Recent developments in the
labor market
Blau (pages 235-242)
What has changed the wage gap?
• Attitudes
• Money
– Real wages have been relatively constant (or slow
growing)
– $1.55 was the average price of gas in September
2002
– $1.54 was the average price of gas in 1950
adjusted for inflation
Real vs. Nominal Prices
• Use to compare the price today to the past or
future
• Real
– Accounts for inflation
– Gas prices in 2002 averaged $1.59. Adjusting for
current inflation gas prices in 1974 would have
been $1.57.
• Nominal
– Current prices
– Quart of Milk was $0.40 in 1970 and $1.25 in 2000
How convert??
• CPI (Consumer Price index)
• Looks at how a cost of a “basket of goods”
purchased in some “base year” changes over
time
– Base year now is 1983
• Percent changes in the CPI measure the rate of
inflation
• How do you calculate a percent change?
– (new-old)/old
Example
• 1970 CPI = 38.8
• 1999 CPI = 167
• Was there a little or much inflation??
– Much (especially in the 70s and 80s)
• Milk prices were $1.05 in 1999 and $0.65 in
1970
• Was milk more expensive in 1999?
CPIYEAR W ANT DOLLARS IN
CPI COMPARISON YEAR
* PRICE
COMPARISON YEAR
• What is 1999 milk in 1970 dollars?
– (38.8/167)*$1.05 = $0.24
– Milk was less expensive in 1999
• What was 1970 milk in 1999 dollars?
– (167/38.8)*$0.65 = $2.80
– Milk was more expensive in 1970
In-class exercise 11
Using the CPI
Review
• What is a real wage?
– Wages adjusted for the cost of living
• What is a wage?
– Amount someone is paid for their productivity or
their return to skill
– You get an increase in wage from $10,000 to $15,
500. What is your rate of return for your skill level?
– 55% or the percentage change in your income
• (15500-10000)/10000 or (new-old)/old
What is a ECONOMIC reason for
the wage gap?
• Would you expect an editor to get paid
$100,000? A neurosurgeon?
• What is the difference?
• Human Capital
– Investments in skill level or knowledge
Human Capital
• Skills you acquire
• How does it relate to skill level?
– Increases your skill level
• How does it relate to wage?
– Increases your wage
 Human Capital  skills  wage
How does HC relate to women and
wage gap?
•
•
•
•
Women are gaining more HC
HC increases wages
Wage gap is decreasing
Why isn’t wage gap closer to zero?
– Other things increase wages like seniority and
experience (women have less compared to men)
Losses to men are gains to women
• Wage gap decreased when middle
management began to be cut out
– Many men lost high paying middle mgmt jobs
– Denominator of the gender earnings ratio
decreased
– Looks like women are doing better
– Actually men were doing a little worse
Averages are deceptive
• 4 student’s exam grades: 100,75,73,69
– Average = 79
– Looks like only 1 person did well
• Throw out 100
– Average = 72
– Looks like 2 of the remaining 3 did well
– Looks better
What makes up the wage gap??
• Part due to differences in human capital
• Part due to discrimination
– Pre-market (in gaining human capital)
– Market (gaining the job itself)
• Which is bigger?
– Human capital? Economy is not at fault
– Discrimination? Economy is not using the most
productive workers available
Are differences in wages due
SOLEY to discrimination?
• NO…
• Due to differences in lifetime labor force
participation
• Due to differences in male/female tastes for
occupations
First Reason Men and Women’s
wages are not equal
• Intermittency in labor force participation
– Atrophy
• Depreciation of skills from non-use
Lifetime Labor Force Participation
• Married women tend to work intermittently
throughout lifetime
• Intermittency has decreased for women but it still
exists
– Past: average was 5 years
– Present: average is 1 year (47% re-enter after 6
months)
• While out of the labor force do you get paid for the
human capital you have accumulated?
– NO
What is payment for HC??
• Return to Human Capital
– Amount of wage increase gained by the
accumulation of human capital
In-class exercise 12
Wage discrimination or not??
Year
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Man
10000
11000
12100
13310
14641
16105
17715
19486
21434
23577
RoR
10%
10%
10%
10%
10%
10%
10%
10%
10%
10%
Year
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Woman
10000
11000
12100
0
0
13310
14641
16105
17715
0
Average Wages: 15936 (man) 9487.10 (female)
Return to HC: 10% (man)
7% (female)
RoR
10%
10%
10%
0%
0%
10%
10%
10%
10%
0%
Important Points
• If only look at return to HC can claim woman is
discriminated against
• If look at labor force participation see CHOICE
brings about return differences
What types of choices come out of
this?
• If you don’t expect to work as many years do
you get as much HC?
– NO!!!
• Choose jobs with lower atrophy rates
– What types of jobs are these?
– Less technical
• How do these decision affect wages?
