Social Construct of Gender

Running head: Social Construct of Gender 1

Question Three

In addition to pointing out that the whole notion of gender is socially constructed, Julia Wood’s

text, Gendered Lives, also goes to great lengths to explore the many communicative differences

that exist between men and women. She addresses the areas of verbal and nonverbal

communication while also exploring how we learn our conceptions of gender from our families

and how they continue to be played out in our interpersonal relationships.

Review these areas (being sure to extend beyond Wood’s text) while also exploring more

expansively the implications of Wood’s research for our work lives. How do gender differences

play out at work? Does research suggest that there are still differences? Do you agree? Disagree?

How about other researchers? What do they have to say about gender differences in corporate

and organizational contexts?

Explain your reasons and support your reasons with appropriate references. Source:

Wood, J. T. (2009). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and culture. (9th ed.). Boston, MA:

Wadsworth.

Denise Aguilar

CCOM: 9999_91

March 7, 2011

Social Construct of Gender 2

Abstract

The social construct of gender in interpersonal relationships in the workplace is not equal.

Women are still facing disparities in the workplace compared to men. How women learn gender

is affecting them in the workplace financially and socially, in terms of pay and mentoring. The

“glass ceiling” is still in place, even after all the strides women made over the years. In addition,

the environment at the workplace is considered as an “old boy network,” a male dominated

environment where women are at a disadvantage. Due to advertisements and socialization of

gender, men and women hold women back in the workplace. Views on women are negatively

stereotyped, which becomes a hindrance. Research shows that there are differences in the

workplace, which stem from protective labor policies. Once women become mentors to more

women as men do and are direct in their communication, then there will be equality in the

workplace.


Social Construct of Gender

Cultural differences play a role in the construct of gender. Gender cannot be examined

universally because gender is based on social constructions according to ones’ biological sex.

Diversity is an important factor when examining gender roles. Therefore, all examination of

gender roles will be focused on men and women who are heterosexual, middle/upper class,

Caucasian, university educated, and English as their first language. Discussing about other races

will complicate the analysis due to different cultures that need to be factored in.

Not all gender can be treated as assumingly American. Other cultures need to be studied

in terms of gender. In Women’s Studies in Communication, Julia T. Wood (1992) noted how

cultural differences do shape the lives of women and how cultural conditions do influence

women’s communication (as cited in Uchida, 1997, p.16). Race and class operate as social

relations, in other words, gender cannot be independent from race and class because it varies

across all cultures. In Bringing the “Culture” Back In: A Culture Building Approach to Gender

and Communication, Aki Uchida (1997) stated, “race, ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation,

whether they are seen as ‘cultures’ or ‘subcultures,’ create diversity among women even when

they are seen as ‘Americans’” (p.17). Therefore, gender cannot solely be universally analyzed;

gender needs to be examined through individual cultures. Also, assuming that women can relate

to other women does not automatically become the common thread to generalize all women.

Uchida (1997) reinforced the idea that gender cannot be used as a “common denominator” to

generalize all women. “Despite the differences that women and the power that some women

have to exclude, ignore, or appropriate others” (Uchida, 1997, p.17). That is the reason this

analysis needs to be focused on a specific type of woman, along with men, to create a consistent


view. Including other cultural factors and not examining those will only make this analysis

invalid.

Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication: Disadvantages at Work

Women in the workplace are at a disadvantage. The way women communicate, verbally

and non-verbally, is not in line with the masculine communication that is prevalent in the

workplace environment. In Shadows and Silences: How Women’s Positioning and Unspoken

Friendship Rules in Organizational Settings Cultivate Difficulties Among Some Women at Work,

Anne Helaine Litwin and Lynn O’Brien Hallstein (2007) found that “work and professional life

have historically been a masculine domain, almost all of the workplace environments are coded

‘masculine’” (p.129). Men in the workplace are privileged because the way they communicate,

verbally and non-verbally, is favorable for them. Women may feel pressure to convert into the

masculine model to stay afloat at the workplace. Men have more power at the workplace because

it is more suited for them. The masculine codes that males learn as children make it easier for

them to communicate in the workplace because it is male dominated. In “Pioneers, Girlfriends

and Wives:” An Agenda for Research on Women and the Organizational Culture of

Broadcasting by Patricia F. Phalen (2000), she also noticed this power in the workplace, even if

men are not consciously realizing this. “The masculine model is presumed to be the

‘professional’ model, and women feel pressure to adapt to particular styles of communication,

behavior, processes, and standards” (p.233). If women adapt to masculine communication styles,

that may make the workplace an easier environment to communicate with the opposite gender.

