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Subscribe to RSSIt’s been decades since the workplace was a man’s world, but we know there are still gender differences at work.
A story on msnbc.com today explores whether women are at risk of falling behind in the tepid economic recovery because, so far, they are gaining back a far lower percentage of jobs than they lost.
Separately, a new survey raises the question of whether men also will be more likely to receive perks such as a bonus in the coming year.
The Adecco 2011 Workplace Outlook Study found that 41 percent of men think they will receive a raise, bonus or promotion this year, compared with 29 percent of women.
That could partly be because men are more likely to ask for what they want. The same survey found that 25 percent of men plan to ask for a raise, bonus or promotion this year, compared with 15 percent of women.
Of course, history also could be on their side. The survey reported that 24 percent of men received one of those perks in 2010, compared with 18 percent of women.
The telephone survey of 1,000 U.S. adults was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for staffing firm Adecco.
The Adecco survey also found that a higher percentage of men than women plan to look for and start new jobs in the coming year.
When it comes to what people want in a job, there are also gender differences. A quarter of men value job security most, compared to just 18 percent of women. But nearly one quarter of women say health benefits are most important, compared to just 15 percent of men.
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Is it any wonder that men are more motivated by and interested in money than women? The gender gap has narrowed significantly, but boys are still raised to expect that they will be the main and most consistent breadwinner. Women have options, including raising children, and often have more freedom to choose the work they want.
Yes, there are lots of instances where the woman is far more career-oriented than the man, and makes more money to boot, but these remain the exception.
Some will read this and try to find a way to twist it into something sexist, but the reality is that boys and girls are still bombarded with different images of their roles, and we're still acting them out.
I don't think there is anything wrong with gender roles. As much as some people hate to admit it, much of what our culture/society is developed from our natural tendencies and biology. Men and women are supposed to be different and are different. Images boys and girls are "bombarded" with aren't always bad. If you say that boys are girls are the same, then neither is special.
men want bewbz at work.
women want flowers at work.
and done.
Titan, I happen to agree with you - and I'm a female. It is reality and I'm guilty of it. There have been times in my marriage when I was the breadwinner... and I didn't like it.
You're not guilty of anything. Men and women naturally act, think, and do different things. You had a more traditional, and more natural, mindset. I think the newer egalitarian mindset is very artificial.
LOL... Men the breadwinner... Right, that's only when the family is still together. Look around you. Most families are headed by a woman. The men are asking for the raises not for their families, but for themselves.
For split families, men are asking for the raises because not only do they have to maintain a split household, but also, men are expected to contribute more money and in many cases, mandated by the court to make this contribution.
Your post makes no sense at all, differnet. Why should your choices effect my pay?
While there certainly are biases towards women in the workplace, the most talked about issues - hiring practices and salaries ("Women make only 80 cents for every dollar a man makes!") - studies show that there are valid reasons for these supposed disparities. Women take note: Men work more hours, are absent less often, take less sick days. Men do the dirty jobs, the physically demanding jobs, the dangerous jobs. Men work more all-nighter and all-weekend efforts. Men take leave-of-absences less often than women. In jobs where these qualities are important a man is worth more than a woman.
Where a woman's performance is equal to (or better) than a man's, I fully support equal (or better) pay.
Actually Nutz, The studies show that even when corrected for childbirth leave of absenses, etc. women still earn less for the same jobs, so it's not explainable purely through choice such as asking for lower pay or fewer raises or being unwilling to travel. Studies show men with children for instance get an earnings boost of about 2% regardless of any other factors such as work hours, leave, etc., while women with children earn about 3% less. The only group that even come close to approaching parity are childless women.
I don't think the research done on this has been conclusive. Can you cite any specific studies supporting your claim?
Women are absent and take more time off because we are the main person taking care of the children. Go back to my statement about single headed households. Give me a break. We can't work OT because someone has to watch the kids.
Here's something to question when dealing with the "80 cents on the dollar" question. (And I would ask that you read it with you mind completely open...)
Two people come to interview at the same company, identical clones of each other, except one is male and one is female. There are two positions that again, are identical (title, paygrade, etc.) available and ready to be filled.
Person 1, the female, comes in for the interview about the first position and she nails it. They make her an offer of $50k and she's so excited about the news that she accepts, walking away ecstatic.
Person 2, the male, now comes in for the interview (on the second position) and he nails it as well. They offer him $50k and he hesitates. Believing he can bargain a better deal, he says, "it sounds good...but I was thinking more like $55k". They counter to $52.5 and he walks away ecstatic.
