Sex at Work CH11 Organizational Behavior 261 Gabrielle Durepos

Reminders Attendance Group Papers due now at the front of class Presentations begin next class –See moodle for schedule Final Exam –Cumulative –Format: short answer & MC –Written in the Oland gym –Dec 9 th 9AM Marketing & Sales Xaverian –No experience is necessary –Send cover letter & resume to –Portfolio is welcome

Outline Sex and organizational life… why should we care? Toward an understanding of: –Sex –gender –Sexuality Quick Exercise …And why we should care Approaches to OB Focused on Gender: –Liberal Feminism –Radical Feminism Issues in sex and organizational research –Gendered Research? –Equity Issues –Sex Power and Authority Issues Conclusions

Sex and Organizational Life… Why should I care? Sex discrimination is outdated… employment equity is now a fact of life… –AND… if anything, the white heterosexual able-bodied male is now the target of discrimination By always talking about sex, gender and sexuality at work and its negative implications for women… you reinforce the inequities, which makes things worst, not better… A focus on the continuance of workplace inequities can suggest that few strides have been made – and it is not even worth trying… But to get to the heart of issues surrounding gender at work, we should first begin by understanding: –Sex –Gender –Sexuality

Towards an understanding of: Sex, Gender and Sexuality Sex –Refers to the biological differences between men and women Gender –The various assumptions, associations and characteristics that we come to associate with ‘what it means to’ be a man or woman –These are cultural, we get these cues from interacting in society –We are socialized within particular cultures: This influences the way we make sense of what it means to be a: –Man –Woman Sexuality –Refers to a persons sexual self; those aspects of a person that make that make them sexually attractive to another We are born with certain biological features (SEX), and using these features as a basis, people attribute particular characteristics to the person (GENDER). An important part of becoming a “man” or “woman” involves assumptions about the physical attractiveness of that person (SEXUALITY)

Quick Exercise 1/6 Look at the images: –What is the sex of the individuals depicted? –Can you list characteristics that describe their gender? –Can you tell me things about their sexuality? –Is the sexuality of some of the individuals depicted more pronounced?

Quick Exercise 2/6

Quick Exercise 3/6

Quick Exercise 4/6

Quick Exercise 5/6

Quick Exercise 6/6 Look at the images: –What is the sex of the individuals depicted? –Can you list characteristics that describe their gender? –Can you tell me things about their sexuality? –Is the sexuality of some of the individuals depicted more pronounced?

And why we should we care… 1/3 Organizations are powerful contexts in which we spend most of our lives –They are important sites which contribute / shape how we make sense of what it means to be a: Man Woman We have come to associate certain types of work with: –Masculinity –Femininity Women continue to be under-represented in senior management roles –2002: women constitute 46.1% of the Canadian workforce; but only 33.7% of management positions –2003: women constitute 11.2% of Canadian board of directors Women continue to be paid less than men –2004: On average, women earned 81.6 cents of every dollar earned by men

And why we should we care… 2/3 Organizations contribute to the way we understand what it means to be a: –Man –Woman If women are devalued at work due to being: –Underrepresented –Paid less –Only suitable for particular forms of work… … then this contributes to the way we come to understand: –Women and Men at work –Women’s work and Men’s work

And why we should we care… 3/3 Our view of what it means to be a man and a women influences the way we behave at work This can lead to: –Sexual harassment In its most explicit form is any type of unwanted attention of a sexual nature Can be physical, verbal or otherwise suggestive in nature Is a form of sexual discrimination –The devaluing of certain forms of sexual orientations Prohibition (explicit) and norms (embedded in the culture) against homosexuality Can lead to law suits or individual stress

Approaches to OB focused on Gender: The Feminist Approach Feminist organizational studies is dedicated to understanding: –The experience of work from the woman’s point of view –Concern with identifying and exposing processes of sexual discrimination Feminist OB investigates the impact of: –Individual men; individual women –Groups of men; groups of women –Masculinist values and behavior and feminist values and behavior Within organizations to address and expose sexual discrimination There are many different forms of feminism –Liberal (a very common form) –Radical –Socialist –Postmodern

Approaches to OB focused on Gender: The Liberal Feminist From the woman’s point of view Concern: there are not enough females in the workplace –How to bring in more women at work? –How to include them in senior management roles? Focus on: –Body counting, focus on overt changes Similar to Women in Management (mentioned later)

Approaches to OB focused on Gender: The Radical Feminist 1/3 From the point of view of the woman's experience –Focus on covert & overt changes The workplace is DOMINATED by traditionally masculine associated characteristics The workplace CELEBRATES traditionally masculine associated characteristics Who BUILT the market economy in which we operate? –Male dominated until the second world war… –Is it a surprise that masculine traits are privileged by a system built primarily by males?