Atrophy
Uncle Henry was driving to Halifax when he spotted
a big green gorilla on the side of the road. He
screeched to a stop, jumped out of his car. He saw
the outline of a number on the gorilla. He couldn't
quite see the number, but he knew it was a 4 digit
number. And:
1) He remembered seeing a number 1.
2) In the hundred's place he remembers the number is
3 times the number in the thousand's place.
3) He said the number in the one's place is 4 times
the number in the ten's place.
4) Finally he said the number 2 is sitting in the
thousand's place.
What is the number?
• 2614
How does atrophy lead to
women having lower wage
jobs?
Can we see this graphically?
So…
• Wage gap is greater because of
preferences between men and women
NOT discrimination
• Second reason…tastes for occupation
– Men and women appear to have different
tastes which affect occupational choice
– 1984 study
– Wages are determined by occupation one
is in
– Wages differ because occupations differ
The Road to
an Occupation
What causes us to make
the decisions we do??
Blau (141-183)
Where does gender difference in
earnings come from?
• Differences in education, training, or skills
• Discrimination
• We will deal with the less subjective one first
Why might men’s and women’s
tastes for occupations differ?
• Reasons?
• How do these reasons affect wage?
• What are some problems with trying to identify
differences in “tastes” between men and
women?
• What about innate ability?
Are differences due to choice or
societal discrimination?
• What is societal discrimination?
– Influences that cause men/women to make decision
that adversely affect their labor market status
– Examples:
• Advertisements
• Eating disorders and size of model
• fads
• How does it shape actions and ideals?
More direct way to look at
differences…
• Human Capital: invest now to increase future
earnings
–
–
–
–
Education
On the Job Training
Job search
Geographic migration
• NOT physical capital (i.e. machines or equipment)
• How does physical capital differ from human
capital?
– Physical capital is influenced by the money it will bring
about
– Human capital less influenced by money
Physical vs. Human Capital cont.
• Why does the government give so much money
to students???
• Why don’t banks readily give students money
for college??
Why do men and women gain
different amount of education?
• Men and women equally likely to finish high
school
• Men are slightly more likely to go to college
• Men are most likely to complete all four years of
college in sequence
Differences by Race
• Overall pattern similar to white trend
– Women more likely to finish high school
– Men more likely to finish college (smaller difference)
• Blacks and Hispanics vs. white
– Less educational attainment than whites
– Higher probability of high school drop out
– Lower probability of gaining some college
Attainment is only half the story
• Beginning in high school…
– Men and women (regardless of race) tend to differ in
courses taken and fields of specialization
• Girls…less natural science and mathematics
– decreasing but still true
• 1972 – girls took 20% fewer semesters in these
subjects than boys
• 1992 – girls took 98% as many as boys
Trends
1965-66
1992-93
1999-2000
% women
% women
%women
Engineering
0.4
15.8
34.2
Economics
9.8
29.8
48.0
Business
8.5
47.2
49.3
Architecture
4
35.2
42.7
So…
• Gap appears to be closing
• Men and women appear to be choosing similar
disciplines but earnings differentials still exist
Why does education increase
wage?
• Productivity increases
• Where does the productivity come from?
• What “types” of productivity?
– Punctuality, follow instructions, dependable…
• So does education act as a signal to your potential
employer?
• What types of signals?
How do employers “choose”
employees?
• Use a screening device
– Signals
– Tests
– Interviews
• Problem is imperfect information
• Resume and References
Socialization
• Influence of family, friends, teachers, and media
over an individual’s actions by changing the
shape of attitudes
– Gender depiction in television
• Influences perceptions of gender appropriate
behavior
• Shapes aspirations and behavior
Children’s games and movies
• Do stereotypes still exist???
– Girls board games: Sealed with a Kiss, Blind Date,
Mall Madness
– Boys board games: Star Wars, Jumanji
• Videos
– Toy Story
• Barbie and GI Joe
Barbie in the 60’s
Barbie in the 70’s
and 80’s
Barbie in the 90’s
GI Joe in the 80’s and 90’s
GI Joe in 2001
In-class exercise 12
• Socialization differs whether one is being brought up
for a “traditional” or “non-traditional” role
• Outside experiences such as travel, education,
interactions with others…all influence and “form” the
individual
• Purpose: Take individuals and and explore the
socialization forces and their impact on individuals
– How can socialization lead to individuals going down very
different career paths?
Review…
• Men and women differ as to investment in
human capital and major area of study
• WHY? (two reasons)
– Expected work life
– Socialization
Social Influences
• May not be explicit but influential in shaping behavior
– Examples?
• Shapes our ideas of what masculine and feminine
traits “should” be
– Masculine: dominance, competitive, rational
– Feminine: subordinate, nurturing, emotional
What does this influence?
• Ideas of what type of person should do
certain jobs
• Male or female?
–
–
–
–
–
Hairdresser
Kindergarten teacher
Biology professor
Seamstress
Computer repair person
• If you expect a certain type of person and get
the opposite your experience may be
changed (+ or –)
So isn’t this discrimination?
