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The following article was published in the Charleston Post & Courier's Business Major, a featured monthly column in the Business Review Section on August 30, 1999. Book details gender status in workplaceBy DOROTHY P. MOORE Special to The Post and Courier Business Major The "Handbook of Gender and Work," edited by Gary N. Powell of the University of Connecticut and published by Sage, provides a handy reference guide to what we know and don't know about women in the workplace. Not all findings from the 24 scholarly studies are encouraging. Karen Korabik tells us out-of-date notions still are considered fact. Because men and women have different biological natures, it does not logically follow that personality traits, attitudes, values, behavioral preferences and job performance are sex-based. Yet many people believe this antiquated idea, even though research has shown behavior at work largely is due to cultural factors and situations in which they find themselves. Linda Carli and Alice Eagly say the business world holds a downward spiral reflecting the position of women and men in society. Patterns of interaction put women at a disadvantage, causing them to withdraw from mixed-sex groups, narrowing chances to work on projects and exert leadership. Life in the organization is more difficult for women. Women try to adjust, but when organizational values clash with gender differences, Mark Maier reports, the organization usually wins. Organizations reproduce and reinforce masculine values and subordinate feminine ones, giving white males invisible privileges and teaching women to adopt male-like behavior. Sex segregation in the workplace is a result. In an earlier column (January 1999), I reported findings from The National Organizational Study, a series of 1991 research snapshots. The NOS was a survey of the structure, context and personnel practices of U.S. organizations. Findings showed most employees worked in sex-segregated jobs, with women mainly in lower-paid, less prestigious fields with fewer opportunities for challenging assignments or advancement. Are things changing as the decade closes? Is the proportion of men and women more evenly distributed? Has crowding women into a limited number of fields declined? Is there any increase in chances for men and women to work side by side? No, says Jerry Jacobs. While change appears to be everywhere, what is going on is less than encouraging. The most striking result of the growth of women in the labor force is that men's chances of interacting with women have increased dramatically. But chances for women interacting with men at the same occupational level have declined. If there is any progress in sex segregation, the pace of change is glacial. Factors such as marriage and family have different effects, say Jeffrey Greenhaus and Saroj Parasuraman. For married men, the effect on financial and work rewards is positive. Outside of managerial and professional positions, the same is not true for women. Once children appear, the workplace affects women's careers negatively. Results of workplace sex segregation can be measured in money. Patricia Roos and Mary Gatta note it doesn't matter how you measure earnings, the gender gap has persisted in America for as long as records have been kept. It is not likely to disappear soon. Treatment based on gender limits women's opportunities. The small proportion of women in top management, Gary Powell writes, has less to do with an individual's traits, skills, attitudes and behaviors play a less important role than the social system and such group norms and organizational cultures as patriarchy, discrimination and stereotypes. This conclusion is underscored by findings of Catherine Daily, Trevis Certo and Dan Dalton, reported in the Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship. The researchers assumed women chief executive officers and women serving on corporate boards might be increasing in emerging industries. Their study of Inc. 100 companies shows the opposite. Rather than progressing in that sector of the economy, women are experiencing fewer opportunities than in Fortune 500 or similar firms. Many authors in the "Handbook of Gender and Work" report there has been an increase in women in the work force and that attitudes have changed. But as Alison Konrad and Frank Linnehan reveal, much progress has been through affirmative action and equal opportunity programs. This means companies have based hiring and promotion decisions on valid criteria. As a result, qualified women and minorities moved into positions formerly denied them. Contrary to myth, the presence of AA/EEO guidelines has not resulted in the hiring and promotion of unqualified women and people of color. Dorothy P. Moore is professor of business administration at The Citadel and a Citadel Development Foundation Faculty Fellow. Her next book on women entrepreneurs to be published by Davies-Black is now in the editorial review process. For Questions/Comments about this site, contact moored@citadel.edu. Site designed by Jackye Cocoros. |