Relevance of Gender for Work and Organization in the 21st Century - Essay Example

Relevance of Gender for work and organization in the 21st century Introduction This paper will use the gender equality and/or inequality debate to make a case for the relevance of gender not only for work, but also for the organization in the 21st century, while highlighting ways in which gender is relevant for both work and the organization in general. The core argument that will be advanced in this paper is that gender at the workplace is a crucial matter not only for work, but also for the organization itself, particularly because it is inevitably related to issues such as quality of work output, organizational performance, and customer satisfaction respectively (Gunkel et al. 2007). To that end, this paper will firstly explore the gender equality and/or inequality debate as conceptualized at the workplace in the 21st century as well as its historical foundations, alongside the key issue that often come to fore in gender equality and/or inequality discourses at the workplace. Similarly, this paper will also explore the “glass-ceiling” effect at the workplace, which describes the symbolic representation of barriers that exist in the corporate hierarchy, traditionally preventing women from passing and breaking into the top organizational leadership positions traditionally held by their male counterparts (Barreto, Ryan and Schmit 2009). With the pervasive increase in the number of female graduates and the number of females in mid-management levels in the 21st century, the issue of gender inevitably becomes a key factor for work and the organization today more than ever before, thereby necessitating this present study. Gender equality debate The gender equality debate has been a central focus in most societies over the years, not only as a human rights issue, but also as a social strategy for both sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. Nonetheless, gender inequality remains one of the most troubling issues in every society around the world, despite the numerous fundamental steps made towards empowering women, particularly at the 21st century organizational workplaces. Whereas women in most societies struggle so hard to secure employment opportunities, and often have to content with a pay that is much lesser than what their male counterparts earn, women still suffer violence and discrimination besides being “underrepresented in top jobs in most countries” (Alvesson and Billing 2009). Governments have attempted to initiate the establishment of institutional policy frameworks that advance gender equality with the intent of promoting equal rights for men and women, thereby promoting women’s equal participation with men in economic and political decision-making at the workplace in the 21st century (Doris 2012). Similarly, gender equality advancements aim to reduce and eliminate gender inequalities in not only the access to, but also the control of, and benefit from both resources and services in society for people regardless of their gender. The notion of female empowerment has greatly empowered women to seek independent, professional careers, despite the subtle sexism influences that often stifle the gains towards workplace equality. For instance, whereas the 70s had not more than two percent of female executives, almost 52% of middle management positions are held by women, and the gap between men’s and women’s salaries has narrowed greatly between the 80s and 90s, thereby highlighting the great strides made towards gender equality at the workplace in the 21st century. Nonetheless, surveys indicate that a greater number of females have graduated from college with degrees even than their male counterparts have, and this really does show that equal access to educational opportunities has facilitated more women to gain education and break into the highly male-dominated organizational workplace environment various careers placements. Nonetheless, women in the 21st century still decry discrimination despite the evidently great steps already achieved towards gender equality at the workplace; for instance, female graduates fresh from college still earn less than their male counterparts from the same year while the top leadership roles in organizations are still firmly held by men. The “Glass-ceiling” effect The “glass-ceiling” effect describes the pervasive notion of the existence of a symbolic barrier in the corporate hierarchy, which traditionally prevents women from passing and breaking into the top organizational leadership positions traditionally reserved for their male counterparts (Barreto, Ryan, and Schmit 2009). Initially, the pay disparities between the two genders had been rationalized by the argument that women often choose less high-paying careers such as secretarial, which explained why they earned less than their male counterparts at the same organization did, but this claim can no longer hold true in the 21st century. The fact that more women are now sitting in the mid-level organizational management leadership roles and are furiously roaring for promotion opportunities to top organizational leadership positions is a clear indication that both genders have ambition for growth, power, as well as leadership and influence, which were once believed to be exclusively male traits. The “glass-ceiling” effect continues to undermine the ascendance of females up the highly emasculated organizational hierarchy since men are more likely to land job promotions into top management levels than their female counterparts are even if they have the same experience and qualifications (Knights, Martin and Jeanes, 2012). Management often gives women too many reasons why they are passed over for promotion and the most common excuse given over the years is that women may leave the company as soon as they get pregnant thereby putting organizational leadership in a precarious situation. Statistically, only about 14% of Fortune 500 companies have elected women to seat on their boards, and despite the steady increase in the promotion of women to board seats in the 20th century, the number has drastically reduced in the 21st century. For instance, since 2010, Apple Computers has only had one female board member while Microsoft has only had two; besides that, not more than 31% of corporations have more than 3 female corporate officers, and the total number of corporations that have no women at their top-most echelon has soared up drastically. The treatment of women at the workplace is such a big matter today, with the soaring number of incidences of sexual harassment and lawsuits in the corporate world; a majority of women at the workplace report being spoken to or even touched inappropriately at the workplace in the organizational workplaces in the 21st century. Similarly, discrimination against pregnant women at the workplace has been a norm of the century with the growing rise in complaints of this nature; many managers often fire or even deny pregnant women employment opportunities on the guise that they may give much attention to their children than to their careers. Given that a large proportion of the nation’s workforce, nearly more than a half, is made up of women of childbearing age, discrimination against pregnant women is such a core aspect for work and organization in the 21st century. Nevertheless, given the ever-rising healthcare costs, companies are increasing finding pregnant women to be a huge liability, and because they are considered to be more fragile and less reliable, thereby not as competent as their colleagues at the same workplace. Gender, work and organization relations Due to the pervasiveness of the gender issues including gender discrimination and gender equality and/or inequality at the workplace, gender is inevitably a very fundamental aspect not only for work, but also for the organization in the 21st century. The case for gender diversity at the workplace has been established repeatedly beyond any reasonable doubt in major studies, which have proven that it is good not only for the business alone, but also for the nation as well as individuals themselves in general (Gatrell and Swan, 2008). Similarly, with the increase in the number of female graduates and the number of females in mid-management levels in the 21st century, the issue of gender becomes a key aspect for work and the organization today more than ever before. Many claims have arisen that securing workplace equality at the organizational is not just the right thing to do, but also the most appropriate businesswise decision for organizations in this century (Almond, 2013). Companies that have more women at their boards have been found to outrun and outperform their competitors with fewer or no women at the top completely, with at least a 42% and 66% higher return on capital and equity respectively. Employee commitment and customer loyalty are inevitably determined by workplace gender equality, especially given that the number of women at the workplace has risen drastically in the 21st century following the reawakened struggle for equality of opportunities for both genders at the workplace. Organizations that offer their female employees equal opportunities for career growth and development motivate them to work even harder, to seek promotional opportunities and this often translates to high quality of work, thus customer satisfaction accordingly (Marsden, Kalleberg and Cook 1993). Contrariwise, organizations that do not provide equal treatment of women at the workplace end up assigning the most challenging and crucial work tasks to men thereby promoting their professional growth and advancement; Lewis and Simpson (2010 p.2) contend that “heightened visibility” affords men “developmental opportunities and exposure to challenging situations.” In that respect, there is hardly any doubt that gender equality and/or disparity affects both work and the organization, particularly in the 21st century where due to stiff competition and numerous uncertainties in the business environment, the human resource is every organization’s most invaluable asset. Nonetheless, the issue of gender is relevant for both work and organization in the 21st century because women too have the crucial leadership talents that corporates need to transcend the tough economic conditions and complex situations in the 21st century just as their male counterparts (Southworth, 2014). Furthermore, with the global shortage in the essential human talents and skills needed for organizational success, the inclusion of women in the corporate service positions not only enables organizations to harness the massive female talents that have been underutilized, but also to secure their own success as well as survival in the future. With the high focus on workplace equality in the global business environment, securing workplace is the only way of attracting as well as retaining the female workforce that makes up nearly more than half of the global workforce population. Nonetheless, whereas negative gender stereotyping and gender discrimination that often results to numerous lawsuits as female employees press charges for damages and mistreatment at the workplace thereby harming corporate image, workplace equality, on the other hand, promotes the establishment of a strong corporate brand image. Reflective analysis In the course of doing this assignment, it has occurred to me that the females have endured decades of pain and anguish at the hands of their male counterparts in the male-dominated work-place environments, and this is due to the highly gendered corporate culture that discriminates against women in favor of the men. I have learnt that over the years, women have, and still are struggling to rise in the corporate service hierarchy, but despite the several steps made towards achieving equality at the workplace, women still suffer discrimination and earn way less than men in the same work environments. It is quite