Current Issues: Gender Issues, Management Style, Mobility, and Harassment

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Current Issues: Gender Issues, Management Style, Mobility, and Harassment

SPCH 3309—Chapter 10

The Entrance of Women into the Workplace

Growing in numbers and expected to continue growing. The reality is that women are becoming key employees in organizations; and not only in pure numbers. We have had women hired (Carly Fiorina of Hewlett-Packard) and fired (same person) as CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies. There is every reason to believe this will continue, but probably at a slower rate than with men.

Women in Management: Slowly growing, but growing nonetheless. Not surprisingly, men comprise the largest percentage of management positions; even true in organizations where women exceed men in total numbers of employees.

Sex Segregation of Occupations: Certain professions are represented more by women or by men; depending on the profession. Whether this is good or bad is open to opinion. Each sex is going to be over or under-represented in certain professions. Is it desirable to seek an even distribution or are we smarter to just let the natural course of actions dictate who goes into what professions?

Salary Differences: Still a discrepancy but getting closer to equal pay for equal work.

Feminization of Occupations: Agree or disagree that the prestige (and salary) of a profession goes down as more women enter that field of employment. Text notes Public Relations as one such example. As time goes by we see a blending of such factors in this country. In other words, the strict lines of what is and what is a man’s or woman’s profession is much less today than it has been in the past.

The Glass Ceiling: The metaphor for explaining the invisible barrier that prevents women from rising as fast as men do within the corporate hierarchy. Reasons/Causes offered for its existence:

The Pipeline Theory—it takes time for results to emerge as participants must go through a long process of climbing the corporate ladder.
The homogeneity principle—we tend to surround ourselves with people who look and act like us.
The growth of part-time work—unless we are fully employed anywhere, opportunities for advancement are extremely limited.
The growth of self-employment—up until recent years this aspect of employment for women has grown considerably.
Role models or mentors are more limited for women—unless we have someone to “show us the ropes” are apt to lag behind others.
Personal choices of balancing work and family life—many people (not just women) have to make decisions as to where their priorities lie. Felice Schwartz created some controversy pro and con with her urging of a “mommy track” be created for women.
Overt or subtle discrimination—we certainly hope this is much less today than in the past but to assume all evaluate people by their abilities as opposed to their gender is unfortunately naïve.

Gender and Organizational Culture:

As we know from an earlier chapter, culture is shaped by those who live in it. And for organizations that has been primarily males. Metaphors (relating to sports and war)behavior reflect this in most businesses today. As women assimilate into organizations they learn to adapt to the norms.

Feminine Organizational Cultures:

Karsten says that such a culture would include an absence of hierarchy; it would involve participative decision-making with few rules…and would reflect lateral communication, making interaction as a way to manage conflict. We would also see flexible schedules…etc.

The question is this: Is this doable? Is it practical? Is it desirable? And why can’t this exist for a masculine culture as well?

Perception of Women Managers:

Research says that most people prefer working for male managers and have more positive perceptions of male managers…but that is just a general finding. (this research comes from anywhere between 14-17 years ago…still true today or not?)
Another study found that even liberal women reported that they felt less comfortable working for female-led groups than male-led groups (again…14 yrs old).
Why do people perceive women this way? Many factors but certainly unfair stereotypes of women and the fear of change; fear of the unknown cannot be ignored. Even Denise Quinn has said that she faced barriers based on the perceptions that her career could only go so far.

Behavioral Expectations for Women Managers:

Women are often faced with the two-edged sword. They are often expected to be tough and independent yet also feminine. Balancing masculinity with femininity is not easy and likely unfair to expect this. Obviously, male managers operate under a different set of expectations. Research suggests that most employees want their male managers to be masculine in style and women bosses to be feminine in theirs. Women are expected to be feminine in many respects but also blend into an organizational environment that historically has rewarded and recognized those with masculine managerial styles—competence, aggression, and independence. When women do not conform to this expectation they usually are negatively viewed—seen as hostile, and disliked. This is changing, getting better. But may well be a no-win for some women in certain businesses.

