Inequality and Its Effects in the Workplace

Inequality and its Effects in the Workplace Ashford University Contemporary Social Problems and the Workplace SOC 402 July 19, 2010 ? Inequality and its Effects in the Workplace awakeual practice, ethnicity, and race inequalities and the issues surrounding them in the departplace obligate been on the forefront of monastic orders mind for decades. The problem of discrepancy in the workplace has become one of the most important and vital issues in our society immediately.In mark to understand fully the reasons for these inequalities, one moldiness sample to understand the factors that cause gender, ethnicity, and racial issues within the workplace, yet in this case, we leave behind tend to focus mostly towards gender inequality in the workplace. unmatchable typic solelyy thinks topical anestheticly in these situations, and Ameri posteriors support fought hard for equality, yet all over half of illiterate battalion throughout the world atomic turn of events 18 females . Gender inequality is an issue that has been shaped by work force from generations to generations.Each man carrying low his own ideologies mixed in with the previous generations to cause this mold that wo manpower are expected to conform and fit into. In the States, wo manpower have fought long and hard to have many of the same powerfuls as men. Education, the right to vote, and move status are respectable a few examples of approximately of the many important things these women fought for. In other countries, women are non as fortunate to have such a voice to be heard, and consequently their fight ends before it begins. On April 11, 1996, President Bill Clinton proclaimed subject Pay Inequality Awareness Day.The goal of the government was to transmit and eliminate dissimilitude in the workplace in 1972 when the Equal workplace Opportunity Act was established. The heart of twain of these acts was and is to protect the individuals rights as well as promote employment op portunities for everyone within the workplace. evidently the government is aware and nerve-racking to prevent and protect the rights of these individuals through the exceedingly of these acts so the question remains what are the reasons why women, ethnic groups, and nonage races still being interact unfairly at work?The gendered income inequality can also be attri neverthelessed in part to occupational segregation, where groups of people are distributed across occupations according to ascribed characteristics in this case, gender. Occupational sex segregation can be understood to be made up of twain directions. The first direction would be made up of occupational sex segregation and occurs as men and women are thought to possess distinguishable physical, emotional, and mental capacities. These disparate characteristics assume the genders vary in the types of jobs they are meet for.This can be specifically viewed with the gendered division surrounded by manual and non-man ual labor. The chip direction is made up when occupational sex segregation occurs as occupations are stratified according to the power, authority, income, and prestige associated with the occupation and women are excluded from dimension such jobs. An example of this type of gender inequality includes women that obtain a role in the workplace that is assumed for a man. Women have re flatned obtaining such roles, but once occupied, have had to fight to keep them.Caitlin Crawshaw interviewed Gail Powley for her bind depicting workplace diversity and quickly learned Gails succeeder in such a role. Ms. Powley revealed that her secret was Its all nearly attitude, so when they saw my attitude wasnt to make them change at all, but to find ways to work with them, they actually welcomed me (2010, para. 2). Historically, inequality has advance white males relative to similarly qualified females, ethnic, and minorities especially in the workplace.Wage inequality is the discrepancy of wa ges between who groups due to a bias towards or against a specific trait with all or other characteristics of both groups being equivalent. In the case of gender inequality, wage discrimination hold outs between the male and female gender. Gender inequality wage discrimination can still be seen clearly today in specific organizations and occupational groups, i. e. pabulum industry. In the workplace, a female chef must work twice as hard as her male counterpart when competing for the same Executive Chef position.If you were to strike any charr in that position, she would comply. She knows her challenge before it begins, so she must know in her heart how badly she wants the prize and be exceedingly confident in herself to achieve this position. If you were to ask her male counterpart, he would disown the accusation. He does not see her challenge however, that does not mean that it does not exist. The challenge in this same workplace would at least double if the female chef were African American, or Native American.With or without the existence of this challenge, women have been gaining a steady foothold in the workplace. In fact, in America it has become a natural cultural trend for there to be dual incomes within the family and many families could not live the lifestyle that they do without the females contributing income to the family. This is the new norm in our local society. The new roadblock that we face now is when it comes to a single-income family in which the breadwinner is the female. So now the question becomes, why?Why is this idea so delicate for us to accept? Stay at al-Qaeda dads, aka Mr. Moms, are becoming much and more a trend of today. Some of the factors that go into a decision equivalent this are things manage benefits, childcare, and which wage earner has the large income. Kathleen Gerson (2007) offers her view on this well-disposed attitude by stating that, We are all quite comfortable with the dual-earner household. Its beco me a cultural template, but for somewhat reason we hit a roadblock when it comes to single-income households where the single earner is a woman (para. ). According to Gersons research as well, the number of households where the wife is the primary earner of the home jumped from about 4. 