Despite the illusion of equality in the workplace, women continue to suffer with the persistence of the gender wage gap. Many claim this is due to fewer women than men pursuing higher education, but in 2011 the number of women enrolled in four year colleges in the U.S. was greater than that of men enrolled (Bureau of Census, 2013). The research suggests the real cause of the gender gap is the persistence of negative gender stereotypes and traditional gender role expectations, which have a detrimental effect on advancing women’s careers.
Workplace
In a workplace …show more content…
While men experience positive effects on their income level when maintaining traditional roles, women experience the exact opposite even when they are also maintaining traditional roles (Judge & Livingston, 2008). A person’s gender role orientation is what that person believes is correct or proper for a man and woman to do at home and at work; the roles they should take on as well as particular traits associated with those roles (Judge & Livingston). It should be noted that in general, no matter what a woman’s gender role orientation was, even if they held a traditional view and were trying to maintain the social balance of the workplace, they made less than men. Men who held traditional masculine roles had their income increase 317% over twenty-five years, whereas women, no matter their gender role orientation, only increased 120% in as many years (Judge & Livingston). This does not just occur in more complex workplaces requiring higher educations, but in fact, was shown to happen more in blue-collar jobs (Judge & Livingston). However, if someone in a hiring position has a less traditional view of gender roles, they are more likely to support women in leadership positions …show more content…
This is no small task and will not be accomplished easily. As shown by the research, stereotyped attitudes and behaviors start as early as nine years old. So, rather than trying to change gender role attitudes in the workplace or colleges, where they are already rather firmly cemented, we should focus on preventing such stereotypes from being present in classrooms from day one in school. We should also work on encouraging girls in the stereotypical male subjects, as well as pursuing stereotypical male-dominated