disheartening to learn that women, despite being as ambitious as men, have been denied opportunities for career advancement by being passed over for promotions even when they are better qualified than their male competitors due to reasons as flimsy as their likelihood to go for maternity leave. Similarly, I have learnt that women who are pregnant are unfairly discriminated against at the workplace since they are considered fragile, less reliable, and therefore not as competent as other employees, which further exacerbates their situation at the male-dominated workplace. I do realize now that the issue of gender is such a crucial matter in the 21st century, not only for work, but also for the organization, especially because gender equality and/or inequality is inevitably tied to both workforce performance as well as customer satisfaction. My practice as a future leader will inevitably draw from this knowledge and insights since I intend to develop a diverse workforce population that guarantees equal opportunities for career advancement for all my employees irrespective of their gender since parity at the workplace is not only the right thing to do, but also the best thing for business. By incorporating more women in corporate service and involving them in key strategic decisions of the firm, I will be promoting workplace equality while eliminating all forms of inequality, thereby enhancing motivation and engagement of the female employees and promoting customer satisfaction through enhanced quality of service Recommendations Given the high incidence in report findings that point to the constantly increasing number of female employees in the global workforce population, it is important for future research in gender at the workplace to focus on establishing the implications of the female-dominated workplace on the corporate culture and the nature of work (Edmondson, 2010). Following the 2009 economic crisis, female leaders in decision-making positions demonstrated that they are just as tough, decisive, and competitive as their male counterparts are by retaining the stocks of their companies up by an average of 50%. Given that female leaders can be just as effective as their male counterparts can be in keeping investors satisfied by ensuring return on investments and equity, future studies should focus on the nature of corporate relations that will emerge out of female-dominated corporate service environment. For instance, it would be worthwhile for studies to establish whether the surge in female leadership will prompt the establishment of new corporate policies that allow a balance between work and family obligations. Conclusion Ultimately, this paper has used the issue of gender equality and/or inequality to make a case for the relevance of gender not only for work, but also for the organization in the 21st century. The core argument in this paper is that gender at the workplace is a crucial matter not only for work, but also for the organization itself, particularly because it is inevitably related to issues such as quality of work output, organizational performance, and customer satisfaction respectively. Gender equality and/or inequality is a core argument at the 21st workplace environment with a pervasiveness of views suggesting that it is not only as the right thing for management to do, but also as the best thing for business, since it is linked to the level of workforce satisfaction, commitment, as well as engagement and performance. Securing workforce equality is the most effective way of securing organizational success and survival in the 21st century because female empowerment promotes workforce commitment and customer satisfaction accordingly. Discrimination of women at the workplace has persisted over the years, especially in the major decision-making corporate service positions since businesses fear that women might at some point need to get away for maternity leaves thereby putting corporate leadership in jeopardy. Similarly, pregnant women have been discriminated against at the workplace since they are considered to be fragile, less reliable, thus, not competent enough for corporate tasks, besides the fact that they impose high healthcare obligations on corporates given the ever-souring costs of healthcare provision. References Alvesson, M.and Billing, Due Y. ( 2009). Understanding Gender and Organizations. London: Sage. Gatrell, C. and Swan, E. (2008).Gender and Diversity in Management: A Concise Introduction London: Sage. Lewis, P. and Simpson, R. (2010). Revealing and Concealing Gender: Issues of Visibility in Organizations. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Knights, D., Martin, P.Y., and Jeanes, E.(2012). Handbook of Gender, Work and Organization. Oxford: Blackwell. Almond, S. (2013). Gender diversity in leadership is key to business success. The Gurdian Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/gender-diversity-leadership-business-success Doris, R. E. (2012). "A double-edged sword: Twenty-first century workplace trends and gender equality", Gender in Management: An International Journal, 27(1): pp.7 – 22 Edmondson, E. L. (2010). The 21st Century Workplace: Are Women The New Men? Huffingtonpost. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ella-l-j-edmondson-bell-phd/the-21st-century-workplac_b_462903.html Southworth, E. M. (2014). Shedding gender stigmas: Work-life balance equity in the 21st century, Business Horizons, 57(1): pp.97–106. Barreto, M., Ryan, M.K., and Schmit, M.T, (ed). (2009). The Glass Ceiling in the 21st Century: Understanding Barriers to Gender Equality. Washington DC: American Psychological Association (APA). Marsden, Peter V., Kalleberg, Arne and Cook, Cynthia R. (1993). Gender Differences in Organizational Commitment: Influences of Work Positions and Family Roles. Work and Occupations  20: 3 p.368-390. Gunkel, M., et al. (2007). Gender-specific Effects at Work: An Empirical Study of Four Countries. Gender, Work and Organization 14(1): pp.1-79. Read More