1

The Gender Divide

Kennesaw State University

PSYC4499: Capstone Seminar in PSYC

Dr. Nicole Martin

September 25, 2024

The Gender Divide

Gender inequality at workplace settings continue to be a long-standing problem

regardless of interventions. In multiple industries, women still encounter obstacles such as salary,
 2

professional growth, and opportunity to hone leadership skills. These differences are from

systemic biases embedded in organizational frameworks. This is prolonged through gender

stereotypes and unequal policies. Although gender inequality has traditionally been seen as a

problem mainly affecting women, studies have shown that the need for an all-inclusive approach

that involve all aspects of society is needed to fix this problem. This paper claims that gender

inequality at work is endorsed by systemic biases through companies and emphasizes the

meaningful change is needed to reform in policies and cultural norms. (Stamarski & Son Hing,

2015; Castilla & Benard, 2010).

Through many forms, gender inequality is presented in professional environments,

primarily focusing on wage-gap in gender. Whaley and Jena (2020) found that women tend to

make lower salaries than men in almost every line of work. When considering variables such as

schooling, tenure, and work hours, the data remains the same. Industries that have mostly male

workers such as medicine, women are paid much less compared to men in the same job position.

Female surgeons working in male practices may have disparities as significant as $149,000 per

year, emphasizing how work culture can influence gender inequality (Whaley and Jena, 2020).

On top of the unfair wage gaps, women also face obstacles in professional growth. Eagly

and Carli (2007) claim that organizational structures and the process to enter a leadership

position creates a bias towards men, leading to an oversight for an opportunity for women. Not

only do these inequalities restrict a woman’s chances for economic advancement, but also

decreases the diversity within companies. Kelly and Moen’s (2020) study backs this up by

highlighting that diverse leadership groups are better at handling business obstacles. This would
 3

indicate that structural prejudices hinder women from leadership positions losing opportunity to

have a diverse work group.

Systemic bias in professional industry rules is a primary contribution in gender inequality

at work. HR policies that focus on recruitment, advancement, and compensation, are generally

created in a way to put women at a disadvantage. Stamarski and Son Hing (2015) argue that the

choice for HR to hire is influenced by institutional discrimination along with personal biases,

combined to gender inequality. Women are commonly compared to standards that are set by men

which can make things a bit challenging for women to obtain promotions or any leadership role.

Along with this, merit-based procedures made to reduce bias, can worsen it. Castilla and Benard

(2010) found that in organizations based on meritocracy, mangers would tend to show a

preference for male workers over equally skilled employees that are female. This indicates that

the idea of meritocracy can be another factor to gender inequality.

This systematic discrimination is exacerbated by company norms that focus on non-stop

work, mainly affecting women who have caregiving duties. Padavic, Ely, and Reid (2020) states

that attributing women as the main caregivers results in their inability to acquire top positions

with demanding schedules. This leads to circumstances where women are lacking representation

in leadership roles and facing financial struggles due to heavy schedules involving family care

giving.

Gender bias at work affects not only women’s career progression, but also influences

their physical and mental health. Pietiläinen, Nätti, and Ojala (2020) claim that women who

experience workplace discrimination are more prone to taking longer sick leave due to the

mental stress caused by discriminatory behavior. Their research on Finnish women revealed that

those who went through gender discrimination were 1.4 times more likely to call out than women
 4

who did not go through discrimination. This finding highlights the more gender discrimination

there is in workplaces, the more women there are with chronic health problems. This decreases

efficiency and increases medical expenses.

On top of gender pay disparity, women are at a higher risk of facing career plateaus

which hinders their ability to earn more over their lifetime. Mandel and Semyonov (2014)

revealed that women tend to make more use of family-friendly policies such as parental leave

than men. This is showing a contradiction in this policy by claiming to support women but ends

up increasing the disparity in payment between genders because women that are part-time or in a

lower-paying job tend to use parental leave more than men who maintain a family.

Key factors in maintaining inequity in a workplace environment are cultural standards

and gender biases. Gender roles in society commonly frame men as leaders and women as

nurturers which affects the hiring process and office environments. Kimmel (2015) discusses the

importance of collective/cooperative action, especially amongst men, to confront these

stereotypes. His study highlights the importance of unity between males and females in battling

inequality, asserting that societal transformation requires effort from both sides.

Additionally, Morita (2022) highlights the importance of cultural change in attaining

genuine gender parity. His study of the Japanese labor demonstrates that deep-seated cultural

beliefs about work and family responsibilities play a vital role into maintaining gender bias,

despite the legal changes. Morita claims that keeping a balance between work and personal life is

important for advocating gender equality. However, this structure is disrupted by social norms

that emphasize working while sacrificing personal life problems. By raising questions in these

societal expectations, companies have the opportunity to create fairer conditions that assist all

genders in carrying out personal and work responsibilities.

Some argue that current diversity programs and flexible work policies are adequate

enough to fix gender inequality. Nevertheless, research indicates that these attempts commonly

do not live up to standards. Padavic, Ely, and Reid (2020) recommend that regardless of the

intentions of flexible work arrangements to aid women, they may actually be sustaining gender

stereotypes and hindering career progressive opportunities. In addition, diversity training

programs are commonly put without actually fixing the fundamental cultural and structural

biases that uphold inequality. In order to have substantial change, companies must look further

into the underlying issues causing discrimination.

Bringing awareness to gender inequality in the workplace needs a thoughtful approach

that targets deep-seated biases and societal norms. Organizations can make a more overall

environment for staff members by updating HR policies, encouraging diversified management,

and bringing awareness to health and economic outcomes of discrimination. Regardless of the

progress made, there is still a lot more work to create equal opportunities for success in the

workplace. Research suggests that gender inequality is imperative for companies that seek to

foster innovation and expanding their company (Stamarski & Son Hing, 2015; Kelly & Moen,

2020). By addressing these issues, creating a more just and equitable society that benefits all

individuals would come sooner than later.

References

Castilla, E. J., & Benard, S. (2010). The paradox of meritocracy in organizations. Administrative

Science Quarterly, 55(4), 543-676. https://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.2010.55.4.543

Eagly, A. H., & Carli, L. L. (2007). Through the labyrinth: The truth about how women become

leaders. Harvard Business Review Press.

Kimmel, M. S. (2015). Men’s reactions to gender inequality in the workplace: From relative

deprivation to collective action. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 982.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00982

Kelly, E. L., & Moen, P. (2020). Overcoming workplace gender inequality: The role of

organizational change and social policies. Gender & Society, 34(3), 456-477.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243219897525

Mandel, H., & Semyonov, M. (2014). Gender pay gap and family policies: A paradox of

motherhood. European Sociological Review, 30(6), 964–979.

https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcu067

Morita, M. (2022). A study of gender equality for life enrichment: Exploring how to make a

difference for gender equality at work and at home. International Journal of Home

Economics, 15(2), 46-55. https://doi.org/10.3322/ijhe.v15n2p46

Padavic, I., Ely, R. J., & Reid, E. M. (2020). Explaining the persistence of gender inequality: The

work-family narrative as a social defense against the 24/7 work culture. Administrative

Science Quarterly, 65(1), 61-111. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839219832310

Pietiläinen, M., Nätti, J., & Ojala, S. (2020). Perceived gender gender discrimination at work and

subsequent long-term sickness absence among Finnish employed women. European

Journal of Public Health, 30(2), 311–316. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckz156