Gender Discrimination at Work Place - Research Proposal Example

Gender Discrimination at Work Place Name: Institution: Table of Contents Summary 3 Aims and Objectives 5 Literature Review 6 Theoretical Framework 6 Conceptual Framework 8 Methodology 9 Research Philosophy 9 Measurements 10 Perceived Discrimination 10 Gender Stereotypes 12 Job Characteristics 12 Data Collection 12 Questionnaires 12 Sample 13 Data Analysis 13 Conclusion 13 References 15 Summary This project revolves around the investigative understating of the increasingly researched subject of gender discrimination at work. The primary purpose of the research is to promote understanding of factors that precipitate workplace gender discrimination. Much of extant literature about the subject shows women as the main victims of gender discrimination especially in workplace areas in which they stiffen competition with men. Data for the project will be collected using self administration questionnaires at the UK Royal Mail. Measurements will be done on factors that maintain gender stereotypes, job characteristics, and perceived discrimination. The data will be analyzed using computer software SPSS that will be used to formulate comparison tables, correlations. Additionally, different responses about discrimination will be dichotomously analyzed to form subjective opinions about discrimination and its causes. Gender Discrimination at Work Place Introduction This project will revolve around the ubiquitously researched subject of gender based discrimination at the place of work. The momentous ascendance of the gender discrimination at work contexts has been catalyzed by the increased focus on experiences that disadvantage women in the organizations. Although previous research works have pointed at gender stereotyping and other organizational factors as the primary contributors toward gender discrimination at work, there is little understanding of how the various elements link to foster engendered discrimination in modern working environments. Gender is adopted in this study to reflect both men and women: their behaviors, skill levels, attitudes, and working competencies (Cohn, 2000). The choice of gender as the primary issue in the organization is apparently informed by the fact that diversity in terms of minds, abilities, and hands are essential for a company to neutralize the pressure that characterizes work. Diversity at workplace (Klarsfeld, 2010) is increasingly voted as the core of organizational performance element in that correct gender mix ensures that the growing work conditions and demands are suitably addressed. However, the recent infiltration of the organizational human resources by women has precipitated unprecedented transformations in company cultures and changed the general workplace ethos. This premise underpins the warranted exploration of this project’s theme, which signals the greatness of understanding gender parity at work place and the concomitant implications for harmonious work place relations and performance. Although the gender issue should focus on understanding both men and women, the concept has constantly skewed toward women suppression and empowerment, which has ultimately poised their plights as a synonym of gender discrimination at the work place. This work will enhance the understanding of the work relationships that cultivate gender based discrimination through detailing and exploring the contributing factors and evolutional process of the culture within the organization. Aims and Objectives This study will gather and analyze the gender discrimination subject in the UK Royal Mail. The emerging infiltration of women at senior administrative and managerial positions will be investigated in the context of gender discrimination at the contemporary work environment. The main objectives include: Objective 1: To define gender discrimination and the underlying factors that creates and maintains it. This will be realized through critical literature review and targeted data collection on the issue. Objective 2: To explore and detail measurement aspects that can be used to assess gender discrimination in an organization Objective 3: To explain why gender discrimination appears synonymous with isolation of women at work Objective 4: Recommend measures that the organization should deploy in order to harness full benefits of gender equity at workplace Literature Review Theoretical Framework It is apparent that considering the complexity and sophistication of gender based segregation at work places, discrimination in this context surpasses simple tool of screening screening. The screening theory of gender discrimination as underscored by Joseph (1983) provides an amble light shedding explanation as regards under promotions especially when ladder ascendance is a function of available opportunity and the interviewers lack prior knowledge of the beneficiaries of the promotion. However, though this theory appears plausible in explaining one version of promotion based discrimination, it fails to account visibly for inequity in promotion for beneficiaries that ascend to positions based on merit and that are pointed directly by their seniors. This argument reflects the need for a conceptual explanation that underscores intentional gender discrimination especially to explain the current statuses held by women in the modern organizations. It has often been provided by researchers that intentional gender discrimination at the places of work is fuelled by desire from some internal elements to guard job based privileges. According to Reskin (1988), for a theory to purport completeness in the context of explaining discrimination, it must focus its outcomes on the role of the dominant group in maintaining the work place vice. The rationale in this context is that in the white-collar working environments that are traditionally dominated by men, many privileges remain a preserve of men and they ensure policy bias to sustain the status quo. Therefore, the theoretical point of view is that much as the domineering group suppresses the interests of the less advantaged to its own advantage, discrimination is inescapable. Generally, there are different processes via which the aforementioned protection of privileges by the dominant group within an organization cultivates gender based discrimination. According to Bosner (2007), the ubiquitous perpetuation of gender stereotypes that traditionally associate women with household chores and the innate inability compared with men translates into gender based segregation. For example, stereotyped inability of women to hold leadership positions chronicles the unabated discrimination that promotes poor treatment