By Nikolas DeAngelo & Ada Sun
Research Questions:
How does gender discrimination impact employment opportunities and career advancements in various labor markets?
How do societal stereotypes influence hiring practices, career advancement, and overall workplace experiences for individuals of different genders?
Summary of the Issue at Hand:
The broad topic of labor market discrimination can be used as an umbrella term that contains the subsection of gendered labor market discrimination. Upon looking at research, women are typically exploited more than men (Goff, 2016). This exploitation is defined as the wage difference between males and females for the same level of productivity (Goff, 2016). Research has also shown that women have repeatedly faced discrimination upon disclosing the number of children they have (White, 2001). More research further backs up the idea that women reported feeling discriminated against in labor markets (Neumark, 1995). The results show that based on a self-reported measure, 88.9% of workers felt discriminated against with 69.9% of those being women (Neumark, 1995). These were women who felt discriminated against based on factors not only including their wages (Neumark, 1995). We want to outline that this discrimination they feel is in the form of sexual harassment, lower benefits, and failure to get desirable promotions or assignments. Another piece of research that we look at regarding discrimination examines discrimination-based case files against companies. They find that it is also important to note that a lot of women do not report the discrimination they face (Bobbitt-Zecher, 2011). One of the biggest findings in these narrative cases was that 44% of women were descriptively discriminated against (Bobbitt-Zecher, 2011). This means that they were discriminated against for their assumed characteristics and incompatible traits relating to the job. We see from this type of discrimination that women are seen as women first and workers second. Employers will typically assume that a woman is significantly less attached to the job at hand because of children that may be in the picture now or in the future. This type of descriptive discrimination also looks at the issue of employers seeing women as emotional and some even go as far as using derogatory terms. Although we only reference a slim number of gender discrimination within labor markets, we attempt to reach a broader implication that brings the large amounts of discrimination to the attention of the reader.
Policy Intervention:
Although policy recommendations are tricky to implement as employers will never say that there is discrimination within their company, we provide a few recommendations. The first is intervention with more general anti-discrimination laws. As stated in the summary of the issue at hand, there is clear discrimination based on sex within the labor market both when hiring and once working on-site. Policymakers must be constantly looking for ways to decrease discrimination through different, effective laws while also not forgetting pre-existing anti-discrimination laws. Another large portion of discrimination that is mentioned is the issue around gender stereotypes of women not being attached to the job due to children or home life. A suggestion that would help increase labor market attachment and eliminate the unknowing on the employer’s end as to how attached a female employee will be, is through providing more childcare compensation (White, 2001). With increased support for childcare, it will allow women who feel the pressure to put their kids above their work, at ease. They can go to work knowing that the company they work for sees value in them as workers and is willing to understand that there are family needs when it comes to a work-life balance not only on the factor of wages but also total compensation.
What will happen without Intervention?
Without intervention, we see conditions of large discrimination climbing. With the ideas previously mentioned in mind, there are already so many women who feel discriminated against in their workplaces. There are large percentages of female workers who are already reporting cases of discrimination. The author also mentions that there are a lot of workers who do not report discrimination (Bobbitt-Zecher, 2011). If we continue to let employers and employees discriminate based on gender and do not see policy intervention, we will see the number of reported discrimination cases increase. This could lead to a decrease in women’s wages and an increase in their overall economic insecurity. We should take measures to prevent this discrimination and ensure that all workers are treated fairly.
Infographic:
References:
Bobbitt-Zeher, D. (2011). Gender Discrimination at Work: Connecting Gender Stereotypes, Institutional Policies, and Gender Composition of Workplace. Gender & Society, 25(6), 764–786. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243211424741
Goff, S. C. & Department of Philosophy, Florida State University. (2016). How to Trade Fairly in an Unjust Society: The Problem of Gender Discrimination in the Labor Market. Social Theory and Practice, 42(3), 555–580. https://doi.org/10.5840/soctheorpract201642316
Neumark, D., & McLennan, M. (1995). Sex Discrimination and Women’s Labor Market Outcomes. The Journal of Human Resources, 30(4), 713–740. https://doi.org/10.2307/146229
White, L. A. (2001). Child care, women’s labour market participation and labour market policy effectiveness in Canada. Canadian Public Policy, 27(4), 385-405. Retrieved from https://login.ezproxy.trincoll.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/child-care-womens-labour-market-participation/docview/56094525/se-2Retrieved from https://login.ezproxy.trincoll.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/child-care-womens-labour-market-participation/docview/56094525/se-2