At the end of week one, Person 1 finds out that Person 2, a male that is identical to her in EVERY single way makes 2.5k more than she does and is suddenly FURIOUS and screams sexual discrimination.
Does she have a case?
Thoughts?
No. Period.
Sex?
.
Titan and Rush, I agree also with you both. Men's self esteem is highly tied to their work and how much money they make, which is no wonder they value job security more than women. Women have the tendency to be the care-taker of their families and our self esteem is often tied to our home life therefore it would make sense that women value health benefits more than men.
I also have been the breadwinner in my household since my husband left his full time job to work part time and return to finish his degree. Which he did, but now he has been looking for full time work for 2 years. I also don't like the feeling of being the breadwinner.
Some people are very against the traditional "gender roles" and I can understand that with all of the broken families out there, but I am all for it. There are personality traits that each gender has and I think we are built that way for a reason.
I completely agree with you, Jessica. The new "egalitarian" view of gender we have all been raised on these past few decades is so artificial. I wish people would realize that the genders are different, and that's a good thing. Like I said in an earlier comment, if the genders are the same, neither is special.
Men have always earned more and have gotten better benefits. Women got their education but accepted the job at lower pay. My office is staffed with women that take less money than their male counterparts. They are treated horribly and do not get any respect from management. Yes, it is our own fault but I, for one, are tired of fighting these idiots. I want to do my job, do it well and go home. Why should I work late and drink with these same people that make life misrable during the day? They hate their wives and have misrable home lives. How do I know? Because that is all they talk about. They eye any young thing that happens to come in the office, with the hopes that they will "get lucky". It is so not fair!
Sounds like you need a new job. I don't care what your sex, race or religion is, every one deserves professional respect. Of course, you have to be in an organization that acts professionally to get that. If you're not, get out.
Grace, get therapy. You are not a victim, you are a volunteer!
Outstanding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Back in 1993, I was working for a government contractor and got on the wrong side of a woman at work. Needless to say, when a new contractor took over in 1996, she slept with the new contractor boss and I didn't get hired. My wife never complained-she became the primary breadwinner while I went back to school and got my degree. I wondered sometimes-was it all worth it? But, for her and my son I pressed on and eventually landed a job in 1999. For three years, she held us together financially, stretching every dollar and working countless hours of overtime. It wasn't a man or woman thing-it was a family thing. It taught my son the value of a hard day's work and that giving it your all will eventually bear rewards. He's proudly serving his country in the Navy and last month, my wife and I celebrated 28 years of marriage. Work together, families!! With love, faith in each other and proper planning, you'll be surprised how many crises a family can pull through.
Well said Bradley! I have been the primary breadwinner for 4 years, not because I have a lazy husband but because before the economy tanked he chose to take a part time job and return to school to finish his degree. Unfortunately he has been looking for full time work for 2 years while still only working part time.
Yes, it is a family thing. We are going to have our first baby this year and I know he would do the same for me. I am very for traditional gender roles, and find it very scary to be the primary breadwinner ( I feel men are better equipped mentally to handle this), but yes, when it comes down to it, it's really about family.
I'm sure you would have done the same for your wife as she had done for you had the roles been reversed.
Has anyone put together the poor state of the economy with the fact that women have the most jobs? And has anyone considered how the divorce and child support laws affect people's image of women? Men might not be the bread winners in a family but they're still paying alimony and child support. Perhaps men look at women and think 'she'll get alimony and child support so she doesn't need a raise while he has to support his ex-wife and pay child support so he definately needs a raise.' How about the fact that women call their kids or talk about them all day long? Yes, the men complain about their wives but if you listen carefully they're complaing about the wife always wanting something and wives very seldom call just to say hello, they're always wanting something. This too may affect the way women are perceived. By the way I'm a woman who prefers to work with all men than women. Men are more successful in bringing in the revenue.
Women most likely "have the most jobs" because they are paid 77 cents for every dollar a man makes.
I wish I didn't have to be the breadwinner! I love my wife and she is an OUTSTANDING homemaker in EVERY way, but it would sure be nice to get up in the morning and NOT have to be somewhere doing something to just pay the bills.
Lots of assumptions out there! I'm a man, divorced, father of two. For 10 years, my ex didn't have to work more than a day or two a week because she could live off the child support (not the allimony, this was supposed to be the kids money). For the next 6 years, I had both my sons with me full time, she worked full time and I could not get her to chip in a single dime. Living on opposite sides of the US/Canada border, I could not get a court to enforce anything either. So lets start by saying that it is also sexist to assume that only women are heads of single parent households.