Evaluations of Male and Female Managers:

Research results are mixed here. Some studies show that men are judged more favorably than are women for the same performance. Yet other studies show the men and women are evaluated pretty much the same—fairly. Field studies tend to see women and men as being evaluated equally and this is good since field studies are more likely to be realistic than lab experiments. In sum, there is probably “some” bias in evaluating men and women managers with men getting the somewhat more favorable treatment. But whatever difference has existed in the past seems to be fading away as time passes and more women arrive in management.

Male and Female Managerial Behavior:

This is a complex area and no single, simple answers. But we can arrive at some tendencies that separate male from female managers in how they behave.

Behavioral Differences—In some instances we see men aspire to management jobs more than women; men sometimes have a greater momentum to reach higher levels in management. This may be due to historical/family issues, but certainly not true for all men and women. Leadership styles seem to be such that men are more likely to be autocratic in style, women more democratic. Women are more transformational and interpersonal in style, while men are more traditional in their command-and-control behaviors. Women are often comfortable in role that calls for them to collaborate, share power, communicate. Men often prefer to take charge, direct, and be unilateral. In short, women are often more interpersonally cooperative and men are more communicatively direct. What is important is realizing that no one style is inherently better or worse. Certainly it is typically better to be democratic than autocratic, but not always. What is vital is that men and women be able to adjust their styles when needed.

Behavioral Similarities—Some studies, however, fine no differences; male and female managers both want the same thing and behave in similar manners to get it.

Gender and Mentoring:

Women have fewer mentors than do men, largely because there are fewer women managers who can serve as mentors. Men “can” be mentors but there are problems that can arise. Such as issues of sex-discrimination, family, femininity and other women-related issues in a more masculine organizational environment. Clearly more women mentors are needed! Women tend to see mentors as being more friendship linked while men are more apt to view this relationship as being a task-oriented alliance.

New Information on Mentoring (BusinessWeek Magazine, January 29, 2007)

Companies are aggressively pursuing mentoring; about half of all of the Fortune 500 companies offer mentoring programs.
Belief is that it encourages loyalty, diversity, and cohesion. If they are successful, usually about one year is all that can be gotten from them. And then it’s time for new experiences. Even then, there can remain a good, long-term relationship but just one less dependent.
Ideally, it benefits all involved. But it can be messy and disappointing in some instances.
One of the common problems lies in personal chemistry between the participants. Might be something as basic as different body clocks, speaking styles, or schedules of the people. Can all undermine the mentoring.
In some cases it can be more serious if the person being mentored feels they are being taught skills they wanted to cultivate.
Or in some cases the mentor cannot accept the apprentice no longer needs them. Almost like a parent seeing a child grow up---for some it can be very hard.
In some cases the apprentice may try to get the mentor’s job. They may start to see themselves as smarter, better, or more ambitious than their mentor and undermine the mentoring they’ve gotten. Not that common, but unfortunately not unheard of either.

Gender and Networking:

This is a casual, informal line of communication in which much information may be exchanged. Not to be underestimated as to its importance! Women may be excluded from the “good old boy” network unless they have a mentor and can get their foot in this door. Not surprisingly, we tend to casual interact with people like ourselves—men and women are like here. Since there are fewer women managers, you can see the problem. But when women do have mentors and can get into this network, they often have stronger interpersonal skills that make it easier for them to develop and grow these contacts. Women’s networks tend to be more socially oriented while men are more likely to see them as more task-oriented in purpose or value.

Balancing Career and Family:

Both men and women face this issue, but historically it’s been women who have had the toughest struggle. Women still carry the bulk of responsibility for family, children, household duties (although this is changing), and consequently they typically face more pressure to keep career and family in proper balance. More companies are conscious of this fact and many are attempting to even the playing field, so to speak. But to assume the stress is equally shared would be naïve. In the past, if a woman wanted a serious career in management she could not have family. They “can” make it today, but it is still not easy. Men, however, often benefit from having a family as historically this has been the norm for moving up the corporate ladder.

Sexual Harassment in Organizations:

A very serious issue and any company who does not treat it as such will be facing many lawsuits.

Definitions—EEOC guidelines give us a working definition. Key words or phrases are “unwelcome behavior”; it can be either physical or verbal behavior; can be quid pro quo—harassment is tied to job performance or opportunity, or an uncomfortable work environment emerges due to the harassment.

