RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENDER & WORK.   Term Paper ID:28377 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines history of gender-based work; labor in post-industrial society; challenges to traditional divisions of labor; impact of 2-income family.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines history of gender-based work; labor in post-industrial society; challenges to traditional divisions of labor; impact of 2-income family. Paper Introduction: Gender and Work Sex and Gender In order to explore the relationship between gender and work, it is essential to define the fundamental difference between sex and gender. Sex refers to the biological distinctions between male and female based on reproductive organs and functions. On the other hand, gender is a social construct that reflects the interaction between biology and sociological factors such as class, culture, race and the individual. Coltrane and Collins delineate the difference between the two terms clearly in Sociology of Marriage and the Family: “Gender reminds us that the social roles of being male and female are largely produced by the culture, while sex refers Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. pag. Women and men at work. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press, 1994.Schor, J. For example, in 199 white surgeons earned $62, every year while their African American counterparts earned $4 , .Nonetheless, the fact they could make this progress is attributable topublic policies such as affirmative action programs in education andemployment. 37 -1. it is the skirt that's theproblem".[2 ] Furthermore, women are placed in positions that will notlead them to the top. Although African American women have benefited from the transformationin the workforce by entering into clerical and administrative positions,they still lag behind white women in employment. [22] Ibid. W. [7] Ibid. By adhering rigidly to the traditional way of hiring and promotingindividuals, they are missing out on the vast talent pool of women. On the other hand, gender is a socialconstruct that reflects the interaction between biology and sociologicalfactors such as class, culture, race and the individual.[1] Coltrane andCollins delineate the difference between the two terms clearly in Sociologyof Marriage and the Family: "Gender reminds us that the social roles ofbeing male and female are largely produced by the culture, while sex refersto biological characteristics and erotic behavior."[2]Social Construction of Gender Based Work Gender based work refers to the way in which the division of labor insociety has been shaped by gender. "Training women for union office: breaking the glass ceiling." Labor Studies Journal 1994: 25-43.Goldstein, Harold. Employers have deliberately sabotaged women's effortsto get to the top by assigning men important tasks that can lead topromotion. "Women's friendship at work." Women's Studies International Forum Jul. [1 ] Ibid. Unemploymentrates among African Americans are commonly more than double the rates forwhites. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge P, 1998.Yunker, G. A provision in the 1964 Civil Rights Act alsoforbade sex discrimination in employment. On the otherhand, women's "feminine" qualities are detrimental to their success in theworking place.[4] According to the male viewpoint, women cannot be asdedicated as men in their jobs, because they are diverted by their familyresponsibilities.[5]Historical Division of labor: Pre-Industrial Europe to IndustrialRevolution Because of the low productivity that prevailed during thepreindustrial period, most people, regardless of age or sex had to work inorder to survive. A study conducted by Jodi S. "Women Still Hold up Half the Bruised Sky." Canadian Dimension Feb.-Mar. Even in the workplace,gay people are not protected by employment prejudice and bigoted behaviorfrom their colleagues. D. Gender based work and sexual inequality is not simply a product ofthe workplace. Before purchases could be approved, I had to make apresentation to the director and all the managers in the organization.However, during the presentation, I had to endure the heckling and otherdisruptive behavior of a male manager. For many married women, work empoweredthem and altered the balance of power between wives and husbands.Women's Second Shift at Home In spite of women's participation in the workplace, women who workfulltime continue to bear the burden of domestic labor.[31] In a studyconducted in the mid-8 s, it was found that the barriers faced by more thanhalf of the female respondents were family-related.[32] Women are burdenedwith two jobs, dividing their waking hours between the household and theworkplace without any respite and adequate sleep.