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Chapter 9: Sex and Gender

Chapter 9

Sex and Gender

Table of Contents

Page No. in the IM

Chapter Outline

Chapter Objectives

Lecture Notes and Teaching Suggestions

Key Facts (and Associated Questions)

as Discussion Points

Questions to Consider (End of Chapter)

Actions and Exercises

Suggested Test Questions

Chapter Outline

2. Relevant Legislation

4. Education

6. Gender Role Socialization

8. Sexual Harassment

10. Sex, Race, and Ethnicity

12. Recommendations for Individuals and Organizations

14. Key Terms

16. Actions and Exercises

Chapter 9: Sex and Gender

Chapter Objectives

After completing this chapter, readers should better understand sex and gender in the

context of diversity in organizations. Specifically they should be able to:

• Compare women’s and men’s education, participation rates, employment, and

income levels within and across racial and ethnic groups

Lecture Notes and Teaching Suggestions

This chapter focuses on sex and gender as a diversity issue that is relevant to women and

men of all ages, races, ethnicities, and abilities. It considers women’s increasing rates of

workforce participation, and the differences in participation rates between men and women

and among women of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. The cases and research

documenting experiences of women with sex discrimination, harassment, sex segregation,

the glass ceiling and walls in organizations highlight the need to continue to seek gender

equity.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was the first major piece of Civil Rights legislation in the latter

half of the 20th century, preceding even the venerable Civil Rights Act of 1964. The

Sex discrimination and harassment negatively affect the workplace as a whole, harming

both women and men. Men coping with work and family issues may face harsher sanctions

than women—the expectation for them is that their work should take priority over family,

and they may experience more negative penalties than women, who are expected to have

work and family issues. These and other reasons make sex and gender issues important to

both women and men.

Chapter 9: Sex and Gender

The chapter presents a historical background of women’s work through the current picture

of women’s organizational experiences. The issues in focus are the feminization of poverty

Key Facts (and Associated Questions)

Questions following each “Key Fact” are helpful in stimulating class discussion. (Selected

key facts include discussion points in this Instructors’ Manual. Instructors may choose

different ones to emphasize depending on the needs/interests of students and instructors).

Instructors may wish to have students formulate questions of their own relevant to the key

facts and use them for class discussion.

• In many countries, women comprise more than half of the population and about half

of the workforce.

Question: Why are perceptions that women do not work so common?

The media probably influences this perception, particularly among the affluent or

• Women working full-time, year-round earn less than 80 cents to the dollar earned by

men working full-time, year-round. Part-time work, which women are more likely to

do, further exaggerates the wage gap.

Question: What factors cause the earnings disparity for full-time male and female

workers?

Chapter 9: Sex and Gender

• The gap between the earnings of younger women and younger men is considerably

smaller than the gap between the earnings of older women and older men.

Question: Why is the gap becoming smaller?

• Women and men who deviate from gender norms are penalized in society and

organizations.

Question: How are women and men penalized when they deviate from these norms?

Women and men are penalized by parents, teachers, society, and employers. Females

• Minority women and younger women are disproportionately targets of sexual

harassment compared to White women and older women.

Question: Why do you think this occurs?

Minority and younger women often work in low-status, lower-level jobs which

• Men comprise about 16% of sexual harassment targets, yet men who complain of

harassment are often not taken seriously.

Chapter 9: Sex and Gender

Question: What prevents men from being taken seriously when complaining of

sexual harassment?

Selected Items for Instructors’ Consideration as Discussion

Points

1. Table 9.2: Mean Total Money Earnings of Workers 18 Years and Over, by

Educational Attainment, Race, Hispanic Origin, and Sex: 2012

This table shows men’s earnings exceed women’s at all educational levels, with White

2. Table 9.4: Twenty Leading Occupations of Employed Women, 2012 Annual

Averages (Employment in thousands)

3. Table 9.5: Comparison of Average Annual Earnings and Percent Female in the

Teaching Profession

This table presents a clear and simple comparison of how wages in the teaching profession

Chapter 9: Sex and Gender

4. Featured Case 9.1: Ann Hopkins v. Price Waterhouse: ‘Wear Makeup and Jewelry,

Style Your Hair, and Carry a Purse! (Not a Briefcase!)’

This case discusses the fairly well-known case of Ann Hopkins v. Price Waterhouse that

Questions to Consider:

1. Instead of telling Hopkins to act more like a woman, what should Beyer have done to

address the gender discrimination against her in the candidacy process?

Beyer should have addressed the gender discrimination issue by focusing the

2. Speculate on the chances Hopkins would have had to make partner had she worn lots

of makeup and jewelry and behaved demurely? Had she been promoted in that case,

what gendered, sexist ideas may have been offered about why she had been

promoted?

