Gender Discrimination Against Women in the Workplace

Gender Discrimination Against Women In Business
PROBLEMS IN BUSINESS
Introduction
According to Bryan (2007), the barriers to women’s advancement in organizations today have a relatively straightforward cause. Most organizations have been created by and for men and are based on male experiences. Even though women have entered the workforce in droves in the past generation, and it is generally agreed that they add enormous value. Organizational definitions of competence and leadership are still predicated on traits stereotypically associated with men that are tough, aggressive and decisive. Even though many households today have working fathers and mothers, most organizations act as if the historical division of household labor still holds-with women primarily responsible for matters of the heart. Outdated or not, those realities drive organizational life (Bryan, 2007). Challenges for women begin in childhood. Young girls may be brought up to believe that they are only suited for professions or, in some cases, only to serve as wives and mothers. Gender lines are drawn early, and exclusions for women continue throughout adulthood. These constant messages may lead to a false belief that women do not belong in the high-powered corporate world. More women are starting businesses than men, more women are in the workforce than men, and the majority of degree-holders are now women (Wolfe, 2010). Yet, according to the Department of Labor, women are still only dominating fields and industries that are often seen as “female”. The positions that women held from 1997-2006 varies from secretaries and administrative assistants, to accountants and auditors (Department of Labor, 2007).
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REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Gender Discrimination In The Workplace Data collected from a wide array of sources reveal the following pattern with regard to gender discrimination in the U.S. workplace. In general, the proportion of women employed as computer scientists appears to reflect the proportion of women graduating with degrees in that area. However, when women are hired, they tend to start at lower positions and/or earn lower starting salaries than men (Isaac, 1995). Over time, the gap is found even in studies that equate years of experience, level of education and industry (Isaac, 1995). In almost every industry, women occupy a very small proportion of the higher-level positions (White, 1992). For example, a 1988 study found that only three Chief Executive Officer’s among the Fortune 1000 were women, and only 1.7% of the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President’s were women (White, 1992). In a 1993 study of Stanford MBA’s, graduates from the class of 1982 were tracked over time. It was found that 71% of the men are currently in the top four rungs of management, whereas 34% of women had reached those positions (Smith & Mitchell, 1993). A Study of the ten largest makers of weapons found that women made up 5.3% of the senior management positions (Sims, 1993). According to Koretz (1990), a study was performed in 1987 in which they tracked 100 women executives who were on the fast track from as far back as 1976. They found that none of those 100 women had made it to the top position in a public corporation, unless they started the business or inherited the position (White, 1992). Women consistently make less money than men in almost every industry, even when they first start their jobs (Schwartz, 1988, & Mahar, 1993). Gender or sex discrimination in the United
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States has a long tradition, partaking of a much wider-phenomenon of discrimination against women that is both ancient and global. Only recently have social movements and laws in the industrialized countries recognized the right of women to own property, vote, marry whom they choose, limit the number of children they will bear, or have equal opportunities in the workplace (Mayer, 2010).
