Impacts of the Gendered Practice on the Contemporary World - Coursework Example

Student Name> Occupational Segregation Abstract: It is a datum of experience that the past few years have witnessed a tremendous phase in terms of ameliorating status of women in the society. Similarly, the participation of females in the work force has also marked an era of growth as more and more women are entering into the labour market. In such a scenario one of the major debates of the contemporary world revolves around the concept of occupational segregation based on gender differences. The paper aims at building an understanding of the occupational segregation and elucidates the concept through the probe into the causes behind this phenomenon. The paper further studies the impacts of the gendered practice on the contemporary world thereby ending the debate in a rational and unbiased conclusion. Introduction: One of the many transitions experienced by the scene of human existence in the twenty first century, that is the aggrandizing entrance of women into the labour force across the globe, is reckoned as one of the chief success indicators of the labour market. According to the findings of Marianne A. Ferber, Elke Holst and Wenzel Matiaske, the participation of women in almost all the European countries has increased to a great deal in the modern times. Even in those European countries that have a very little trend for women to pursue their professional careers, the participation level of women has increased. For instance, the rate has reached 48.4% in Italy during the year 2002. In countries like Denmark, the percentage of women in the work force reached a rate of 75.6% in the same year. Contrary to this, the rate for men in labour market declined simultaneously in many European states. However, the presence of women in the labour market remained somehow confined to particular areas that were considered traditionally appropriate for their sex. This longstanding disparity resulted in the global awareness of occupational segregation on the basis of gender 1. In the context of human capital theory, the skills along with experience and education determine the success of the individuals in terms of earnings and ranks possessed by them. But even with the capability of all three success markers, the process of women’s professional success has remained slow which has further slowed down the process of eliminating gender inequalities from the work places. The empirical studies also suggest that the increasing qualification of women would be synonymous with the decreasing gender based segregation in the work places however, the reality portrays a case very different if not contradictory at all 2. Segregation: To comprehend the gist of the topic, it is mandatory to understand the concept of segregation. According to Stephen Gorard and Chris Taylor of Cardiff University, segregation ‘is a measure of the unevenness of distribution of individual characteristics between organizational units’3. Stated differently, segregation is the process of segmenting the society into uneven parts thereby making a favourable and an unfavourable part of the society. Occupational Segregation based on Genders: As clear from the term, the occupational segregation refers to the unevenness practiced in the occupational environments. Generally, this discrimination is based on either gender or race. In this regard the aspect of gender based discrimination is so prominent that Blackburn has confined the concept of segregation to the gender based occupational segregation thereby considering the concept as a ‘tendency for women and men to be employed in different occupations’. The above mentioned process works as the leading force is dividing the occupations into two parts: male dominated occupations and female dominated occupations4. Dimensions of Occupational Segregation: Often sensed in a single frame of thought, the concept of occupational segregation is wide and allows a space for a diverse gamut of dimensions. The concept of gender segregation in the labour market is perceived to fall under two basic categories which are further broken down into different situation specific cases. These two types of gender discrimination in the labour market are named as (a) Horizontal segregation and (b) Vertical Segregation. On one hand, horizontal Segregation pertains to the issue of quantity. It is the high concentration of any gender in a particular organization or occupation. The nursing and air hosting profession is a case of horizontal segregation since the concerned profession is marked by the majority of a single gender that is female. Vertical Segregation, on the other hand, is more focussed to the qualitative measure of discrimination. This type of segregation refers to the uneven distribution of genders through different levels within an organization. Stated differently, there is a marked difference in the number of males and females present in the higher and lower level jobs within the organization. The business organizations with decision making jobs held by men and secretarial jobs held by women is a case of vertical segregation 5. To elucidate, the gender based segregation in a work environment involves a number of situations. Some of them are stated as follows, a. Association of an occupation with a specific gender. For instance, the occupation of military services is generally associated with males whereas the profession of nursing is usually attributed to the females. b. The unequal distribution of males