[33] Schor also found thatthe amount of work done by an average housewife has remained steady at 52hours per week since 191 . Cipolla, Before the Industrial Revolution (New York: W.W. Norton, 1998) 372. W., & Yunker, B. From the time I turned five, my father assigned metasks that he deemed appropriate for a woman. America Online. For example, the dominanceof agriculture was reduced to 5 percent of the workforce. Sexualinequality in the workplace is manifested in the type of occupationsgenerally reserved for women, the lower wages given to women and thestunted development of careers for women. [25] Jacqueline Jones, American Work: Four Centuries of Black andWhite Labor (New York: W. In the workplace, whitewomen are given high-skilled construction trades while the African Americanwomen are relegated to more primitive tasks that have little advancementpossibilities.[27] Because their sexual orientation places them at odds with culturalnorms, gay people encounter tremendous discrimination in the workplace.There are many careers that do not tolerate gay people: retail sales,library science, nursing, antiques and advertising. Norton, 1976.Collins, R. New York: Doubleday, 1989.Muldrew, Fiona. "Why so slow: The advancement of women." Personnel Psychology 1999: 527-53 . 1998:7. In order to the reach to the top, women should manage aspects ofthe companies, which lie at the heart of the business, such as products andclients.[21] Finally, even when women are promoted to managerial positions, theyare unable to exercise real authority. 71. "The Early History of the Occupational Outlook Handbook." Monthly Labor Review May 1999: n. B. Available: www.elibrary.com.Jones, Jacqueline. Therefore, they created an environment that allowed women toparticipate in the workforce.[17]Gender Inequality in the Contemporary American workplace: Sex Segregation,Wage Differentials, Glass Ceiling In spite of the massive entry of women in the workplace high-poweredoccupations and top-level positions remain as elusive to women today asthey were more than a decade ago. My responsibilities rangedfrom learning how to cook to taking care of the laundry. Furthermore, since the tasks areunpaid, women have limited power because of their financial dependence ontheir husbands or fathers. Elkiss, "Training Women for Union Office: Breaking the GlassCeiling," Labor Studies Journal 1994: 31. While women aregiven the opportunities to take part in the decision-making process, it isultimately the men who make the final decision. [11] Harold Goldstein, "The Early History of the Occupational OutlookHandbook," Monthly Labor Review May 1999: n. Online. 89. In 199 , while working for the City of Los Angeles, my main tasksinvolved recommending software products that would enhance departmentalproductivity. Therefore, young children could completeeducation up to the age of 15 years old. Therefore, women are now ableto perform the tasks with the help of machines. Online. Gender and WorkSex and Gender In order to explore the relationship between gender and work, it isessential to define the fundamental difference between sex and gender. For many researchers, thispractice of promoting women without giving them real authority does notimprove the position of women in the workplace.[22]Division of Paid and Unpaid Work by Sex The division of paid and unpaid work by sex is central to genderstratification and inequality in the workplace. The advent of newtechnology, such as computers, in all occupations further increases women'sinvolvement in the workforce.[16] However, it was the ideology of feminism in the seventies that beganthe empowerment of women to challenge the traditional division of labor;since the sixties, they have entered the workplace and worked inoccupations that were once reserved solely for men. [29] Harrison ibid. Yunker, "Why So Slow: The Advancement ofWomen," Personnel Psychology 1999: 527. America Online. New York: W. Schor, The Overworked Worker: The Unexpected Decline ofLeisure (New York: Basic, 1992) 2 . My children also contribute by performing miscellaneous tasks suchas setting the table or washing the dishes. "Family Status and Criticism of Gender Inequality at Home and at Work." Social Forces June 1994: 1 79-1113.Kant, Immanuel. Thus, many women could work for themerchants and perform domestic labor at the same time.[9] The Industrial Revolution transformed the economic system in severalways. [27] Ibid. 86. [26] Ibid. With thedestruction of outmoded industries, new industries such as oil productionand refining, came into their wake. In spite of the bleak picture, it is encouraging that the courtsystem, the legislature and private organizations are working to alter thisunjust situation. However, it isimportant to note that peasants' wives often contributed both toagricultural activities and to manufacturing and domestic services.[6] Skilled labor was mainly located in the towns. Studies have shown that while women have made significant progress inmanagement positions, only few women have reached the top echelons of theircompanies. Simply banning job discrimination has been inadequate in eliminatingcenturies of racial oppression endemic in America society. Poor women could no longer produce textiles from their ownhomes or participate in agriculture. American Work: Four Centuries of Black and White Labor. [24] Barbara Berman, The Economic Emergence of Women (New York: Basic,1986) 266. W. Whilewomen have made significant advances in the workplace, they still sufferfrom discrimination, as illustrated in the previous section. In fact, the wealth ofthe manufacturing sector was built on the skills of the qualified people.During the pre-industrial era, human capital constituted the key element tothe success of any manufacturing enterprise.