• Yes…
• Title IX of the Educational Amendments (to the
Civil Rights Act of 1964)
• What does it do?
– Prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any
educational program or activity receiving federal
assistance
• Why is the government able to DICTATE this
type of provision in this area?
• Provision excludes
– Sex instruction, chorus, and contact sports
Applies to all educational
institutions
• Higher education – applies to hiring and
administrative practices also
• Exempt are single sex school
– Until they admit ONE member of the opposite sex
• Major impact on women’s sports
• Virginia Military Institute and Citadel
– No comparable program for women existed
– Thus…fell under title IX because it was deemed a
form of segregation
Evening the Odds:
Is Title IX Working?
On the Job Training (OJT)
• Formal
• Informal
• Job Specific
• General
How differ between the genders?
• Male’s OJT > Women’s OJT
• Why? Is OJT costly to the firm?
• Women have less experience than men
– Number of years on current job
• 1966 women averaged 3.45 years less than
men
• 1991 women averaged 2.23 years less than
men
• 2000 women averaged 1.94 years less than
men
• Difference still exists but narrowing
Sex Segregation of Occupations
• Second economic reason for the wage
gap
– Occupational choice
• What was the first??
• Basic “male jobs”
– Garbage men, doctors, plumbers, truck
drivers
• Basic “female jobs”
– Hairdresser, nurses, kindergarten teacher,
waitress
• Not all people in these professions are
Male (Female) but a large %
Why do we see this segregation?
Three aspects of sex segregation
1. Degree to which men and women
are distributed unequally across
fields
–
–
–
•
Measure with “D”
Index of dissimilarity
% of women that would have to change
fields to be distributed in the same
manner as men
What if D = 33.65??
–
33% of new workers would have to be
women to equal out the genders
2. Crowding of females into certain occupations
• Graphs
3. Degree of inter-group contact or the amount of
interaction men and women have on the job
•
Mentoring, breaking stereotypes
How do we break up occupations?
• How you break up can skew the number and
the interpretation
• Example: Teachers
– Overall – ½ male and ½ female
– Elementary/Secondary – 2/3 female and 1/3 male
– Post secondary – 2/3 male and 1/3 female
Findings
• Male jobs – skilled craft and transportation
• Female jobs – clerical and sales
• Management is now about equal
Recent trends
• 1997 – 50% of women would have had to
change occupations to be distributed in the
same manner of men
• Index of Dissimilarity was 53.9
• Even though women have been breaking into
“male jobs” we still have inequality
Question
If we rid sex segregation will we
have gender equality in
earnings??
How compare to other countries?
• Japan
– Occupational segregation low
– Gender earning gap big
– Why???
• Women are less valued members of the labor market
• Sweden
– Occupational segregation high
– Gender earnings gap low
– Why???
• Compressed wage structure
Review
• Why do women have lower wages
than men??
– Crowded into low wage occupations
– Culture
– Prefer different (better) working
environment
• Why are men and women in different
jobs?
– HC differences
– Discrimination
– Differences in tastes for ideal job
In-class exercise 13
• What’s my line??
• Male and female jobs come back to
STEREOTYPES
• Test this assumption by given a limited amount
of information we will try to classify 6 individuals
as either
– Secretary, physical therapist, computer
programmer, physician, lawyer or engineer
Questions to address in exercise
• Primary factors that led to label chosen
• Did stereotyping come into play or did
information provided help label participants?
So…
• Choice and stereotypes can play a role
in occupational choice
• Occupational segregation seems to be
decreasing
– New problem: Vertical segregation
• Employed in the same occupations but
crowded into different levels of the job
Now…
Gender
Bias in
Interview
Evaluation
Men and women are in different
levels of the same job
• What was that called?
– Vertical segregation
• Is it differences in HC?
• Is it discrimination at the hiring level?
• Questions to address:
– To what extent does gender bias occur?
– What variables moderate the effect of applicants gender on
interviewers judgments?
– How does this discrimination take place?
– How does research methods affect findings?
What is the main problem with
interviews?
• Imperfect information
• How do we limit this??
– Answer questions
– Resumes
• Problems with Resumes (in 2001)
– 44% of false employment history
– 41% of false education
– 11% of references were not real
Extent of problem
• Subjective research so extent of problem is not
agreed upon
• 0-4% of gender difference
• What is the gender bias?
– Male workers or applicants receive more positive
evaluations and positions
Variables
• Applicant characteristics
– Qualifications, physical attractiveness
• Recruiter characteristics
– Gender and personality
• Situational factors
– Male or female type job
– More prominent if gender composes less than 25% of
the current labor composition
How does discrimination take
place?
• Questions posed to candidates
– Reject or confirm statistical discrimination
• Do you plan on having children?
– Females may quit to have children
• Are you married?
– Females tend to relocate for their husband’s job
– May mean applicant is more stable and won’t move
Research Methodology
• Real interviewer information vs. case study
interviewer
– More information usually means less discrimination
• Simulated Applicants
• 20 methods used in an attempt to see how
discriminatory the interview process can be
– Shows mixed results
• Some found discrimination; some didn’t
• Why so little agreement???
