Women in the work place - Research Paper Example

? Women in the Workplace Outline Introduction Women in the Workplace Conclusion Introduction Almost all societies in the world, together with the society in which we live in, have perceived and regarded the male gender role as the primary authority who maintains the influence, control and power in every organization. The unjust power dynamics between men and women has evidently and significantly affected women in our society in general. This is for the reason that the situation of women is at a disadvantageous point as compared to that of men. Women are considered as second class citizens who are regarded as powerless and in need to depend on men. The normative standard expects men to dominate over women. In addition to that, such system of patriarchy is supported and intensified by our society through the unceasing reinforcement of the male domination via a wide array of institutions such as religion, government, family, education, and often than not, the institution of workplace as well. In the institution of workplace in particular, women’s participation in the labor force has been massive in every region of the world. Though the condition of women has considerably improved nowadays, it is the case that discrimination against them in the workplace still exists. Based on the report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the old ways of discrimination still exist together with the new ones (39). As a matter of fact, the gender – based discrimination does manifest itself in so many ways and in terms of employment, it occurs in all the stages of the process (ILO 39). That is to say, men are more preferred than women (ILO 39). It is also the case that women are given more workload in both paid and unpaid labor than men (ILO 39). Despite the more workload given to women, Kelan suggested that there exists a payment gap. As suggested by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women are financially discriminated since they work 41 to 44 hours per week but earn just 84.6 per cent of what men are paid for these hours while those women who work more than 60 hours per week receive just 78.3 per cent of that of men (Kelan). This underpayment is only one of the discriminations of different sorts that women do experience. Even though women have the potentials that enable them to receive higher level of status in various companies, gender stereotyping affects how women think about themselves (Snowdon). Apart from that, the women’s role in economic growth is crucial but the thing is, still women face so many obstacles to get hired and be promoted in the workplace (“The importance of sex”). Given this background, the focus of this paper is to primarily critically analyze the position of women in the workplace. Specifically, it aims at identifying the forms of discrimination that women do suffer in employment. Also, it targets to know the barriers of why women do have such unequal top management positions with that of men in the labor force. Basically, this paper argues that women, although have what it takes to reach the top – management positions that men play in the workplace, still are at a disadvantageous position of being discriminated due to the unfair consideration because of one’s gender. Women in the Workplace Women’s participation in the labor force has significantly improved as compared before. As a matter of fact, their participation in the workplace is massive which can be seen in every region in the world. In fact, as of today, there are great numbers of women can be found participating in public service since women are encouraged to join in the labor market (ILO iii). According to Kaylan, the rate and extent of advancement that women have created in the American work force are not realized by many of us (14). There are more women than men participating in the labor force of professional occupations which includes professional, financial, management and business professions. As a matter of fact, women have already reached the top of the corporate ladder. In the Fortune 500 companies, one among the largest corporations in the world, there had been a rapid increase of women CEOs, from 8.7 per cent in 1995 to 16.4 per cent in 2005, which indicated a sign of breaking the glass ceiling phenomenon (Kaylan 14).This scenario was not even possible 40 years ago because women in the United States did not even achieve the highest employment status back then (Kaylan 14). However, even if the previous scenario is a clear evident of breaking the glass ceiling phenomenon, or what was described as the unseen but resilient barrier which hangs women as well as the other `minorities, despite their achievements and qualifications, onto a position which prevents them from rising to the top positions of the corporate ladder (Federal Glass Ceiling Commission 4), it is the case that gender inequality still exists in the workplace. Glass ceiling is still an obstacle that women face (Snowdon). It is believed by 73 per cent of female and 38 per cent male managers in United Kingdom that barriers to career advancement of women seeking for top positions still exists (Snowdon). The reality is that more men are occupying the top management positions in different companies in the whole world than women (Desvaux, Devillard and Sancier-Sultan 2). Those women who achieve the positions in the corporate boards and executive committees are still very few which makes even now, the underrepresentation of women in the top management positions (Desvaux, Devillard and Sancier-Sultan 2). In addition to that, even if it is the case that the number of female graduates from the university has increased, it would not still close the gender gap in the management functions (Desvaux, Devillard-Hollinger, and Baumgarten 6). Based on the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report, it is the case that there is no country in the world that has happened to deal with abolishing such gender gap between men and women (Hausmann, Tyson and Zahidi 3). Competence is definitely not an issue why women remain to be at a disadvantageous position because it is certainly the case that women can do the same as men in the workplace. As a matter of fact, success in business is not a concern if it is the women who handle it. If high proportion of women will occupy the top – management positions in the workplace, the conduct of modern business may even perform better. This is because the presence of women positively affects the excellent performance of organizations (Desvaux, Devillard and Sancier-Sultan 6). According to The Economist, the employment of women has been the primary driving force of growth and development over the past decades. However, the thing is that women continue to face a lot of barriers on their way to the top. It is not only that, the whole stages of employment process per se entail a gender – based discrimination. Women are less preferred in the workplace than men (ILO 39). Even though women are given more workload in the labor force than men (ILO 39), the sad reality is that they earn less as compared to their male counterparts. The gap in terms of pay remains to exist based on gender (Kelan). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that women are financially discriminated as they work 41 to 44 hours per week but earn just 84.6 per cent of what men are paid for these hours while those women who work more than 60 hours per week receive just 78.3 per cent of that of men (Kelan). Moreover, it is the case that many employers have preconceived notions of women’s abilities. That is to say, such stereotypes which are preconceived notions that are not true, and in this case based on gender, are enormously detrimental since it serves as grounds for a person to mistreat the others (Dodds). Indications based from research stated that the effect of how stereotyping influences thinking like that of considering such perceptions as true and based on objective perceptions, is predominantly not known to most of us (Dodds). In addition to that, such negative effects of gender discrimination in the workplace are still very much prevalent. Such preconceived notions of women’s abilities do not necessarily reflect the real abilities of women. As a result of such gender stereotyping is wage discrimination (Dodds). The 2005, U.S. Department of Labor Report suggested that women are happened to paid less money for the same work with exactly the same job responsibilities because of the gender – based stereotypes (Dodds). Aside from that, women are paid less because of them being married since the earnings of the wife should be just additional to the earnings of the husband (Dodds). Meanwhile, another manifestation of discrimination as a result of gender – based stereotyping can be observed in hiring, firing as well as promotional practices (Dodds). Such stereotypes like women are not aggressive enough, being not good at problem solving, and others, serve as hindrance to women’s advancement in the workplace (Dodds). Additionally, such preconceive notions towards women results to pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment (Dodds). It is the case that women happen to be discriminated simple because of their biological capacities like that of pregnancy. Based on the Report on Women and Work by the International Labour Organization, this sort of discrimination happens to intensify during and after pregnancy (36). Generally, employers would be so unwilling to hire pregnant women (ILO 36). In fact, in many companies in different countries, as basis of making decisions to whether retain or dismiss the women workers, pregnancy tests remain to be performed regularly (ILO 41). Apart from that, Dodds stated that there are cases when a woman takes her temporary leave of absence for her pregnancy, despite the fact that she wants to maintain her previous responsibilities, she is forced to work in lower paying position which is less prestigious when she returns. Likewise, in some instances, women are asked for a commitment of not having children for a certain number of years just to be provided with a job (ILO 41). This is an old form of discrimination but still there exists a lot of discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy status and motherhood (ILO 41). It is often believed that these pregnant women and mothers do not want long term jobs because they want to be moms meaning more of their time will be spent on children and not on work (Dodds). More than the legal and administrative factors, these negative values or attitudes that emphasize the commitments by women to their own respective families instead of being committed to their professions are the prevailing social dimensions that impede intensely women’s employment (ILO 15). In this regard, some working mothers enter the non – standard work patterns like having part – time jobs as an alternative to full- time employment (ILO 33). This is for the reason that the demands of having a part – time job will not conflict the demands of family life. However, on the sad note, many women cannot be hired in full – time jobs that is why they resort to part – time jobs (ILO 33). On the one hand, many women are challenged by the “double day” phenomenon (ILO 33). Despite women’s entry into the paid workforce, these women remain to shoulder the core responsibilities for taking care of the child and the entire family. In addition to that, women are bound to accomplish the key responsibilities in the household. While in terms