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gender inequalty in the workforce
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gender inequalty in the workforce
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This paper is going to look at four types of diversity and demographic characteristics that impact individual behavior in the work place and in everyday life settings. The four groups to be examined are Gender, Age, Geographical Differences, and Personality Traits. Gender When examining the differences between men and women in the work place women have made great strides in contributing their efforts in a positive manner when given the opportunity. In the past it has always been the men that controlled the working environment but as times change and more households started depending on dual incomes the need for women to participate in the work force has increased. Also with the increasing number of single moms needing to provide for their families has created more of a need for opportunity for these women. When given the chance to produce women have proven that they can be a positive force in the working environment. They have shown that they can be good leaders and managers when given the chance. Men, on the other hand, have started playing bigger roles in the home environment. With more and more women working these days the duties around the home have been divided between the genders so that one does not have to bear the full burden of all the responsibilities. So, as time goes by, the roles are not necessarily reversed but divided between the two so that both parties can contribute financially and to the management of the home as well. Age When looking at ones age in the work place both ends of the spectrum can be examined. When a young man or women is graduating from college and looking for their first new job some com... ... middle of paper ... ...ams within an organization can be challenging when blending different personalities together. Teams are very rewarding and give the employees a chance to learn and work with others from different backgrounds and adjust to different personalities of the other employees. It is a growing process for everyone to appreciate that not everyone is the same and that most people have different ideas but when brought together for the purpose of achieving a common goal it is a winning situation for the company. Conclusion This paper has examined the different types of diversity and demographic characteristics that need to be appreciated from an employer's point of view as well as other employees. It all goes back to everyone is different and everyone has special talents and personalities that contribute to the success of the company.
From this paper one can see that diversity is much more than just cultural differences. Occupation, differences in skills and abilities, personality traits, and values and attitudes are just a few of the types of diversity that impact individual behavior.
Being successful at managing workforce diversity involves attracting and retaining the highest quality individuals in the talent pool. For managers it means learning how to manage human potential sensitively. It requires an ever-increasing awareness of how people from different backgrounds deal with authority, communication, overall business etiquette, and relate to their communities of affiliation. Successful management of workforce diversity is a process that takes place in many stages and on many levels. It requires managers to first recruit a competent and qualified staff, then to accommodate individual needs within the context of the work team and the organization.
Diversity shapes the world we live in. Diversity can be defined as people coming together from different nationalities, races, religions, cultures, sexes, and genders to form a group, organization or community. With diversity comes both positive and negative factors, especially to those who fail to understand its value. Today, most people view diversity as an overall good thing because it allows people the chance to experience something different, gain a new perspective on life, and it influences understanding, clarity, and knowledge outside of what we are normally accustomed to. On the other hand, in social institutions such as education, religion, family or economy one may face certain consequences for being different. With diversity comes
Diversity is the piece that makes the modern workforce so amazingly unique and challenging at the same time. Valuing diversity means creating a work environment that respects and includes differences, recognizing the unique contributions these differences can bring, and maximizing the potential of all employees and the company. In The Loudest Duck, the author describes what often happens when diverse individuals enter the modern diverse workplace. Liswood gives great examples, analogies and shares simple insights into the hardships of bringing people from diverse backgrounds together to accomplish goals. The main emphasis is put on recognizing that diversity strictly by statistics of different races and/or genders present is insufficient.
Obviously, people differ in numerous ways, so what does that mean for businesses? Well, when work groups are comprised of people with different backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles, promoting teamwork and smooth interactions can be challenging. Finding new ways to work together will require thinking about people’s differences, not to divide, separate or exclude, but to take advantage of those differences. When people engage in divergent thinking, they put themselves in a highly exploratory mode, drawing from more of their total life experience to help solve a particularly difficult problem or to discover new and better alternatives to doing things.