[7] One of the primary occupations of women during this era was wetnursing.[8] Apart from providing domestic services, women were alsoinvolved in the production of major commodities such as bread, pasta, socksand woolens. On the other hand, 9 female economists fromthe International Women Count Network argued that valuing unwaged workwould pave the way for creating an equitable social policy.[15] It isevident that the conflicting perspectives reflect the contrastingconditions and status of women in societies of developed nations anddeveloping nations. 1998: 355-361.Berman, Barbara. Coltrane. Yunker and B.D. Working in a world dominated by maledecision-makers and their established practices, women encounter a varietyof barriers impeding their entry to certain occupations and advancement tothe top of their careers. The Gender of Sexuality. [3] G. and S. Available: www.elibrary.com.Harrison, Cynthia. [9] Ibid. The workplace is merely one of the many places that reflectthe gender bias celebrated by schools, the media and the home environment. [23] Emily W. 1 March 2 . B. [12] Client's reference [13] Immanuel Kant, "Gender and Society-A Matter of Nature or Nuture."Online. By 196 , more than 33 percent of American marriedwomen worked for wages at least on a part-time basis. Gay people have no prospects for promotion becausetheir employers do not believe that their "effeminacy" commands authority.In fact, the difficulties faced by gay people in the workplace are areflection of the anti-gay sentiment that prevails in mainstream society.Fifty-two percent of people polled in 1989 felt that they preferred not towork with gays.[28]The Emergence of the Two-Income Family and the Decline of Stay-at-Home Mum One of the key factors that led to the entry of women, includingmarried women, into the workforce was the rapid expansion of certainsectors in the economy that provided jobs associated with women's work:office work, teaching and nursing. As a wife and mother, I am nolonger the sole provider of domestic labor.Future Trends of Women and Men at Work The discussion of the relationship between gender and work revealsthe extent of the problems faced by women not only in the workplace, butalso in society in general. With the extraincome, American families were able to improve their standard of living bypaying for houses, cars and college education.[29] Therefore, there wastremendous incentive for married women to go to work to contribute to thestandard of living for their families. [28] Marshal Kirk and Hunter Madsen, After the Ball: How America willConquer its Fear & Hatred of Gays in the 9 s (New York: Doubleday, 1989) 52-3. New York: Basic, 1992.Schwartz, Pepper, and Virginia Rutter. [6] Carlo M. [2] Randall Collins and S. Within a year, a panel of university experts wasdispatched to establish compensatory factors based on the examination ofpersonnel records of past and current employees. My mothercontributed to my "feminization" by teaching me how to knit. 1996: 13-16.Reskin, B., and I. Available: www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/gender.html.Kirk, Marshall, and Hunter Madsen. [3 ] Ibid. The gender inequalityis best summed up in this statement: "Women, who comprise half the world'spopulation, do two thirds of the world's work, earn one tenth of theworld's income and own one hundredth of the world's property."[13] Most ofthe women who worked at home belonged to the developing countries.Furthermore, even in developed nations, women have suffered from setbacks.For example, in Canada, the value of the minimum wage fell by 48 percentfrom 1976 to 1992; women constitute 6 percent of the minimum-wage earners.Female workers working for transnational corporations in developingcountries are deprived of the protection of labor laws.[14] Even though women's contributions to the world economy areunderestimated and unrecognized, advocates for female rights are split intheir perceptions on the best way to resolve the situation. 38 . One of the primary obstacles that prevent women from improving theirstatus in society is sex segregration in the workplace. pag. The overworked worker: The unexpected decline of leisure. The Sociology of Marriage and the Family: Gender, Love and Property. Two years later, Congress enacted legislation that banned wagedifferentials based on sex. [18]Ibid. The Economic Emergence of Women. Work that once required tremendous physical laborhas given way to labor assisted by machines. [17] Ibid. Available: www.trinity.edu/mkearl/gender.html. Even though a few women have conquered the oddsto triumph in their career, the small number indicates the existence of abias. were employed.