Gender and Work

Midterm Examination Serita Theresa Wheeler May 21, 2010

Serita Theresa Wheeler Gender and Work Midterm

1.

The most highly ranked jobs are still held predominately by white men. Men have the

greatest amount of incentive to preserve inequality as well as the most means to do so (Roos and Reskin, 1992). A failure to make a distinction between real and nominal gender integration in the workplace becomes a misleading indicator of parity among men and women in the workplace. Men maintain their dominance and privilege over women in various ways. These include justifying disparity through claims that women elect to enter lower paying jobs and specialties, resegregation and ghettoization, and the devaluation of feminizing occupations. Some researchers suggest that women enter lower wage positions and specialties of their own volition. The claim that women choose these specialties becomes a means of combatting demands for economic equity and occupational parity. For example, through his sampling process, Laurence C. Baker (1996) removed structural influences on wage disparity among male and female physicians such as part time physicians. In other words the women most likely to receive the lowest wages were excluded from the sample. His findings support the claims that womens chosen specialties are responsible for their lower wages. Resegregation occurs as men are replaced by women in traditionally masculine lines of work. By restructuring and deskilling work processes employers lower wages and replace male workers with female workers. This suggests that occupational resegregation is the product of a disproportionate entry of women into traditionally male occupations followed by the removal of autonomy, increased routinization, and fewer full-time employment opportunities. Once the occupation is so low on mens job queues the position is feminized and devalued. Ghettoization refers to the concentration of women in certain jobs within the same occupation as men. This job-level segregation takes place when women are assigned to less-autonomous routinized lower

Serita Theresa Wheeler Gender and Work Midterm

paid labor with fewer chances for advancement. Similar to resegregation this gives the illusion of true integration (Roos and Reskin, 1992) A study of pharmacists showed that there was internal segregation within the occupation. Male pharmacists were more likely to have more lucrative positions or entrepreneurial endeavors. On the other hand women were more likely to work in hospitals or for retail chains. As the pharmaceutical retail chains grew in number mens opportunities for higher wages decreased. However, because there are fewer options of outside employment men were unable to leave pharmacy altogether. Instead the number of women in the industry increased while fewer men entered the profession (Tanner et al, 1999). 2. Separate spheres refer the spatial separation of domestic life or home life, the private

sphere, and life outside the home, the public sphere. With industrialization the private sphere became feminine domain and the public sphere became masculine domain. Along with the ideology of separate spheres concepts such as unpaid and paid work and market and non-market work emerged. The domestic labor that occurred in the private sphere was unpaid work. I was also feminine. On the other hand market work or paid labor was in the public sphere and thus considered to be mens work. Gender ideologies reinforced the ideology of separate spheres by allocating male characteristics such as aggression, strength, and competitiveness to the ideal worker. Feminine characteristics suggest that they were naturally suited to work in the home and that they were too delicate to maintain employment in the public sphere. Women forced to participate in the workforce were considered less feminine. The breadwinner-homemaker dichotomy emerged and persists today despite the number of women in the workforce, the need of two incomes for subsistence, and the number of female-headed households. This ideology benefitted men economically as they were able to obtain skills and knowledge denied to women.
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Serita Theresa Wheeler Gender and Work Midterm

Furthermore, mens quality in the private sphere became conflated with his performance in the public sphere. In other words a mans worth as a father or husband was measure by the lifestyle he was able to provide for his wife and child(ren) (Padavic & Reskin, 2002). The effects of the ideology of separate spheres persist today. Women are still responsible for housework despite the participation in the paid workforce. In addition to this the quality of their domestic performance is judged separately from their market performance. In fact, if their domestic performance is deemed unsatisfactory it is because she has dedicated too much of her private sphere time and/or energy to the public spheres. Doing so, she has neglected her domestic responsibilities. Several conditions and phenomena exist due to the persistence of the ideology of separate spheres. These include the wage, authority, and leisure gaps; womens unequal responsibility for domestic labor; the devaluation of womens labor, and accusations of free riding. The wage gap refers to the difference in pay between men and women. The wage gap has narrowed since the 1970s; however this is due to a decline in mens wages rather than an increase in womens wages (Roos and Reskin, 1992). The wage gap is continually justified through allocating wage differences to occupational choices. In many cases women are said to select occupations that allow more time for their domestic responsibilities. The assumption that women have alternative options for employment support notions of women opting out of higher paying occupations. Research shows however, that as occupations become less desirable they are more likely to be filled by women (Roos and Reskin, 1992). Similarly the leisure gap refers to the amount of leisure time men have opposed to the amount of leisure time women have. Women who must obtain paid work are still disproportionately responsible for unpaid domestic work (Hoschild, 1990).
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Serita Theresa Wheeler Gender and Work Midterm

3.

