What Does It Mean You Say That Work Organisations And Workplace Cultures Are Gendered?

In ‘Just One of the Guys”, author Kristen Schilt discusses the persistence of workplace inequalities. She looks at the concept of “doing gender by exploring how cultural schemas and natural difference schema show the differences between man and women that contribute to work place inequalities” (Schilt pg. 170). This theory of doing gender looks at how male and females are, programmed by society from birth to act in certain ways and in accordance to their sex. That through the reproduction of, and based on the gender binary of male /female, individuals are taught how to do gender. These prompts of how to dress, walk, and talk, this assignment of activities that are suitable to women and men to reproduce this binary structure of masculinity and

Gender stereotypes are one of the most common encountered on a daily basis. The infamous ‘Glass Ceiling’ still exists in many areas of the professional world, restricting valid promotions simply based on gender. This type of concept can be verified by looking at comparative weekly wages of other professionals in a variety of industries. Most people will generally see female dominated occupations, such as nurse, teacher and secretary as requiring feminine personality traits and physical attributes for success; whereas male dominated occupations such as doctor, lawyer, and business executive are seen to require male personality traits for success (Sanderson, 2010, p. 344).

A way to approach sociology is to carry out a sociological imagination. One way to describe sociological imagination is"the ability to think yourself away from the familiar everyday life”(quoted from C. Wright Mills) and to look at society with an entirely different perspective. Its about thinking outside of your own mind and your way of seeing things. This essay will discuss gender inequality by looking at society with a sociological imagination. Candace West and Don Zimmerman stated that “gender is a routine accomplishment".

Date: Thursday February 8, 2001 Work Place Roles Of Men and Women Compared in Today’s Society

The labor market is very segregated. It is mentioned that women and men of the same racial-ethnic group rarely having the same jobs, as well as women of different racial-ethnic groups. This supports the interconnection between class, race, and gender. Men are seen as the superior gender, and are more likely to receive a job position. Women are often deemed incapable of preforming work that is classified as a ‘man’s job’ and pushed into typical jobs involving infant care and domestic work.

Christine Williams broadens themes developed in ‘Gender Differences At Work: Women and Men in Non-Traditional Occupations’ (Berkeley: University of California, 1989), a comparison between the effects on male nurses and female marines of working in ‘gendered occupations’, to be traditionally allied by reason of similarities in their historical development and in their gender composition . Her interviews provide fascinating evidence of how both men and women are subtly socialized into professional gender ideology. Gender roles are based on society's values and beliefs about interactions between individuals. The appropriate behavior is then expected from the specific gender. The reason behind this is, our knowledge system, in which we grew up

Occupational segregation is seen almost everywhere. It refers to the fact that men and women are concentrated in different types of jobs, based on prevailing understandings of what is appropriate ‘male’ and ‘female’ work. Occupational segregations have both vertical and horizontal components. Vertical segregation refers to the tendency for women to be concentrated in jobs with little authority and hardly any room for advancement, while men occupy more powerful and influential positions. Horizontal segregation refers to the tendency for both men and women to occupy different categories of job. The reasons for the persistence of occupational segregation are rooted in a complex interplay between societal and personal gender stereotypes, discrimination by power-holders against out-groups, habits and social inertia-and the repeated impact of all these on individuals’ choices and behaviours. Though increasing number of women now work full time outside the home, a large number are concentrated in part-time employment. Men, by and large, do not assume prime responsibility for the rearing of children. However, it is also seen that women have started bagging some important positions in jobs. Several processes have affected these trends. One significant factor is that more women are moving into higher paying professional positions than was the earlier case. Young women with good qualifications are now as likely as their male counterpart to land into lucrative jobs. The improved

I will discuss how gender manages to persist as a basis or principle for inequality in the modern world. I will use statistics of the divide in labour, economic income and hierarchy in the work force between men and women. I will use Pietsch data graphs from the 'Dimensions of Australian Society' 2010, as evidence and relate them to hegemonic masculinity and patriarchy in the work force.

Work limitations are rooted in these gender roles where men are “more fit for the workplace and women are particularly fit for

The traditional roles of women and men in workplaces are constantly changing nowadays and therefore, many men are working jobs that women were once made to work, and vice-versa.

According to Brescoll et al. (2012), mention the issues men come across when trying to enter a feminized occupation like preschool education, or nursing. These occupations are viewed as less masculine, thus the penalty is being viewed as lower status individuals (Brescoll et al., 2012, p. 354). If we reflect on the norms of masculinity, our common understanding is that men are high achieving individuals that must sustain their family and most importantly their status within an organization is profoundly viewed upon. Brescol et Al (2011) puts forward that males, who work for gender deviant supervisors, are subordinate thus having a diminished status and respect to their gender identity. This is to say that within organizations there is an

This workplace gender inequality is similarly evident in both the political and legal arenas, with 2012 statistics finding that ‘10 percent of all Federal Parliamentarians across Australia were women (66 out of 226)’. Furthermore, it has been identified that of the ‘current 932 individuals who make up the private Bar of the Queensland Bar Association, only 19.7 percent are women’, and of the whole of Queensland’s’ magistrates, only 36 out of 93, are women. As these statistics so clearly indicate, women are grossly underrepresented in the political and legal arenas, and the workplace in general. There are varying arguments that can reason this inequality, however, the most persuasive and logical places the blame on the orthodox gender roles that society has adopted and endorsed. As a result of these gender roles, men are automatically assumed to dominate more masculine occupations such as construction, engineering and law, while women often subjected to domestic occupations, such as, childcare, retail, nursing and education. Women are subsequently judged on their perceived gender role and not on their merits or competence, and are therefore unable to ‘equally contribute to and benefit from economic, social, cultural and political life’. The underrepresentation of women in the workplace is astounding and the reasons for why this inequality has riddled the Australian workforce can be answered by

Gender segregation in the labour force is the unevenness in the distribution of occupational titles of women and men. In Australia, as elsewhere, gender segregation is still a primary focus of how the internal labour market have positioned women and men within workplace hierarchies – affecting future career prospects. The core reason as to why occupational gender segregation in Australia still currently exists is the under-valuation of women’s skills and abilities. Studies show that those occupations with a high proportion of male receive a higher income than a female-dominated workplace as ‘men’s work’ has historically proven to be more highly valued than ‘women’s work’. Women’s work can be under-valued due to several contributing factors

Gender relations - Do stereotypical mind-sets around gender relations lead to gender inequality in this workplace? Do work structures disadvantage women? Is there an alignment of managerial attributes with gender stereotypes, such that male attributes of competitive spirit and technical competence are given

A study on the implicit and explicit occupational gender types, Sex Roles, “Occupational gender stereotypes are activated when men and women are considered to be more suited for certain occupations based on stereotyped characteristics and temperaments” (White and White 2006). Matheus represented the following examples, “a stereotypically feminine job would be associated with attributes such as nurturing, caring, and being sensitive to the needs of others and a stereotypically masculine job would be associated with attributes such as decisiveness, coldness and toughness” (Matheus 2010). Nowadays, women are usually seen in the workforce as secretaries and nurses. Meanwhile, most doctors and construction laborers are men. In addition, Anker points out that “Occupational segregation by gender is prevalent in most if not all countries” (Anker 1998). “Women and men work in different fields and within fields at different levels” (Anker 1998). Diekman and Wilde explained that “men’s concentration in leadership and other high power roles led to the assumption that men have “agentic characteristics” such self-assertion and dominance and women’s concentration in subordinate and caretaking roles lead to the assumption that they have “communal characteristics” such as being kind and supportive (Diekman and Wilde 2005).