Gender issues in Workplace

By
5266FM2016033 N.T.Fonseka
5266FM2016049 M.M.U.Jayasekara
 Gender

“the state of being male or female”

Source : Google dictionary

Gender as a social problem..

 Gender relations are unequal relations with respect to: power, privilege, and property.

 Gender is a social problem when inequities continue to persist in a society that

espouses gender equality

 Gender is problematic because of the growing estrangement is not without

consequence

 When the scripting of masculinity and femininity into rigid roles and stereotypical
rules restrict personal choice, foster sexism and create unequal outcomes
 ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT GENDER

Masculine Feminine

● Active ● Passive

● Presence ● Absence

● Independent ● Dependent

● Organized ● Scattered

● Rational ● Emotional

● Logical ● Illogical

● Intellectual ● Intuitive/imaginative

Source : Fiske characteristics of gender

 Masculinity

“possession of the qualities traditionally

associated with men.”

Source : Google dictionary

Arguments against masculinity..
Arguments against masculinity..

(1) Masculinity is not the property of men

(2) Should be wary of using the terms “men”, “male” and “masculinity” interchangeably

(3) Discourses of masculinity are available to, used by and imposed upon both

men and women.

Arguments against masculinity..

 Masculinity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with boys and men.

 It is distinct from the definition of the male biological sex.

 Both males and females can exhibit masculine traits and behavior.
“…taken-for-granted and well-rehearsed “…shared discourses and practices
shared narrative of amongst
women’s inferiority among the male men which institutionalise men’s
participants..” dominance over women..”
(Fisher & Kinsey, 2013)
(Bird, 1996)

“Gender discrimination against women often takes relatively sophisticated and veiled
forms which are difficult to identify and challenge. A particularly elusive aspect is the
dominance and yet apparent invisibility of masculinities...”
(Collinson and Hearn, 1994, 1996; Connell, 1995; Kerfoot and Knights, 1993; Martin, 2001; Simpson, 2004),
Men’s biological destiny also results in political, economic and cultural privileges.

“Masculine advantage” is apparently reflected in a genetic

predisposition to:

1. Aggression (in contrast to the passivity of femininity)

2. Physical strength (in contrast to the weakness of femininity)

3. Sexual drives (in contrast to the sexual reserve of femininity)

Definition
• Gender stereotypes are preconceived ideas whereby females and males
are arbitrarily assigned characteristics and roles determined and limited
by their gender. Gender stereotyping can limit the development of the
natural talents and abilities of girls and boys,
women and men, as well as their educational and professional experiences
and life opportunities in general.

• Stereotypes about women both result from, and are the cause of, deeply
engrained attitudes, values, norms and prejudices against women. They
are used to justify and maintain the historical relations of power of men
over women as well as sexist attitudes that hold back the advancement
of women. (Source Gender Equality Commission of the Council of
Europe (2015))
What is Gender Stereotype ?
Gender Stereotyping in the Workplace
Common assumptions made ...
Women Men
Gender issues at work

Video
Gender issues at work for women

 Women paid less

 Men getting promoted over women

 Women having to leave work for children

 Hard to return to work after childbirth

 Balancing work and family life

 Travel and safety

Extracted from the Wall
Street Journal
Gender issues at work for men

 Occupational segregation – Where some professions are rarely for men because of pre
embedded social perceptions – Secretarial Jobs, Personal assistant jobs, accountant
jobs, nursing jobs , grade school teaching jobs, bank teller jobs, cashier jobs in
supermarkets, certain sales and marketing jobs etc.

 Leniency towards female workers when it comes to certain working conditions. – E.g.
Working Late
Strategies women use to overcome gender
disparity in Sri Lanka :
• Demonstrating Expertise - Demonstrating expertise involves boldly and aggressively flaunting ones’ skills,
credentials and experience in order to provoke envy or admiration from others.

• Manipulation – Manipulation can be defined as shrewdly attempting to exert influence on another person by
means such as ingratiation (Fernando and Cohen, 2011)

• Accepting - Refers to women considering prevailing gender biases as irreversible and therefore reconciling
themselves to the negative career repercussions which result from these.

• Playing the female card - Involves carefully positioning oneself as a woman and as feminine to use prevailing
gender biases to one’s own advantage.
Contd.
• Avoiding - Involves women attempting to shield themselves from the negative career repercussions of gender
stereotypes.

• Adopting the anti-woman approach - Refers to individuals distancing themselves from their own gender
(Powell et al., 2009), being critical of other women who are seen as typically feminine and/or are perceived to
have typically female duties such as childcare (Mavin, 2006).

• Performing masculinity - Involves displaying characteristics typically associated with men such as
aggressiveness and competitiveness.

• Explaining refers to making a particular situation understandable to someone by describing it in-depth and
detail and/or justifying one’s argument with reference to logic or seemingly credible evidence (Fernando and
Cohen, 2011).
 How to overcome Gender disparity in the
workplace :
• Reassess job requirements for the senior leadership team • Make sure everyone has access to
mentors
• Expand the applicant pool
• Evaluations should be fair
• Consider your biases
• Employers need to squash harassment
• Rethink your interview process

• Make sure all employees have the same access to

opportunity

• Minimize the gender pay gap

• Get serious about addressing work/life balance

 Global Performance

Source : The Global Gender Gap Report 2017

 Global
Weighted Average

Vs

Sri Lanka

Source : The Global Gender Gap Report 2017

 Sri Lanka ranked #109 out of 144 countries

Source : The Global Gender Gap Report 2017

 Sub Index Rank Score

ECONOMIC 123 0.521

PARTICIPATION AND
OPPORTUNITY
EDUCATIONAL 86 0.986
ATTAINMENT
HEALTH AND SURVIVAL 1 (20+ countries ranked #1) 0.980

POLITICAL 65 0.188
EMPOWERMENT

Source : The Global Gender Gap Report 2017

 Rankings by Region

Source : The Global Gender Gap Report 2017

Source : The Global Gender Gap Report 2017
 Progress over time
2006 - 2017

Source : The Global Gender Gap Report 2017

 Relationship between wage parity and women's labour
market participation, by income group

Source : The Global Gender Gap Report 2017

Source : The Global Gender Gap Report 2017
 Sri Lanka – Country Portfolio

Source : The Global Gender Gap Report 2017

 Country
Scorecard

Source : The Global Gender Gap Report 2017

THANK YOU !