– If you know you are being assessed for discrimination at
the hiring level…you don’t do your “normal” practices
What characteristics are looked at?
• Attractiveness
– More attractive seen as less suitable and less chance of
promotion
– More attractive are paid 10% more on starting salaries
• Called Lookism
– teachers often give better grades to good-looking children
– police officers go easier on attractive people
– good-looking defendants get more favorable verdicts or
sentences
– cute-as-button children receive more attention from their
mothers than unattractive children get from theirs.
Which would you rather have as a waiter??? Why??
In-class activity 14
Do you commit Lookism??
More characteristics…
• Weight
– Normal weight preferred
– Overweight males more likely hired than overweight
females
• Dress
– Masculine dress has higher probability of getting a
person hired
• Sexual orientation
– Heterosexuals preferred
– White male homosexual preferred over all races and
over female homosexual
• Communication Skills
– Assertive is preferred over rational for men
– Rational is preferred over assertive for women
Recruiter Characteristics
• Demographic similarity
– Males hire more males and females hire more
females
• Conservative vs. liberal
– Conservative will want heterosexual
Situational Factors
• Higher probability of being hired if
– Gender matches gender “type” of job
• Interviewer has “ideal” prototype in mind
– Traits
– Behaviors
• “Ideal” could have gender specific qualities
Gender qualities
• Feminine
– Smiling, laughing, equivocal (noncommittal)
statements
• Masculine
– Nodding of head, taking initiative
Studies
• Why do we see a racial difference in hiring
probabilities?
– Difference in HC
– Preferences of employer
– Discrimination by customers
• Hispanic males vs. Anglo with similar labor market
qualifications
– Called about ad within 30 minutes of each other
– Interviews within 15-60 minutes of each other
– If one was offered job he/she would turn it down to see if the
other one would be offered same position
Findings
• Anglo more likely to be successful
– Application – 4% more likely to have it taken
– Interview – 30% more interviews
– Job offers – 52% more job offers
• Is this discrimination?
– Probably
• Where is the discrimination coming from??
– Hard to access if the discrimination is on the employer,
employee, or customer level
• Employer is carrying out the discrimination, but the
motive is unclear
In-class exercise 15
• Legal and Illegal interview questions
• “Ideal” candidate in an interviewer’s mind can shape
questions
• Some questions go against a person’s civil rights
because can lead to additional discrimination
• Try to figure out if questions are legal or not
• If not legal suggest an alternate question to get similar
information
Gender Group
Composition
And
Work Group
Relations
How does the workforce change
when the composition changes?
• Said that an employer may discriminate
to keep other employees happy
• What could happen if employees are
not happy (satisfied) with their job?
• Look at how the environment changes if
the percentages of females (males) in
the workplace changes
Abstract way to look at workforce
• Asking “what if”…
• Look at variables such as:
– Satisfaction
– Probability of leaving
– Competition
– Mentoring
– Attitudes
Which shape you find most appealing.
Consider both form and color?
Personality Types
• Type A
– Intense and sustained drive to achieve goals
– Eagerness to compete
– Need for recognition and advancement
• Type B
– Relaxed and laid back attitude and posture
– Friendly, accepting, patient, at ease, and generally
content
– Self-encouraging and have inner motivation
Free and spontaneous life; thrive on change
Take charge type of person; put little faith in luck
And more in your own deeds
What could be the outcome of this team?
Free and spontaneous life; thrive on change
Willing to accept risks for interesting and varied
Work. Routine has a paralyzing effect on you
What could be the outcome of this team?
Does Personality Matter???
• What do you see???
Does Personality Matter?
• Yes!!
• Dealing with Productivity
– If you get along productivity will increase
• Men and women have different personalities
• Different proportions of men and women will
alter the environments of the workplace….but
how???
• 5 theories
Similarity-Attraction Behavior
• What type of people are you most socially
attracted to?
– People like ourselves
• What types of social characteristics do you
look for in an individual?
• What makes us similar?
• Findings
– Increase the number of women causes less
turnover of women and more turnover of men
Social Contact Perspective
• Increase social interaction
– Will decrease stereotypes
– Why?
• Clear majority and minority categorization
– Majority – the “us” component
– Minority – the “them” component that have
stereotypes attached to
• Minority group experience many negative
aspects of job when group is small
Limitations
• Focus:
– Numbers
– Prestige
– Status
• Look at impacts of majority towards minority
• Won’t the minority group also have
stereotypical thoughts about the majority
group?
Two aspects of social differentiation
• Relative size
– Big group vs. Little group
• Hierarchically arranged status
– Power (the full professors)
– Wealth (those making over $100,000)
– Education (those with PhDs)
• Keeps similar “type” people together
Does size help environment?
