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Feminist Theory In The Workplace

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Use a Feminist Approach to show how organizations maintain hierarchy and inequalities today Introduction A feminist is defined as a person who supports feminism and feminism is simply the quest or the belief in the social, political and economic equality of sexes. In this essay i am going to dwell on how different organizations demonstrate inequality against women in the working environment and other different organizations such as churches, Law firms and business companies using different feminist theories. Feminist theory uses the conflict approach to examine the strengthening of gender roles and inequalities, highlighting the role of patriarchy in maintaining the oppression of women. Nowadays selection of a candidate for a position in an …show more content…

In an organization, the hierarchy usually consists of a singular or group of power at the top with subsequent levels of power beneath them. This is the commonly used way of delegating staff or members of the organization in most organizations. Corporations, governments, and religious organizations are hierarchical organizations with different levels of management, power and authority. The workplace has sometimes been referred to as an inhospitable place for women due to the multiple forms of gender inequalities present (Abrams, 1991). Some examples of how workplace discrimination negatively affects women’s earnings and opportunities are the gender wage gap (Peterson and Morgan, 1995), the scarcity of women in leadership (Eagly and Carli, 2007), and the longer time required for women compared to men to advance in their careers (Blau and DeVaro, 2007). In other words, workplace discrimination contributes to women’s lower socio-economic status which hence lead to women having to settle for low payed jobs or having the secretory-boss kind of relationship in order to be promoted. Most feminists writing about organizations assume that organizational structure is gender neutral but gender inequality in organizations is a complex phenomenon that can be seen in organizational structures, processes, and practices. For women, some of the most harmful gender inequalities are acted out within human resources practices. This is because human resources practices which include policies, …show more content…

Kanter clarified some of the problems women face in organizations that are still present today. Kanter used a structuralize model, on where she discussed how women are a class without power who performs routine services while the men in viable positions constitute the real power to reward themselves and shape the system as a whole, one good example is a research done to show inequalities in organizations such as farming into which rural livelihoods shows that food security will not be achieved unless women farmers are treated as economic agents in their own right. While farmers often seek to increase their influence through collective action, this avenue is only of limited use to women, since most rural organizations are male-dominated and marginalize women’s voices (MG, Beatriz& M,

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These constant messages may lead to a false belief that women do not belong in the high-powered corporate world. This gender discrimination is something that no one can escape. We are born into this imprudent, improper, and immoral society, that has not, will not, and chooses not to change for the better for women and children

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There are more doctors, professors, writers, dentists, lawyers, than ever. However, women are still misrepresented in areas such as Congress and the top positions in the business world, such as CEO’s, board members, and executives. While the movement for women has been a long battle, the battle is far from over. Diversity is necessary and will be necessary for years to come. Therefore, the equality of women in the workplace is just as

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Furthermore, Olsson presents us with another alarming fact that show that not only it is almost impossible to get promoted in Walmart, it is more difficult to get promoted if the employee is a female. According to Olsson, “Wal-Mart today has the same percentage of women in management that the average company had in 1975” (5). In other words, the percentage of women in management did not change from 1975, when women weren’t equal in a work atmosphere as they today. Olsson provides statistic that improves her argument and reveals Walmart unfairness.

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Opposing Ambitions In Opposing Ambitions by Sherryl Kleinman she writes about an alternative holistic health care organization that focused on the mind and body known as Renewal. Renewal was a health care service that sought out to deliver a health service within an organizational structure where equality was the main Center for both me and women. Another purpose of the health care system was too lessen the emphasis that was being placed on the roles of both personal life, money, and finances that were heavily attached to men and women. In the book kleinman brings to light several factors that take place in the work place that characterizes why woman are indeed treated unfairly and therefore leads to the famous term the glass ceiling.

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Women provide another voice and point of view that your company would otherwise sorely miss. Having a gender diverse workforce can improve decision-making and increase innovation. Gender discrimination in the workplace continues to be a major problem in the workplace despite the passing of time since laws such as Title VII or the Equal Pay Act were enacted to combat the issue. Sexual or gender discrimination at work occurs whenever an individual is treated differently on account of their gender and may affect anything from hiring decisions to promotions. Relatedly, sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination similarly prohibited by federal law.

