueller, Charles W., et al. “Interactional Processes and Gender Workplace Inequalities.” Social Psychology Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 2, 2002, pp. 163–185. www.jstor.org/stable/3090099.
Huffman, Matt L. “Organizations, Internal Labor Market Policies, and Gender Inequality in Workplace Supervisory Authority.” Sociological Perspectives, vol. 38, no. 3, 1995, pp. 381–397. www.jstor.org/stable/1389433.
Dias, L. (2011). Human resource management. Saylor.org/books. ISBN 13: 978-1-4533194-3-7.
Gender Inequality in the Workplace
In today’s society, gender inequality is still one of the most talked about issues in our corporate world. It’s common to hear about discrimination or gender inequality occurring in our home country on an annual basis. Although these issues have decreased immensely over the past twenty years, it still unfortunately occurs in our world today. There are a variety of ways that gender inequality can occur in the workplace, but one of the most commonly discussed issues is the disadvantage that women have over men.
For hundreds of years, men have had more power in the corporate world than women. To dig deeper into that situation, white males have had an advantage over all races and genders. As time has progressed, laws and rules have been formed to decrease the amount of gender inequality in all businesses. Women are beginning to succeed in roles that typically males would have and this is extremely positive for all females. Christine Williams, the author of The Glass Escalator, created the term “The Glass Escalator”, which stands for “the advantage that men receive in women’s professions” (Williams, 2013). She explains how men can easily succeed in a women’s profession, while women can easily fail in a male’s profession. For instance, nurses are typically known to be women in today’s society, but men are beginning to take over the profession. If a male applies for a nursing or doctoral position, they are more than likely going to get the job if they have the proper education and experience. Women have a certain label in society that makes it seem as if they cannot complete a male’s job at an effective rate. This has been a major topic of discussion recently and many have already started standing up for their rights and abilities.
Williams continues on in the article explaining how “work is increasingly characterized by job insecurity, teamwork, career maps, and networking” (Williams, 2013). The business world can be a great place to succeed, while having a big chance of failure for a variety of reasons. In the “Glass Escalator” article, Williams talks explains how companies are more likely to hire a male over a female simply because males have less distractions away from the workplace. Many in our society today say females are more likely to be focused on other areas in their life, such as their family, rather than the workplace. Although this idea may be skewed, companies feel as if males are more liable to be focused on their work than other areas of their life. This is simply a label that has been put on both genders and it will stay the same until individuals viewpoints change.
“True gender integration in the workplace faces barriers at several levels: societal, organizational, interactional, and individual” (Miller-Loessi, 1992). This statement by the author who wrote “Gender Integration in the Workplace: Issues on Multiple Levels”, indicated inequality occurs in multiple areas of our life. Society, along with organizations, have had the same viewpoint on genders for many years. It’s the level of individualism that is influenced the most by gender inequality. Individuals are solely responsible for the lack of success that women may have within an organization. It’s up to our culture as a whole to change the major issues that occur in our corporate world.
Although there are a many different forms of issues that are present in our corporate world, it’s vital that our internal labor laws are strict and followed correctly. The importance of managers and hire level positions in any business has greatly increased over the years. Managers who are responsible for all employees are being held to higher standards than ever before and are also accountable for the unity of the whole company. Matt Huffman, the author of “Organizations, Internal Labor Market Policies, and Gender Inequality in Workplace Supervisory Authority”, focuses on the importance of managers creating a comfortable and successful work environment for all employees. Women are now being hired as managers, general managers, vice presidents, and even CEO’s of some corporations. The importance of having men and women working together as a team is growing in our society, simply because both genders need one another for valuable information or lessons. As time progresses, gender inequality will continue to become less of a common topic due to the changes of viewpoints that all individuals should have. There should be no difference between gender or race in the workplace. All individuals should have the right to accomplish whatever dream they have, no matter of their gender, religion, or race.
Resources
WILLIAMS, CHRISTINE L. “THE GLASS ESCALATOR, REVISITED: Gender Inequality in Neoliberal Times, SWS Feminist Lecturer.” Gender and Society, vol. 27, no. 5, 2013, pp. 609–629. www.jstor.org/stable/43669820.
Addi-Raccah, Audrey, and Hanna Ayalon. “Gender Inequality in Leadership Positions of Teachers.” British Journal of Sociology of Education, vol. 23, no. 2, 2002, pp. 157–177. www.jstor.org/stable/1393282.
“
Miller-Loessi, Karen. “Toward Gender Integration in the Workplace: Issues at Multiple Levels.” Sociological Perspectives, vol. 35, no. 1, 1992, pp. 1–15. www.jstor.org/stable/1389366.
Mueller, Charles W., et al. “Interactional Processes and Gender Workplace Inequalities.” Social Psychology Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 2, 2002, pp. 163–185. www.jstor.org/stable/3090099.
Huffman, Matt L. “Organizations, Internal Labor Market Policies, and Gender Inequality in Workplace Supervisory Authority.” Sociological Perspectives, vol. 38, no. 3, 1995, pp. 381–397. www.jstor.org/stable/1389433.
Dias, L. (2011). Human resource management. Saylor.org/books. ISBN 13: 978-1-4533194-3-7.