How Sexism Affects the Workplace

Sexism in the Workplace

The idea that men and women are treated differently in the workplace has been around ever since both genders began organized work. However, it is important to explore how much of that difference is sensible and due to actual differences between the way genders handle work and process information, and how much of it equates to actual sexism. This is an important issue, as it relates to interaction between the genders and also to fairness when it comes to pay and treatment in the workplace, as well as hiring practices. There have been plenty of stories heard over the years of "women's work" and "men's work," but much of that has gone by the wayside in recent times. The majority of that has come from women's demand for equal rights, as well as men's increasing interest in some types of jobs (such as nursing and related medical jobs) that were traditionally held by women.

Sexism addresses the idea that men are only capable of and good at particular types of work, and that the same is true for women. Those who hold sexist beliefs generally still feel that this is the case in modern society, with most of the sexism being directed toward women who allegedly are not capable of performing as well as men when it comes to work duties. This is, naturally, an important concern for women because they feel as though they are being treated as second class citizens. They also generally do not make as much money as men for the same amount of work, so there is a discrepancy there that must be addressed in order to ensure that sexism is avoided and both genders are treated equally. This paper explores the literature on sexism, as well as addressing a methodology that will allow the concept of sexism in the modern workplace to be studied.

Literature Review

The main theory that is addressed in sexism is that men are more likely to be hired, overall, than women (Bojarska, 2012; Kail & Cavanaugh, 2010). Additionally, men are also more likely to be treated with a higher level of generosity on a professional level than women in the same jobs and who have identical qualifications (Bojarska, 2012). This is believed to be because sexism is still very much present in modern society, despite efforts to eradicate it and despite the number of companies and individuals who insist it is not something in which they engage. Research has been conducted in support of the theory that sexism is still a very present force within society today, and there are a number of studies that have provided general confirmation of this opinion (Macklem, 2004; Atwell, 2002; Hurst, 2007; Schneps & Colmez, 2013). Here, those studies will be addressed as a way to show not only what has been previously studied, but also to show that there are valid reasons in which to engage in further studies of the matter.

Without doing so, it becomes much more difficult to make a true determination of why sexism is so much of an issue and why it has not been corrected as societal problem. For example, King, et al. (2012) conducted a study of a group of managers within the energy industry, and found that the tasks given to the women in the group were not as challenging or as demanding as the tasks given to men in that same group. This was believed by the authors to be a clear example of sexism in the workplace, because the men and women were in the same industry and the same job titles (King, et al., 2012). They should have had virtually identical pay and duties, affected only by a difference in what companies might require of all of their managers and/or their level of qualifications such as education and prior work experience (King, et al., 2012). However, when controlling for all other variables it was still seen that women did not get the same level of work as men (King, et al., 2012).

The authors hypothesized that this was due only to gender, and an overarching sexist belief that women cannot perform a job as well as men (King, et al., 2012). In the energy industry and some other industries that are dominated mostly by men, this level of sexism is often seen (King, et al., 2012). That does not make it acceptable, but it is more commonplace. Seeing it in other industries where women are typically more equal or where women are generally more dominant is still possible, but the sexism in those industries is often not as strong or as pronounced (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2010). This is much better for women who work in these industries, and also better for men who work there because they are taught that women are truly equal and that the company values the contributions of all of the employees, regardless of gender. That is an important point that many industries overlook (Schneps & Colmez, 2013). When they are sexist, they indicate that they do not find women valuable, which can cause those women to struggle in other areas of their lives.

However, this sexist behavior also teaches their male employees that they have dominance and that they are not to value the opinions of women as highly as their own (Bojarska, 2012). That can be even more damaging to both the men and the women of the group, and can lead women to file lawsuits for discrimination or to simply leave the company and look for another opportunity where they will be more accepted based on their value and qualifications, without gender becoming an issue (Macklem, 2004). When women are provided with work that is not as challenging as the work given to men who hold the same positions in the same industries, it clearly devalues those women and indicates to them that what they can offer to their industries and companies is not as important as what men can offer (Matsumoto, 2001; Atwell, 2002). Of course, that is a serious concern because it is important to value all employees of a company, regardless of their gender. The male/female dichotomy should not come into play in the workplace at all, because all that matters is that the people hired for jobs perform them correctly (Atwell, 2002).

Another study (Young & Nauta, 2013) looked at men and women in the military, and found that women were 30% less likely to receive a promotion in rank than men were. This is a significant difference in the way men and women are valued in the military, and a clear example of sexism. It can be used as a way to predict attitudes toward women both in the military in a generic sense and in combat situations (Young & Nauta, 2013). Women generally want to be equal, but while they are allowed to do much more than in years past and they are getting involved with numerous different types of jobs and industries, there are still areas of life where being a male holds much more weight than being a female (Hurst, 2007). This is something that should change, but there does not seem to be a change in sight. When men and women do not see one another as equals, their thoughts about themselves are also different than they would be if the situation were different (Hurst, 2007).

