Obstacles Ladies Meet in the Labor Market - Essay Example

Barriers Women Face in the Labor Market Introduction Existing literature on international human resource management gives little attention to the experience of women in top-tier management especially in international organizations. There is an acute dearth of empirical research which gives details on the best roles and careers paths for female leaders in senior management (Donald and Hartmann, 2005, p.471). This has created an information gap in relation to the challenges facing women in their progression from casual organizational positions to senior managerial positions (Donald and Hartmann, 2005, p.473). Since little is known about these challenges, there is a lack of coping strategies developed to avert them. This deficiency in coping strategies limits the availability of opportunities for women’s progression to senior management positions by creating both covert and overt barriers (Donald and Hartmann, 2005, p.478). However, with the advent of globalization, issues of gender equity and gender equality are progressively gaining popularity (Donald and Hartmann, 2005, p.480). This has resulted in an increase in women’s participation in the labor force as they progressively get acceptance in professions, careers and occupations previously reserved for men. However, most of the results from the efforts fall short of set targets and expectations (Thomas and Sally, 2005, p.490). This has necessitated a proper understanding of the covert and overt barriers to women’s progression to top management positions. The slow but progressive disappearance of these barriers will form the major part of this document. Theories and Concepts of Gender International Human Resource Management International Human Resource Management (IHRM) IHRM is a practice that encompasses all the activities revolving around coordinating employees and their efforts towards attaining pre-determined goals and objectives at a global scale (Thomas and Sally, 2001, p.89). IHRM also entails the process of sourcing for human resources, allocating them appropriate roles, and effectively putting their skill sets to use to maximize on the organizational effectiveness and efficiency of international firms (Thomas and Sally, 2001, p.89). Glass Ceiling and Glass Border The term “glass ceiling” is used to describe the invisible and intangible barrier that prevents women or ethnic minorities from getting into top-level management in a hierarchical system (Olga and Río, 2012, p.160). A glass ceiling can also be defined as a set of attitudes that fosters the unjust prevention of women and ethnic minorities from getting into highly influential positions (Olga and Río, 2012, p.163). In most organizations, the existence of the discriminatory barrier in unacknowledged hence there are no forums where the challenges posed by this barrier can be addressed (Stephen and Hartmann, 2003, p.213). This creates a work environment where career progress through promotions into top-level management appears to be possible but the unperceived and unacknowledged discrimination against women and ethnic minorities acts as a limiting factor to the progress itself (Stephen and Hartmann, 2007, p.887). The concept behind the glass ceiling is similar to that of the glass border only that the glass border acts as a limiting factor for horizontal career change (Hartmann and Stephanie, 2001, p.259). The glass border limits women and ethnic minorities from moving from one department to another even on the same level of operation within a firm (Hartmann and Stephanie, 2001, p.260). Occupational Segregation All societies require some extent of segregation if societal roles are to be adequately performed. There are two major types of segregation; ethnic segregation and gender or sex segregation (Miriam et al., 2011, p.32). Both types of segregation exist within occupational fields but this document sensitizes of occupational segregation based on gender (Miriam et al., 2011, p.35). Gender segregation in an occupational environment exists due to the distinction between men and women and their perceived roles and capabilities in such an environment (Maria and Grusky, 2011, p.36). Gender segregation is symmetrical in the sense that men are separated from women in the same way women are separated from men (Maria and Grusky, 2013, p.40). However, gender segregation in most organizations appears as a form of gender discrimination against women with men being concentrated in most careers compared to women (Jerry and Steinberg, 2013, p.43). Gender segregation can be perceived by looking into social stratification and payment differences between men and women in an organization (Jerry and Steinberg, 2004, p.1275). Some of the effects of occupational sex segregation include the development of glass ceilings, glass walls or glass borders which hinder the career progress of women and ethnic minorities (Jerry and Steinberg, 2004, p.1277). Trends followed by the Barriers to Career Progress for Women For a very long time, women have been struggling with a wide array of challenges in their working environments. Most of these challenges are unacknowledged and inadequately addressed. This trend can be attributed to different reasons. For instance, the post-industrial restructuring of the global market saw the expansion of the service industry which offered part-time jobs to women (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013c). These jobs were ideal for women as they offered ample time