Gender and Society According to Mead (2010), “Men have always been afraid that women could get along without them.” Women have always had lower status than men, but the extent of the gap between the sexes varies across cultures and time, some arguing that is inversely related to social evolution. In 1923, Alice Paul suggested a constitutional amendment-only three years after the Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote-unleashing sixty or more years of national debate (Library of Congress, 1972). Paul was a militant leader in the suffrage movement. She founded the National Woman’s Party, and for fifty years served as a tactician for the Equal Rights Amendment. Her original wording, drafted in 1923, has been changed several times, but the text submitted to the states for ratification in 1972 is essentially hers (Library of Congress, 1972): • Sec. 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex. • Sec. 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. • Sec. 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.” 5
The Long Road To Equality
Almost immediately in 1923, a split developed between the more militant feminists, whose goal was full equality under the Constitution and the social reformers, an organized labor who feared that the amendment would be used to strike down the laws that they had to protect women in the workplace (June, 1985). The year 1930 saw six women elected to the House of Representatives and 145 in legislatures in 39 states. A referendum in Illinois opened jury service to women. The majority of women continue to oppose the blanket equal-rights amendment and to work for specific legislation removing legal discriminations against women. There has been a slight revival of interest in protective legislation for women in industry. Studies show earnings for women in industry, and also for women in business, and the professions relatively low in comparison with those of men. There is a growing emphasis upon the necessity of more occupational guidance, especially for the college women (Woodhouse, 1931). According to Mayer (1998), Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed, prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as race, religion, and national origin. The category “sex” was included as a last-ditch effort to kill the bill, nevertheless, it passed. With its passage, the Equal Opportunity Commission was established to investigate discrimination complaints. Within the commission’s first five years of existence, it received 50,000 sex discrimination complaints. But it was quickly obvious that the commission was not very interested in pursuing these complaints (Mayer, 1998). During this time, thousands of young women on college campuses were playing active roles within the anti-war and civil rights movement. At least that was their intention. Many were finding their efforts blocked by men who felt leadership of these movements was their own
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province, and those women roles should be limited to fixing food and running mimeograph machines. It was not long before these young women began forming their own “women’s liberation” organizations to address their role and status within these progressive movements and within society at large (Mayer, 1998). Recent analysis of gender employment patterns suggests that occupational differences between men and women are a persistent presence in the U.S. labor market. Traditional blue-collar occupations, such as, operatives and craft continue to be male dominated, while women remain concentrated in service and clerical occupations. Other occupations, such as managerial, professional and technical, and sales appear to be distributed almost evenly by gender (Gabriel & Schmitz 2007).
Greatest Obstacles Affecting Girls Discrimination against girls and women in the developing world is a devastating reality. It results in millions of individual tragedies, which add up to lost potential for entire countries. Studies show there is a direct link between a country’s attitude toward women, and its progress socially and economically. The status of women is central to the health of the society. If one part suffers, so does the whole. Tragically, female children are most defenseless against the trauma of gender discrimination. Some of the obstacles girls worldwide have to face are: dowry, neglect, infanticide and sex-selective abortion, abuse, labor and sex trafficking. Education is the tool that can help break the pattern of gender discrimination and bring lasting change for women in developing countries. Educated women are essential to ending gender bias, starting by reducing the poverty that makes discriminating even worse in the developing world. The longer the girl is
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able to stay in school, the greater her chances to pursue worthwhile employment, higher education, and a life without the hazards of extreme poverty (Mullins, 1998).
About Gender Discrimination In The Workplace Identifying gender discrimination in the workplace is tricky business because so many factors contribute to this still prevalent phenomenon. One would like to believe, in the 21st century, modern places of business are sex-blind, race-blind, and that great improvements have been made. Although society is light years ahead of where it was 30 years ago in terms of attitude toward gender, there are still problems (Gib, 2009). Gib (2009) suggests that women are still not choosing to enter male-dominated fields in very large numbers. Although more women than ever are graduating from college, they are not receiving as many degrees in engineering, science, law, and other high paying fields. This puts them at an immediate disadvantage in the workplace. Even with advanced degrees, women still overwhelmingly choose lower paying service oriented careers (Gib, 2009). The United States, like all other societies, places women and men unequally at many different levels of social organization. From the macro level of the social economy, through the institutions of society, to small groups and the individual, women and men are differently rewarded. In other words, social organization is gendered (Long, 2010). Throughout history, all over the world, woman empowerment came only later. Girls and women were treated as secondary to men. Not a single nation can claim to have always been free of this social evil. Some point in recorded time, societies offered women a lower rung on the ladder of success. This disparity showed up in the home, through employment discrimination at the workplace and even in relationships. The route of human evolution propagated throughout
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history, in world religions, has “man“first. Probably, the physical ability for early man to be able to venture, dare, and provide, simply rippled down the ages. This is the best possible explanation for male chauvinism and the paradigms of society being redefined to accommodate the evil (Borade, 2010).
