The Preference For Men And Subconscious Prejudices Towards Females In The Workplace
Women make up 50% of the world, but do they make up 50% of the workplace? The short answer is no. However, behind this simple two-letter response is a complex series of systems and prejudices that keep women from flourishing in the workplace and prevent the increase of their hires. According to the World Bank, approximately 49.556% of the world was female in 2017. In contrast, the World Bank reports that only 39.293% of women were employed in 2017. Obviously, there is a discrepancy between the proportion of women in the world versus their presence in the workplace. However, this disparity is not by chance; it is the result of conscious and subconscious biases women face throughout their hiring process and careers. I recommend that organizations utilize gender differences during the hiring process to ensure gender diversity--and direct us on the road to equalizing gender in the workplace.
This is a man’s world
In 1966, singer James Brown crooned, “This is a man’s world”, and he was not wrong. Historically, men have had numerous advantages over women. Men could vote before women; men could pursue higher education before women; men could serve in the military before women; the list boundlessly goes on. Although the topic of gender inequality is incredibly wide in scope, I will be analyzing it specifically as it pertains to the workplace. Within the workplace, men have had (and continue to have) an advantage over women. A study performed by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America in 2012 revealed that both female and male managers are twice as likely to hire a male than a female. In fact, the female candidates in the study were consistently deemed less competent and less hireable than the male candidates. This study enumerates the preference for men in the workplace and highlights the subconscious inclination towards hiring men.
Hiring managers often unconsciously seek specific characteristics during the hiring process such as charisma, ambition, and self-esteem. At the same time, gender impacts the perception of these traits. For instance, a man may appear to be ambitious and goal oriented while a woman with similar priorities may be perceived as power-hungry or ruthless. Furthermore, a man may seem charismatic or sociable while a woman engaging in the same behavior may come off as overly flirtatious. This notion of differing perceptions extends into the hiring process as well.
Throughout the hiring process, hiring managers often make decisions based on subconscious biases and assumptions. Based on our history with gender inequality, it is no surprise that males dominate the hiring process. In Western culture particularly, the corporate world heavily emphasizes “a masculine style of leadership” which hinders female advancement in the workplace.
In general, gender inequality holds women back even though they are often more than qualified to succeed in the workplace. According to the Council of Graduate School’s annual report, in 2016, women surpassed men in their acquisition of higher education degrees – particularly doctorate’s degrees and master’s degrees. On the contrary, women are underrepresented in the very fields they have demonstrated expertise in. Female representation is lacking in many fields of the labor force and various levels of leadership, but this is not due to lack of education but rather a lack of intentionality in addressing gender inequality within the workplace.
To compensate for the subconscious prejudices towards females, I suggest that hiring managers proactively attempt to acknowledge their biases and hire females to combat the gender predisposition. As Zig Ziglar puts it, “The first step in solving a problem is to recognize that it does exist.”...But it ain’t nothing without a womanDespite the inclination towards males in the hiring process, hiring females has numerous benefits within the workplace. Men and women have different perspectives, opinions, and ideas which promotes healthy collaboration and critical thinking within a group. Scientifically, women think differently than men. Women can think about and perform multiple tasks at once, while men typically incorporate a more singular approach to thinking. In 2017, the Center for Creative Leadership and Watermark performed a study by surveying 745 men and women about their conditions in their establishment and their estimate of the percent of women who work in their workplace. Positive trends appeared between workplace outcomes and gender diversity. They identified 4 key benefits of increasing the female demographic in the workplace: increased job satisfaction, increased organizational dedication, increased significant work, and decreased burnout. According to these groups, participants of the study who worked in more gender-diverse organizations reported feeling more engaged and satisfied with their work.
Additionally, hiring more women in predominantly male workplaces increases financial performance within the organization. In a recent study about gender diversity, Gallup reported that gender diverse businesses in the retail industry had a 14% higher average comparable revenue than non-gender diverse businesses. Furthermore, Gallup reported that gender diverse businesses in the hospitality industry had a 19% higher average quarterly net profit than non-gender diverse businesses.
From a sustainability perspective, when companies invest in diversifying their gender demographic, they attract more and more gifted and intelligent women. Representation leads to inspiration; therefore, when women see other women occupying roles in particular companies, the likelihood that they may aspire to desire to work for that same company increases. Ultimately, companies and organizations who wish to compete and thrive in the global economy would be dumb to not invest in 50% of the labor force. This may be a man’s world, but as James Brown sings and studies show, “...it would be nothing without a woman.” Employing women and diversifying gender in the workplace provides several assets to businesses that can essentially direct the path of success. Numerous companies have begun to invest in gender diversity, so perhaps within the next century, steps will be taken to even the playing field between genders in the workplace. One day, women may even bridge the gap and simultaneously make up 50% of the world and the workplace.