Prevalence of Sexual Harassment—An uncomfortably large percentage of women have reported being harassed in some fashion, and even some men report the same. While “any” harassment is too much, the fact it goes on in larger numbers (smaller now than in the past) indicates that companies must remain vigilant in combating it at all times.

Targets of Sexual Harassment—Anyone can be a target of it, but the primary targets tend to be younger women with a college degree. And the higher she is in the corporate hierarchy, the more likely she will have been harassed at some point in her career. Just why this is, is open to discussion and there are likely multiple reasons for it.

The Profile of Harassers—In general, it is a man, older than his victim, often married, likely a co-worker since there are more co-workers than there are supervisors, and it is highly likely this person has harassed others before.

Three Causes of Sexual Harassment—Typically a motive is for power than merely for sexual purposes. A way to intimidate, to threaten, to humiliate. This undue exercise of power could come from supervisors or co-workers and may come in many forms. Besides the desire for power, another cause is the so-called sex-role spillover theory. This argues that some men are so conditioned to see women in specific ways, that to see them in positions of authority or even just as professional co-worker is not possible. They end up seeing them as sexual objects. Pretty lame excuse and totally unacceptable in civilized society, but it may apply to some men. The third possible cause for harassment relates to the general culture of communication between men and women. The old ways of imbalance with me having more power and women being a bit more submissive in their roles can contribute to attitudes in some where harassment is acceptable. Again, totally unacceptable for any reason. It is up to the organizations to create organizational cultures and climates where equally is the norm and any hint of harassment will not be tolerated. No exceptions.

Male and Female Perceptions of Sexual Harassment—It is the target of the behavior who decides if it is welcome or acceptable or if it is harassment. Not surprisingly, men and women often disagree as to what is harassment. Women are much more likely to find any such behavior as unacceptable while men often say they would be flattered to be on the receiving end of such actions/behaviors.

The Reasonable Woman Standard—This is the standard used to determine what is or what is not harassment. For example, “would a reasonable woman working in this organization find such behavior unwelcome and consequently sexual harassment?”

Communication Relationships between Harassers and Harassed—the Gutek study showed that men who harass women rarely talked about a woman’s performance or career with her. Instead, men like this talk about themselves, their personal lives, and the woman’s personal appearance and clothing.

Preventing Sexual Harassment—Companies take this very seriously. Almost every organization goes out of its way to ensure its employees know the rules. UTA does this regularly and each year we are reminded about the rules. This is done for everyone’s safety and no one should feel this is unfair. We all want to be respected for our abilities and no one should ever feel uncomfortable going to work or being around their supervisors or co-workers. There needs to be very clear guidelines of how to behave and what to do if you are victimized by harassment.

Organizational Romance:

Very common for male and female workers to socialize outside the workplace.

We spend long hours in close proximity, it is not surprising that women and men will sometimes starting dating and see each other in a romantic light. As natural as it is for men and women to be attracted to each other, there is often problems and concerns associated with doing it in the work organizational environment. Consequently, businesses often try to have policies or plans to deal with this reality.

Attitudes toward Organizational Romance—Businesses grapple with this with respect how to treat it (more later). But women tend to be less thrilled with it and less open toward it than are men. Are you surprised?
Effects of Organizational Romance—Can be positive or negative. Negative results in the form of less productivity and a negative attitude can occur when the relationship goes sour and it boils over to the work environment. Also, other workers may see double-standards and sometimes jealousy. But when this works, productivity can rise and interpersonal relationships amongst many can improve. Typically the romances involve higher-ranking men with lower-ranking women in the organization.
Organizational Strategies for Dealing with Organizational Romance— Managers cannot afford to ignore this reality. Nor does a company want to take a hard “no dating” line for few of how hard it would be to enforce. Workers must be aware that they are responsible for their behavior and if they choose to date, they must do so in a manner that will not negatively impact the company.

Gender Organizations and the Future:

We are seeing more companies look for creative and flexible ways to allow employees to work—at home or in the office. Varied times (4-day weeks at 10 hours per day) and other options for starting, ending and where the work is done. The democratic style of management, more people-skills and collaborative work efforts are more the norm than the exception. All of which tend to be more female oriented in style than male. Working in teams has been growing for some time. This decentralized approach often works well with female communication behaviors.

Miscellaneous: Other Current Issues:

Napping on the job.