Gender Equality In The Workplace

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INTRODUCTION Rapid changes in the global economic market entail transformations affecting not only the external environment of organizations, but also its internal operations and processes (Hall, 2008; Hodgetts, 2002). One important change that has altered the nature of contemporary organization is the “acknowledgement, development and systematic use of the skills and knowledge of employees” (Ramirez et al 2007, p 496). The central role of employees’ participation in the success of the organization involves not only “high performance work systems… [but] they also involve the decentralization of decisions and work enrichment that is providing employees with opportunities for involvement in decision-making and innovation.” (Wood & de Menezes 2008, p 639). As such, contemporary organisations have provided the arena wherein growth and success of the firm is tied up with the growth and participation of the employees for the success of the organization (Li, Guohui & Eppler 2008; Wolfgang & Brewster, 2005). However, it is not only contemporary organizations that have undergone changes. The nature of the contemporary workforce has also been modified (Jinzhao, 2007). Globalization is not only about removal of economic barriers among nations and movements of capital, investments and goods, but it also pertains to the more free movement of people across nations reducing the significance of physical borders as barriers (Fischer, 2003; Suarez-Orozco & Qin-Hilliard, 2004). In this regard, the nature of contemporary workforce has been revolutionized from a homogenous workforce to heterogeneous, diverse workforce (Maxwell, McDougal & Blair, 2001). The idea of heterogeneous work force means “differences in attitudes, and behaviors of employ... ... middle of paper ... ...diversity- what is the future of equal opportunities policies in organisations’, Women in Management Review, vol.19, iss. 4, pp. 196 – 204. Suarez-Orozco, M.M., & Qin – Hilliard, D.B. (2004). Globalization: Culture and Education in the new Millennium. THE ROSS INSTITUTE , Berkeley. Wolfgang, M. & Brewster, C 2005, ‘European human resource management: Reaching developments over time’, Management Revue, Vol. 16, Issue 1, pp 36 – 64. Wood, S., & de Menezes, L.M. 2008, ‘Comparing perspectives on high involvement management and organizational performance across the British economy’, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 19, No 4, pp 639 – 682. Zanoni, P, Janssens, M, Benschop, Y & Nkomo, S 2010, ‘Unpacking diversity, grasping Inequality: Rethinking difference through critical perspectives’, Organization, vol. 17 (1), pp. 9-29.

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