Commentary - Women in the Workforce

Women's participation in the labor market is now a norm.  Many factors account for the rapid increase of women's participation in the labor market. Among the key factors are:

1. financial independence;
2. women's success in accessing higher education and skills enhancing their motivation as well as their opportunities to participate in the workforce;
3. changing social norms that made it acceptable for women to delay having children or even to remain single without social stigma;
4. the necessity of dual income within a household;
5. the need for women to provide for themselves and their families as more women remain single or are divorced.

Women make up almost 50 % of all U.S. workers. “Women’s educational attainment outstrips that of men, and women’s share of union membership is growing rapidly. Families are increasingly dependent on working wives’ incomes in order to make ends meet.” (2010 U.S. Congress Join Economic Committee)

Yet, despite all the progress that has been attained, women continue to face many obstacles in the workplace. Women are paid less than men and are underrepresented in positions of power and influence. Women are still primarily responsible for work done at home and have to balance work and the demands of families. Additionally, married women with children also are disadvantaged because they may face time pressures, a lack of time for relationships, and possibly stalled career progress due to so called “mommy track” status which refers to professional work that is either part-time or specialized in some way so that it has fewer demands and less time pressure. Once part-time, women discover that they are stigmatized as less than committed to their jobs.

A 2012 article, entitled "Why Women can’t Have it All" stirred controversy among women and feminists, when the author argued that the notion that women can have it all is a myth. She argues that based on her experiences, attempting to balance work-life is elusive for many women unless organizational policies change, along with a change in American culture that would make it possible to "have it all" for all professional mothers. She also suggested that work culture must also accommodate working parents (not just mothers) so they can work from home, taking into account time spent with children and family obligations. Additionally, it is important to develop policies not just for women, but also to include fathers. Today men who have children "have become more intensely involved in their lives, spending more time with them and taking part in a greater variety of activities." See Pew Research Center's "A Tale of Two Fathers" from this week's Course Readings.

Often many women leave the labor market to raise family and face loss in earning power when they re-enter at a later date. Of course not all women can afford to leave the paid labor market. Women have yet to close the earning and occupational gap with men. But it is not just married women who face challenges. Unlike professional/middle-class families, working-class and poor families often cannot afford to work-part time, or leave paid labor to raise a child for few years, or buy out of some of the domestic labor. Likewise gay/lesbian families may be invisible in the workplace because revealing one's family might mean revealing one's sexual orientation and facing discrimination.

Today, we also see also men taking on more responsibility at home than ever before necessitated by dual career families.  Men also feel the impact of the "time bind." From child care, to taking time off from work for child birth, working flexible hours to attend to family needs, taking the child or children to the doctor, birthday party participation, and taking other responsibilities within the family. What policies and practices are available to enable single and dual parents to balance family and work?

Women of Color

The challenges women face also vary along race, ethnicity, marital status, age, and other characteristics. Women of color, particularly African Americans and Hispanics generally earn less than white or Asian women.  According to a 2018 Catalyst study “Women and men of color, Asians, Latinx, and multicultural employees face discrimination, biases, and exclusions both in the workplace and outside of it. “These experiences occur both inside and outside the workplace, and they can be sharply painful. Taken together, they impose an Emotional Tax with heavy personal consequences. This Emotional Tax can also harm businesses by preventing employees from being able to thrive at work.”

Gender Discrimination

As with race discrimination, there are many people today who believe that gender discrimination in employment is primarily a thing of the past. But this is not the case. According to the EEOC “Sex discrimination involves treating someone (an applicant or employee) unfavorably because of that person's sex.  Discrimination against an individual because of gender identity, including transgender status, or because of sexual orientation is discrimination because of sex in violation of Title VII.” This includes in all employment situations such as hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.  According to the Pew Research Center, “women employed in majority-male workplaces are more likely to say their gender has made it harder for them to get ahead at work, they are less likely to say women are treated fairly in personnel matters, and they report experiencing gender discrimination at significantly higher rates.”

Gender Plus discrimination can occur when other factors are present, for example, refusing to hire a woman because she is pregnant, or she has children under certain age, or single but with children. These policies do not apply to men and so they are not neutral policies but target one gender. Another form of discrimination is Gender Stereotyping. This occurs when the employer’s decisions are based on how one should act, dress or perform a job based on their specific gender. A male who is effeminate may get fired. A woman who is too “aggressive” may be terminated. A female may not be hired for job that is considered “men’s work.” Essentially, the employer stereotypes the person based on their gender and limits their opportunities or my not hire the person.  Title VII prohibits these actions.