Women and Work

A. Obstacles in the Workforce

Sexual Segregation

• Men and women typically inhabit different types of jobs.  The female dominated professions typically make less money when matched on level of education (i.e., blue collar vs. white collar jobs).– Examples.– “Pink collar” professions.– Part-time jobs with low pay and few benefits.

Heads and Necks of Science PhD Recipients*

*PhDs from 1978-1984 Who Are Working in Academia 12 to 14 Years Out from PhDSource: Survey of Doctorate Recipients. Sciences, 1979-1999. Note: The use of NSF Data does not imply the endorsement of research methods or conclusions contained in this report.

N=2848 N=3057

N=13058

Sexual Segregation (cont.)

• Reasons? – Stereotypes

• Role of women in general.• Qualities required for certain professions.

– Eccles’ Expectation x Value model.

– Guidance Counselors • Null environment = women are not encouraged or

discouraged, but ignored

Sexual Segregation (cont.)

• Women in Non-Traditional Fields – Characteristics

• Greene & Stitt-Gohdes (1997)

– Tokenism • When there is less than 15% of the employees

are members of a certain group (e.g., women).• Problems that arise include over-accentuating

differences and sexual harassment

Hiring

• Gatekeepers = the people in charge of hiring.

• Predictors of discrimination in hiring

• Buttner and McEnally (1996).

Pay inequity

• Women still 77 cents for every dollar men make. – http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/0

1/business/20090301_WageGap.html

Explanations• Human capital perspective = Salaries reflect human capital

(e.g., education and work experience) (Bergmann, 2007)

• Salary Negatiation (Babock & Laschever, 2008)

– Less likely to do.

– Has a sizeable effect on earnings long term.

• Job segregation.

– Comparable worth = people should be paid equally for

jobs with equivalent responsibility, ed. requirements, level

Of organization, and required experience

Women's Earnings as a Percentage of Men's, 1951–2007 (for year-round, full-time work)

Year Percent Year Percent Year Percent

1951 63.9% 1970 59.4 1989 68.7

1952 63.9 1971 59.5 1990 71.6

1953 63.9 1972 57.9 1991 69.9

1954 63.9 1973 56.6% 1992 70.8

1955 63.9 1974 58.8 1993 71.5

1956 63.3 1975 58.8 1994 72.0

1957 63.8 1976 60.2 1995 71.4%

1958 63.0 1977 58.9 1996 73.8

1959 61.3 1978 59.4 1997 74.2

1960 60.7 1979 59.7 1998 73.2

1961 59.2 1980 60.2 1999 72.2

1962 59.3% 1981 59.2 2000 73.3

1963 58.9 1982 61.7 2001 76.3

1964 59.1 1983 63.6 2002 76.6

1965 59.9 1984 63.7% 2003 75.5

1966 57.6 1985 64.6 2004 76.6

1967 57.8 1986 64.3 2005 77.0

1968 58.2 1987 65.2 2006 76.9

1969 58.9 1988 66.0 2007 77.8

The earnings gap in selected professions (annual median salaries)

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, 2006

Women Men Gap*

Accountants 43,888 60,320 73

Bartender 21,164 26,520 80

Cashiers 17,004 20,124 85

Computer programmers 53,768 63,908 84

Engineers 50,544 61,412 82

Lawyers 69,316 98,332 70

Pharmacists 81,328 89,700 90

Physicians 69,108 90,044 72

Police Officer 39,416 45,968 85

Real Estate Sales 33,592 50,180 67

Registered Nurses 50,492 55,848 90

Retail Sales 21,060 31,044 67

Social Workers 37,856 38,948 97

Teachers (elementary) 42,848 47,840 90

In Promotion

• The Glass Ceiling.– A woman can generally expect to be promoted

only up to a certain point. She then “hits her head on a glass ceiling.”

• Sample Evidence?– In 2008, 2.4% of Fortune 500 companies ran by

women.– In 2008, 17% of Senate and House seats were

occupied by women (vs. 83% men).

In Promotion (cont.)• Causes?

– A training and experience catch 22?• Social-networking and mentoring.

--Agency vs. Communion double-bind.• Women w/ both characteristics tend to fare best (Eagly & Carli, 2007).

– Role Strain?• Emotional or physical health problems resulting from

attempting to simultaneously meet the competing demands of multiple roles.

Women and Work

B. The Second Shift (Horschild, 1989)

The Second Shift

• Because of continued division of labor, women on average work 15 hours more than men.

• Gilbert & Rader (2001).  

• Scarcity hypothesis = excessive role responsibilities can lead to stress.

• Enhancement hypothesis = each added role provides added benefits (e.g., social status, self-esteem, etc.)

I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to

combine marriage and a career.  - Gloria Steinem

Research on Scarcity vs. Enhancement Hypotheses

• Kiecolt-Glaser & Newton, 2001.– The less husbands are involved in childcare

and chores, the more the employed mothers report stress and depression.

• Crosby & Sabbatini, 2006.– Multiple roles provide a buffer against stress

and depression.

Solutions?

• Parental leave.

• Egalitarian divisions of labor.– Housework.

- Gordon & Whelan-Berry, 2005

– Childcare.• Percentage of childcare tasks (Hoffman, 2000)

• Daycare.– Daycare and attachment style (Sagi et al., 2002):

Gordon & Whelan-Berry, 2005

MANAGING

DOING Low High

Low Uninvolved (14%) Coordinator (8%)

High Helpmate (50%) Egalitarian (28%)