• Decreases stereotypes with interaction
– Interaction is the problem…
• Problem
– Increases in minority group size can have + or –
influences on the environment of the workgroup
– Positive: decreases in stereotypes
– Negative: if group grows too big they are seen as a
threat
Findings
• As increase group interactions stereotypes tend
to be broken and environmental conditions tend
to improve for both minority and majority group
members.
Group Competition Perspective
• Membership in a social group
• Protective of group’s interests and goals
• Common goal
– Promotion
– Raise
• Rising numbers increases hostility
Two types of relationships
• Economic resources
• Curvilinear Relationship
• Example: Jobs
Economic Resources cont.
• Small increases cause large amounts of
discrimination
• Why??
– One person could take your job or raise
• What would be considered success?
– Complete elimination of the minority group
• Economic term for ultimate outcome of success??
– Occupation segregation
• But…if not successful what happens once minority
group grows?
– Discrimination levels off
Political Power
• Example: Power in situation or organization
• Exponential relationship
Political Power cont.
• What would happen to discrimination as
minority size increases?
– Increases slowly
• Does this discrimination ever decrease
as size of minority group increases?
– No
• Alliance
– As minority group grows in size they can
group together to take what the majority
group is trying to protect
Review
• Social Contact
– Increase the size of the minority group
• Stereotypes??
• Environment??
• Group Competition
– Increase the size of the minority group
• Stereotypes???
• Environment???
With Group Competition…
• Minority group
– Small number
– Less satisfaction
– Large number
– More satisfaction
• Dominate Group towards minority group
– Small number
– More satisfaction
– Large number
– Less satisfaction
Social Identity Perspective
• Behavior is driven by need to protect and
enhance self-esteem
• Personal component
– Personality, intelligence, physical capabilities
• Social component
– Identification with a group and “their” social status
• Self-categorization and cognitive process
– Assign oneself to one or more categories
Self Interest
• Promote group you associate with
• Goal: Maximization of control of the “good”
either by yourself or by your group
• What feeling are towards members of your
group?
• Members of other groups?
Application
• Small number of women
– Women have negative attitudes about other women
– Women have positive attitudes about men
– Why??
• As number of women increase
– More positive attitudes toward women and negative
towards men
Relative Deprivation Perspective
• Soldiers in WWII
– Men in ranks with high rates of promotion had more
negative attitudes
• Social comparisons determine individual
expectations
• Women and men have comparable levels of
satisfaction
– Even though women’s wages and ranks are lower
• Women have lower expectations with respect to
satisfaction levels
Who is the comparison group?
• Depends on the group composition
• High % of men?
– Men
• High % of women?
– Women
– Highest satisfaction levels here for men and women
Review
• Five theories
– Similarity-Attraction
– Social Contact
– Group Competition
– Social Identity
– Relative Deprivation
• Look at:
– Environment
– Attitude towards group
– Attitude towards member of other group
Summary
• All theories find positive effects on the
environment for women and negative for men
• Exception is group competition
Students
• More female teachers
– Positive effect on female grades
– No real effect on male grades
– More female students
– Females seen as aggressive
– Females seen as able to promote oneself
• Less female teachers
– Females seen as flirtatious
– Females seen as involved with co-workers
Which approach is correct?
• Social contact perspective
• Small group
– Many stereotypes
• Larger group
– Stereotypes disappear
Now…
Homosexual and Bisexual
Individuals
What part of the population is
homosexual or bisexual?
• Population = 272,690,813
• Homosexual or Bisexual population
=19,088,356
• Or about 7%
• Very unlikely that you will never come in
contact with a person from this group
• Will you know???
Statistics
• 1992
– 47% of gay men and 40% lesbians were in
a professional or managerial job
• 1996
– 84% of voting Americans supported equal
rights for gay Americans in the workplace
– Why is there still verbal and physical
violence then?
– Why does a homosexual relationship not
receive the same benefits as a
heterosexual relationship?
Why does sexual identity have such
a large impact?
• This is just ONE characteristic of a person.
• Normal perception is that homosexuality is
abnormal
• Slang terms…
In-class exercise 16
• Society talks the talk…but do we know what
they are talking about??
• Can we define the “important” terms of
homophobia?
Movie…
Straight from the
Heart
Movie: Straight from the Heart
• What were the most important points brought
up throughout this film?
• Why is looking at the family’s acceptance
important before looking at the workplace?
Why are people heterosexual?
• Biological or Societal??
– Children are taught phrases like queer, fag,
dyke…all have negative connotations
– Is it nature or nurture??
