BLOG 14 The theory of Gendered Organization

In light of the persistent wage gap between men and women, Britton uses the theory of gendered organization to frame her research questions. She draws on these theories by asking questions that can help explain why the wage gap persists, for example, why is there a wage gap if sex segregation outlawed? Why are “people” skills (generally attributed to women) devalued? Why can’t women break through the glass ceiling? She answers all of these by examining the interaction between the structures of work organizations, the cultural and ideological assumptions that shape work structures and the agency of workers themselves.

The process of gender organization is ongoing and begins with the organizational structures whose policies and practices are based on the traditional assumptions of male and female roles. The process continues though the actions of workers within the organizations who embrace these gender assumptions because of cultural beliefs. The intersections between these are exemplified in many traditional and non-traditional work environments.

For instance, our text described a woman correction officer who needed to step in and calm a rowdy inmate when her male counterpart was unsuccessful. The male officer felt his “macho-ness” was too strong and he would have to be physically aggressive to calm the inmate and he needed her “matronly” skills to help out. The woman fulfils the cultural belief that all women have mothering characteristics that allow them to handle issues among people more easily. She further accentuates male and female differences by telling the inmate, “I’m just a little old girl, come on, don’t hit me. I like my face the way it is” (pg. 18).

Britton means that “organizations are gendered at the level of structure” because organizations are built on a foundation that rigidly separates the public and private spheres in terms of the production of goods and services versus the reproduction of families (p. 7). This creates a notion of gendered public and private spheres in several ways that are reflected in labor history, labor practices and labor law. For example the private, domestic sphere has historically been the woman’s realm; they tended to the children, the home and all the responsibilities in between. Men were the breadwinners and they were the sole actors in the limelight of the public spheres.

Since employers are less than tolerant of issues of the private spheres come into workplace, men have had the upper hand in dominating the workplace. In fact, for centuries policies and practices of gendered organizations have altogether barred and excluded women from the workplace because of this intolerance. These policies have been overturned with laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 which granted women legal access to work. Even though these laws have been enacted, women presently continue to struggle to attain the level of achievement that men have reached because of the responsibilities of the private sphere.