Women and men have certain expectations of what jobs each gender may pursue in a

male dominated environment. Many women will have to settle with any job they are able to


receive. In Participation in Decision-making and Job Satisfaction: Ideal and Reality for Make

and Female University Faculty in the United States by Jerry L. Allen and Ben B. Judd (2007),

the authors have shown in communication research that the gender differences in communication

are related to the occupational outcomes of those differences. Their research suggests that social

and occupational outcomes in the U.S. that often turn on perceptions directly related to

expectations attached to those differences (Allen and Judd, 2007, p.160). Therefore, the

socialization of women and men are related to the jobs that they pursue.

Verbal and non-verbal communication are a factor in the dynamics of the workplace.

Those differences in the workplace can create inequities over time. Men and women need to be

aware of the differences, so they can use those differences to their advantage. In When Does

Gender Matter in Negotiation? by Dina W. Pradel, Hannah Riley Bowles, and Kathleen L.

McGinn (2005), the authors state that ambiguity in the workplace can trigger different behaviors

from men and women. “Awareness of the factors that create gender-related advantages and

disadvantages can help you mitigate their consequences— and promote a more egalitarian

workplace” (Pradel et al., 2005, p.3). The differences between men and women can create

conflicts, however, as long as there is awareness between the two, then each gender will have a

higher potential for less misunderstandings. Uchida (1997) also agreed with being aware of

cultural differences in the workplace to resolve misunderstandings. “Communication problems

and conflicts between women and men are seen as due to the difference, the implication being

that an understanding and awareness of the difference can clear the ‘misunderstandings’”

(Uchida, 1997, p.15). Men and women are culturally different; it is inevitable that there will be

miscommunication.


As gender differences are revealed in the workplace, men and women can use their

differences as an advantage instead of a disadvantage. Viewing gender as a disadvantage or as

negative only creates aggression. For example, if a woman sees her gender as problematic in the

workplace, she will non-verbally communicate that disapproval and will reflect that when

communicating with other women, in turn, reinforcing that women internalize negative

stereotypes and reflect them on others. Litwin and Hallstein (2007) stated, “believe that the

indirect aggressive behavior between women probably reflects the legacy of distorted power

relations where oppressed groups internalize the negative stereotypes about their own group and

turn on each other” (p.127). Women may feel betrayed if another woman begins to turn on one

another. Besides the fact that all women are competing against men, the workplace will be more

hostile if each gender were turning on each other. Therefore, Women are in a disadvantage in the

workplace if they are verbally and non-verbally aggressive to one another. If women view their

gender as an advantage, it can only benefit them in the workplace.

In interpersonal relationships in the workplace between men and women, women’s verbal

communication style is known to be collaborative. Litwin and Hallstein (2007) have found

evidence that “both feminine friendship and speech rules are founded on equality and feature

communication strategies that foster connections, support, closeness, and understanding”

(p.123). For example, girls like to play games that involve communication, collaboration and

support such as “house” and “kitchen.” These types of games include involvement from all who

are participating and constant communication to play the game successfully. Women’s styles are

often referred as casual, comfortable, mediating, and collaborative (Phalen, 2000, p.239). On the

other hand, in Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture by Julia T. Wood (2009)


she observed that men communicate to accomplish tangible goals, exert control, preserve

independence, entertain, and enhance status (p.130). For example, when men play video games

amongst each other, that is the time they usually communicate more while exerting their control

and goals within that medium. They feel empowered when they win the video game and a bond

amongst one another. Men create a “brotherhood” when they can perform masculine styles of

communication.