DATA COLLECTION AND ANAYLSIS
Data Collection The impact of gender discrimination is usually negative on the vast majority of women not only in business, but culturally as well. The researcher conducted a structured survey of her peers concerning gender discrimination and the impact it has on their lives. The survey was distributed to approximately ten participants, men and women, between the ages of 25-60. The educational level of all participants ranged from possessing a GED to an Undergraduate Degree. The survey was conducted in a class room structure and participants were asked to voluntarily participate in a survey on gender discrimination. All participants reside in Memphis and Shelby County area. The participant’s response rate was 100 (100 % response rate).
Data Analysis Table 1 list the demographics and specifics of the participants surveyed. The participants surveyed (100%) were African Americans, (80%) were female, and (20%) male. The demographics include gender, age range, and educational level. Neither of the participants had obtained their Undergraduate Degree, but two of the participants had an Associate Degree. Pertaining to the age, neither of the participants was above 65 years of age.

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Table 1
Gender Discrimination Survey Participants Demographics
Variable % of Sample
Gender
Male 2 Female 8
Age Range 25 – 30 1 35 – 40 6 (mode years) 45 – 55 3 55 – 60 0 Over 65 0
Educational Level GED 0 High School Diploma 10 Some College 10 Associates Degree 2 Undergraduate Degree 0

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FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS According to Gib (2009), gender discrimination is overwhelmingly a female issue. This should hardly be surprising, considering that western societies are still considered patriarchal by nature (Gib, 2009). Women at grass-roots level joined together in examining problems, believed by some, to have been caused by gender discrimination, and women’s less-than-equal status. They reached out for new solutions. Inevitably women on both sides of the Equal Rights Amendment became involved in the political process and began learning how the levers of power are activated at different levels of government (Library of Congress, 2001). The status of women in a society has a direct effect on its health. In a number of countries and societies, girls are not educated since she is considered a strain on the family resources. Without an education, she cannot even voice her opinion, stand up for herself monetarily, as well as emotionally, nor battle the discrimination from a social pulpit. Yet, women have come a long way in many societies around the world. It is not that there has been no shift. However, the shift is slow in some societies and evident in others (Borade, 2010). According to Bose (2010) women have been forming a considerable part of the U.S. workforce for decades now. Efficiency of women to succeed professionally has been acknowledged all over the world. Nevertheless, gender discrimination in the workplace did exist and still continues in one form or other. With better educational opportunities, more and more women are opting for financial independence, by working towards a stable career (Bose, 2010). Today, discrimination against women lingers in a plethora of work practices and cultural norms that only appears unbiased. They are common and mundane-and woven into the fabric of an organization’s status quo, which is why most people don’t notice them, let alone question them.
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They create a subtle pattern of systemic disadvantage, which blocks all but a few women from career advancement (Bryan, 2007). Women are more worried about their current economic circumstances, and about the financial situation they will face in retirement. They have more direct experience with material hardship: not having enough money to buy food, being unable to provide for their children, not being able to afford needed health-care (Lovell, Hartmann & Williams, 2007). It is well known that particular industries pay more than others, and results show that these industries, on the average, have higher concentrations of men (Boraas & Rodgers, 2003). The opposite occurs for women. Education and age are the most important factors for explaining the wage- and percent- female relationship. If education and age capture personal preferences, that influence occupational, then solely focusing on expanding occupational choice will result in a small narrowing of the gender wage gap (Boraas & Rodgers, 2003). Proposals to address economic insecurity cannot be effective or equitable if they overlook gender. Women have made astonishing strides in the last 100 years, achieving political rights, economic opportunities, access to education, right to financial credit, and control over their productive lives (Lovell, Hartmann & Williams 2007). Most women spend the majority of their lives in households that include men- their fathers, husbands, or other intimate relatives. Yet, women and men do not share one sense of economic security, nor, in fact, do they share one experience of economic hardship. Women are more vulnerable than men to suffering low income and economic deprivation, because of their lower earnings and greater responsibility of childbearing. Policies and programs must reflect women’s real specific experiences without assuming gender discrimination is no longer an issue (Walt, Proctor & Smith 2007).
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References
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References
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