Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and
cultural differences rather than biological ones).
Gender roles:-
Gender roles are cultural and personal. They determine how males and females
should think, speak, dress, and interact within the context of society. Learning plays
a role in this process of shaping gender roles. These gender schemas are deeply
embedded cognitive frameworks regarding what defines masculine and feminine.
While women have made much progress, certain differences in male and female
attitudes still exist that drive a wedge between feminine and masculine roles. Males have
been privileged in the workplace for centuries, while women were delegated to
homemaker roles. The privileged male today still feels a sense of entitlement in the
workplace, while women may feel like the underdogs. The roles that women and men
play may work to each of their advantages at times, but they may also hurt each other
indirectly (Kilhefner).
Women were found to be more receptive to team efforts in the workplace than
their male counterparts, according to a 2005 study by Catalyst. The study declared
women as more "supportive and rewarding" in leadership roles. A second study during
the same year by Caliper showed that women employed more compassionate and
constructive behavior in regards to their team. Furthermore, women proved to be more
persuasive and scored higher than men when it came to both persuasiveness and
assertiveness.
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While gender roles in the workplace are not as clear-cut as they used to be, many
men still retain their sense of privilege, possibly allowing them to be better negotiators. A
2003 study focused on students graduating with master's degrees found that men were
able to negotiate salaries 7.6 percent higher than women entering the workforce. More
than half of the men were able to negotiate for more money, while just 7 percent of
women did. Furthermore, men tend to be more willing to ask for raises than women.
Possibly due to always being underestimated, women in the workplace are more
likely to work harder and take on more responsibilities. In a 2009 study by Accenture, 70
percent of women in the workplace wanted to be challenged more, while less than half of
working men asked for the same challenges. Because of their increased workload, women
are also more likely to go into overtime than men. Hardworking women also tend to
shrug off vacations to tackle their workload and call in sick less.
Men generally feel more confident in their work environment than women. Far
from an evolutionary trait, and more likely a privilege trait, men are more willing to
"wing it" on tasks they aren't prepared for. In contrast, many women may feel unprepared
even when they have prepared diligently. This confidence, or perhaps simply being male,
reigns in more promotions than women, as men are more likely to be mentored by senior
executives, according to the Harvard Business Review.
1. Attribution of Success
Women and men attack projects and problems differently. Men are more goal-
focused while women are more process-focused. Men are better motivated by having a
clear goal, and they’re highly energized by attaining that goal. The more unattainable, the
more motivating it is to get there. Women are more motivated by what goes into the
process of getting there. The path to get there is so much more exciting than the actual
end itself.
Meanwhile, women learned not to view the world in hierarchies, but instead in a
series of concentric flat circles based on relationships and a common understanding of a
shared goal. Within those flat structures, women find themselves attempting to create a
level playing field ensuring everyone is treated fairly, everyone has a seat at the table and
everyone’s voices are heard regardless of position, experience and level of authority (Dr.
Pat Heim, 2015).
Not all workplaces provide equal opportunities for men and women, but all
should try. In a presentation yesterday at the Society of Human Resource Managers’
(SHRM) annual conference, Jonathan Segal, a labor attorney, laid out 12 practical steps
employers can take to level the workplace for men and women. These tips are taken from
his presentation.
Companies that aren’t hiring women for senior roles should consider what
barriers they’ve constructed that prevent women from filling them. That doesn’t mean
diluting requirements but asking if 15 years of management experience, for example, is
necessary when 10 would do. Employers should consider including other types of
experience that broadens the pool of possible candidates.
If the goal is a diverse workplace, the pool of job candidates needs to be diverse
as well. That means reaching out to professional groups, such as women engineers, and
contacting employees’ men and women that left the firm to raise families to ask if they’d
be interested in returning.
As Segal says, most employers understand the concept of unconscious bias, they
just don’t believe it happens at their company. But since it can exist everywhere, hiring
managers should circulate resumes with names removed, so women are not discriminated
against. And don’t ask candidates to explain multi-year gaps in their resumes, which are
almost always due to family or illness. (Lots of short gaps, however, can be a red flag.)
All candidates should be asked the same questions, so not just women are asked
about what hours they can work. If possible, questions should be phrased the same way
as well, as different wording can elicit different answers. If executives resist being told
how to interview, Segal recommends asking them “Would you like to not be deposed?”
Fear of litigation can change behavior. At later stages of interviewing, he recommends
teams of mixed gender interview candidates, to further reduce hiring biases.
If men are more likely to spend time with senior executives, work on the most
important projects or meet the most valuable clients, they’ll be more impressive
candidates for promotion. Companies should have processes in place so all employees
meet the same standards as they progress through their careers, which helps ensure they
all get the same exposure to training and opportunities.
A major topic in and of itself, Segal says companies that are serious about paying
men and women the same wages shouldn’t ask candidates what they were paid at their
last job. Instead, every position should have a pay range, with the allowance for
exceptions for special cases. Employers should also audit their payroll, and increase pay
for women who have been short-changed. (To avoid lawsuits, he suggests companies not
admit any wrongdoing when doing so).
Evaluations should measure substance, not style, and results, not methods. If
employees are criticized as being too assertive, or not assertive enough, insist on
examples. Employees should be judged on their behavior, not their personality; i.e., it’s
one thing to say “she’s acting too abrasive” and another to say “she’s too abrasive.” It’s
easier to fix behavior than personality. Evaluators also shouldn’t confuse commitments at
home with a lack of dedication to work.
One in four women says they are subject to sexual harassment at work. All
managers have a responsibility to step in to prevent sexual harassment. Incivility “is a
gateway drug to harassment” Segal says, and workplaces should strive to tame it, within
the bounds of the law.
Too many managers resist criticizing female employees for fear of being accused
of bias. But all employees need feedback to grow and improve, and not giving those
opportunities to women because of their gender is a form of sexism.
US employers very rarely can consider gender when hiring; the law doesn’t allow
it to be a factor when filling jobs. That’s not the case when filling board seats, because
board members are not classified as employees, Segal says, and there can be good
financial reasons to include more women on corporate boards.
Afsheen an air hostess with the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), recalls when
she was selected to work with the airline company. She was briefed on how to keep
passengers satisfied, but the introductory training did not include any clues on how to
keep the pilots "happy."
A few months later, the pilots called her and her colleagues to go to the cockpit.
"They would touch us on the back and the chest intentionally, and pretend it was a
mistake," she remembers. Things got worse when pilots started demanding sexual
favours during flights and on the ground, and managed to get some too.
On October 9, Captain Riffat Haee took the matter to his own hands and filed a
case at the Lahore High Court. He claimed that female workers faced problems like the
withholding of promotion and even demotion if they refused to fulfil the "demands" of
officers.
German women are more qualified than men, says Burkhardt, but when it comes
to work, women still earn an average of 23 percent less than their male counterparts.
Women here also face the famous glass ceiling when it comes to promotions - the ones
who do get to the top are few.
Workplace Bill 2010’ was signed by President Asif Ali Zardari as soon as he came to
power.
Harassment exists and we cannot ignore that. But we have to remain silent,
otherwise our fathers and brothers wouldn’t let us continue working, and we cannot
afford that," Sara, a 25-year-old banker, says. For her, losing her job means that she
would not be able to afford branded clothes, bags and accessories to keep up with the
latest trends, like her ‘rich’ friends and colleagues.
But this might be because of her old age and the big shawl that covers her head all
the time. In Pakistan, working women who do not properly cover their head and chests
with a shawl are considered "easy to approach" and "broadminded," a male prejudice
which will still take decades to change (Ayesha Hassan, 2011).