Gender in Employment

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that in order to understand why women and men are treated differently in the work place, we have to understand history, psychology and the nature of power. The paper discusses the historical view of men being superior to women that affects the perceived value of women in an economic context. The paper then explains the continuation of male domination and how performance expectations of men are higher than women. The paper believes that if we reframe our general expectations of what a "good" worker is, then we can achieve a psychological parity that starts with simply paying women the same wage as men.

From the Paper:

"It has never been successfully argued that men and women are on the same playing field when it comes to work. While it is quite true that there is a growing equality of numbers between men and women in middle management positions (Keller), and that more women than men are now earning advanced college degrees, the statistical truth remains that women continue to make less then men, experience greater career limitations, and enjoy waves of backlash against them for aspiring for equality of opportunity. Add to that the crushing weight of history, where women have suffered as non-entities, second-class citizens, and even "property", where opportunity and employment were available only for single women, and it can be no wonder that the feminine psyche is aware of its historical limitations. We all live in the same physical world, but the truth is that physics has little to do with equality; perception, history, gender, tradition, religion, politics, economics, fear, and greed all create the antithesis of equality. When we look at why women and men are "different" in the work place, we have to understand history, psychology, and the nature of power."

Sample of Sources Used:

• BNET. Study: Women Make Gradual Parity with Men in Workplace. 27 JAN 1997. 14 04 2008 <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n10_v91/ai_19082478>.
• Bourdieu, Pierre. On Male Domination. 01 October 1998. 11 04 2008 <http://mondediplo.com/1998/10/10bourdieu>.
• Brunner, Borgna. "The Wage Gap." 01 01 2007. Infoplease.com. 15 04 2008 <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/equalpayact1.html>.
• Keller, Larry. Women and Men: Payday. 12 December 2000. 11 04 2008 <http://archives.cnn.com/2000/CAREER/trends/12/12/womenpay/index.html>.
• Stewart, Penni A. and James C. Moore. "Wage Disparities and Performance Expectations." Social Psychology Quarterly 76.1 (2002): 8.

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