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Discrimination and Affirmative Action
DISCRIMINATION
The current study investigates gender discrimination and the relationship between organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Women report through survey questions on how they view gender discrimination against women today, their level of commitment to an organization, and their level of agreement on how satisfied they are in their jobs. The purpose of this study is discussing certain issues that pertain particularly to women, because majority of women's find barriers when moving towards the top.
According to the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, the definition of glass ceiling refers to "the artificial barriers present in the workplace to the advancement of women and minorities." Regardless of achievements, the glass ceiling is an "unseen" barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the top of the corporate ladder. The glass ceiling still persists in today's society even though the equity gap between men and women in managerial careers seems to be decreasing. Despite the Equal Employment Opportunity laws than have been instated for many years, discrimination continues to exist in the United States (Faderman 2005). Women as leaders in the business and public sector continue to be underrepresented in higher executive positions. It is a battle against the traditional organizational culture that males maintain dominance in the workplace as stereotypical leaders.
Discussion
According to Nelson (2003), compared to men, women still lag behind in salary progression, women's rewards and work conditions (pay, autonomy, authority) are less...
Women comprise 66% of the United States workforce but only hold 21% of middle management positions and 15% of the remaining 42% are at the senior management level. It is argued by scholars that the disproportional under representation of women in managerial positions is due to the glass ceiling effect: blocked opportunities for women. Others argue that it is due to a sticky floor: keeping women in lower paying jobs (Edgar 2004). Regardless of the reason, there are more men in managerial positions than women.
Men still out earn women in pay throughout the world. Even after controlling variables such as education, age, position, level, and job tenure, women's salaries average only 72-88% of male's salaries. Near the close of the 1900 century, men represented 95% of senior executives in the largest publically held United States firms. A recent survey of the Institute of Management Accountants reported females earned less than males on all levels of education, management, and certification (Connerley Pedersen 2005).
Women are often recognized as the victim in gender discrimination in the workplace. They are looked down upon as the gender that must fight to break the glass ceiling in order to succeed against society's predispositions for them (Vallas 2003). As some females have succeeded in reaching the top leadership positions in their companies, it is often a struggle…
References
Connerley M.L. & P.B. Pedersen (2005), Leadership in a diverse and multicultural environment: developing awareness, knowledge, and skills, Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage. Pp. 101-115
Edgar F. & Geare A. (2004), "Employee demographics in human resource management research," Research and practice in human research management, 12(1), 61-91.
Faderman, Lillian, 2005, Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love Between Women from the Renaissance to the Present. London: The Women's Press, pp. 167-168
Finnis, John, (2004), "Law, Morality, and 'Sexual Orientation'" Notre Dame Law Review 69: 1049-1076.
Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity The policies of affirmative action aiming at assisting the black Americans are of recent origin. The policies have sought its origin to varied sources like legal structure, executive instructions, and court rulings. It was during the last three decades that these policies were being developed and they have become debatable as well. (Legal History) During the last three decades of the nineteenth century, a large number of African-Americans
Affirmative Action: Why We Need to Reform It It is widely believed that the American society is a "melting pot" where members of racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities eventually mold into the mainstream, becoming full-fledged citizens of the country. The reality, however, is much more complicated. While it is true that America offers many opportunities to all its citizens, there is a history of discrimination against minority groups that affects
Affirmative Action At its most objective definition, affirmative action entails "positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded." Affirmative action acknowledges the presence of institutionalized and systematic forms of discrimination: which may not be apparent to members of the dominant or privileged culture. For example, white males will not even notice that no Blacks
Affirmative Action Ever since the upheavals of the 1960s precipitated a fundamental change in the way the United States regards civil rights, the notion of affirmative action has been regularly discussed and misunderstood throughout the national discourse. Requirements that certain employers enact affirmative action plans began with an executive order on the heels of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII of which specifies that employers may not discriminate on
This is a particular problem at the nation's colleges and universities. This has become so much of an issue that law suits and verdicts have been handed down in some states. One of the most famous cases to date involved the University of Michigan's undergraduate and law school policies. These cases are Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger. In 1997, Jennifer Gratz, a white woman, sued the University of
Affirmative Action is the set of public policies and initiatives designed to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Affirmative action was set into place during the 1960's. Focusing in particular on education and jobs, affirmative action policies required that active measures be taken to ensure that blacks and other minorities enjoyed the same opportunities for promotions, salary increases, career advancement, school