Work and Gender Segregation

Traditional sociological theories explain gender segregation in the workplace as an unavoidable byproduct of men and women’s innate differences in talents and academic credentials. In modern social systems, contemporary analysts have refocused guilt on gender discrimination encountered in various job environments. 2011 (McDowell). Gender prejudices have been greatly aided by coworkers, employers, and other senior players in various work situations. Women are now employed in occupations that were once reserved for men only, and many hold positions of significant leadership in government institutions and corporations. Despite the above changes in the working institutions, gender segregation in the places of work still remains a challenge as societal customs continue to influence occupational choices by men and women, a situation that is deforming the labor markets, interfering with the productivity and innovation, and depressing wages for the different workforce. Gender segregation at the workplaces is, therefore, a major issue that interferes with innovativeness; it limits the productivity in both the governmental corporations and individual businesses.

Occupational Segregation versus Economic Growth

In the microeconomic perspective, the gender segregation at the workplace significantly lowers the female wages, a situation that leads to the gender wage gap. In most economies, the highest paying jobs are mainly occupied by the male while the least paying occupations are dominated by the female. (Barone, 2011). Furthermore, there are still some communities that do not allow the participation of women in the leadership roles, a scenario that is completely depressing the effort of women towards the economic development. When women are pushed down into the lower-paying jobs, the occupation disparities lower the female wages and this hurts the economic securities of different families. On the other hand, keeping women out of the leadership positions limits the recognition of the innovative and diverse skills that can improve different business operations; this, therefore, leads to the lowest productivity and hence low economic income. (Stainback & Tomaskovic-Devey, 2012). The persistent segregation results into the continuous loss of financial income for the employed female employees and their families, a situation which can lead to the high rate of unemployment, inequality, and poverty. The occupational segregation has adverse effect on the workers, it limits worker’s skills in different work areas where they can showcase their skills. If men and women are forced with the careers based on the communal definitions of femininity and the masculinity, they will not be able to make better choices of the opportunities available in the job market. (Ecklund, 2012).

The occupational integration in most of the economies enables both male and female workers to contribute to the human capital thereby increasing the productivity in different firms. Various studies indicate that including women in the work process, especially in the corporate leadership leads to the overall performance and innovativeness. The gender integration leads to the collective intelligence. In the financial institutions, for instance, the occupational integration reduces the systemic risks brought about by the masculine-stereotyped approaches facilitated in the gender segregated environments. The inclusion of both men and women in decision making improves the overall productivity of the firms and the governmental institution thereby enhancing the overall economic growth. In the year 1960, the occupational integration led to the increase economic output in various sectors of the world economy, a situation that greatly improve the social economic status of different people in the society. (Kersley, 2013).

Jumpstarting Gender Integration

To counter the gender discrimination in a different environment, businesses, as well as the governmental organizations, should set targets for increasing the female participation in the decision-making and the work processes. In most cases, the organizations should consist of at least 40% of women employees from the individual contributors to the management positions although this proportion and decrease or increase in different environments or countries. (Cohen, 2013). The above scenario leads to the reduction of the wage gaps although it may take time for it to be implemented. The establishment of the critical mass of the women in the working environments can decrease the prevalence of the discriminatory actions and transform the workforce to acclimatize to the female worker’s demands and needs. The working policies should emphasize on the improvement of the females numerical strength in different occupations and eradicate the procedural structures that disregard the contribution of women in different tasks. The gender segregation has been facilitated by the coworkers, employers, and other senior actors in different work environments.