and females in different occupations. This means that however both the males and females are serving in the same field, their shares are unequal. For instance, the sewing and tailoring industries usually have greater number of women than men. Similarly, the construction companies usually have a far greater number of men than women. c. Wage gaps between the earnings of men and women. In several parts of the world, women are paid lesser than men for comparable jobs. d. Confinement of sexes to peculiar ranks within an organization. In many business organizations, the high ranked positions are generally held by males whereas the females make up the lower staff jobs. The presence of any of the above mentioned conditions would mean gender based segregation practiced in the working place. Causes of Occupational Segregation: Ever since the increasing awareness of the occupational segregation, the researchers have been trying to delve into the causes of such practice in order to eradicate this damaging force from the grass root level. According to the report by United Kingdom’s House of Commons, there are four key factors that stimulate the occupational segregation based on gender. a. One of the basic factors that over crowds any occupation with a particular gender is the lack of knowledge on the part of the individuals seeking a job. The young people usually have information about the traditional fields that suit their gender. The concept of traditional field and the compatible traditional gender keep the youngster’s approach limited in many cases thereby resulting in the continuation of the longstanding occupational trends. b. Another driving force that keeps the women away from the high ranking jobs is the lack of concentration fostered by a need to keep a balance in the domestic chores and professional work. Since there are hardly any high paid jobs with flexible working hours, the women are often marginalized to the low paid jobs of the professional life. c. Often the business organizations have an alien or hostile culture that restricts the women in working comfortably and therefore excelling in the working environment. Sexual harassment is one such factor that inhibits the development of women in different working environments. d. Many high paid and non traditional jobs require atypical trainings as the prerequisite. Driven by the difficulties to avail such training opportunities, many women remain outside such professions6. The debate on the causes of male and female dominated occupations does not end with the above mentioned explanations. In ‘Setting Occupational Sex Segregation in Motion’, Julie A. Kmec brings into discussion the findings of different researchers. According to the research works done in the concerned field, the gender specific concept of occupations often pertains to the intentional selection of people who choose to follow the traditional practice and do not aspire to enter the non traditional fields because of acceptability. The reason is utterly social behind this choice and any digression for these individuals is reckoned as a deviant act. Apart from this view, the individuals are often unconsciously motivated to enter the professions that suit their gender in a traditional context. This behaviour is marked by the life long experiences at the back of an individual’s mind. Another interesting explanation in this regard is that the job search patterns and the social networks of men and women are different from each other. Stated differently, a woman is generally more linked to the social networks that have a majority of females in them. Often these women play the role of referents for different jobs in their working organizations thereby crowding the same organization with one gender and becoming a cause of gender segregation. Similar is the case with men who interact more frequently with the other men and often search for jobs through their social networks crowded with men7. Elke Holst while providing an international overview of women’s situation in professional environment also states socialization as one key factor in under-representing the working women8. Kmec, however, considers such limited explanations as insufficient to trace back the roots of occupational segregation in an appropriate fashion since such explanations ignore the organizational policies which are influenced by gender assumptions. For instance, a study carried out by Skuratowicz and Hunter in 2004 covered the implied policy of a bank that introduced new positions through photographs and videos in which the women were portrayed as customer relationship managers, a relatively lower paid job than that of men who were representing the prestigious higher paid posts in the same bank. Therefore the videos and photographs implied the gendered policies of the bank9. Stereotypical reasons behind the gender based occupational segregation: In the words of Nancy Clark, “Men and women aren’t planets apart, but their stereotypes sure are! 10” Stereotypes about the abilities of men and women often work to generate the idea of gender segregation in the labour market. Stereotypes about women: There are certain stereotypes about women that define the placement of women for a specific kind of jobs. For instance, it is the caring nature of females that is considered to befit the jobs of nursing, social working and teaching. The domestic efficiency is the driving force in making them maids, housekeepers and cleaners. The manual dexterity limits them to the jobs pertaining to sewing, knitting