for them to take care of their families (USBLS, 2013). Women are expected to the heavy handle domestic workload which hinders them from holding high status jobs (USBLS, 2013). The subliminal obligation to give care reinforces the glass ceiling as women strive to maintain the traditional house accord and gender hierarchy (USBLS, 2013). The difference in educational levels between men and women also reinforces the glass ceiling since most women lack the required skill sets to take up top management jobs (Francine, Brummund and Yung-Hsu Liu, p.88). Women’s focus on humanity-based courses such as hospitality management limits their scope of skills. This limits their capability to change careers hence reinforces the glass walls (Francine, Brummund and Yung-Hsu Liu, 2009, p.91). Due to the obligation bestowed on women by the society, most women prefer jobs within their geographical proximity as this is important in ensuring the women are there for their families (Francine, Brummund and Yung-Hsu Liu, 2009, p.94). Moreover, most women also find their jobs through informal contacts which limit them to female-dominated, low-status, and low-paying jobs (Francine, Brummund and Yung-Hsu Liu, 2009, p.94). However, with the advent of globalization, modernization and technology development, these barriers are progressively reducing (Francine and Hendricks, 2000, p.54). This reduction can be attributed to the fact that every country is now concerned with the market trends in other countries due to the interconnectivity of the global economy (Francine and Hendricks, 2000, p.56). This has led to the formation of international bodies that have spearheaded activism towards gender equality through different strategies. Some of these strategies include the formulation of international sexual equality laws and international human resource management strategies (Francine and Hendricks, 2010, p. 439). These strategies, among other factors such as gender imbalance and women expatriation, have led to the slow but progressive erosion of the barriers women face in career growth (Francine and Hendricks, 2010, p. 440). The subsequent section of this document discusses how these strategies and factors reduce the pace at which barriers such as glass ceiling, glass walls, glass borders and glass cliff grow. Gender Imbalance Global demographic statistics indicate that the number of men and women is split at 50 percent (USBLS, 2013a). Generally, there are many men as there are women in the world. However, the same global demographic statistics indicate that there were about 102 men for every 100 women as of 2010 (USBLS, 2013a). This means that out of 1000 people, 496 were women and 504 were men (USBLS, 2013a). Looking at global birth rates, 107 boys are born for every 100 girls (USBLS, 2013a). However, male children have a higher risk of death than females at childhood and at adulthood (USBLS, 2013a). Due to this fact, global demographic projections indicate that the number of women is bound to surpass that of men in the next fifteen years. In fact, currently, the number of women is higher than that of men in most countries. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), the number of women in executive managerial positions in the world’s 500 largest firms has increased since 1996 (David, Hermsen and Vanneman, 2012, p.33). In fact, this number doubled from 2.4 percent to 5.1 percent between 1996 and 1999 (David, Hermsen and Vanneman, 2012, p.39). The ILO survey indicates that women holding top-tier managerial positions in Australia stood at 1.3 percent as of the year 2000 (David, Hermsen and Vanneman, 2012, p.33). This number stood at 2 percent in France, 3 percent in both Germany and Brazil and 3.6 percent in the United Kingdom (Chang-tai et al., 2013, p.28). Even though there was no change in women representation in some countries like Denmark, Spain and the UK between 1996 and 1999, there has been a substantial increase in women representation within this period in most countries (Chang-tai et al., p.33). Additionally, the ILO was later on ratified as a United Nations agency with a mission to bring government, employee and worker representatives from different countries and organizations together on the verge of solving work-related issues (Chang-tai et al., 2013, p.39). Through efforts of agencies similar to ILO, 67 percent of women in the working age bracket have become economically active. By 2010, 70 percent of the number of women in the working age bracket of 20 and 54 years were actively working (Ariane and O’farrell, 2000, p.65). Even though 60 to 90 percent of the economically active women work as part-timers, there has been a significant increase in women holding executive managerial positions across the globe (Ariane and O’farrell, 2000, p.68). The projected increase in female populations in the world will also trickle down to the availability of labor from this demographic niche (Ariane and O’farrell, 2000, p.70). Since the cultural norm of having men as breadwinners is progressively being eroded due to the increasing female independence, the barriers presented by glass walls and glass ceilings are bound to reduce (Ariane and O’farrell, 2000, p.72). This reduction will culminate in an increase in women representation in executive positions. Sexual Equality Law Through international bodies such as the United Nations and the European Union, different countries have created constitutional laws, regulations and statutes aimed at boosting gender equality (Heidi and Aaronson, 