Gender Discrimination

The topic of gender discrimination is certainly a controversial one. Some of our group remembers their LIBS 7013 course, an entire course dedicated to studying Race, Class and Gender. It’s interesting to look at these issues from a moral point of view, and apply different principles to the circumstances at hand.

Utilitarian View

When we use a utilitarian approach, it is believed that “productivity is optimized when jobs are awarded based on competency.” The clear conclusion from this statement is that skills and abilities should be the first requirement to consider when evaluating a potential new hire, or promoting them to a different position. This approach is somewhat objective because the person doing the hiring could have different views on the meaning of “competency.” Say, a man in a senior management position believes that women are somehow less intelligent or less able to succeed in top positions, he would automatically rule out women due to their “incompetency.” The responsibility to break these types of mindsets lies with the corporation. Where there is objectivity of terms, there should be detailed descriptions put in place of what they truly mean to the organization.

Kantian View

In Kantian terms, one can think about how people would react if their actions or beliefs were universalized. If the same manager mentioned above applied for a higher position and was denied by a woman who believed men to be incompetent, he would surely have a problem accepting that. Again, this confirms that it is morally unsound to discriminate based on gender.

Ethic of Care

The good old boys of Wall Street surely epitomize a prime example of an Ethic of Care gone wrong. The message the industry seems to want to get across, especially to...

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... males on Wall Street still held 85% of branch management positions, 76% of the managing director positions and 79% of executive management positions.

So do Wall Street firms with “entrenched male cultures” have an ethical obligation to change? Affirmative action should not be necessary for Wall Street, as there are more and more females who are qualified to work there. If affirmative action is used, there is a chance of reverse discrimination to happen where white males get discriminated against. Ethically firms have the obligation to hire the person most qualified for the job. In time, society will automatically make this change happen on Wall Street, as more barriers fall between the old ways and the new ways. More executives will be females which will help further with the change. By forcing rapid change, it is more likely that females will just mirror males.