and typing. Similarly, a greater reason for having females as receptionists, secretaries and salesperson is their physical attractiveness. Stereotypes about men: While the stereotypes about woman drag them to peculiar fields, certain stereotypes about men also narrow down the approach of women regarding the job placement issues. For instance, the stereotype of men having greater physical force is the reason why they form the major part of military service. Similarly , the perceived attribute of authority makes them more favourable for holding the positions in administration 11. There are different frames of thoughts that mark the presence of gender based segregation in the working environment. Barbara F. Reskin brings in notice some of the major reasons behind the longstanding practice. According to Reskin, this segregation is fostered more by stereotypes and cultural beliefs than logical basis. One of these cultural axioms is that a woman’s natural place is home. Therefore, her primary duty is considered to be the domestic work unlike that of men. With such a cultural belief, the working of a woman in different fields is taken as a way of digression or something extra. Another such belief focuses of the differential capabilities of men and women where men are reckoned to be more capable of reasoning and undertaking professional jobs than women12. As a result of this stereotype, there is a cultural devaluation of the work done by the women and discrimination in terms of hiring. This makes some professions, with increased manual labour and little if any mental labour, overcrowded with females who remain relatively low paid13. It is this thought that makes the selection of women for decision making posts very rare and unusual thereby confining them to comparatively lower level jobs. Impact of gender based occupational segregation on the contemporary working women: Since the last few decades, the labour force has shown the trends of tremendous growth in introducing more and women in the previously men only professions. The contemporary woman is as good a pilot as a nurse. But still, the previously held notions and gender discrimination in the working place have not faded away completely. Impact of gender based occupational segregation on the contemporary women: According to Maria Charles and David B. Grusky, however the women are occupying well paid jobs, they still form the major part of what the authors call ‘occupational ghettos’. The use of this term is to pin point the serving nature and subordinate position of women in the works like nursing, secretarial and teaching jobs 14. This practice not only dissuades the working women but also discourages the non working women who aspire to join the work force. Impact of gender based occupational segregation on the contemporary labour market: The 2004-2005 report by the United Kingdom’s House of Commons lists the impacts of occupational segregation on the women as well as on the labour force of the country. According to the report, the stereotypical beliefs not only deprive the women and create a gender gap but also deprive the recruiting organizations of the potential employees15. Slow Progress of Working Women: “While women have clearly been making progress as managers and administrators, it is equally clear that this progress continues to be disappointingly slow in spite of the best efforts of many women and their supporters16.” Another corollary of gender based occupational segregation is that this trend has inhibited and slowed down the progress of women. However, segregation cannot be considered as the sole factor in the slow progress of women’s professional success and their raise for the highly paid jobs. Sandra G. L. Schruijer is of the view that many working ladies do not want to progress and raise beyond a specific limit because a promotion would mean increasing duties and imbalance between domestic and working tasks. According to her survey conducted in Netherlands, the author also states that the responses indicated a lesser preference of work as compared to the home thereby resulting in the lack of efficient working which further becomes a cause of a static professional career17. Issues pertaining to the gender based occupational segregation: The debate on gender based occupational segregation is quite in vogue ever since the increasing entrance of women in the labour market across the globe. In such a scenario, many issues and aspects pertaining to the practice of occupational segregation have captured the interest of the contemporary researchers and writers. Some of these aspects are as follows, Occupational segregation based on employment contracts: It is generally assumed that the occupational segregation on the basis of gender starts within the professional environments and has little to do with pre-joining stages of the individual. Barbara Petrongolo, however, contradicts this point of view and introduces the entrenchment of occupational segregation even before the entrance into any field. This happens through the use of gendered employment contracts which mean that the individual hired does not work as a regular member but works part time worker of the organization. Such contract jobs have relatively lower benefits as compared to the regular staff benefits. One common example in this regard is that of temporary staff hired on contract basis. These teachers do not share the benefits availed by the regular faculty members. In order to keep a balance with the domestic work, many women join organizations