Sexism in the workplace
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Transcript of Sexism in the workplace
Sexism in the Workplace
Working Women and Men
60% of women in the work force; 75% work full-time
Factors that have changed the U.S. labor force◦Decline of farming◦Growth of cities◦Shrinking family size◦Rising divorce rate
Gender and Occupations
U.S. Department of Labor
◦High concentration of women in two types of jobs
Administrative work (“pink-collar jobs”) Service work (food, child care, and health care)
◦Men dominate most other job categories
Image Bank
Gender and Occupations
Women are kept out of certain jobs by defining some kinds of work as “masculine”
Fewer women higher in the corporate world
Gender, Income, and Wealth
Women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men
Differences are greater among older workers
◦Older working women have typically have less education and seniority
• Reasons for the gender pay gap
Tracking in education Women are more likely to work at types of jobs
that pay less. Women professionals, such as physicians, work
fewer hours than men in same profession. Above factors account for about half the pay gap Other half may be attributed to pure gender
discrimination
• The Fuller-Schoenberger Study
Women had to have higher qualifications than men in order to be offered lower salaries!
Gender, Income, and Wealth
What are the reasons given as to why women earn less than men?
◦Still think of less-important jobs as “women’s work”
Supporters of gender equality◦Propose a policy of “comparable worth”
Gender, Income, and Wealth
Second cause of gender-based income inequality
◦Society’s view of family
◦U.S. culture gives more of the responsibility of parenting to women
◦Pregnancy and raising small children keep many young women out of the labor force
Continued
Choices women make in workplace have an effect on how much they’re paid◦Women choose positions that offer flexibility
rather than high salary◦Avoid extensive overtime or business travel
because of home responsibilities◦Tend to take breaks in work careers due to
maternity leave or child-rearing duties
Continued
2007 Cornell University study◦Mothers are penalized in the workplace◦Perceived by employers as less competent and
offered lower starting salaries than equally qualified childless women
◦Men aren’t similarly penalized for being parents
Housework: Women’s “Second Shift”
How does housework present a cultural contradiction in the U.S.?◦Essential for family life◦Little rewards for doing it
In U.S. and around the world◦Care of home and children are “women’s work”
Housework: Women’s “Second Shift”
Labor force reduced the amount of housework, but the share done by women remains the same
Image Bank
Gender, Income, and Wealth
Third factor is discrimination against women◦Because it is illegal, it is practiced in subtle
ways◦Glass ceiling prevents many women from rising
above middle management
Gender, Income, and Wealth
Why do many people think women own most of the country’s wealth?
◦Perhaps because they typically outlive men
Government statistics say differently◦57% of people with assets of $1.5 million or
more are men◦Forbes: 10% of the richest people in the U.S.
are women