Workforce diversity is defined as the variety of differences that is between the people that are in an organization (Scott and Byrd, 2012). The factors that encompass the diversity include race, gender, age, cognitive styles, organizational function and background. Diversity does not only involve how people perceive themselves, but how they are able to perceive others. On a personal level, workforce diversity is a way that can help me appreciate the differences in others and also learn from them on some basic life and work abilities that I lack. An example is the virtue of patience with others whereby diversity will make it easy for me to be patient with my work and also people who have different opinions about life. In the professional life,
Diversity can be differences in age, gender, ethnicity, and religion. Having such a diverse workforce can be very challenging. (1) Today’s workforce is very diverse in respect to age. Before, corporate America consisted of workers ranging from twenty one up to late thirties to early forties. Now, we see people in their mid to late fifties going back to work. This trend has both advantages and disadvantages. One advantage of an older employee over a younger employee is his ability to use his years of experience in situations where a younger employee lacks experience. Another advantage for an older employee is his built relationship with existing customers. The disadvantage of an older employee over a younger employee is his inability to quickly adapt to his changing environment. Younger employees are more “hungry” compared to their older counter parts. Their hunger is fired by their goal to quickly move up the corporate ladder.
Ever since the end of World War Two women have become more and more involved in the business world. Especially today with the computerized technological advances many women who are secretaries have becoming well versed in the computer era creating a new path for women to follow. Though the role of a mother can never change to her children most woman spend the bulk of their day working in the business world only to have enough time to be with their children and keep the family peace around the house. In what has a become a dramatic change for women in the Western world women can now be seen as equal to men in most areas if not all. It all started with the age of the Enlightenment, the age of reason, when people began thinking rationally, and it has a become a 300 year process. Rational thought and technological advancements as well as many other issues have changed the role of women in our society today and all across the world.
The impact of diversity in the workplace is contingent upon several factors. Across companies diversified workforces are becoming increasingly common. To successfully manage a diverse workforce, organizations are ensuring that employees understand how their values and stereotypes influence their behavior toward others of different gender, ethnic, racial, or religious backgrounds; are gaining an appreciation of cultural differences among themselves; and behaviors that isolate or intimidate minorities are being improved (Noe et al., 2010, pg. 302).
There are many different forms of diversity that effect human behavior and the culture of companies. These many different values, skills and abilities, ages, and occupations will be a challenge for managers today to find creative new ways to incorporate each individual’s ideas into their business and to create a productive culture that values every form of diversity.
In a world that has grown increasingly smaller due to mass media, world travel, and readily available information, the workplace has grown increasingly diverse in both gender and cultural aspects. Individuals no longer live and work within the confines of their geographic locations. At almost any position with any company the individual employee is a part of a larger world economy that harvests assets from the ends of the earth. Because of this, companies seek to capitalize on diversity to become more creative and flexible in their business models.
Men are traditionally seen as being in the "supervisor" position in the home. They are the heads of the household, the breadwinners, and the women are behind the scenes, like the threads that hold everything together. The same can be said about the workplace. Men tend to hold administrative positions, while women usually have the positions that support the administrator. They are the secretaries and assistants that do the work for their male bosses and prepare things for them that later on only the administrator may receive credit for. " ‘Where,' asks the Englishman who is prominent in social welfare, 'are you're men? We see their names on the letter-heads of organizations, but when we go to international conferences, we meet almost entirely women.' 'Our men-oh, they are the chairmen of boards, they determine the financial policy of our agencies, but they leave the practice to women. They are too busy to go to conferences.'" (Mead 304).
...d women’s biological purpose has provided men a source of comparative advantage in work. It is, therefore, natural for most companies to think that women cannot be as capable as men in terms of assuming strenuous or challenging positions because women, by default, become less participative and more vulnerable when they start to have family and children. Apparently, this situation has led to various gender discriminations in the labor market.
However, women have made optimistical progress towards equality and their role in the society has been changed dramatically since the last century. Many women stepped out of their home and start to work at factories and offices. The number of working women with children has more than doubled in the past 50 years. While working conditions for women may have improved, there is a lack of appreciation for the notion that work for most women doesn't end at the door of a factory or office. Despite an increase of women's participation in the labour force, women's share of housework has hardly changed in 50 years.
Gender inequality all began because of the patriarchal society back in past centuries. Some people, mostly males, are still having issues and concerns that our society is not so much male dominated anymore. Today females have a lot more freedom and opportunities in the employment fields especially in occupations that people have always stereotyped men to have. Altman and Pannell (2012) state that, “Domestic work, weather paid or unpaid, has long been socially defined as women’s work.” (p. 293). Ever since the 19th and 20th century, women have been stereotyped as household employers and men have always been the financial providers in society. Men used to be viewed as physically and mentally stronger than women, and claim that th...