The difference women and men have in verbal and non-verbal communication are

derived from their social constructs. Their culture molds the way men and women communicate.

Wood (1992) noted that the way they communicate can reveal their experiences and

understanding of their gender, “differences between women and men… reflect gender as a social

relationship maintained by structural and material practices of a culture” (as cited in Uchida,

1997, p.16). Therefore, culture does not only determine a person’s perspective on gender but also

construct how they will experience it. In standpoint theory, according to Wood (2009), “a

standpoint is achieved- earned through critical reflection on power relations and through

engaging in the struggle required to construct an opposition stance” (p.56). In other words, a

person’s viewpoint stems from the location and construction of social groups. When a group is

marginalized or the “second class citizen”, that group can generate a standpoint of how the

society at large works. For example, women are the marginalized group in society, they have a

certain standpoint of how the workplace functions. Women share the common experience of

being in a disadvantaged position compared to men. That inequality grants men institutional

power and privilege. Men, who are the dominant group, do not need to understand the view of

the less privileged group. Therefore, the communication of women is affected by their


standpoint. Uchida (1997) stated that cultural differences do play a role in the conditions that

shape women’s lives and the understanding women construct from the conditions both of which

affect their communication (p.17). According to standpoint theory, women are most likely to

develop certain skills, attitudes, and ways to understand the world due to their role as a member

of socially constructed groups (Wood, 2009, p.57). One of these skills can be manipulation and

indirect communication. Litwin and Hallstein (2007) noted that women learn to be indirect in

their communication when they learn to fear inflicting pain (p.127). Women learn indirect

behaviors such as manipulation and indirect competition in a male dominated workplace

environment.

Verbal communication in interpersonal relationships in the workplace is different

according to the gender. Men and women are socialized into speech communities. Women are

socialized to regard speech as a way to maintain relationships. When women are communicating

in interpersonal relationships, they tend to show interest in others’ responses and give examples

of their own life to show they understood the comment. For example, if a woman is grieving

over a death in the family to another woman, that woman receiving the information will most

likely share a similar story to console the grieving woman. The same type of interaction is likely

to occur within the constructs of any conversation. Women are responsive when they are in a

conversation. When men are verbally communicating in interpersonal relationships, they

communicate to prove themselves or enhance their status. Their communication style is linear

and to the point. Men tend not to reveal much involvement in a conversation. Men are minimal

in their response are more forceful and authoritative in their speech. This stems from how men

were socialized as boys from the games they played and the reactions they received when


learning how to verbally communicate as a male from those he was seeking approval from. The

same goes for women. When the were girls played house or school, these games fostered

collaboration, support, and understanding.

In non-verbal communication, women are defined by their relationships with others. Men

are defined by activities, accomplishments, and/or positions (Wood, 2009, p.119). Non-verbal

communication spans from physical appearance, artifacts, and haptics, along with many others in

the workplace. Physical appearance in non-verbal communication can reveal a lot about

someone’s gender. For example, if a woman wears a dress or a power suit, she can either can be

seen as girly or be viewed as serous. Again, due to the workplace environment being suited more

for men, men in terms of physical appearance are less scrutinized over wearing a suit to work

compared to a woman wearing a suit to work. Their clothing choices can interpret their gender in

ways that may benefit them in the workplace or place them at a disadvantage, for example, if a

woman wears clothes that are too tight or a man wearing pastel suits. Women will be self

conscious about what they wear to work because they know that how they present their gender is

a factor in the workplace. In Men and Women of the Corporation by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

(1993), she emphasized, “Women are generally more conscious than men of the gendered

characteristics present in organizational culture, because women are the ones who are restricted

by it” (as cited in Phalen, 2000, p.233). Women are more socially aware of their position in

society because they are the gender that has been marginalized the longest.

