Part A
Doing Gender by Giving Good Service
In Elaine Hall’s essay, she declares two particular identifiable approaches towards the relationship between gender and organizations. Hall mentions the disadvantages of women and how they are affected in a different way when surrounded by gender neutral organizations. She illustrates preexisting systems already in play. These systematic movements have created harsh disadvantages for women since the introductory of recruitment.
Elaine Hall notes the significance of gender and work; our gender dictates the kinds of roles we play and the sort of work we do. There are two approaches, the gender in the organization approach and the gendered organization approach. The gender in the organization approach focuses mostly on the differences between genders. With the consideration of collective and individual perspective roles in organizations, particularly women, we are able to visualize the generalized norm for certain occupations. Collective genders are organized with specific roles designated for women; such as clerical work. Men are often identified as servers and women as the sexualized waitress, in reference to this pre-historical agenda systematically referring to women as the caregivers. Women waitresses are expected to flirt with customers as part of her job description. Elaine Hall’s research showed that women were told to mingle, smile, and engage in a friendly manner, more so than the male servers.
Elaine Hall’s notes the role of the women in the police force and the subjective notion of their gender. Immediately, they are perceived and judged based on their ability to ovulate over their professional title. The people’s behavior reflects the gendered approach. This approach reflects the social settings of their relationship among women and men when it comes to gender. Women are often sexualized and idealized for their beauty in their workplace. In a sense, Elaine Hall refers to the weaning out a process of candidates during interviews. Her example of hiring the young and sexy women, and then issuing them uniforms to bring focus to their assets to draw attention to men. This notion only feeds into this ideology of the preferred women instilled by society, conditioning every man to want, and every woman to want to become. In many ways, if you don’t fit this model of this ideal “societal norm” chances are you will become extremely limited in your choices of work. No employer would want to hire women who are not visually appealing. If hired the women is conditioned to up sell the company’s products while the men are obligated to continuously supply and pull longer hours when surrounded by beautiful women.
Part B
The Wage Penalty for Motherhood
In Michelle Budig and Paul England essay “The Wage Penalty for Motherhood”, focused on women and their childbearing years. Women are more likely than men to be paid a lower wage for doing the same kind of work. They offer five reasoning’s for this theory:
One, Michelle Budig and Paul England speak of the women who spend the majority of their time home raising their children as a caregiver. This gave the women no time to work a full-time job with a salary; they were already doing so at home with their kids. This applies to all women who refuse to miss their child’s first anything, especially if it is their first child. With that being said, a woman with more than one would not possess any sort of free time dedicate to a paying job, making it impossible for single mothers.
Secondly, they explain the rationale of accepting a lower waged position in exchange for childcare. Women who are able to take their kids to work with them offers them the freedom and flexibility to work knowing their children are being taken care of. Women with children require many accommodations in their workplace. These women may have schedule limitations that restrict them from working certain days and needs a shorter work commute than others in order to uphold hold their main priority; their children.
Their third reasoning focuses on the children as a liability. Their children can be seen a distraction leaving the women exhausted and unfocused to their paid jobs. Excuses for further accommodations are to be expected. Like if their child was sick and now they are exhausted from lack of sleep. This cycle of behavior affects their efficiency over women without a child. Their priorities are designated at home rather in the workplace.
Fourthly, mothers in the workplace are discriminated against nonmothers. Different treatment is given to women with children. They are offered less satisfying jobs and should not expect significant wage increases or promotions. Discrimination among perceived liked gender mirrors the gap in wages. Once you become a mother, be prepared to make less than someone without a child.
Finally, the last reason dictates the aftermath of having a child on wages. They home in on the lack of education and the high reflection in numbers who have children. This is due to a limited outlook on available satisfaction. Uneducated women feel having a child will be fulfilling, whereas an education woman seeks a career to be satisfied.