Ann Hopkins may have been promoted to partner, but she may have been treated as

less valuable than the male partners. On the other hand, she may not have been

3. Investigate the current proportions of women accountants and partners. How much

progress have women made since Ann Hopkins?

5. Featured Case 9.2: Bad Driving Stereotypes Hurt Women and Employers

This feature presents two EEOC cases in which stereotypes about women’s qualifications

and abilities disadvantage them in the hiring and selection process. In each case, the

Questions to Consider:

1. Speculate about the manner in which male drivers may have treated the lone woman,

who ultimately quit PFG. How likely is it that she was helped or trained? How

important is help and training for new hire success? What should organizations in

which new hires are different from incumbents do to help ensure they are helped,

trained, and welcomed?

It is likely that the woman at PFG was not helped or trained, and this contributed to

2. The CEO of PFG used one bad experience with a woman driver as a rationale to

avoid hiring any other women drivers.

a. How large a psychological burden might this have placed on the lone woman

driver?

b. Of the forty-four men hired, is it likely that some of them were unsuccessful? If

so, why were different standards applied to male and female failures?

3. PFG had a formal job description and the complaining party had met all job

requirements as listed in the job description, yet she was not hired.

a. Speculate on why “male” was not used as a job requirement, since the hiring

managers and PFG believed women were incapable of performing the job.

b. What might be the effects on employers’ recruitment and selection costs of (1)

having and (2) using a legitimate job description and structured interviews as

human resources tools?

The hiring parties may have been aware that using the word “male” in the job

description was illegal. They may have also subconsciously thought that no women

would apply.

4. Use salary-estimating Web sites or Bureau of Labor Statistics actual salaries to

determine wage differences between a licensed truck driver and a warehouse worker.

What is the difference in annual earnings and in percentages between these two

positions? Estimate the differences in lifetime earnings at an annual salary increase

rate of 3%. Estimate differences in Social Security and 401(k) payments to be

matched by PFG between the two positions over a thirty-year career.

Chapter 9: Sex and Gender

5. Investigate differences in automobile accident and insurance rates for men and

women.

Automobile accidents and insurance rates are higher for men than women. A recent

analysis shows that insurance companies charge men more for auto insurance than

women with the same profile (no tickets or accidents). A study conducted by the

Questions to Consider (End of Chapter)

1. What is the role of socialization in women’s and men’s “choice” of occupations and

how do these relationships affect sex segregation and the wage gap?

Gender role socialization occurs from birth, when girls and boys are dressed

differently, spoken to and held differently, given different toys to play with, and so

2. What are some specific individual and organizational steps that could help reduce

sex segregation?

3. How are the participation rates, workplace experiences, income, occupations, and

poverty of White women and women of color similar and dissimilar? Why are

erroneous perceptions about the similarities and differences among these groups so

pervasive?

The similarities include the following: women of all races experience the glass

ceiling, sexual harassment, sex segregation, and other negative concerns at work.

Women of all races participate in the workforce at high levels, including women with

small children.

The differences include the following:

• White women, Asian women, and Latinas are slightly less likely to participate

than Black women.

4. Prior to reading this chapter, had you heard of the “glass escalator”? Are you aware

of a situation in which a man is the manager or supervisor of a group of women

employees in a female-dominated group?

Students’ answers will vary. Although many students are unaware of the term the

5. What can individual women do to reduce the influence of sex and gender

discrimination on their careers? What can parents do to reduce the influence of sex

and gender on their daughters’ lives?

Individual women can educate themselves as much as possible; seek male-dominated

Actions and Exercises

1. Interview a person who is employed in a sex-atypical occupation (e.g., a male dental

hygienist or female professor of business in a tenure-track position). What factors

affected his or her career decision? What background experiences and/or educational

requirements were needed to qualify for this particular job? What were the reactions

of families, friends, and coworkers? What diversity-related experiences have stood

out for this person at work?

2. Conduct a survey of at least ten working professionals. How many men versus

women negotiated their starting salary? How many were successful in their

negotiations? How much was the increase in salary, if any, after the negotiations?

Are any differences apparent after comparing the results for men and women?

3. Create an informal organization chart of the organization in which you work or for

which you can gather information. Is there evidence of the glass ceiling, walls,

Chapter 9: Sex and Gender

and/or escalators in this organization?

4. Begin observing women in organizations. What evidence do you observe of gender

and race-based segregation? Where are women clustered? Are women of color in

different positions than White women?

Students are often able to see evidence of gender and race segregation in retail firms,