Gender Change, Organizational Change, and Gender Equality Strategies (original) (raw)
Related papers
Introduction: The Many Faces of Gender and Organization
Texts on gender and organizations often start by referring to common knowledge or statistics showing an inferior position of women in relation to men. Women in general have lower wages, even within the same occupation and at the same level, experience more unemployment, take more responsibility for unpaid labour, are strongly underrepresented at higher positions in organizations, and have less autonomy and control over work and lower expectations of promotion (e.g. Chafetz, 1989; Nelson and Burke, 2000; Ely et al., 2003). There is massive empirical evidence on these issues and those arguing that there exists a gendered order (or patriarchal society), which gives many more options and privileges to men, particularly in working life, but also in life in general, have little difficulty in substantiating their case.
Cracks in the Glass Ceiling: In What Kinds of Organizations Do Women Make it to the Top?
Group & Organization Management, 2003
This study investigates variables that differentiate work establishments that have women in top management positions from those that do not. Women occupied top management positions in slightly more than half of the 228 medium- to large-sized private sector establishments the authors studied. The authors found that women are more likely to occupy top management ranks in establishments that have more lower level management positions filled by women, have higher management turnover, have lower average management salary levels, place greater emphasis on development and promotion of employees, and operate in nonmanufacturing industries.
Gender Inequality and Workplace Organizations: Understanding Reproduction and Change
Handbook of the Sociology of Gender, 2018
The modern workplace is a pivotal arena for shaping societal gender inequalities. This chapter reviews theory and research on gender inequality in workplace organizations. We first provide a quick historical overview of the role of gender in the modern division of labor and present data on intersectional patterns of gender inequality in labor force participation, as well as horizontal and vertical occupational sex segregation. We then discuss prevailing theoretical explanations for these inequalities, moving from individual-level theories to structural and organizational explanations. This is followed by a review of empirical evidence on gender inequality at work, beginning with studies exploring the cultural, relational and structural mechanisms for reproducing gender inequality in organizations and moving to discussing research on mechanisms for reducing inequality. We argue that more theory and research ought to be focused on the remediation of inequality and discuss two directions: the first is an institutional theory of remediation, examining the ways in which institutional environments and actors can weaken gendered organization; and the second is a political theory focusing on the means and conditions for women to act as agents of organizational change. We conclude with suggestions for future research and theory development.
Working for Female Managers: Gender Hierarchy in the Workplace
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2010
We study workers' reactions to changes in the gender composition of top management during a merger or acquisition, finding that an increase in the number of female top managers within their occupation makes male workers more likely to quit, and female workers less likely to quit. These effects vary across occupations. In particular, male workers' aversion to female managers is strongest in occupations where the average female share nears 50 percent. The effects also vary with age, becoming smaller among younger males, but increasing with education level. We find little evidence that these preferences are driven by pecuniary effects.
2015
Abstract: This paper explores workplace challenges that women face and recommends strategies to address them through 1) research, and 2) policy at organizational and governmental levels. Discrimination against women manifests itself in various forms, including: job segregation; wage gap; sexual harassment; denial of career development opportunities, including mentoring; poor performance evaluations; and lack of promotion opportunities. This paper focuses on women in business and reviews the literature on gender disparities in employment, compensation, and promotion. Theoretically, women dominated industries should have improved pay equity, lesser gender discrimination and contain a relatively higher number of executive women than male dominated industries. The paper follows up on findings of the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission 1 and seeks to further understand the continuing impact of gender on compensation. Compensation data from the American Dietetic Association, a female dominat...
The many faces of gender inequality at work
Work, Employment & Society, 2018
The collection of articles included in this first thematic issue addresses gender inequalities, a theme that has featured intensively in the public sphere in these past months, including high profile revelations about gender pay discrimination such as those at the BBC and others in the UK, the #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns, and ongoing debates about gender inequalities in the global labour market. Our assembling of this particular issue also coincides with UK employers’ compulsory reporting, for the first time, on the gender pay gap and the solutions they envision for closing this gap, including plans around increasing the number of women in the upper echelons of organisations. In our view, all the articles in this issue have a link to this pressing problem, in that they highlight how solutions to gender gaps depend on factors that reside not only within the organisation, but also at family and societal levels. Moreover, these factors are constantly reshaped by changing economic contexts and national policies. The articles we present in this issue cover not only a variety of factors and contexts, but also document the sources and outcomes of gender inequalities across six countries from four continents, including a cross-country analysis. Together, they provide a snapshot of the rich empirical evidence available to researchers interested in further developing our theoretical understanding of gender inequalities.
A Critical Analysis of Gender-Based Workplace Challenges Facing Women: Gender and Compensation
This paper explores workplace challenges that women face and recommends strategies to address them through 1) research, and 2) policy at organizational and governmental levels. Discrimination against women manifests itself in various forms, including: job segregation; wage gap; sexual harassment; denial of career development opportunities, including mentoring; poor performance evaluations; and lack of promotion opportunities. This paper focuses on women in business and reviews the literature on gender disparities in employment, compensation, and promotion. Theoretically, women dominated industries should have improved pay equity, lesser gender discrimination and contain a relatively higher number of executive women than male dominated industries. The paper follows up on findings of the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission 1 and seeks to further understand the continuing impact of gender on compensation. Compensation data from the American Dietetic Association, a female dominated healthcare organization, is analyzed to determine if women dominated industries (WDI) have improved pay equity. If women are to achieve salary equity and experience career satisfaction, if corporations are to benefit fully from the capabilities of qualified managers, certain workplace attitudes and behaviors must change or the workplace must be protected from expressions of partiality and gender/sex bias.