of the gender at work place. It is in this regard that a report by Bosner (2007) provided that gender oriented discrimination stems from the fact that men are universally viewed and presented as the most appropriate in formulating and supervising work place tasks. This premise reflects the hypothetical position that at the UK Royal Mail, the agency understudy in this project, a significantly higher proportion of men compared with women will hold stereotypical attitudes. Worthwhile mentioning in this project is that the gender stereotyping that precipitate discrimination needs not to stem from intentional subordinating attitudes. Although constant perpetuation and retention of gender stereotyping by supervisors that manage the job roster may vary greatly, it appears plausible that in contexts where vested interests in male issues are threatened traditional beliefs about the opposite gender may precipitate discrimination. In this context, Thio and Taylor (2011) observe s that certain types of females, for example those who have high competence and with leadership potential, may be targets of discrimination. In the context of the UK agency earmarked for this study, both genders compete for workplace resources that are scarce: pay rise, and promotions, and other job favorable in the administrative arena. Based on this, a hypothetical context can be deduced that greater inclusion of men in salary adjustment of supervisory portfolios can reflect stereotypical gender discrimination against women. Conceptual Framework It is imperative that over the past two decades, the aspect of gender based discrimination at work place has gained prominence among researchers, which is often focused on exploration of different segregating dimensions directed against women office workers in internal labor markets (Snizek and Neil, 1992). Progressive studies about the concept provide that the etiology of the social vice is vastly dynamic and complex. For instance, Miller (1986) argues that gender discrimination at work place is often a function of the external stature of an individual in the outside social systems, which implies that the extrinsic esteem of the worker influences the organizational equitability treatment meted against such a person. This premise underpins reservation by researchers that if an individual is favored in the ascribed social systems outside the place of work, the more likely their potential to clinch strong internal claim to equitable treatment in the organization. Gender discrimination at the work place can sprout from apparent sex segregation, unequal opportunity for promotions, or particular management practices that isolate one gender to the advantage of the other because of unjustifiable reasons. Within the framework of this project, a critical research on work place context demonstrates that to foster an understanding of the gender based issues in the organization should primarily focus on women. This premise is underscored by the fact that companies modern organizations are anchored on cultures, practices, and social norms that profess to masculinity, and in which the woman have naturally been accorded the lowest rank (Catlyst, 2007). This connotation is corroborated by emerging study on women at the work place that increasingly associate the presence of women in white-collar jobs with bottom line of the organization (Catlyst, 2007). It has been aforementioned that gender equity at work forms the cornerstone for diversity driven organizational performance, which implies that for instance exodus of women due to dissatisfaction with workplace experience affects the sustainability of competence of such companies. This project will focus detailing the various contributors to gender discrimination at work place by investigating management practices that are perceived by employees as catalyzes of inequity within the UK’s Royal Mail, which is one of the largest public entity with extensive gender diversity. Methodology In structuring this research setting and methods, the procedural process put forward by Saunders et al. (2003) was adopted. Research Philosophy Although collection of actual data to corroborate claims forms the basis for this research, tow philosophical concepts: Interpretivism and Realism will be consulted for logical guidance. Interprevitism is considered for application in this project because it is apparent that the subject of gender issues at work place, as aforementioned is sophisticated and complex, which underscores the need for objective guided investigation. This premise forms from the naturalistic fact that it is extremely difficult for the investigator to generate real life situational results owing to the potential subjective influences from the respondents that may affect the researcher’s independent mind. This explanation shows the need for the philosophical concept to help the investigator to understand the different aspects of the study subject and form plausible opinions as suggested by McAuley et al. (2007). Additionally, the philosophy of realism comes into play in this context in that the subject requires extensive different objective approaches. According to Lindgreen (2008), the power of realism lies on its assumption that one objective reality is non-existent, and that understanding a reality about a subject requires multi-objective approach. In this context, a critical realistic concept will be deployed to feature potential realities inherent in the contemporary workplace relations and human resource gender based challenges. Measurements Perceived Discrimination Observations by Nadler and Stockdale (2012) indicate the prevalence of a dilemma as regards the decision to deploy perceptual criteria to assess a form of discrimination. This is because the criterion that factors human resources elements to study gender discrimination often fails to measure the variety of discrimination: use of differential gender based workplace controls (Nadler & Stockdale, 2012). Methods of measuring perceived discrimination also are faulted in the scientific real for failing to capture other matters that precipitate different forms of discrimination: differences in segregation and the interests of men and women in the workplace context, and engendered discrepancies in the integration of female researchers in the scientific community. These issues that can significantly influence treatment gender treatment and aspirations at workplace confound the use of a perceptual approach in investigating gender based discrimination in that they may disguise bias towards males or females. The use of the perceptual concept will be considered in this project because perception as a variable stands