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Women do not hold leadership positions to the extent that men do… and people view more advantages to being male than female” (11). This portrays that women are viewed as insignificant to society despite all the work that women has done for society. Women do not hold as many leadership roles as men do, solely based on their gender, which is gender discrimination. This affects women from stopping them to grow to their greatest potential. Given these points, it is important to acknowledge that women are viewed as unimportant and society as a whole must

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The thesis the author Dana Britton poses in the article is to determine whether "organizational policy, practice, and slot of hierarchy is "Gendered""(Britton,p. 419). the main goal is to determine if gender plays a major role in work and social relations. The author supports her arguments by using examples from others works on the same topic to support her theory. Britton addresses three different aspects as to how gender plays a role in the workforce. First, by ideal- typical bureaucratic organization is inherently gendered.

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Lublin the authors articulate the large equality gap between men and women in the workplace, and reasons that women are not being promoted in equal ranked jobs that men are succeeding in. Waller’s first argument begins with the tremendous amount of women that are being underrepresented at every level in the corporate pipeline, and the reasons behind it. According to a survey done by LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Co which provides research from 118 companies, and nearly 30,000 employees states that only 17% of women make up executive suite jobs, and 25% of women say they feel their gender has hindered their progress (Waller & Lublin). This leads to the unequal treatment of women in the workplace strictly based off of their gender, and that women face much greater barriers to advancement in the workplace, as well as an even steeper path to senior leadership. Most people may assume women are not being promoted due to the complexity of balancing work, and family when this is false, not only women, but specifically mothers, are even more hungry for job promotions than men due to the stressful situations of their

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Researchers examine different approaches that organizations can take in order to insure their companies practice gender equality. Although we live in a world where discrimination is discouraged, it still occurs in many organizations. Lenka, D., & Sahoo, D.K. (2016). Breaking the glass ceiling: opportunity for the organization. Industrial and Commercial Training, 48(6), 311-319.

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Since the establishment of the roles of society, women have been entitled to feminine roles that focus on family and nurturing. This roles allows for the subordination of women in the workplace since it makes distinctions between ideological constraints between genders. This opens up for the construction of gendered processes, that focus on the placement of roles that only “women” are allowed to acquire because of their practices. The author makes the example of how the managers contribute to gender gap and placement of roles that do not allow for the advancement of women in an organization. Acker argued, “…the production of gender divisions.

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In today’s economy women are moreover subjected to being judged by their age, their looks, or in a lot of cases by the way that they dress. The “glass ceiling” is also a form of gender discrimination. The glass ceiling refers to the invisible barriers that disable women from getting higher ranks because, majority of the upper level positions are passed by them and given to the men in the company. “Sex or gender discrimination in the workplace is defined as treating someone unfavorable because, of the persons sex, whether they are applying for the job or are already a present employee at then establishment. The Equal Pay Act makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sex in the payment of wages or benefits.

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Gender Stratification in The Workplace Over the years, women have fought their way through the various barriers thrown at them by society, they are now more educated, matching male participation rates in the labour force and they are seen to create more opportunities for themselves in the workplace. Despite these achievements, gender stratification still exists in organizations and corporations in the 21st century; this paper seeks to analyze the numerous reasons why women remain underrepresented in leadership positions in the workplace and how this causes a trickle-down effect for other females in non-managerial positions. One of the major factors influencing the progress women experience in their career advancement stems from the deep cultural-infused gender stereotypes associated

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Sexism: Got equality? Have you ever gone to the doctor and got a shot? How about used a car heater? Or even a dishwasher? Who invented these everyday items?

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INTRODUCTION. Sexism towards women in the workplace also known as occupational sexism is one of the oldest form of discrimination against women. Despite increasing campaigns on gender equality and feminist movements worldwide, working women continue to fight for equality especially in white-collar setings. Though there has been profound progress through the years, working women continue to face more challenges as compared to men both in the western as well as developing countries. Studies now show that the Equal Pay Act passed in the United States in 1963 to abolish gender based salary differences is not being enforced as women continue to earn less than their male counterparts in the same field (Campos,2015).

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From one perspective, it might serve to raise the status and value of women in management but it additionally works in ways that add to women’s underestimation in management. In this manner ladies need to be more practical and important supporters of the senior management in development, not by doing low- paid work on essential jobs, pushing through the ‘glass walls’ to become leaders in their own particular

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