2003, p.32). Due to such laws, the barriers women face in their careers such as glass ceiling and glass walls have been progressively fading because the laws demand that both men and women be treated equally (Heidi and Aaronson, 2003, p.33). These laws have created an environment in which women can flourish economically since there is equality in social situations, political participation and economic procedures such as salary payment (Heidi and Aaronson, 2003, p.36). The affirmative action policies have culminated a change in societal attitudes since most occupations and career opportunities have been equally availed to both men and women (Irene and Askew, 2003, p.38). Contrary to previous trends, most countries currently allow women to serve in occupations previously reserved for men such as the armed forces and the police forces (Irene and Askew, 2000, p.69). Even though empirical studies by the United Nations indicate that these occupations are still dominated by men, there has been an increase in the number of women active in these fields (Kimberly et al., 2000, p.77). Due to some staunchly followed traditions such as early and forced marriages, female genital mutilation and gender-based violence, most girls in the world have limited access to education (Kimberly et al., 2000, p.80). In fact, the United Nations Population Fund claims that two out of three of the world’s illiterate adults are women (Kimberly et al., 2012, p.37). However, through several international interventions such as the Fourth World Conference on Women and the European Institute for Gender Equality, the number of girls in educational institutions has been increasing over the years (Snyder and Dillow, 2012, p.39). There has also been an improvement in the gender sensitivity of materials and approaches used in the classroom setting. This has made girls more comfortable hence boosting academic participation among girls (Jerry, 2013, p.29). The increased number of girls in educational institutions, coupled with the improved classroom ambience culminates in an economic market with well-equipped and highly qualified women. Since the number of women with the required skill sets and qualification to take up top management jobs, the challenges presented by barriers such as the glass ceiling and the glass walls are progressively reducing (Jerry, 2013, p.31). Human Resource Management Strategies Some of the strategies applied in the current human resource management industry include talent management, diversity management and inclusion (Liana, 2010, p. 444). These strategies have revolutionized the human resource management industry over the past years especially with regards to supporting women participation in different managerial operations. For instance, through talent management, different firms in different countries allocate challenging high-profile duties and assignments to women in the verge of exposing them to different operational dynamics (Maria and Grusky, 2010, p. 447). This exposure enables women to acquire the relevant and required skill sets for top-tier management positions. Most talent pooling and talent management strategies are aimed at equipping high potential candidates, in this case, women, with the skills and knowledge for executive managerial positions during the succession management process (Maria and Grusky, 2010, p. 450). On the other hand, diversity management involves assigning both men and women similar managerial tasks in order to obtain terse, diverse and all-inclusive results. The concept behind diversity management is pooling different perspectives to an organization’s operations in order to cope with all market trends (Maria and Grusky, 2000, p.77). Having both male and female aspects to a firm’s operations boosts customer satisfaction hence this practice is continuously eroding the challenges faced by women in working environments (Maria and Grusky, 2000, p.79). Women and Expatriation Before the late 80s, the term expatriation was synonymous to male expatriation. The only instance where women and expatriation would occur in the same statement was when referring to the spouses of the expatriates themselves (Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2006). However, the early 90s came with a wave of awareness that put prejudice and bias against women on the limelight (MHRC, 2006). Issues of gender equity and gender balance in international assignments were greatly sensitized on during this period (MHRC, 2006). The motion towards gender equality has led to the increase in female representation in the expatriate community (MHRC, 2006). More resources are being allocated to training women expatriates in different countries as their growing influence and importance in the global economy increases. A survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting Group, involving 100 multinational corporations with approximately 17,000 international assignees, concluded that there has been a significant increase in the number of expatriate women especially Asian and African countries (MHRC, 2006). From the survey, it was clear that the current number of female expatriates in these 100 multination corporations increased by a factor of seventeen from 2001. The survey also indicates that North American multinational corporations have quadrupled the number of women expatriates since 2001 (USBLS, 2013b). The multinational corporations in Europe have doubled the female representation in expatriate team within the same period. While this increase is a clear