The reforms in the work procedures encourage the development of the inclusive workplace, putting up the precise target for female workers at different levels in the organization would aid in reversing the discrimination against women in the promotion decisions. The inclusion of women in different jobs will encourage the equal payments for the different jobs, a situation that will aid in the reduction of the wage gap and equality among the workers. Apart from reforms in the labor market, eradicating the gender segregation requires an elaborate strategy to avert the formation of the sex stereotypes at the tender age that can later spillover to the work environments. Training of the mind should start early in order to have the lasting impacts on the growing children’s experiences and beliefs. In many cases, segregating girls and boys in social and education activities leads to the formation of arbitrary categories thereby creating a notion that the opportunities in life should be decided on based on sex or gender. The efforts to counter the sex stereotypes can enable women to develop courage in their future careers. The leveraging the behavioral changes to uphold gender inclusion and impartiality in every institution is an enormous potential to increase productivity, increase wages, promote innovation and enhance opportunities for men and women across different economies.

Effects of Gender Discrimination at the Workplace

The gender favoritism at the places of work leads to the loss of productivity in the general performance of the business. The victims of gender discrimination suffer the loss of morale and motivation required in job performance. (Mann & DiPrete, 2013). The jokes about the employee’s gender that may entail inferiority or offensive messages that are sexual in nature can interfere with the individual’s mood to perform different tasks. In some economies like the United States, the federal law does not allow the above form of workplace harassment by the management or the coworkers; this is one the steps taken by the government to reduce the level of segregation in different organizations.

The act of gender segregation can force the supervisors or the management to engage in illegal activities like the sex favors for promotions. In most cases, supervisors normally pass over promotions for women as a result of their preconceived nature of their responsibilities. (Karamessini & Rubery, 2013). The discrimination in the workplaces may lead to the loss of self-esteem especially among the female officers; the segregation of female officers from some roles may make them feel that they are not part of the organization, a scenario that may cause the loss of self-confidence. The discriminated individuals may lose self-worth and develop the feeling of resentment; all the above consequences may result into the misunderstandings between the employees and the employers or the coworkers. The negative perception of the female officers may manifest itself as a physical aggression against others, propagation of hateful rumors, and the destruction of properties.

Conclusion

Gender segregation at the workplaces is a major issue that interferes with innovativeness; it limits the productivity in both the governmental corporations and individual businesses. In the microeconomic perspective, the gender segregation at the workplace significantly lowers the female wages, a situation that leads to the gender wage gap. The occupational integration in most of the economies enables both male and female workers to contribute to the human capital thereby increasing the productivity in different firms. To counter the gender discrimination in different environments, businesses, as well as the governmental organizations, should set targets for increasing the female participation in the decision-making and the work processes. The reforms in the work procedures encourage the development of the inclusive workplace, putting up the precise target for female workers at different levels in the organization would aid in reversing the discrimination against women in the promotion decisions. The gender discrimination at the workplaces leads to the loss of productivity in the general performance of the business. The act of gender segregation can force the supervisors or the management to engage in illegal activities like the sex favors for promotions.

References

Barone, C. (2011). Some things never change: Gender segregation in higher education across eight nations and three decades. Sociology of Education, 84(2), 157-176.

Cohen, P. N. (2013). The persistence of workplace gender segregation in the us. Sociology Compass, 7(11), 889-899.

Ecklund, E. H., Lincoln, A. E., & Tansey, C. (2012). Gender segregation in elite academic science. Gender & Society, 26(5), 693-717.

Karamessini, M., & Rubery, J. (2013). Women and austerity: The economic crisis and the future for gender equality (Vol. 11). Routledge.

Kersley, B., Alpin, C., Forth, J., Bryson, A., Bewley, H., Dix, G., & Oxenbridge, S. (2013). Inside the workplace: findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey. Routledge.

Mann, A., & DiPrete, T. A. (2013). Trends in gender segregation in the choice of science and engineering majors. Social science research, 42(6), 1519-1541.

McDowell, L. (2011). Capital culture: Gender at work in the city (Vol. 65). John Wiley & Sons.

Stainback, K., & Tomaskovic-Devey, D. (2012). Documenting desegregation: Racial and gender segregation in private sector employment since the Civil Rights Act. Russell Sage Foundation.