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Women And Flexibility In The Workplace

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Women And Flexibility In The Workplace
Women in the Workplace
Contemporary Social Problems & the Workplace, SOC 402

Women in the Workplace
Women in the workplace have become a commonality since the economy has taken a downturn that requires both parents to work outside the home to provide financially for their families. In 1961, labor force participation among women was below 30%, compared to more than 75% in 1996 (Gazso, 2004). Although women have garnered jobs, they experience inequality in the workplace. Such inequality is referred to as gender inequality, which signifies the obvious or hidden disparities among individuals based on the performance of gender. The mindset that a woman belongs in the home taking care of household duties and the children, women are not as strong as men, and women are sensitive and cannot adequately manage people are factors that affect their pay within the workforce.
The glass ceiling effect is an indissoluble barrier that facilitates keeping women and individuals of minority groups from progressing into the upper realm of the corporate ladder, regardless of their credentials or accomplishments. This is mainly accomplished due to male hiring their counterparts. This bias whether it is consciously or unconsciously made accelerates poverty, racism, and even smothers the need for diversity within the workplace. Without diversity companies are making decisions which can suffocate their benefits and goals of reaching customers of a different gender or culture.
20 countries participated in the International Labor Organizational meeting in Geneva in December, 1997. The countries agreed that "social attitudes and cultural biases were identified as major factors discriminating against women and holding them back from attaining higher-level jobs" (Wirth, 1998, p. 247). It is quite unfortunate that social attitudes still view women as homemakers and often portray women as having weak management skills and unable to make the hard decisions. This perception

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