Gender Relations In The Workplace

Sexual Harassment

The Mommy Track

• Sexual harassment refers to unwanted sexual comments, looks, touching, or pressure in a workplace or school setting
• In 1979, a book published by Catherine MacKinnon stressed that such unwanted sexual advances is a structural problem
• Sexual harassment is a case of men abusing positions of authority to force unwanted sexual activities on women

• Many women take the role of a mother , and the caretaker of their family
• They have to balance their family and their work responsibilities
• some corporations have suggested giving women a choice between two different jobs; one where they would focus completely on work, or a "mommy track" where they would be expected to do less at work and focus mainly on their family. The goal would be for women to balance family and work

Gender Relations In The Workplace

Pay Gap (con't)

• Researchers have found that about half of the pay gap is due to women typically choosing lower paying jobs, like grade school teaching, but the majority of the gap is due to gender discrimination

Glass Ceiling (con't)

The Mommy Track (con't)

• Women lack mentors - Successful executives who take an interest in them and teach them the ropes
• Some men fear gossip and sexual harassment charges if they get close to a women in a subordinate position
• Other men don't mentor women because they see them as weak

• Critics argue that the mommy track would keep men in positions of executive power and relegate women to an inferior position in the corporate life. They say that a better way to confront the issue between work and family is for husbands to take greater responsibilities at home and for firms to provide more accommodations to working mothers

Pay Gap

Sociology Project Trevor Gorney

Mrs.Uhlman Allison Kennedy

6th Hour

Glass Ceiling

• Most woman's pay ends up being around 70-80% of what a man with the exact same qualifications would make
• A gender pay gap is found in all industrialized nations
• African American + Latina women come the closet to earning what men of their groups make, white women are the race that earn the least compared to their male counterparts. However, they still typically earn more than women of color.

• Def: an intangible barrier within a hierarchy that prevents women or minorities from obtaining upper-level positions
• Women are kept from positions power because they are stereotyped as being better at jobs like human resources or public relations, and barely get promoted
• Felice Schwarts - Founder of Catalyst: "Men stereotype potential leaders as people who look like themselves.

The Glass Escalator (con't)

Sexual Harassment (con't)

• Women who try to take charge may be viewed as aggressive and pushy as opposed to driven and assertive
• The rarity of men in certain fields (child care, human services) makes them stand out more and may lead to preferential treatment

The Glass Escalator

• Due to changes in the workplace, women have also become sexual harassers
• Studies show that male victims are less likely to report harassment than female victims, because they are afraid of being mocked by their peers

• The opposite of the glass ceiling
• a situation where men are accelerated into more desirable work assignments, higher level positions, and larger salaries due to their gender
• Stereotyped as more capable and natural leaders because they are male