• Four stages of the “gay process”
– Self awareness
• Acceptance or rejection of identity
– Coming out process
• Internal and external
– Integration of the aspect of self
• In terms of social and personal identity
– Connection to a larger, broader community
• In terms of volunteer work , involvement in gayidentified activities…
• Process may also be followed by family
and friends of homosexual individuals
Challenges faced by
homosexual and bisexual
individuals
• Homophobia
– Fear or hatred of sexual behavior
considered by society to be abnormal
• Invisibility
– Most subtle
– Lack of recognition of gay men and
lesbians as psychological heterosexism
• Attitude that most people heterosexual
• Attitude that heterosexuality is preferred
– Discrimination
Homophobia
• Irrational fear and hatred of
homosexuals
• Four types
– Personal
• Belief that gay people are immoral, sick, or
inferior
– Interpersonal
• Fear, dislike, or hatred of people believed to be
gay
• Name calling, verbal and physical harassment,
or discrimination
– Institutional
• Manifested through politics, policies, and
resources
• Not explicitly listing sexuality in nondiscriminatory policies
• Unequal access to benefits and resources of
domestic partners
– Cultural
• Belief that everyone “ought” to be straight
(heterosexism)
• Media, TV, radio, advertisements
Homophobia continued
• Tied to culturally appropriate and sanctioned
gender and sexual identities
• Homophobia is towards anyone who violates
these culturally sanctioned norms even if not
homosexual
– Act differently and you are treated differently
• May result in sexual harassment
In-class exercise 17
Are you homophobic???
Workplace
• Provides setting for all four types of
homophobia
• Why??
– Much personal interaction
• How??
– Through jokes about gays or lesbians
– Presuming environment is heterosexual
What does homophobia result
in?
• Inhibits relationships between gay and straight
individuals
– Why?
• Don’t want to people to think you are gay too
• Locks people into stringent gender roles
– No room for self expression
• Pushes people to “bash gays” to follow along
with the norm
• Limits education on the topic
– Why?
• Parents fear opening up children’s mind to it might make
them experiment
• Pushes people to “act heterosexual”
– Cover marriages
• Prohibits appreciation of this type of diversity
• Allows for the continuation of discrimination
against this group of individuals
Impacts on homosexual
• Remain “in the closet” (at least in the
workplace)
• Why?
– Fear of not being promoted
– Fear of being fired
– Fear of not being hired
Does concealing lead to problems?
• Lower performance levels
• Lower satisfaction levels (of homosexual)
• Lower production levels
Problem
• Two sides of workplace policies
– Formal
• Governed by explicit policies
– Informal
• Governed by culturally sanctioned norms through coworkers
• Informal discussions, cartoons on workspace…
How does discrimination take
place?
• Invisibility
– Assume everyone is heterosexual
• Fear of Intimidation or job loss
• Silenced
– Cannot share pieces of ones life
• Only heterosexual policies in place
• Fear of violence or personal safety
So…
• Double Jeopardy again
• Double with…
– Gender
– Race
– HIV status
– Disability
– Ethnicity
– Culture
Protection Legislation
• California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts,
New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont,
and Wisconsin
• Federal Legislation was attempted
– Illegal to discriminate against homosexuals in
hiring, firing, promotions, and compensations
– Feared that a man could come to work in a dress
and heals and claim that it was part of his sexual
orientation
• Failed by a Senate vote of 49 to 50
• 25% of Fortune 1000 companies have some
policy that prohibits homosexual
discrimination
Is Legislation Fair?
• Homosexuals must sign affidavit
Having negative feelings or following along with
stereotypes DOES NOT MAKE YOU EVIL!!
People are socialized into thinking certain
things.
In-class exercise 16
• Understanding feelings and attitudes about gay
men, lesbians, and bisexual people.
• THIS IS NOT TO INITALIZE GUILT BUT TO
PROVOKE THOUGHTS ABOUT WHY WE
THINK AND FEEL THE WAY WE DO
Sexual
Harassment
Is this really a problem?
• Estimates
– 28-90% of all females are reported as being targets
– 14-19% of all males are reported as being targets
• Recent issues
– Anita Hill vs. Clarence Thomas
– Paula Jones vs. Bill Clinton
Two part
• Objective
– Conceptual or behavioral perspective
• Subjective
– Individual perspective
Legal side
• Person must PROVE he/she was treated
adversely
• Based on “reasonable person”
• What is the definition of reasonable?
What is Sexual Harassment?
• Can be answered in from three views
– Individual (subjective)
– Conceptual (behavioral)
– Legal (objective)
Individual
• Any behavior of a sexual nature that an
individual subjectively perceives to be offensive
• Unwelcome behavior
• May not be legally or conceptually defined as
Sexual harassment
• Different people will have different definitions
Conceptual (behavioral)
• Tries to make Sexual Harassment more
objective
– To decrease the differences in definitions between
people
• Three dimensions
– Gender harassment
– Unwanted sexual attention
– Sexual coercion
Conceptual (behavioral )cont.
• May not be explicit
• May always be present
• When does sexual harassment become a
problem?