After 30 years in an office environment, my personal view of the gender/salary gap sees a couple of differences. First is negotiation skills. Your salary and raises are based on where you started in the first place. If you simply take an offer with no negotiation, raises based on a percentage of that. Women I've talked to seem to believe that renumeration is structured and fixed. The job pays X so they pay me X. Men have a tendancy to think that THEY have a value, and they could care less what the employer thought they were going to pay, this is what THEY should get because of how good THEY are. Women buy into the job, Men sell themselves to the employer.
And this continues over time, where many women (and some men) believe that doing the job gets you ahead. Many men (and some women) realize that raises and bonuses are a prize or an incentive given to those that are doing far more than their jobs in order to retain these people. It's not an entitlement and it's not a given. It should also be noted that the men seem to know how to market themselves from the ground up. They are not secretaries clerks and receptionists, they are executive assistants, associate record managers, and office managers. Same job, but it's all about how the job is now seen by others.
All the surveys in the world will never get to the bottom of the gender gap until one of them delves into raises with respect to performance reviews and expectations. You should not be earning more because of gender, OR because of personal need, a job is worth only what revenue it creates, or what expenses it avoids. No one should be paying someone more than what money they either make for the company or save for them. But what that amount is, as well as percentage of it they take home is always negotiable, by either sex.
I concur with with "my opinion..." In my experience women with families have other priorities (their children and rightly so.) But this shows through at work; they are less willing/able to work early and late, work through lunch, take work home, travel for work and relocate for work. This perception really adds up and is reflected in level of responibility and compensation. And until a women is old enough to a) not have children or b) her children are in college/out of the house, this is always going to be a factor in in the employer's compensation package. It is not sexist, it is good business. The bottom line line is why spend the time and money to mentor, train, and invest in a management prospect (asset) that will not provide a return (revenue/profit) for the company
Also young women and men need to be honest in their dicussions with one another about familiy responsibilities- is a nicer home, second car, tv, iphone etc really that important? The most inportant job any man or woman can do is raise decent, moral and ethical children. Who performs this job needs to be decided early and then the work place issues will resovle themselves.
Re: men pull more all-night duty they women - funny we send 2 men and 1 women to hospitals for software upgrade weekends - guess which one of us gets to stay up 3 or 4 nights in a row.... hint it's not a HIM
I'm a woman and I work in construction witch is a man's world bassically and a really sexist one. I'm project manager and i'm really succsesfull with my working interactions.
In my field, I ussually found two types of women, the one that men can step on and the ones that men don't even think about saying the wrong thing. I don't know if this is true for a lot of women , but for me been a respectfull, strong and career oriented woman is an advantage in men's world and i do make more money that other men in my possition.
Also i found that some women have this actitude that men need to take care of them because they are women. I'm all about women and men are different breeds like it was stated at the biggining, but when this womens come along they get me on my nerves!! they assume someone is going give them what they desserve, instead of working toward those goals.
Dear 'different',
Uh, what? What planet do you reside on? If men work more overtime it is because they don't give a crap about their families and are probably screwing their secretaries.
Calling you an idiot would give you too much credit.
I've worked 7 day weeks for years because the 'supposed' breadwinner left.
Go to hell.
I think there is some truth that women fold earlier than men in the negotiation stage. As an employer I always want someone who thinks they are worth more working for me. Once they do that, they are on the spot to prove it and have to deliver. Women statistically gamble less and security is more important, particularly if they have children. I don't like that women are paid less than men and I have never practiced it but the majority of employers have the perspective that they will take people as cheaply as they can get them. I think it is always good practice to tell employers you were expecting more and cite specific reasons why unless you are getting an incentive loaded offer to start with. Showing that you can negotiate on the front end of the job offer tells me that you will be aggressive in getting the best value for the company as well. I want people to come in feeling wanted who will then be motivated to show results. While I focus on fair offers up front, someone who takes the offer without hesitation concerns me as someone just looking for a paycheck but I look to create high performance driven teams not just fill slots. It doesn't matter which side of the family responsibilities you are on. It is tough. I think women are willing to endure more inequity and unhappiness when they are forced to provide. They put aside their egos for survival. Men are willing to shoot themselves in the foot in order to maintain their ego. Primal instincts.
There are many industries and situations where clear, legible and rapid communication is required. Writing long hand is still a valuable skill and much needed in today's work place.
Typing can always be learned but I expect a student to have respectable writing as a graduate from high school. Otherwise I have to teach 25 year olds with masters degrees to form proper sentences, which is not the highest best use of my time as a manager.