Endeavors to reduce gender inequality in the workforce have proven to be insufficient,

even ineffective. The desegregation of occupations typically resulted in the resegregation of occupations and the ghettoization of women within occupations (Roos and Reskin, 1992). Comparable worth efforts face opposition from private-sector firms. Work-family policies continue to not compensate women for the physical burden of motherhoods while penalizing them for domestic responsibilities outside the workplace. Women face barriers to increasing their human capital such as less time due to domestic responsibilities; and as women seek to increase their skills and experience, job descriptions and organizational structure change to benefit men. Work-family policies increase mothers employability and fathers parental involvement. This supports a false assumption that these programs also increase gender equity. However research shows that these programs do not promote gender equity. Women bear the physical burden of parenthood and are forced to take unpaid medical leave. In addition to this many couples adopt traditional divisions of parental responsibilities where the woman is disproportionately responsible for parenting (Singley and Hynes, 2005). In some firms men and women have parental leave options. However, women are required to take their leave. Men on the other hand are often discouraged from exercising their leave options. Most organizations still employ the male-breadwinner logic. Because of this men are less-likely to face the loss of face-time and income associated with becoming parents. A possible solution to this disparity is paid leave for both parents as well as mandatory leave for both parents. 4. A gendered organization is an organization in which patterned interactions and processes

occur via sex and gender differentiation. Rewards and sanctions are allocated on the basis of gender. One gender has the power to exploit and control the other based on meanings and
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Serita Theresa Wheeler Gender and Work Midterm

identities derived through gender ideologies. Divisions are construction along the lines of gender. Symbols are constructed to oppose and reinforce as well as express and explain the constructed divisions (Acker 1990). Gendered organizational logic is written into rules and becomes documented in contracts, policies and procedures. It also is diffused through management and other labor relations. Joan Acker (1990) describes five interacting processes that contribute to gendered organizational logic. The organization is first divided along lines of gender. Labor, accepted behavior, physical space, and power are all divided based on gender differentiation. As a result of these divisions men are almost always placed at an advantage or in a position of power. On the micro-level gender divisions are the result of managerial directives. On the structural level organizational practices reinforce and maintain the gender-based managerial directives. For example when new technologies are introduced men are able to obtain the skills at work while women either remain unskilled or are forced to pay for skill acquisition. Symbols both reinforce and oppose while expressing and explaining gender-based divisions. These symbols emerge through culture as well as through the gendering of bodies. Womens bodies are marked while mens bodies remain the embodiment of the ideal worker, though it is presented as gender-neutral (Acker, 1990; Tannen, 2001). The ability of women to transcend marked bodies and acquire skills is a threat to masculinity (Acker, 1990). Interactions between and among genders are other processes that affect organizational structure. Typically women provide emotional support and men function as actors. The processes then act as agents of socialization which contribute to gendered identities. Women perceive of feminine roles as their own roles. Their cooperation with gendered organizational structure contributes to its persistence. This is manifested in

Serita Theresa Wheeler Gender and Work Midterm

relation between women and women, women and men, and men and men. Finally, social structure is created and conceptualized through gender. People both inside and outside of organizations perceive the organizations to be gender-neutral. This is due to a disembodiment of jobs and job hierarchies. Jobs are abstract constructs, positions that are written and exist on paper. People fill these positions. However, the skills, characteristics, and ideal workers to fill the positions are attributed to males. Like jobs hierarchies are written as abstract differentiations. Ranking jobs not people supports the false assumption that hierarchies are gender-neutral. Also implicated in gendered organization is the concept of the universal individual. This individual is also supposedly gender-neutral. This individual is able to be a dedicated worker with very few outside obligations to distract them from their paid work. This individual is also thought to be rational and impersonal. The ideology of separate spheres implies that women are incapable of being dedicated workers because theyre responsible for the private sphere even when theyre in the public sphere. Similarly the characteristics rational and impersonal are attributed to men while opposing characteristics, emotional and irrational are attributed to women. If the individual was not disembodied gender and bodied differentials within the organization would be apparent (Acker 1990). 5. The glass escalator refers to the advantages men have in female dominated occupations.