on contract basis since it provides them with the facility of working in flexible hours but the pay scale of these jobs is relatively lower than those occupied by the regular employees18. Occupational segregation in industrialized countries: Often misperceived as having ceased to exist in the modern societies, the perils of gender discrimination in the occupational settings are still hindering the equality of sexes. According to Robert M. Blackburn and Jenifer Jarman, gender based segregation in industrialized countries, like European nations and the United States, is relatively higher as compared to that in the other countries19. Relative extent of gender segregation in labour market: The extent to which any labour market is affected by the gender segregation is not a constant issue and changes from country to country and from occupation to occupation. Many research authors like Charles and Bettio are of the view that the extent of this segregation is higher in the labour market where the females are in majority. For instance the labour markets of Scandinavian countries constitute a very high rate of women’s participation but the same market also show a consistently strong hold of gender segregation. On the other hand, the labour market of Italy with a relatively lower rate of women’s participation show debilitated trends of gender segregation20. Gender segregation due to the individual preferences: Gender segregation in the work places is not merely a matter of coercion to associate particular gender with particular field. Often it is the individual preferences due to the educational background that makes the traditional choices favoured. Stated differently, it is often the differential bent of mind of girls and boys that keep them confined to the specific jobs. According to the studies of Esping-Andersen, there lie stark differences in academic program selection between girls and boys in colleges. Most of the seats of programs associated with social work and health care are occupied by the female students whereas the scientific and technical subjects are usually taken by male students as their majors. This choice at colleges makes these students well suited for the related jobs thereby providing a common explanation of majority of women in social work and men in technical fields21. Conclusion: Considering the current trends of gender segregation in labour markets, it is evident that the women’s progress in professional fields has remained slow which greatly depends on the segregation practiced against them in the professional scenarios. The inhibition in the professional development of women not only poses a threat to their prosperity but also endangers the efficiency of different industries because the qualification level of women is generally observed to be equivalent or better than that of men. To end up segregation in the working units, the most important key is the identification of the root causes of the gender segregation. Since, there are multiple perspectives involved behind the fostering of gender based occupational segregation; it is not easy to eradicate the problem through a single plan of action. The solution becomes even more perplexing for the fact that a great supporter of gender based segregation is the affected female gender itself. It is because of the need of creating a balance between the professional and domestic life that keep many women confined to particular occupations and specific ranks within an organization. Irrespective of the increasing participation of women in the work force, the corollary of gender segregation is multidimensional for the women of the contemporary world. At one hand, the raising issue of gender segregation has raised the awareness among the affected gender thereby resulting in an ameliorated stage through a series of demands. At the other hand, the extremity of gender segregation has kept many companies and occupations with a sustained gendered policy. Works Cited Blackburn, R.M. & Jarman, J. Gendered Occupations: Exploring the Relationship between Gender Segregation and Inequality. London: Sage Publications, 2006. 11 Aug. 2008 Charles , M. & Grusky, D.B. Occupational Ghettos: The Worldwide Segregation of Women and Men. 2008. 11 Aug. 2008 Clark, N. Are Jobs Stereotyped? 2008. 11 Aug. 2008 Ferber, M. A., Holst, E. & Matiaske, W. The Changing status of women. management Revue, vol 17, issue 2, 2006. Gorard, S. & Taylor, C. What is Segregation?: A Comparison of Measures in Terms of ‘Strong’ and ‘Weak’ Compositional Invariance. Britain: Sage Publications, 2002. 11 Aug. 2008 Huffman, M. L. Gender Inequality Across Local Wage Hierarchies. Britain: Sage Publications, 2004. 11 Aug. 2008 Kmec, J. A. Setting Occupational Sex Segregation in Motion: Demand-Side Explanations of Sex Traditional Employment. Britain: Sage Publications, 2005. 11 Aug. 2008 Petrongolo, B. Gender Segregation in Employment Contracts. London: London School of Economics and Political Science, 2004. Report of House of Commons: Trade and Industry Committee. Jobs for the girls: The effect of occupational segregation on the gender pay gap. London: The Stationery Office Limited, 2005. 11 Aug. 2008 Reskin , B. F., Women’s Work, Men’s Work: Sex Segregation on the Job. National Academic Press: 1986. UNC. Occupational Segregation by Gender. 11 Aug. 2008 Valentova, M., Krizova, I. & Katrnak, T. Occupational Gender Segregation in the light of the Segregation in Education: A Cross-National Comparison. IRISS Working Paper 2007-04. 11 Aug. 2008 Read More