1% in 1970 to 7% in 2000 (2007, para. 8). This statistic is hard to accept in our economy today because it is almost a necessity for the presence of a dual income to run short and adequately provide for the family. One study has shown that a coupling that has both husband and a wife providing for the family is more satisfying than a marriage with only one sole income.Even though women struggle with keeping up with the men in the workplace, they also struggle with additional obstacles at home as well. What they experience here is a type of career discrimination because they, more than men will experience conflict between their work and home responsibilities. This conflict is intensified if the wom an holds the primary responsibility for childcare because they naturally take on the role of the nurturer of the family. Other sacrifices that women will make in their career that men will not are things like maternity leave and extra sick days in order to take care of sick children.Because of these factors, some women feel the intense jam to choose between that of having a career or having a family. A study that Lauer and Lauer reported states that out of 51 women, faculty members reported that a higher proportion of younger faculty women chose to remain childless or to have fewer children than older faulty women, primarily because of the requirements of getting elevate and promotion (2006, p. 200). The glass windowpane effect is also considered a accomplishable contributor to the gender income inequality.This ideology suggests that significant disadvantages exist towards the top of the career ladder which becomes worse as a persons career goes on. The term glass window indicate s that there are invisible barriers that exist that prevent women from advancements in their careers and promotions. These barriers exist in spite of the achievements or qualifications of the women trying to achieve these positions. Even further, these barriers continue to exist when other job-relevant characteristics are achieved like experience, education, and abilities. at that place are few women holding these higher-powered, high income positions due to this glass window effect. This effect also indicates the existence of limited chances of women for income raises, promotion, or advancement to more prestigious positions or jobs and increase over the course of a womans career. The gender income earnings ratio indicates the existence of an increase in womens earnings comparative to men. Mens wages reached a plateau in the late 1970s which allowed for womens incomes to gradually penny-pinching in the ratio between the two.Despite the smaller ratio between men and womens incomes, inequality continues to exist. Even more, this income gap varies widely within different races as well. Whites comparatively have the greatest income gap between the genders. inwardly the Caucasian race, women earn 78% of the wages that Caucasian men do. Comparatively, African American women earn 90% of the wages African American men do and Hispanic women earn 88% of the wages that Hispanic men do. There are some exceptions in which women earn more than men, although they are rare.Other inequalities that women face, especially those women in the workplace with ethnic backgrounds is that of prejudged, preconceived ideologies held by others in leadership/management. Women of ethnic backgrounds in the workplace are primarily effectuate in factory and go work. Primarily today, Americans are very conscious(p) of illegal aliens and border issues and therefore tend to prejudge and develop social attitudes towards these ethnic groups. This is referred to as racial profiling. This makes career advancement in the workplace for these women especially hard to achieve.Most ethnic women choose not to fight the ascending(prenominal) battle that this kind of discrimination presents and therefore they settle for the factory and service jobs previously mentioned. Arizona legislature recognized the rising potential for racial profiling and began to revise laws stating that police may not consider race, vividness or national originexcept to the extent permitted by the get together States or Arizona Constitution (2010, para. 9). Racial profiling can be individually overcome, but honestly, some women do not see comme il faut value in the rewards to pursue it.Lori Latrice Martin addresses this same issue in her name concentrating mostly on African Americans when she stated that careful examinations of racial fights in the types of levels of asset ownership have painted a bleak yield of racial economic inequality in America (2010, para. 2). Despite the cognizance of gend er inequality, there are still arguments about gender difference and assumptions that women and men are from different planets women and men are still treated so differently in society.The workplace still remains an anisometric playground that is polluted by persistent sex segregation, income inequality, sex discrimination, and sexual harassment. Women and men work because they want to, and because they have to. Employers should not judge women as being any less dependable than men because that is simply not true. The truth is that family structure has changed drastically over the years. Today the family responsibilities are now being shared by both the mothers and the fathers.In order to compensate for these changes, some companies have introduced flex time, job sharing, parental leave, on-site child care, and teleworking just to name a few. Employers should accommodate a womans needs and therefore expand the gender diversity of their company. They may just find that positive ou tcomes will emerge from such a move. There was a time where the balance of respect and roles never existed between a husband and wife, but today, they are redefining themselves, their relationships, and their family units to accommodate what works for them and not what society says should work.More importantly, women have successfully broken from the bondage of dependence on men. They no longer have to submit themselves to one main role in the family life solely as the mother. As for men, the need for dominancy has changed dramatically because for some men, they have been found to be the nurturing stay-at-home fathers for their family. As well, men and women have emerged to work together as a unit. ?References Crawshaw, C. (2010). Workplace diversity pays dividends having a wide range of backgrounds helps with innovation. Leader Post, H, 1. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from ProQuest Direct database. Dunleavey, M. P. (2007). A breadwinner rethinks gender roles. bleak York Times, C, 6. R etrieved July 19, 2010, from ProQuest Direct database. Lauer, R. H. , & Lauer, J. C. (2006). Social problems and the quality of life (10th ed. ). Boston McGraw-Hill. Sullum, J. (2010, Aug/Sept). contain everybody. Reason magazine, 8. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from ProQuest Direct database. Martin, L. L. (2010, Fall). Non-married women and black ethnicity an analysis of the likelihood of homeownership. Western ledger of black studies, 325-336. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from ProQuest Direct database.