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Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Gender and Workforce Diversity

Gender and Diversity in the Workforce

Gender issues are prominent in the 21st century as women increasingly enter the workforce (Powell & Greenhouse, 2010).
Demographic shift has attracted both corporate and government sectors to consider policies and implications of the “new workers.”

Women are an integral part of a diverse workforce:
Supplementing family income
Pursuing careers in predominantly male professions

Men are exploring new work-related options and rethinking conventional gender-role stereotypes (Perrone, Wright, & Jackson, 2009).

Women and men continue to confront inequality due to gender bias (Meyerson & Flercher, 2000; Reece & Brandt, 2008).

Conceptualizing Gender and Diversity in the Workforce: A Social Role Perspective

Gender and workforce diversity are rooted in social role theory.

Women and men behave similarly over 98% of the time but differences in perception occur (Eagly, 1987; Eagly, Wood & Diekman, 2000).

Differences become stereotypes between the sexes.

Workforce diversity and the study of gender draw on psychology to understand the differences between men and women in social behavior.

Key terms: sex, gender, gender roles, social role theory, and gender stereotypes

Chapter 5 - Gender and Workforce Diversity

Historical Overview of Gender and
Diversity in the Workforce

Pre-Industrial Era in America: Diversity in the workforce included African slaves, immigrant workers, and convicts (Fullerton, 1993; Johnston & Packer, 1987; Kurowski, 2002):
Sex, gender roles, and stereotypes influenced women’s participation in the agricultural labor market.
Women entered the workforce in the early 1900s.

1909—“Uprising of 20,000” by shirtwaist makers in New York (Goodman, 1990):
Women protested long hours and low pay.
“Rosie the Riveter” became a national symbol of the large numbers of women who entered the workforce during World War II.

Key term: gender equality

Historical Overview of Gender and
Diversity in the Workforce

The Civil Rights Movement
Workplace diversity gained momentum in the 1960s as more African Americans entered the workforce.
Increased need to study and understand culturally diverse workers (Kurowski, 2002; Soni, 2000)
Workforce 2000 report concluded that, by 2000, “non-whites” would constitute 15% of the workforce compared to 11% in 1970 (Johnson & Packer, 1987; Kurowski, 2002).
In 2011, non-Whites made up 19% of the workforce (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

*White Hispanics are now included in “white” category.

Diversity models emerged in the late 1980s to respond to changing workplace needs (Soni, 2000).
Act as interventions and proactive approach
Seek to address inequities between women and men

Acts sought to eradicate deeply entrenched patterns of employment discrimination based on:

Race

Religion

Sex

National origin

Pregnancy

Key terms: gender discrimination, gender wage gap, and occupational sex segregation

Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

Gender Wage Gap

Historically, pay gap was distinguished by level of education and physical prowess.
Men earned more income than women (Fry, 2009).

Today, women have more access to higher education, increasing their opportunities to earn higher income.

Equal Pay Act (1963) seeks to address wage gap disparities.

Occupational Sex Segregation

Organizations are based on norms and beliefs more accommodating to men than to women (van Vianen & Fischer, 2002).

“Good old boys” network depicts men’s social closure on male occupations (Levine, 2009).

Progression of women to senior-level jobs is increasing but at a slow pace.

The Myth of Equality:
Glass Ceiling v. Glass Escalator

Women’s and men’s career opportunities in sex-segregated occupations perpetuate the “glass-ceiling” effect, while men benefit from the “glass escalator” effect.

Glass Ceiling Effect

First Female Chief Executive Officer of a Fortune 500
1999: Carleton Fiorina appointed as CEO of Hewlett-Packard
Women have “cracked” but not shattered the “glass-ceiling.”

Glass Escalator Effect

Men ascending the career ladder at a faster pace than women in female-dominated positions, e.g. nursing, librarianship, social work, and elementary school teaching (Williams, 1992).

Key terms: glass ceiling, glass escalator, and masculinization of women’s work

Contemporary Issues for Women and Men in the Workforce

Demographic shifts in the workforce have changed how women and men view their roles at home and work.
Expansion of gender roles is attributed to dual-career families (Doucet, 2004).
Exodus of women from home into the workforce (e.g., dual earners and female breadwinners)
Work−life balance (Powell & Greenhouse, 2010)
Equilibrium between the amount of time spent on work and non-work related activities
Female and male workers want more autonomy over their work to better accommodate their personal lives

Key terms: work−life balance, mommy track, paternity leave, and family-friendly workplace

Contemporary Issues for Women and Men in the Workforce

Work−Life Balance Initiatives

Aim is to enable employees to manage work and care-giving responsibilities (Kossek, Lewis, & Hammer, 2010).
Initiatives consist of flexible practices and family-friendly policies.

Summary and Conclusions

Women and men continue to experience gender-based inequality in the workplace (Reece & Brandt, 2008).

Contemporary men face many of the same issues as women in the workplace.

Women are increasingly gaining more access to professional and managerial positions, although they are still overlooked for senior-level positions (U.S. Department of Labor, 2008).
Women are disadvantaged in comparison to men on every economic indicator (Hultin, 2003).
Employers are responding to the changing needs of men and women by implementing family-friendly policies (Lloyd-Jones, 2009).

Implications for Policy and Practice

Further examination of women’s experience in the U.S. workforce is warranted to eradicate gender inequality and discrimination.
An understanding of the workplace culture and characteristics that affect the career development of both women and men provides insight on the pervasive issues of gender discrimination.
Provide organizational training and development initiatives to increase employees’ understanding of legal, psychological, and behavioral perspectives of gender discrimination (O’Leary et al., 2009).