[12]Women's and Men's Labor Participation Around the World in Contemporary Post-Industrial Society Today, throughout the world, women's contributions to the economy arestill limited to the domestic front that is unpaid and unrecognized. The gender inequality at home is mirrored in theworkplace where women are given less wages than men and expected to work inoccupations that will not yield an income that would challenge that of men. For the workers, black men and black women earn $38 and $336respectively, while white men and white women receive $518 and $388respectively. [19] "Women's Opportunities Still Out of Reach," USA Today Apr. ?:?, 1995.Elkiss, H. Sexrefers to the biological distinctions between male and female based onreproductive organs and functions. Because of the high demand for workers,employers relinquished their practice of hiring only single women and beganto hire married women. 1998: 7-8.----------------------- [1] Pepper Schwarz and Virginia Rutter, The Gender of Sexuality(Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge, 1998) 3. "Gender and Society-A Matter of Nature or Nurture." Online. Kane and Laura Sanchez, "Family Status and Criticism ofGender Inequality at Home and at Work," Social Forces Jun. In general, in every European society, between 65 and 9 percent of the working population worked in agriculture. Therefore, I challenged my manager,citing sexual discrimination in the wage differential between men and womenperforming the same tasks. [31] Ibid. First, it altered the composition of the workforce substantially byincreasing overall productivity. During theUnited Nations Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Women's Forum held fromAugust 3 to September 8, 1996, European delegates called for fullemployment for both men and women. Seventy percent of working women remain in jobs associatedwith women's work: clerical, service and sales.[18] Employer gendering can also be seen in the setting of pay levels. "From the Home to the House-The Changing Role of Women in American Society." Contemporary Women's Issues Database June 1997: n. [14] Fiona Muldrew, "Women Still Hold up Half the Bruised Sky,"Canadian Dimension Feb.-Mar. Furthermore, the expansionof service- and clerical-oriented occupations in the modernized economyalso offers women more choices in the workforce. There areorganizations that have failed to educate their employees about jobdiscrimination in order to foster a positive work environment. Concomitantly, men aremore powerful because of their economic status and independence.[23]Husbands feel that they do not need to do housework because "[their] timesis so well paid for in the market place that his time is too valuable to bedevoted to housework."[24]The Workplace and the Interaction Among Gender, Sexual Orientation, Raceand Socioeconomic Class In spite of the passage of legislations banning job discrimination,it has not completely eliminated discrimination in the workplace. According to them, valuing unwaged workonly perpetuates sex segregation in the workplace and does not address thefull interests of the women. [2 ] Reskin and Padavic 91. [16] Cynthia Harrison, "From the Home to the House-The Changing Roleof Women in American Society," Contemporary Women's Issues Database June1997: n. Norton, 1976) 75. BibliographyAlison, A., & Montague, J. Within the family, thedomesticated role of women means that they are allocated undesirable andtiring tasks that are unrecognized. His behavior often won him cheersfrom his colleagues and sent my morale plummeting. However, in recent decades, family-care needs have become divided byall family members. [5] B. Women were also adversely affected bythese changes. These female politicians played an instrumental role in creating andpassing many pieces of legislations that forbade sex discrimination inemployment. The rise of the feminist movement also motivated women to challengethe traditional perspective of relationships between men and women,especially with regards to marriage. For example, my husband has increased his share ofhousehold duties by spending more time with the children and preparingmeals. One of the most significant factors is culturalstereotype. In the 197 s, laws thatprohibited discrimination in employment against pregnant women were passed.Domestic workers were given protection with minimum wage laws.[3 ] Thepassage of these legislations facilitated the re-entry of married womeninto the workplace. For women to devote energiesand time to their work, their spouses need to take on some of the householdburden. However, only three to five percent of the womenare top managers.[19] In reality, in a male-dominated environment, women cannot succeedbecause men are not "comfortable" with working with women. While many women in Western industrialized countrieshave entered into the workforce, many women in the developing countriescontinue to perform domestic labor.Explain the Roles of Modernization and Feminism in the Changing LaborMarket Through modernization, the economy was transformed in many ways thatnot only allowed more women to participate in the workplace, but also in avariety of occupations. [32] H. On the otherhand, my brothers were guided by my father to learn how to do "man's work."These tasks included mowing the lawn and washing the car. Coltrane, Sociology of Marriage and theFamily: Gender, Love and Property (?, 1995) 5. Many women did not need towork.