According to Christine Williams (1992) sexist attitudes held by men in higher positions facilitate the promotion of men in feminized positions to more gender-appropriate positions. In addition to the advantages the men receive they are faced with pressures to advance within the occupations whether they would like to or not. For many men these promotions represent the redemption of their masculinity and resolves cognitive dissonance about their career choice. The
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Serita Theresa Wheeler Gender and Work Midterm

glass ceiling refers to the limitations of womens advancement in male-dominated occupations. Unlike men who do not face barriers to entry in feminized occupations women are often not preferred in male-dominated occupations. Therefore the face barriers to entry as well as additional barriers to advancement upon entry. In feminized occupations men are still likely to be supervised by members of their own sex, further facilitating their advancement. Women in masculinized occupations, on the other hand, are less likely to be supervised by other women and are eventually tracked into lower paid positions. Men are also more likely to mentor other men within feminized occupations. Women however, are less likely to mentor other women because it threatens their status and may be met with hostility by males within the organization. Gender-neutral theory cannot account for the presence of the glass ceiling and the glass escalator. It is insufficient in explaining why men benefit regardless of their numerical representation. It is also unable to explain the patterns of interaction that are responsible for the reoccurrence of the phenomena. In addition to this gender-neutral theory fails to address mens advantages as well as mens incentive for preserving their privilege. Another example of gender and work involves mens strategies for redeeming their masculinity in low-wage low status feminized employment. Male temporary workers will employ several strategies in the workplace to compensate for working in the low status occupation. These men are viewed as being less manly or gay because theyre not working in a real job. They are forced to explain why they work as temps. Their explanations include a cover story such as Im working my way through school. Renaming and redefining the position is another means of reconciling dissonance of working as temps. Male temporary workers will redefine the position as a more masculine occupation such as accountant. Another strategy to obtain male hegemonic masculinity is refusing to do deference (Henson and Rogers, 2001).
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Serita Theresa Wheeler Gender and Work Midterm

6.

The second shift refers to the domestic unpaid work that must be carried out by

individuals after they finish their paid work. The second shift is disproportionately relegated to women. The stalled revolution refers to the increasing number of women entering the public sphere for paid work despite the slow change in the occupations available to them and the relatively slow change in their spouses responsibility of maintenance of the private sphere. The second shift is experienced differently by women of different race, class, historical period. Women of color will be responsible for the second shift despite making higher wages. This doesnt support the notion that there is a contract between women as homemaker and men as breadwinner. Other research has shown that the more women commit to the household income the more likely there would be a more equitable division of household labor. However, as Hoschild shows in the story of Nancy and Evan men are more willing to assess and going rate of male contribution to household responsibilities and women are expected to be grateful if men perform higher than the going rate. Work is affected by the second shift because whether it exists or not the possibility of its existing still affects managerial decisions and workplace policies. Men are socialized to embody the characteristics of a masculine ethic. Symbols of gender affect the control of the work process, the structure of the labor market, relations in the workplace, and wage and authority relations. The ideal worker is irrational, impersonal, and has few responsibilities outside of their paid work. Those with domestic responsibilities move to the bottom of the labor queue (Acker, 1990). This suggests that the contemplation of the second shift is inherent in organizational logic. Women are ideologically responsible for a second shift whether a family is present or not. The assumption is that she has a family, she will have a family, or she may have a family; therefore, she is less qualified to hold positions with great responsibility and authority.
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Serita Theresa Wheeler Gender and Work Midterm

The second shift has effects on men as well. Men are perceived of as being more suitable for higher-wage, full-time employment because of the assumption that there is a woman responsible for his domestic labor. Single men will either remain single and thus totally committed to their paid work or they will marry someone who will be responsible for the domestic work. Being married is not viewed as a deficiency in men, however. Instead it is viewed as a mark of stability. Married men make good workers because they have the need to provide for their family economically. Married women on the other hand are perceived of as being less dedicated. In the eyes of employers these women have outside obligations that serve as a distraction to their paid work. Furthermore their incomes are considered supplementary despite the overwhelming number of female headed households. Women, single or married, are unable to achieve the characteristics of the universal worker because of the presence of or the possibility of their second shift responsibilities (Acker, 1990; Hoschild, 1999).

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Serita Theresa Wheeler Gender and Work Midterm

Works Cited
Henson, K. D., & Rogers, J. K. (2001). "Why Marcia You've Changed!" Male Temporary Workers Doing Masculinity in a Feminized Occupation. Gender and Society, 218-238. Padavic, I., & Reskin, B. (2002). Women and Men at Work, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge. Reskin, B. F. (1988). Bringing the Men Back In: Sex Differentiation and the Devaluation of Women's Work. Gender and Society, 2(1), 58-81. Roos, P. A., & Reskin, B. F. (1992). Occupational Desegregation in the 1970s: Integration and Economic Equity? Sociological Perspectives, 69-91. Williams, C. L. (1992). The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the "Female" Professions. Social Problems, 39(3), 253-267.

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