Legal
• Behavior that violates the laws of the country
in which it occurs
• Spain and Denmark have sexual harassment
policies but they are not legally enforced
• Great Britain sees sexual harassment as
sexual discrimination
– Focus on both peer and supervisor sexual
harassment
• France ignores harassment by peers and
only looks at supervisors involvement in
sexual harassment
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) legal definition
•
Unwelcome sexual advances,
requests for sexual favors and other
verbal or physical conduct of a sexual
nature is sexual harassment if:
1. Explicit or implicit term or condition for
employment
2. Yes or no influences important decisions
3. Conduct interferes with work performance
creating a hostile, intimidating or
offensive working condition
Two types
• Quid pro quo
– Sexual coercion
• Hostile working environment
– Gender harassment
What “causes” Sexual Harassment?
• Individual perspective
– What causes an action to be labeled as sexual
harassment?
– Women more apt to label
– Probability of labeling increases if
•
•
•
•
Previously experienced Sexual Harassment
Internal locus of control
Feminist attitudes
Perceive initiator’s actions as hostile
Organization of firm can also play a
role…
• Show tolerance
• Work vs. social setting of firm
Why are men usually the initiators?
• Misinterpreted behavior
How do courts prove sexual
harassment?
• Target’s response to behavior
• Target’s appearance
• Has initiator had sexual harassment complaints
from others
• Reasonable person vs. Reasonable woman
– Which do you think the courts chooses??
How do people respond
to sexual harassment??
Immediate or Overtime?
• Immediate could reduce negative impacts
– Individual retaliation
– Legal procedures
– Decreases in productivity
• Overtime could hurt firm more in the long run
• How?
How many actually report?
• 1 in 8
• Why so low??
– Whatever
– Self fix
– Stress
– Retaliation
– Don’t make waves
What should be the response of
firm?
• Firm can be held liable if they don’t attempt to
stop actions from happening
• Responses should include
– Policies and grievance procedures
– Confronting problematic employees
– Conduction of investigation
– Penalties are in line with offense
• Stop it before it starts
Consequences of Sexual
Harassment
• Three types
– Job related
– Psychological
– Organizational
• Job Related
– Voluntary quits, transfers, reassignments,
terminations, less satisfaction, less commitment,
more absenteeism
• Psychological
– Personal effects (fear, stress, anger, less
motivation)
• Organizational
– Legal effects (negative publicity, fines)
Same Sex Sexual Harassment
• Normal Assumption
– Sexual Harassment is driven by a sexual overtone
• Same Sex Sexual Harassment
– Usually not motivate by sexual drive
How do these differ?
• Workplace romance
• Sexual Harassment
• Which do you think comes first?
How are race and ethnicity influenced
by Sexual Harassment?
• Why is there an influence?
• Minority status
• Subordinate status
“To know what is not
acceptable one must first
know what is acceptable given
the circumstances”
Examples
• Denise
– 25 year old African-American woman
• Angela
– 28 year old Hispanic woman
• Is there a racial and gender undertone going on??
• Are some races more prone to sexual harassment?
Identification of Sexual Harassment
• Context
• Complication
• Evaluation
• Augmentation
• Decision
In-Class Exercise #17
• Dealing with Sexually oriented behavior
• Purpose
– Promote discussion of what sexual
harassment is
– What organizations can do to prevent it from
happening
– What organizations can do to deal with it if it
happens
Romantic
Relationships in
Organizations
Where have you seen
depictions of romances in the
workplace???
Good or Bad???
Questions???
• Why do we crave this information?
• Why is there little research on workplace
romances??
• Why should (if they should) organizations be
talking about it???
Why should it not be allowed?
•
•
•
•
•
Affects working behavior
Less productive
Less efficient
Extramarital relationships
Homosexual relationships
Examples of banning relationships
• Wal-Mart
• U.S. armed forces
• Air Force
What may these relationships
cause?
•
•
•
•
Conflicts of interest
Biased decisions
Increases or decreases in productivity
Lower group morale and teamwork
Why is this problem growing?
• Female labor force participation
• Longer work hours
• Higher divorce rates
• Relaxed Sexual Morales
Romantic vs. Other Relationships
• Romantic
– Satisfy individuals personal needs
• Other types
– Satisfy organizational goals
• Improve subordinate performance
• Develop individuals for future roles
• Increase creativity
Main difference
• No argument that organizational relationships
should exist
• Many arguments that romantic relationships
shouldn’t exist
Qualifications for a Romantic
Relationship
• Between two people
• Sexuality or physical intimacy is
present
– Perceived vs. actual
– Not psychological
• Relationship is wanted by both
members
• Members are part of same organization
or close work relationship
• Not have to be opposite sex only
• Individuals not married
What leads to romantic
relationships?
• Intimacy
• Passion
– Important in the Short Run
• Decision/commitment
– Determinate in whether relationship is long term or
short term
Three stages of workplace
relationships
• Interpersonal Attraction
• Romantic Attraction
• Decision to participate in relationship
Proximity
• Needed for relationship to happen
• Two types
– Physical
– Functional
What influences whether or not to
begin relationship?
• Close supervision or not
• Conservative or liberal work culture
What do individuals receive from
relationship?
• Job motives
– Prevalent for females
• Ego motives
– Prevalent for males
• Love motives
– Prevalent for females
What are the risks?