[1 ] More significantly, the emergence of factories eliminated traditionaloccupations and created new ones in their place. Padavic. Furthermore, feministmovements were responsible for placing women in state legislatures. New York: W. In the workplace, men are celebrated for their accomplishments inwork, while women's work is given little credit. 93-95. [21] Ibid. In fact, the home environment is the first place that initiates youngchildren into a world that defines the expectations of male and femaleroles. With the dramatic division of laborbetween the home and the workplace, women's jobs were usurped by men whoworked in factories.[11] In 187 , only 14 percent of women in the workplacein the U.S. This income inequity is a reflection of the fundamentalsocial injustice in American society where the best jobs are taken bychildren from wealthy families that can send their children to eliteschools.[25] With the dramatic transformation of the economy and the entry ofimmigrants into the workforce, African Americans workers who remain at thelowest rungs of the socioeconomic hierarchy risk losing their jobs.Immigrants now provide an alternative labor pool willing to work for lowwages in occupations that were once the domain of African Americanworkers.[26] Even when African Americans have succeeded in rising to the upperechelons of society, they also earn significantly less income than theirwhite counterparts. W. M. By courageously protestingagainst the barriers erected against women, they challenge the inherentlydiscriminatory practices of big corporations and society and make changesfor future generations of women. [8] Ibid. Because of genderstereotyping, the "masculine" qualities, such as leadership andassertiveness, are powerful tools men can use to be promoted. Because of the significance of women in the workplace, the governmentsought to help women work to work through governmental and privatemeasures. A male personnelofficer provided a female bank manager a blunt explanation for thestagnation of her career: "...what the chairman and presidents want arepeople that they are comfortable with... 13. Generally, the women managers occupylower positions in the echelons and do not supervise men. Corporations need to learn to adapt their internal systemin order to promote qualified individuals, regardless of gender and race.Furthermore, women are mobilizing as individuals or as partners to protestagainst the discrimination at the workplace. 1996: 13-14. Gender, or the social construct used todefine masculine and feminine roles, plays a large part in shaping a sex-segregated work environment that allows for sexual inequality. [15] Ibid. 69. Because the primary responsibility of women is still domestic,involving housekeeping and childrearing, they usually work on a part-timebasis or in low-wage jobs. pag. In1986, when I was hired to work at UCLA as a computer operator, I realizedthat the earning power of men compared to that of women (within a specificcareer) was nearly 3 percent higher. Even though womenreceived 54 percent of bachelor's and master's degrees and 38 percent ofdoctorates, they only constitute about 2 percent of lawyers and 2 percentof physicians. [4] Ibid. Thepercentage of women in state legislatures rose from 4.5 in 1971 to 21 in1993. After the Ball: How America will Conquer its Fear & Hatred of Gays in the 9 's. [33] J. (1999). 1994: 1 79-1 82. Reskin and I.Padavic, Women and Men at Work (Thousand Oaks:Pine Forge, 1994) 86. According to Gary and Barbara Yunker, Valian states that the genderstereotyping stems from entrenched cultural beliefs that have beeninculcated in men and women since their birth.[3] Young children are givengender scripts that delineate clearly the differences between male andfemale roles. To many CEOs, women cannot compete against their malecounterparts because they get pregnant and are responsible for domestictasks. Furthermore, the successful women have had to adapt themselves to themale-dominated environment in order to fit in. Goodman, assistant professor oforganizational behavior at Purdue University, showed that the number ofwomen in management positions has risen from 18.5 percent in 197 to morethan 4 percent currently. New York: Basic, 1986.Cipolla, C. pag. 528. Before the Industrial Revolution. For example, in textile manufacturing, merchants provided rawwool to workers who worked at home. Norton, 1998.Kane, Emily W., and Laura Sanchez. "Women's opportunities still out of reach." USA Today Apr. In theworld economy in 1996, women's underpaid or unpaid work accounted for 7 percent of the annual global output of $23 billion. W. In retrospect, I realizethat women need to assert themselves in adverse situations in order toempower themselves. Therefore, they are still fundamentallydependent on men who are engaged fully in paid work. 1 March 2 . When I was young, I experienced the gender stereotype that waspracticed in my family. 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