Bits and bobs
Bridging the Gender Gap: Seven Principles for Achieving
Gender Balance
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| Pic from global.oup.com |
by Lynn Roseberry & Johan Roos
Law and business professors Lynn Roseberry and
Johan Roos reviewed 60 years of gender-related research in history, law,
psychology and the sciences and, after introducing data on the nature of the gender gap, they use each chapter to
address a different common argument against “gender balance.” Their statistics
are occasionally confusing or even a bit contradictory, but their discussions
are impressive without being dry or boring.
The authors’ arguments against common gender misconceptions offer new insights into positive changes businesspeople can implement to address the gender
gap.
Take-Aways from the book:
Women hold 10% to 20% of leadership positions in
politics and
the workplace.
“Gender balance” affects the bottom lines of
businesses and
national economies.
Today’s workplace replicates social and business
practices of the
19th century.
A meta-analysis of scholarship on sex and gender
differences found that 30% of studies showed
no difference between males and
females in relevant workplace traits.
Sex differences have to do with biology; gender
differences have to do with culture.
Distinguishing between the two is often
impossible.
Children learn gender roles as early as two
years old and enforce them among their peers.
Adults cling to the gender profiles they learned
as children; this leads to stereotyping.
The drive to succeed is built on ambition, which
is made up of mastering a skill and gaining
external recognition.
Gender imbalance takes a particular toll on
men’s health.
Judges regularly dismiss discrimination cases
that include evidence of sexist remarks.
Some interesting points in the book:
Seven common arguments against gender balance in
the workplace are based on incorrect information, misconceptions or faulty
logic:
Biology – Workplaces often mirror the gender imbalance
produced by the mostly Protestant,
19th century industrial manufacturing society.
However, no “logical or biological reason” exists to
segregate jobs by sex.
Children – The erroneous concept that women are superior
at taking care of children blocks
workplace change. Males and females have an
equal ability to care for others.
Competitive
nature – Many wrongly believe that
women prefer to nurture, while men are by nature
aggressive. In practice, a
woman may choose to care for children because her relative earnings are
less
than her spouse’s, while few men agree to limit their work.
Leadership – Studies of women and men in managerial jobs
reveal an equal desire for positions of
authority. It’s not true that “women
don’t really want to be leaders.”
Self-interest – It’s equally false that women are the only
ones who worry about gender balance. In
fact, gender imbalance affects men’s
well being, work and lifestyles as well.
“Special-interest
issue” – Some argue that gender
balance is a feminist issue irrelevant to the
workplace; plenty of women oppose
intervention. However, gender balance affects the best interests
of
individuals, families, firms and national economies.
Law – Anti discrimination laws are supposed to
ensure fairness, but courts sometimes discriminate in
gender bias cases. Laws
aren’t all society needs.
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Before the Industrial Revolution, women
contributed to their families’ finances by cultivating gardens and producing
preserved food, fabric, soap and other goods. When the market economy
industrialised and subsumed these activities, a man’s ability to work outside
the home became vital to the family’s financial
survival. Women’s only remaining role was to raise children and tend the home.
The phrase “self-made man,” first appearing in the 1840s, indicates this
cultural shift.
Employers historically paid women half the wages
they paid men, reasoning that young, unmarried women were under their families’
care until marriage.
In gender studies research, the term “gender
difference” refers to differences of culture and upbringing, while the
overarching term “sex difference” describes biological variations.
Some gender-based claims assert that women lack
ambition, however research finds no gender-based “ambition gap.” Ambition is
the product of mastering a skill and receiving recognition for that talent;
external approval is an important factor in developing ambition. Yet typical
workplace protocols require women to behave in a subservient way, and that
works against getting approval for their successes. The lack of recognition
diminishes women’s desire to be ambitious.
Recommendations from the book:
Overcoming gender
imbalance in the workplace is possible, but it requires an active effort. Workplaces can fulfil three criteria to further gender balance:
Become a
“gender-integrated workplace” – No
“logical or biological reason” exists to segregate jobs by sex in any type of
work.
Raise
children equably – Society must recognise that
male and females are equally able to care for children. The workplace must
change accordingly.
Share power – Men and women must “share relatively equally
the positions of power and decision-making in business, education, and national
and local governments.”
About the Authors.