Approaches to OB focused on Gender: The Radical Feminist 2/3 The radical feminist asks: What is privileged in the workplace? –Competitiveness; Aggression; Winning at any cost; Progress; Faster and better and more efficient; Execution; Strong; Be tough; Untouchable; Don’t let things get to you; rise above; Do not let your emotions get in the way; be rational What is not privileged in the workplace? –Nurture; Care; Emotions; …. Which of these lists of characteristics are associated with what it means in our Western society to be: –Male? –female?

Approaches to OB focused on Gender: The Radical Feminist 3/3 The radical feminist would tell us: The problem is not so much that there are not enough women in the workplace It is rather the women who ARE THERE MUST abandon or temporarily hide their “feminine” characteristics to do well or advance to the next level of the hierarchy Women must act like men to get ahead because femininity is not valued in the workplace!

Issues in sex and organizational research: Gendered Research ? 1/3 Sex and Gender are not only a feature of work but also an important SUBJECT of STUDY Much of organizational research has been undertaken by male researchers –But it has been assumed as gender neutral Not much acknowledgment about who is being studied, women or men? Assume that women and men respond in the same way at work –What about the “power relationship” between the researchers and subjects? Assume that research findings about men at work would be the same when applied to women – and vice versa

Issues in sex and organizational research: Gendered Research: The Hawthorn Studies 2/3 Roethlisberger and Dickson: The Hawthorn Studies at Western Electric –The study: Group 1 (control): the bank wiring room – they continue their work as usual Group 2 (experimental): the relay assembly test room – are taken out of their normal environment, closely supervised, told to improve productivity and given individual attention –Conclusion: People are motivated by social as well as economic rewards Look at group membership and how this affects behavior Work studies should focus: –On factors of “human relations” –On communication, participation, leadership

Issues in sex and organizational research: Gendered Research: The Hawthorn Studies 2/2 Gender was completely left out of this study and its conclusions –Group 1 was an all male group –Group 2 was an all female group Who were young, unmarried, immigrants, very likely to comply… –All researchers and supervisors (in positions of authority) were men They supposedly gave the experimental group a “choice” to participate –Researchers did not perceive gender as affecting results

Issues in sex and organizational research: Equity Issues Employment equity is recognized in our Western Industrial world Although there have been many positive changes for women, some consider the change slow Researchers examine the workplace for clues to understand issues of sexual discrimination at work –Communication –Culture (Hofstede) –Pathways (Gutek & Larwood: careers)

Issues in sex and organizational research: Sex, Power and Authority Issues 1/2 Women in Management (WIM) –Looks for inequities in the workplace Problem: not enough women in the workplace Focus on: body counting –Focus on: Woman’s circumstances at work: issues of sexual harassment Barriers to entry The glass ceiling: How to rise in the current hierarchal structures? –This research focuses on sex differences Women are as such because of their biological differences Men are as such because of their biological differences –This approach is under attack by many “gender” scholars Because they argue that the biological differences are just a start – it is how we are socialized that forms the bulk of discrimination and problems at work

Issues in sex and organizational research: Sex, Power and Authority Issues 2/2 Masculinity: –Men are to act as “real men” What is the impact on a man who espouses more feminine associated traits? –Notions of excessive competitiveness and aggression … can these be detrimental to organizational outcomes? The Challenger Disaster 1986

Conclusions Should we even bother studying gender at work? –Is this topic irrelevant? –Is it too much of a fight – should we just quit now? –Women are more equal now than they have ever been – why are they still complaining…? –The real problem now is equality for men…? There is no one best approach to study gender at work There are big differences between studies which look at gender at work and studies which look at sex at work Organizations affect the way we construct our gender and sexuality Through education about gender, sexuality and sex at work we can redress work practices that are detrimental to individuals