Gender Inequality in Business: History, Pay Gaps & Progress

Introduction: Gender Roles and the Business World

Traditional gender roles have defined the business lives as well as the home lives of families and breadwinners for numerous generations. Certain expectations were put in place at what seems to be the dawn of time. The evolution of these decided obligations went on to shape the traditional family and the roster of the traditional workplace. Expansions and millennia of progression in this historical framework then gave way to what the modern world still often considers gender-specific job roles. Without question, this segregative and selective approach to the business world is surely archaic.

Nevertheless, over the last decade or so there has been a revolution gaining steam in the business community. The idea of equality is becoming more and more popular among businesses and government agencies. Such powerful and influential entities have finally realized that the furthering and promotion of gender-specific job roles is discriminatory and wrong. Thus, with massive amounts of legislation like Affirmative Action being passed to help ensure gender equality in all firms, it certainly seems like the tides are shifting (Inglehart & Norris, 2003). However, being that some of these legislative equalizers were actually initiated in the 1960s, they do not appear to provide an immediate solution. While these legal precedents have helped to begin reversing the historical trend, more needs to be done to bring genuine equality into the business world.

Even in the modern landscape of globalized business and commerce, there are still great discrepancies in gender equality. Without question, women have increased their participation in this arena by leaps and bounds, though it is still an unquestionably male-dominated environment. Even with equality laws in action, labor statistics still indicate the prevalence of gender-specific job roles in contemporary business (Croson & Gneezy, 2009). And while women seem to be suffering the most at the hands of this archaic business ideology, men have also had a difficult time transcending gender-specific barriers in the workplace.

Historical Exclusion of Women from Public and Professional Life

From a woman's perspective, there is certainly a wealth of age-old hurdles to success in the global business economy. As far back as the Roman Empire, women were tasked with childcare and other household duties and expected to be contented in these menial roles. Accordingly, they were forbidden to engage in any business or political matters — in other words, they had virtually no rights outside of the home. This direct exclusion occurred during the very time that the foundations of business, politics, and philosophy were being created. Thus, it could be argued that because of the gender configuration of the time, these fields were actually originated for men.

In any event, the segregative and prejudicial attitudes of these highly influential civilizations stood the test of time and continued to manifest themselves in numerous world cultures. Even some of the most highly developed and powerful nations in the world held deeply discriminatory positions toward women for centuries. Almost all of the same gender-based prohibitions that existed in Ancient Greece and Rome persisted well into the 20th century. In fact, the United States did not grant women the right to vote until 1920. Without question, this most basic right was one of the first steps in granting women the freedom to excel in endeavors outside of the home.

Many believe that this revolutionary — yet far overdue — shift was spurred on by the rising feminist movement that gained power during the late 19th century in America. This group of activist women, along with their male supporters, organized several rallies and protests for the purpose of securing more rights for women. Once their influence was realized on a national scale with the passage of the 19th Amendment, this movement gained even more support and encouraged women to participate in society in various ways.

Women Entering the Workforce: From Suffrage to the Office

One such way in which women began to embrace the outside world was in the workplace. After the women's suffrage movement, the female population seemed to collectively gain an unprecedented sense of autonomy and independence. In fact, statistics show that after this gain in women's rights, the average age of marriage for women increased by four years. This is indicative of the fact that women began to explore their career and educational options before immediately settling down and accepting the role of housewife.

Other studies have shown that beginning shortly after this feminist revolution and throughout the remainder of the 20th century, women's education rates steadily increased, as opposed to the more sluggish educational growth rates of their male counterparts. Each of these valuable indicators points to this demographic's ever-increasing potential for success in the workplace. Nevertheless, despite this undeniable potential, the male-dominated business world was not extremely welcoming to these qualified newcomers over the majority of the last century. Many powerful male breadwinners felt — and continue to feel — threatened by the idea of a woman applicant or coworker.

With increasing amounts of anti-discriminatory legislation being signed into law, this regrettably large group of influential and stubborn businessmen was forced to make room for women in the office. Even though women did have employment opportunities during the industrial revolution and wartime, these positions were not comparable because their primary motivation was the lack of available men. Additionally, these initial job roles seemed to subjugate women to an even greater extent than the role of housewife. While women labored on dangerous machinery during long, grueling shifts, the men who were present sat in the comfort of the office signing papers, giving orders, and making business deals. Thus, there was little to no gender interaction in these early employment environments (Nicholas & Oxley, 2008).

Conversely, as women began to invest more and more in their own educations and independence, they moved closer and closer to equality with men in the working world. Not long after being given the right to vote, women were making their way into the same offices as men. However, while the shared workspace gave the illusion of equality to many women on their initial excursions outside the home, the majority of office employment positions for women were still very menial in nature. Similar to the nature of their household duties, women were given service-oriented positions — as secretaries, nurses, assistants, housekeepers, and barmaids. Therefore, while these independent and often highly educated young women found themselves in the same room as their male counterparts, they almost always ranked well below them in the chain of command. Consequently, women were often treated in the same subjugating manner as they had been in the home or the wartime factory.

Conclusion: Progress, Potential, and the Future of Gender Equality

Ultimately, it seems like women and men will continue to interact with one another in the workplace for many years to come. With the education and participation rates of women increasing at a rapid pace, this influential demographic of laborers will surely bolster its influence in the professional world in the very near future. While older and more discriminatory generations will soon find their way into retirement, younger and more progressive generations should hope to shed prejudicial tendencies and realize the massive appeal and untapped potential that women bring to the table.

Noting the many monumental changes that have occurred in the gender composition of the working world over the last century, inter-gender relationships have certainly struggled and matured. The chronological metamorphosis of these interactive associations provides a unique perspective on the changing attitudes and occupational trends that have influenced the world's collective labor force. This depiction of revolution and transformation can also help to establish more accurate projections and objectives for workplace solidarity in future generations. As the female population has endured many centuries of oppression and discrimination, this resilient group has evolved into a highly qualified cohort of innovative minds and valuable corporate assets.

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