In other words, men generally see themselves as being above women in status and value, while women see themselves as not having as much value as men and needing to defer to men in order to get their questions answered or make large life decisions (Matsumoto, 2001). This is a generalization, of course, and not true of all men or women. Studies do show, however, that men and women, when taken as separate groups, do possess these traits and differences (Bojarska, 2012; Matsumoto, 2001; Kail & Cavanaugh, 2010). That may work well for some of them, and may even be perfectly acceptable to them in their home lives, but there is no place for sexism in the workplace. Judging a person's ability to perform a job based on his or her gender has been deemed unacceptable by most of society and by the courts, but people still continue to make sexism part of the workplace in both subtle and not so subtle ways (Schneps & Colmez, 2013; Kail & Cavanaugh, 2010). It is unfortunate that this has become the case, and even more unfortunate that over the years nothing has changed to ensure that there are no longer sexist teachings in any workplace. Because the issue has not been resolved, studies continue to be done (Bojarska, 2012).

The goal of most of these studies is to attempt to determine why there is still so much sexism in the workplace, and why people still feel that men and women are so deeply unequal in nature. There are many speculative reasons why this could be the case, but the most commonly believed issue is that men and women simply do not believe they are truly equal. This is often because of the way men and women handle crises and other issues, the way they lead others, and the way they show (or do not show) their feelings and emotions about various issues that concern them (Atwell, 2002; Kail & Cavanaugh, 2010). That not only stops women from being equal on the job, but it can even stop them from getting the job in the first place (Bojarska, 2012; Schneps & Colmez, 2013).

Dick (2013) found that women who had the same, equal qualifications as men and applied for the same, identical positions were 20% less likely to be hired. The same percentage discrepancy held true when it came to women being promoted, as they also struggled in that area (Dick, 2013). When men and women are equal in every other way, a lack of sexism would indicate that they should be hired the same percentage of the time, but this is not the reality in the majority of cases.

For women in careers and industries that are predominately held by women, the results are better, of course. In those types of cases, there is a concern that there may be sexism directed at the men who are attempting to get into that career (Bojarska, 2012). While this can be seen to a certain extent, the largest issue still stems from the fact that men are hired, retained, trained, and promoted more often than women as a generalization across the board in any and every industry (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2010). Seeing men get hired and promoted over them when they know they are qualified can be difficult for women to handle and accept, and can lead them to move on to other jobs or careers where they feel less threatened, uncomfortable, or devalued (Bojarska, 2012; Atwell, 2002). Of course, that can also lead to women not getting the quality of life they want or ending up in a career they do not prefer simply to feel as though they matter in some way (Atwell, 2002).

That is unhelpful to women and also unhelpful to society. Women and men should be valued equally in order to ensure they can both provide for themselves and their families, and in order to ensure that there is equality throughout the country (Schneps & Colmez, 2013; Kail & Cavanaugh, 2010). When one gender is much more highly valued over the other, it becomes difficult to see the true value of every person. It also becomes much easier to ignore a valuable idea, statement, or plan, simply because it came from someone of a different gender (Bojarska, 2012). Without a deep respect for the value that both genders can offer, sexism in the workplace will continue to be a problem. Legally, however, there is no sexism in the workplace. It is against federal law to discriminate against any person because of his or her gender, along with several other categories that are also protected (Bojarska, 2012). While this is vital to note, it does not stop the practice of sexism from still happening. It is far too easy to find other reasons to hire someone who is preferred by the company because of gender, and make it appear perfectly legal (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2010).

If the other person has any more education or experience, or if the person is simply considered to be a "better fit" based on the corporate culture of the company, he or she can be hired without too much fear of recourse (Atwell, 2002; Hurst, 2007). The person who was turned away because of sexism must prove that was the reason, and that can be a very difficult thing to do (Atwell, 2002). It would seem more logical that the accused company would have to prove that they were not being sexist in their hiring choice, but that is not the way federal law and discrimination works (Atwell, 2002). Instead, the person who believes that sexism is at work in a hiring or promotion decision, or simply in the workplace in general, has the burden of proof to show that is the case.

While not easy, it can be a worthwhile pursuit for more obvious cases (Atwell, 2002). There have been individuals who have won large settlements because of sexism and discrimination cases, but these are generally difficult to prove for most cases and not worth the expense and damage to one's reputation they often cause (Atwell, 2002). Some choose to risk those issues, however, and can find that it is very rewarding to win a case against sexism in the workplace.

Research Question

The research question for this study regarding the presence of sexism in the workplace is as follows:

Is sexism present in the professional workplace, particularly in the processes of hiring and professional treatment (promotion, rule enforcement, etc.)?

Methodology

The methodology that will be used is qualitative in nature, and will take into account and evaluation the feelings and reports of men and women, as well as their professional status. Issues explored will be the process of hiring, the procedure used for callbacks, and the way the individual was treated once in the workforce. That treatment will include everyday issues such as inclusion, but also address promotions and work-related changes and adjustments that can be considered to be based on the value a person is believed to bring to a team or a company overall. There will be information collected at the beginning of the study period, and then a follow-up conducted one year later.

Participants

The participants of this study will be three men and three women. This number was chosen because it is much easier to collect this level of data from a smaller group. However, using only one person of each gender would be too simplistic and would not provide any other same-gender subjects for comparison. These participants will have the same educational background, work experience, extracurricular activities, and volunteer experience. They will attend six separate interviews, knowing that they are all equally matched and equally qualified for the jobs at hand. The only differences in their resumes will be that they match their gender. Other than that, they will be the same. It is important to note that the researcher will need to control for other factors such as race, age, attractiveness, and even something as simple as a person's name in order to narrow down the issue of why the person did nor did not get hired to being one of gender, specifically.