The clothes and articles each gender uses to portray his or herself communicate non-

verbally about who they are. Artifacts in non-verbal communication are “a personal object that

influences how we see ourselves and expresses the identity we create for ourselves” (Wood,


2009, 143). For example, clothing for men and women are, in general, consist of different hues,

which reflect the gender identity. Like a baby who has a blue or pink blanket, men and women

have colors that are more prevalent in certain genders. Women also tend to have brighter

clothing compared to men. In addition, with the fit of clothing, men’s clothing tends to be more

practical. Their clothes are generally looser in fit (of course with exceptions), and are designed to

be functional; therefore, men’s clothing enables activity (Wood, 2009, p.143). Women’s clothing

tends to be more form fitting and revealing. The clothing is designed to bring more attention to

the user and fit the societal view of what a woman should dress like. Artifacts, like clothing,

reinforce the idea of what gender should be.

Lastly, haptics is touching to communicate different messages. In interpersonal

relationships in the workplace, haptics play a large role in how women communicate. As girls,

parents would touch girls more often than they would boys for example by hugging and kissing.

Learning this as a social construct, women would continue to touch fellow friends to

communicate anything, for example, support, affection, or comfort. On the other hand, boys

(typically) would not touched as often as girls. Therefore, men learned to only use touch to

convey certain messages, for example, when men want to be forceful. “Touching behaviors

reflect social norms and the constraints they impose” (Wood, 2009, p.147). Therefore, in a male

dominate workplace, women cannot freely touch other women and men in the workplace

because it could send the wrong message.

In non-verbal and verbal communication, there will always be gender differences in

interpersonal relationships in the workplace. “Women are always already at a disadvantage

because workplaces have many unspoken rules of behavior, rules, and communication norms


that are fundamentally premised on masculine ways of communicating and interacting in the

world” (Litwin and Hallstein, 2007, p.129). Non-verbal and Verbal communication is stemmed

from social constrcts that influence men and woman from childhood. Researchers (such as

Wood, 2009; Uchida, 1997; and Litwin and Hallstein, 2007) have all proven that the differences

are still occurring today. Men and women are inherently different, therefore, gender differences

will always exist.

Learned Conceptions of Gender: Gender as a Verb

Social Constructs of gender, men and women are not independent of each other. Each

gender needs the other to define itself. The way boys and girls were raised is how they will see

themselves as men and women. In Glass Ceiling? What Glass Ceiling? A Qualitative Study of

How Women View the Glass Ceiling in Public Relations and Communications Management,

Brenda J. Wrigley (2002) termed “gender lens” for how men and women see themselves due to

their upbringing. Men and women interpret their environment through their understanding of

gender. Wrigley (2002) stated that “we are all products of our own upbringing and we enter a

highly gendered world where people see things through a gender lens” (p.43). That highly

gendered world is a society that reinforces rigid gender roles, which translated into organizations

such as the workplace.

The aspect of gender is not a term one is born with, that is sex. Gender is a process

constructed in society through communication. In Doing Gender by Candace West and Don H.

Zimmerman (1987), the authors mentioned the construction of gender as an active process. “We

are doing gender, a person’s gender is not simply an aspect of what one is but it is something that

one does… in interaction with others” (as cited in Uchida, 1997, p.17). Gender is the result of


social upbringing and how men and women perceive themselves in relation to others. Men and

women internalize their surrounding and project their understandings of gender onto themselves.

Litwin and Hallstein (2007) also spoke of gender as an action. These authors state that “people

perform, or ‘do’ gender in ways that express their understanding of gender roles and that gender

performances influence how people perceive the behavior of others in a similar light in a variety

of contexts” (Litwin and Hallstein, 2007, p.115-116). Therefore, how men and women

understand their socially constructed gender roles in their society, their gender performance will

be active in the workplace.

