Women at work: How organizational features impact career development - Ellemers - 2014 - Article

Gender inequality in the labor market

Research has repeatedly shown that organizations benefit from gender diversity, particularly in senior management. Women in strategic leadership positions help organizations to penetrate new markets. Gender-mixed management teams are more creative, innovative, and show more effective problem solving due to different perspectives within the team. In addition, sex diversity helps to understand the complex demands and differences in the world market.

Sex differences in salary and career development

Scientific research has shown that there are gender differences with regard to salary and career development in various sectors of the labor market. Firstly, men and women differ in their career development, even when they have had the same education. Women often end up in a job for which they didn't actually need their qualification. Secondly, there are differences in the salary of men and women. A large part of this difference cannot be explained even by previous work experience or part-time work. Finally, there is a gender difference in the leadership positions. Men in particular hold these positions, and even if women hold the leadership position, they do not get paid as much as the men in the same positions. If organizations are unable to offer attractive career prospects to their female employees, they will be less motivated and will stop working sooner.

Causes of gender differences

Some say that gender differences are the result of congenital differences between men and women with regard to opportunities, ambitions, and career preferences. For example, women would naturally not like to negotiate, while men are much more competitive. However, no scientific evidence has been found to support this theory of inherent differences. Experimental studies show that the sex differences only took place under very specific conditions. It is the social context, and not the biology, that cause gender differences. The work organization itself is such a social context, which naturally has a preference for men. Decision makers differ in their expectations, performance assessments, and dealing with men and women. In addition, the current anti-discrimination policies cannot always prevent the development of gender differences. These "invisible" causes of gender differences can be found in organizational culture, expectations, and everyday interactions with men and women.

Equality paradox

With the guidelines that promote meritocracy, men are more likely than women to receive rewards. This is reflected in the recommendations of managers for bonuses, promotions, and layoffs. This finding is seen despite equal performance assessments for men and women. Paradoxically, this bias is not found when there is less emphasis on the individual contribution. It is caused by the fact that stereotypes are accidentally confirmed. When one has a high position in an organization with meritocratic guidelines, one gains more confidence in making decisions. People then rely more on unconscious stereotypes, without being aware of it themselves. People who believe they have no prejudices will be less critical of themselves when making their decisions.

Behavioral sciences

Behavioral sciences can shed new light on the subject because it pays special attention to the mutual influence of individuals and organizations. The interaction between the organizational values ​​and the behavioral preferences of men and women contributes to the development of gender differences in organizations. Four relevant mechanisms are discussed:

• Implicit bias are the unconscious cognitive biases that influence how we perceive and evaluate people from a certain group and how we treat people from that group. Having a bias can be very unconscious. When people regularly see certain patterns in society, they make implicit associations about the behavior of men and women. People who want to treat men and women equally also display this bias. The bias can also be seen when the objective performance of men and women is the same.
• Glass cliff is a situation where someone, usually a woman, is promoted to a risky, difficult job where the chances of failure are greater. Women are offered these functions more often because they would have better social skills than men and would therefore be better able to resolve conflicts in the organization. However, if the crisis is not resolved, it is often devoted to the incompetence of women and not to a shortage of resources.
• The 'Queen Bee' phenomenon is about successful women who defend the status quo in the male-dominated organization. These women have often experienced gender bias themselves, and it was not easy for them to reach their current position. As a result, they are often convinced that they are special and have acquired their position through perseverance and individual strength, while other women are weak. Because these women have reached the top, they can also deny the existence of sexism. This often means that these women are less inclined to support equal opportunities programs.
• It is more difficult for women to find a good balance between family life and career. Research shows that even with a full-time job, women spend more time on housework and taking care of children than men. Implicit prejudices mean that women have to choose more often between family life and career, while this is easier for men to realize. Social norms state that women must provide care for the children, which puts them at a disadvantage. However, research has also shown that the negative effect of having children on the career is temporary, and that many women find combining career and family life challenging and enriching.

Solutions

People use implicit sex stereotypes to make inferences about the ambitions, characteristics, and priorities of men and women in organizations. These inferences differ for men and women, and women often see fewer career opportunities than men. Because of this they lose their motivation and they stop trying. Successful interventions must meet a number of conditions. First, people must be informed about the behavioral sciences and implicit bias. Secondly, debt allocation must be avoided, since there is mutual influence. Finally, the process must be closely monitored to ensure that no bias occurs anywhere.

The most consistent finding is that gender differences do not have a single cause, but that small disadvantages accumulate and create enormous barriers. For this reason, every step in policy development must be carefully monitored to ensure that no bias occurs. Organizations can do that in different ways. They must acknowledge the existence of implicit bias and correct it. They can keep statistics to see how things stand with the representation of women in the organization. They can encourage women to realize their ambitions. They can welcome and encourage diversity. Women themselves can also contribute to achieving equal career opportunities for men and women. For example, they themselves can also acknowledge and correct the implicit bias, and gather information about performance criteria.