Chapter 4 – Making Employment Decisions

 Motivations ◦ To hire the best talent possible ◦ To stay within legal requirements  How do sex and gender influence the decisions of both job seekers and organizations?

 Self-selection decisions ◦ The decisions of individual job seekers during the job search process ◦ Assessing the fit between yourself and employment opportunities  How do sex differences in self-selection decisions affect employment?

 Job attribute preferences ◦ The extent to which an individual views different qualities and outcomes of paid work as desirable  Sex differences ◦ Women value job attributes…  That allow for the demands of a homemaker  Such as benefits, availability of openings, and feelings of accomplishment ◦ Men value job attributes…  Such as income, autonomy, leadership, and promotions

 Family structure ◦ Mothers vs. childless women ◦ Married men and fathers vs. single, childless men  Cultural factors ◦ Example: Japanese workforce  Preference for work activities ◦ Six activities: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional  Occupational preferences

 Gender socialization  Sex segregation of occupations  Idea that success requires personal characteristics associated with the dominant sex in an occupation  Gender identity

 Organizations’ selection processes serve as signals about working conditions  Factors which affect job seekers’ reactions: ◦ Inclusive diversity policies** ◦ Work-family initiatives** ◦ Sex of the job recruiter ◦ Recruiting practices ◦ Evaluating the fairness of selection procedures** **Especially important to women

 Men: ◦ Devote more time and effort to the job search ◦ Have more work-centered networks ◦ Have more geographically dispersed networks ◦ Often adopt an external labor market strategy ◦ Expect more pay than women  Women: ◦ Have more kin-centered networks ◦ Have more geographically concentrated networks ◦ Often adopt an internal labor market strategy ◦ Expect and accept less pay than men

 Women have lower pay standards ◦ Statistical evidence  The value placed on pay and compensation  The use of different reference groups by men and women  Limited business contacts create less accurate knowledge of pay levels for women

 Selection decisions ◦ Decisions of organizations and their representatives during the hiring process  How and when does sex discrimination occur in selection decisions?  Who discriminates against whom?

 Formation of mental prototypes  Selection process  Jobs that are associated with one sex  Amount of information about applicants  Conspicuousness of applicants’ sex

 Decision-makers ◦ Personality traits are important ◦ Adherence to gender roles  Rejection of individuals who do not follow traditional gender stereotypes and role ◦ Rejection of traditional gender stereotypes  May lead to discrimination by favoring women over men

 Applicants ◦ Physical attractiveness  Higher attractiveness linked to competency and suitability for hiring  Is more important in the evaluation of females ◦ Weight  An indicator of self-control and conscientiousness  Overweight individuals seen as lazy and less stable  Overweight bias particularly strong for women ◦ Pregnancy  Women in later stages of pregnancy receive more bias

 Looking at how job seekers and organizations make employment decisions… ◦ What can individual job seekers do to improve prospects for a satisfying and rewarding job? ◦ What can organizations do to improve recruitment and selection decisions?

 Explore and identify individual preferences in occupations & job attributes  Devote considerable time and effort to the job search, and use a broad range of methods  Be prepared to make good impressions in job interviews; Practice  Research potential employers and their organization’s values  Select a job that best matches preferred job attributes  Be prepared for salary negotiation when taking a job

 Distribute promotional materials to school systems that send a message of diversity  Publicize employees who hold jobs atypical for their sex  Develop job descriptions that include the full range of activities associated with the job  Seek applicants from multiple sources  Screen recruiters to determine endorsement of traditional gender stereotypes  Train recruiters to avoid bias and discriminatory behavior  Formalize and standardize selection and promotion practices  Assess effectiveness of all selection practices  Reward recruiters for effectiveness based on long-term results  Implement diversity and work-family policies to enhance organizational attractiveness

 Self-selection decisions  Job attribute preferences  Preferences for work activities  Occupational preferences  Inclusive diversity policies  Work-family initiatives  Recruiting practices  Fairness of selection procedures  Job search behavior  Formal job search methods  Informal job search methods  Networks  Internal labor market strategy  External labor market strategy  Pay expectations  Selection decisions  Mental prototypes  Impression of management tactics