•
•
•
•
Loss of co-workers respect
Lower self-esteem
Home and family
Violate workplace norms
• Consequences seen in behaviors, attitudes and
reactions
Change in participants
•
•
•
•
•
Easier to get along with (+)
More productive (+)
More preoccupied (-)
Change in power (-)
Women in relationship with higher powered
man
– Job oriented
• Man in relationship with higher powered
woman
– Loving
How should firm respond?
• Three ways to respond
– No response
– Punitive action
– Positive action
• Conservative firm
– Less likely to get promotions, increase in wages…
Important question…
If firm is not affected explicitly by
relationship should we intervene?
What do we know???
• Relationships originate for different reasons
• Experiences range from + to -, temporary to
permanent, job centered to love…
• Responses from co-workers range from neutral to
negative
• Most believe rules can’t stop relationships
• Firm response is necessary if it affects morale
• Homosexual relationships are particularly
controversial
• Culture of organization plays a role
In-class exercise 18
• Intimacy or Distance
• Purpose
– To examine issues related to the management of
interpersonal attraction in work settings
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The Government and Equal
Opportunity
What does equal mean?
• Definition
– of the same measure, quantity, amount, or number
as another
• Are all workers the same???
• Do we rather want fair treatment?
• Definition of fair
– marked by impartiality and honesty : free from selfinterest, prejudice, or favoritism
Why do we attempt legislation to
promote equal opportunity?
• Matter of simple justice
• Inefficient allocation of resources
Drawbacks of Equal Opportunity
Legislation
• Preferential treatment
• Reverse Discrimination
Equal Pay Act of 1963
• Equal pay for equal work
• What is equal work?
– Equal skill
– Equal effort
– Equal responsibility
– Similar conditions
Title VII of the Civil Right Act (1965)
• Original
– Prohibit discrimination in employment based on
race, religion, and national origin
• Amendments
– 1965 included sex
– 1967 included affirmative action
• Who does it cover?
• Who oversees actions?
Affirmative Action (a preview)
• Firms must analyze employment patterns
• Analyze the composition of employees
compared to composition of available workforce
• Set up time table and goal
• What if firm doesn’t meet goal?
Translations of Title VII have
changed overtime
• Beginnings
– No sex discrimination at all
• Current
– Sex discrimination is permitted IF occupation
qualification is Bona Fide and difference in wage is
merited
– Difference in education, skills…
– Cannot include statistical discrimination
characteristics
Two Types of Discrimination
• Disparate Treatment
• Disparate Impact
Disparate Impact is Illegal even if
not intentional
• Beginnings
– Business must prove requirement is job related
• Current (1989)
– Employee must show that requirement is not part of
working requirements
How effective are the policies?
• Equal Pay Act
– Men and women rarely do the same work
– As occupational segregation decreases policy
becomes more effective
• Title VII
– Mixed results
– Can’t tell if improvements are due to policy or
improvements in labor force and education
Affirmative Action
• Goal
– To remedy past under representation of women and
minorities
• Refers to
– Recruiting, preferential treatment
Important points
• Government does not mandate quotas
• Good faith effort
• Quotas are set only if found guilty of
discrimination
Two Views
• No real evidence of past discrimination
• Quotas cause inefficiency of resources
• Problem: Focus is on women and minorities
– Third group (white men) go unprotected by the
law
What is the Government’s role?
• Strongly suggests organization to look at
composition of employees
• Has had a positive impact on employment of
females and minorities
• Pushed firms to have a wider and more
systematic search procedure
• Pushed firms to have more objective hiring and
promotion criteria
Problems
• Unclear who the victim is
• Leads to women and minorities being labeled
as affirmative action hires
• Scapegoat for those adversely affected by a
hiring decision
Who are the target groups
• African Americans
• Hispanic Americans
• Asian Americans
• Native Americans
• White Women
How does it differ from other antidiscrimination policies?
• Bans discrimination (same as other policies)
• Proactive
– Seeks to end discrimination
– Seeks to change current labor market actions
Is Affirmative Action in other
Countries?
• Japan
– Prohibits discrimination against women
• Russia
– Prohibits discrimination by national origin
• Belgium
– Similar policy to U.S. but it is voluntary
What are the effects?
• Increased in the representation of women in higher
education (as students)
• Increased in the number of women and minorities
faculty members
• Increased representation of women and minorities in
public sector jobs
• Increased representation of AA men in private sector
jobs
• Increased funding to minority owned small businesses
Ramifications?
• Reverse Discrimination
– Department of Labor stance
• Lack of governmental contracts or funding if not
followed
• Psychological effects
– Women and minorities seen as less important and less
qualified
In Class Exercise 19
• Affirmative Action or Reverse Discrimination???
• Purpose
– Examine the implications of the legal mandate for
American Organizations regarding Affirmative
Action
– Examine the issue of whether affirmative action
necessarily leads to reverse discrimination