Current gender roles in the workplace stemmed from congressional labor policies in the

late nineteenth century. Protective legislation in the United States was created to protect men,

women, and children. However, a shift in the interpretation of those laws began to exclude

women and other groups from the workplace. In Fetal Protection in the Workplace: Women’s

Rights, Business Interest, and the Unborn, Robert Blank (1993) mentioned the shift was

supposed to protect women who worked outside the home. Blank (1993) stated, “this shift was

an attempt to bring women under regulatory standards that men had secured through union action

and in part it was a continuation of paternalistic belief that women who worked for wages

outside the home needed protection” (as cited in Ferraris, 2003, p.29). Unfortunately, the attempt

was short sighted. Women were excluded from work because they “needed” protection. They

were marginalized into certain types of work (secretary/administrative assistant, operator) while

the men held decision maker jobs. Due to protection laws and gender socialization, men and

women have different expectations of what they can do in the workplace and different

opportunities available to them. Uchida (1997) noted that men and women are “socialized into


the culture which arranges the experiences of its members so that” men and women “are

associated with differential expectations, opportunities, and consequences” (p.16). To be

socialized to expect certain opportunities available for each gender is a factor in the workplace

dynamics. Men and women in the workplace would bring their interpretation of gender. That

interpretation could be the “traditional” view of gender where men would have the decision

making jobs and women would be the assistant to the men. Litwin and Hallstein (2007),

mentioned that in “organizational cultures are deeply coded by gendered power relations in the

workplace that produce an advantage and disadvantage, exploitation and coercion based on

gender” (p.124). The gender power relations would prevent women from being able to advance

in the workplace. Their gender can be the determining factor of how far they would advance in

their career.

In protective labor, certain workers are excluded to perform certain types of jobs. This is

to protect the workers and others from harm, for example people with disability at construction

sites. However, certain gender related policies have excluded workers who are qualified and can

perform the tasks required for the job. In Protective Labor Policies and Workplace

Discrimination by Claire Ferraris (2003), she emphasized that “this form of restrictive gender

specific legislation is at issue in legal debates surrounding protection because it singles out

women workers” (p.37). Therefore, women are automatically at a disadvantage when looking for

jobs. Not all the opportunities for men are available for women.

Men and women stereotype women into certain roles in the workplace. Men are also

stereotyped such as, sturdy oak, fighter, or breadwinner, however, those titles benefit or do not

hinder how others view men in the workplace. Women are stereotyped in the workplace as a sex


object, a child, a mother, and an iron maiden (Wood, 2009, p.232-235). Women viewed as sex

objects clearly stems from the role of advertisements, music videos, and media. The view of

women as sex object or any other stereotype undermines women’s striving for equality. In The

Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf (1991) suggests that “women’s striving for equality is negatively

affected by continuing to see women portrayed as sex objects” (as cited in Mackay and Covell,

1997, p.581). The media such as advertisements reinforce gender roles that are not beneficial for

women in the workplace. Therefore, gender differences in the workplace will continue because

advertisements will persist to show women in a light were gender roles would influence the

workplace. In The Impact of Women in Advertisements on Attitudes Toward Women by Natalie J.

MacKay and Katherine Covell (1997), the authors mention that advertisements are a type of

socialization tool that reinforce gender roles. “The scope of such advertisements, their nature and

their social consequences may make them particularly potent socializing tools in the

development or reinforcement of gender roles” (MacKay and Covell, 1997, p.574). In a media

dense society, overall exposure to media does have a lasting affect on gender roles. As a result,

men and women may learn the most on how to be a man and a woman according to what is

shown on television.

The second stereotype is that women are viewed as children. Men may think that women

need protection. That view downplays adult women as less mature or competent. Instead of

being viewed as sexy, one of the other choices is to be seen as a child. This is not beneficial in

the workplace because men and women will not promote or give more responsibility to the

woman who portrays a child. Again, this is reducing the opportunities available to women.


In the third stereotype women are viewed as is a mother. The term mother stemmed from

Claire Ferraris (2003). According to Ferraris (2003), in the late nineteenth century protective

legislation began to be implemented (p.39). Being viewed as a mother in the workplace implies

that the women are the emotional caretakers for the other employees. The caretaker is in line

with jobs that are available for women as the secretary and or assistant jobs. In addition, a

woman stereotyped as a mother means that others view the woman as their caretaker.