to reflect biases on routine practices such as promotion and personal interactions. Extant literature indicates that there is a tendency for organizations to assign some gender certain jobs that are repetitive and promise little as regards promotional opportunities. In this project, the deployment of perceptual approach will be adjudicated through two sets of items deemed appropriate for garnering women’s feelings about engendered discrimination at the organization. In measuring the perceived discrimination, respondents will be required to report their day-to-day perceptions in terms of different work situations within a scaled period of three years. For example, respondents will be asked to report different situations’ feelings: irritating, favorable, or very irritating, that they have experienced in the past three years and they link the treatment with their gender. Additionally, the perceptual approach will be deployed through asking respondents to report factors that they think contributed to their prolonged stagnation at one position without duly promotions. For example, women will be asked to report situation in which they have been segregated based on their abilities that may be signaled by the period their mistakes at the place of work are remembered or noticed compared to their counterparts’. The perceived denial of accessibility to certain tasks based on gender will as well be assessed as a way of garnering gender directed discrimination at work place. Gender Stereotypes Existing items of measuring gender stereotyping at work place commonly target isolation of women by men at different working levels (Nadler & Stockdale, 2012). For instance, men hold natural traditions regarding women’s abilities in various aspects such as logical reasoning, holding leadership or/and authority, and planning. Through the self administered questionnaires, the study will gauge stereotyped isolation based on social features such as statements used: sick children, household chores, child delivery and others, in organizations to deter women from ascending to critical leadership positions. Job Characteristics Two job attributes of women in this context that are perceived to pose threats to vested interests of men will be measured. The competition for scarce employment resources such as promotions to higher ranks and the salary adjustments will be investigated. Additionally, the perceived threats will be gauged by presenting questions to both genders that require the respondents to say if seniority of one gender hindered career development of the other and whether for instance men fear ascendance of women to seniority and why. Data Collection Questionnaires Data in this research will be collected via self administered questionnaires that the respondents will be required to answer confidentially. The agency offers a an appropriate setting for this research in that the gender diversity and various working units offer correct environment for gathering data on the study subject. Sample The complexity of the study subject is reflected by the fact that confidentiality has to be maintained. This is because female respondents that will be answering to gender based discrimination have to be matched with males addressing stereotyping of their counterparts. This reasoning implies that a sample will have to have men and women that have constant interactions and share workplace routinely. The sample will be drawn from different working units of the organization. However, units that do not have at least a mixture of twelve women and ten men will be excluded for purpose of drawing reliably equitable representation from both genders. At least one third of the men will be drawn from senior administrative and managerial positions. Data Analysis Computer software, SPSS will be used to analyze the data. The data will be analyzed using tables to allow comparisons especially of gender stereotyping by both women and men that lie in same occupational classification; and also between men that hold senior positions. The respondent’s stereotyping factors will be analyzed on item by item basis using chi-square. Measures of discrimination will be dichotomized based on respondent’s acceptance or denial of experiencing some form of engendered discrimination. Accordingly, correlations will be made based on work unit level comparing the percentages of men and women adhering to strong stereotyping and resultant discrimination. Conclusion This research will explore and detail the ubiquitous subject of gender discrimination at the place of work. Different but feasible data collection and analysis techniques will be used in this context. The study will be based on the UK Royal Mail, which employs more than 65000 people. Although gender discrimination is a sophisticated subject as regards methods of its measurement, perceptual and job characteristics approaches will be used. Self administration questionnaires will be used as the tools of gathering data, and the computer software SPSS will be used to analyze the data. Gantt Charts References Bosner, K.C. (2007). Gender stereotyping and self-perceptions among college students. New York, NY: ProQuest. Catalyst. (2006). 2005 catalyst census of women board of directors of the fortune 500. New York, NY: Catalyst. Cohn, S. (2000). Race and gender discrimination at work. New York, NY: Westview Press. Joseph, G. (1983). Women at work: The British experience. Oxford: Philip Alan. Klarsfeld, A. (2010). Internal handbook on diversity management at work: Country perspectives on diversity and equal treatment. London, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Lindgreen, A. (2008). Managing market relationships: Methodological and empirical insights. Surrey: Gower Publishing. Mcauley, J., et al. (2007). Organization theory: Challenges and perspectives. Harlow: Pearson Education. Miller, J. (1986). Pathways in the workplace: The effects of gender and race access to organizational resources. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nadler, J.T., & Stockdale, M.S. (2012). Workplace gender bias: Not just between strangers. North American Journal of Psychology, 14(2), 281-292. Reskin, B.J., & Roos, P.A. (1987). Status hierarchies and sex segregation in ingredients for women’s employment policy. Albany, NY: SUNNY Press. Saunders, M., et al.(2003). Research methods for business students. (3rd Edn.). Harlow: Pearson Education. Snizek, W.E., & Neil, C.C. (1992). Job characteristics, gender stereotypes and perceived gender discrimination in the workplace. Organization Studies, 13 (3), 403-427. Thio, A., & Taylor, J. (2011). Social problems. London, UK: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Read More