indicator of the increasing internationalization and interconnectivity of businesses, it is also a clear indicator of the fading barriers women face in the corporate world (USBLS, 2013c). Conclusion Since 1995, there has been an increased in the number of projects, programmes and policies implemented to boost gender equality on a global scale. These efforts revolve around creating international labor standards that are sensitive to gender issues in the verge of attaining equal treatment for women who have been oppressed for a long time due to their gender. Since these efforts approach gender equality as an issued pertaining to human rights, sustainable development and child welfare, they have progressively given women the ability to realize their full potential in top-tier management positions. Even though the results of these efforts have not satisfactorily attained the goals and objectives set for them, there has been a commendable increase in women representation in the executive world. This is mainly due to the reduction of the challenges women face in the work environment as a result of barriers such as the glass ceiling and glass walls. References ARIANE, H., & O’FARRELL, B. (2000). Forthcoming. Improving Access to Quality Jobs for Women in the Green Economy. Washington, DC: Institute for Women’s Policy Research CHANG-TAI, H., HURST, E., JONES, C & KLENOW, P. (2010). “The Allocation of Talent and U.S. Economic Growth.” NBER Working Paper No. 18693 DAVID, C., HERMSEN, J., & VANNEMAN, R. (2004). Gender Inequality at Work, New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation and Population Reference Bureau. DAVID, C., HERMSEN, J., & VANNEMAN, R. (2011). “The End of the Gender Revolution? Gender Role Attitudes from 1977 to 2008” American Journal of Sociology, 117 (1), 259-289 FRANCINE, B., & HENDRICKS, W. (2001). “Occupational Segregation by Sex: Trends and Prospects.” The Journal of Human Resources 14 (2): 197-210 FRANCINE, B., & KHAN, L. (2007). “The Gender Pay Gap.” The Economists’ Voice 4 (4): Article 5 FRANCINE, B., BRUMMUND, P. & YUNG-HSU LIU, A. (2013). “Trends in occupational segregation by gender 1970–2009: Adjusting for the impact of changes in the occupational coding system.” Demography, 50:2, 471-492 HEIDI, H., & AARONSON, S. (2001). “Pay Equity and Women’s Wage Increases: Success in the States, a Model for the Nation.” Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy, 1(1): 69-88. IRENE, B., & ASKEW, R. (2005). “Race, Ethnicity and Wage Inequality Among Women: What Happened in the 1990s and the Early 21st Century?” American Behavioral Scientist 48 (9), 1275:1292 JERRY, J. (2000). “Long-term Trends in Occupational Segregation by Sex.” American Journal of Sociology 95 (1)160-73 JERRY, J. (2003). “Detours on the Road to Equality: Women, Work and Higher Education.” Contexts 2(1):32-41. JERRY, J., & STEINBERG, R. (2000). “Compensating differentials and the male-female wage gap: evidence from the New York State comparable worth study.” Social Forces, 69(2), 439-468. KIMBERLY, B., HELLERSTEIN, J., NEUMARK, D., & TROSKE, K. (2003). “New evidence on sex segregation and sex differences in wages from matched employee-employer data.” Journal of Labor Economics, 21(4):887-921. LIANA, L. (2013). “Disparities in STEM Employment by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin.” American Community Survey Reports U.S. Census Bureau , (accessed November 29, 2013) MARIA, C., & GRUSKY, D. (2004). Occupational Ghettos: The Worldwide Segregation of Women and Men. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. MERCER HUMAN RESOURCE CONSULTING (2006), 2005/2006 International Assignments Survey, New York: Mercer Human Resource Consulting. MIRIAM, K., RUGGLES, S., ALEXANDER, T., LEICACK, D., & SOBEK, M. (2009). Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Current Population Survey: Version 2.0. Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Population Center; (retrieved March 22, 2010). OLGA, A., & RÍO, C. (2012). “The Occupational Segregation of Black women in the United States: A Look at its Evolution from 1940 to 2010.” ECINEQ Working Paper WP 2013-304 STEPHEN, R., & HARTMANN, H. (2004). Still a Men’s Labor Market: The Long-Term Earnings Gap. Washington, DC: Institute for Women’s Policy Research. THOMAS, S. & SALLY, D. (2012). Digest of Education Statistics 2011 (NCES 2012-001). "Table 310. Degrees conferred by degree-granting institutions, by level of degree and sex of student, Selected years: 1869-79 through 2021-22." U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics; < http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2012/2012001.pdf> (accessed December 1, 2013) DONALD, T., & HARTMANN, H. (2001), Women, Work, and Wages: Equal Pay for Jobs of Equal Value. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. (2013). “Current Population Survey Household Annual Averages” on the internet at (accessed May 10, 2015). U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. (2013A). “Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2012.” BLS Report 1045. On the internet at (accessed May 10, 2015). U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. (2013B). “Women in the Labor Force: A Databook.” BLS Report 1040. On the internet at (accessed May 10, 2015). U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. (2013C). “Employment Projections: Occupations with the Most Growth.” On the internet at < http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_104.htm> (accessed May 10, 2015). Read More