of sexual harassment based on gender stereotyping, it is the case that women are seen as sexual objects (Dodds). Women are happened to be sexually harassed via offensive misogynist humour and sexual implications (Dodds). In addition to that, the range of sexual harassment that women experience includes verbal harassment, psychological harassment, sexual gestures and exposures, unwanted touch, attempted rape or even forced sex (Chaudhuri 8). In the realm of health facility, Chaudhuri pointed out that there are forms of sexual harassment which are happened to be viewed as a natural part of a woman’s working life (7). This indicates that such sexual harassment is just normal and harmless practice that women do experience in the workplace (Chaudhuri 7). These sexual harassments in the workplace are evidently a ramification of domestic violence against women (ILO 41). Such are not conducive for the women in the workplace which then lead them to losing their jobs or even them deciding to quit their jobs. Despite the progress of integrating women in the workplace, still, it is not enough. This is for the reason that the women’s situation in the workplace has not happened in a regular and consistent manner. It is the case that women are still far away from having all the sort of employment condition that men generally have. That is because of the stereotypes that lead to discrimination towards women in the workplace. Aside from that, women’s security and protection in the workplace is not even guaranteed. The regular workplace can be still described as male – dominated while the informal sector is overwhelmingly represented by women (ILO 15). Hence, between men and women, still major inequalities exist in the ‘pyramid’ structure of global production networks (ILO 15). Conclusion In the critical analysis of the position of women in the workplace, indeed, it is the case that women’s work situation has significantly improved over the past years. If before they could not even reach the top management positions, today, women can. Despite that case, the thing is that women remain to be underrepresented in the realm of top management positions. That is not because women do not have the skills and talents that are considered deserving for such positions but because of how society sees women. It is basically the case that women are stereotyped on the basis of their gender. Such preconceived notions towards women damage them as well in the institution of workplace. Given such preconceived notions not proven to be true, women are reduced to such images towards them that do not reflect women’s real capacity. Because of such gender – based stereotypes, women are happened to be discriminated in the workplace in terms of hiring, firing, promotional practices, wages, and a lot more others. These gender – based stereotypes also function as barriers for women to achieve the positions that are usually given to men in the workplace. Although women have what it takes to reach the top management positions that men usually perform in the workplace, still they are at a disadvantageous position of being discriminated due to the unfair consideration because of one’s gender. The institution of the workplace must give equal opportunity to anyone regardless of anything. Gender should not be an issue in the workplace. This, though, has something to do with how this patriarchal society sees and constructs gender, women in particular. Nevertheless, given that this society is male – dominated, women should not be threated but rather be empowered and strive hard to prove the stereotypes attributed to them to be wrong. Showing the society what women can really be a step on transcending the views and attitudes against women, not only in the workplace, but in every aspect of society. Works Cited Desvaux, Georges, Sandrine Devillard-Hollinger and Pascal Baumgarten. Women matter: Gender diversity, a corporate performance driver. McKinsey and Company, 2007. Web. http://www.europeanpwn.net/files/mckinsey_2007_gender_matters.pdf Desvaux, Georges, Sandrine Devillard and Sandra Sancier-Sultan. Women matter 2010: Women at the top of corporations, making it happen. McKinsey and Company, 2010. Web. Dodds, Danica. Gender Stereotyping in the Workplace and the Discrimination it Creates. Today’s Workplace: a workplace fairness blog, 1 December 2006. Web.   Chaudhuri, Paramita. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Experiences of Women in the Health Sector. Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Programme Working Paper, No. 1. Web. http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/wp/India_HPIF/001.pdf Federal Glass Ceiling Commission. Solid Investments: Making Full Use of the Nation’s Human Capital. Washington, D.C: U.S. Department of Labor, November 1995. Web. Hausmann, R., Tyson, L. D., & Zahidi, S. (2006). The Global Gender Gap Report 2006. Cologny/Geneva: World Economic Forum. Web. International Labour Organization (ILO). Women and Work: Seminar for Members of Parliamentary Bodies Dealing with Gender Equality and Committees Addressing Labor Issues. ILO Headquarters: Geneva, 6-8 December 2007. Web. Kaylan, Sneha. “The Changing Role of Women in the Workplace.” Gatton Student Research Publication 1.1 (2007): 13-21. Web. Kelan, Elisabeth. "Gender Fatigue: The Ideological Dilemma of Gender Neutrality and Discrimination in Organizations." Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences. 26.3 (September 2009). Print. Snowdon, Graham. “Women still face a glass ceiling”. The Guardian. February 21st, 2011. Web. < http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/feb/21/women-glass-ceiling-still-exists-top-jobs> “The importance of sex”. The Economist. 12 April 2006. Web. http://www.economist.com/node/6800723 Read More