Women who enter the workforce may or may not have children. However, for some

women in the workplace they have to decide to have children or not because it will affect their

advancement or security of their job. Allen and Judd (2007) noticed this decision that most

women have to make in the workplace. The decision between bearing children or continue

working for job protection. The authors state, “the argument is advanced that women have been

precluded from greater organizational advancement by mind-splits between mutually exclusive

goals related to career and motherhood…”(Allen and Judd, 2007, p.161). Therefore, women

have to outweigh the pros and cons of a career versus motherhood, according to their life’s goals.

However, men usually are not at a disadvantage when they plan to have children. It usually

benefits them when they take the role as a father. According to social constructs in gender roles,

the man will allocate the responsibility of child caretaking to the woman. Therefore, if the

woman decides to have a child, she would have to make the decision to have one or not because

her job or advancement would most likely will be at risk. To protect women who plan to have

children, in 1978, U.S. Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). This act was

enacted to clarify federal rulings on pregnancy and to “ensure that working women are protected

against all forms of employment discriminations based on sex” (as cited in Ferraris, 2003, p.39).


As a result, protecting women against employee discrimination enabled more women to enter the

workforce, however, women are still discriminated based solely on their gender.

Lastly, some women are stereotyped as an iron maiden. An iron maiden is a woman who

is strong, ambitious, direct, and competitive (Wood, 2009, p.234). A woman who is stereotyped

as an iron maiden is considered to possess male qualities in terms of being competitive to get

ahead in the workplace and direct in their speech. This is seen as unfeminine and goes against

social constructs of gender. In a competitive environment in the workplace, some women like the

iron maiden, will be able to step up to or surpass men. However, men may feel intimidated by

the women and do whatever it takes to keep the gender balance in their favor.

Men are afraid of women surpassing them in the workplace because they will become the

minority or be the marginalized group. Phalen (2000) noted, “Women tended to believe that hard

work and education were the ways to get ahead. Men were perceived as less concerned with the

firm’s interests, and more apt to use political tactics and networking to succeed” (p.232). Women

would have to work harder and smarter than men to surpass them. Besides adopting a masculine

mentality to survive in the workplace, women need to incorporate their femininity as an

advantage. Therefore, the expectation women have for careers are lowered due to

accomplishments in the workplace and the reduction of stereotyping gender roles. Allen and

Judd (2007) mentioned that women have “mind-splits related to motherhood, femininity,

husband’s careers, and social standards reinforced by sex role stereotyping results in lowered

career expectations” and that women are most likely to avoid certain jobs because of less desire

to be involved in decision making (p.170). Women have more expectations and social standards

than men and that will deter them to pursue certain career paths.


In the workplace, there is potential for career advancement. However, according to

Phalen (2000), she suggested, “Women may not strive to enter top management, because this is

perceived to be a male domain” (p.233). Therefore, career advancement can be daunting because

women will need to “hold their own” against the men. When men are the dominant gender in the

workplace, women will feel intimidated if they are not part of the larger group. Wood (2009)

mentioned that men get ahead in the workplace because of the networks they have. “… most

informal networks are largely male, giving rise to the term “old boy network.” Hiring and

promotion decisions are often made through informal communication within these networks”

(Wood, 2009, p.243). Therefore, women can only achieve certain jobs because they are not part

of the old boy network. Supporting jobs are sectioned for women, in turn, reinforcing gender

stereotypes in the workplace. However, if women play by male rules, they may be able to reduce

the workplace inequities. Wrigley (2002) mentioned, “playing by male rules includes

networking, finding a mentor, and redoubling efforts to have more energy to tackle the problems

created by gender inequities” (p.32). Therefore, women who do play by male rules have potential

to strive in the workplace compared to other women who do not network or find a mentor.

Sectioning jobs based on gender will only allow each gender to reach a certain potential.

Especially for women, their potential could be capped according to the amount and type of jobs

available to them. The term glass ceiling is the maximum potential a person may reach in the

workplace. Glass ceiling has a stronger association for women. According to Allen and Judd

(2007), “evidence has indicated that women in the U.S. are constrained by a ‘glass ceiling’ in the

workplace, so that their participation in upper management is out of proportion with either their

actual numbers in the workplace or the proportion of males in management positions” (p.170).


The glass ceiling is a barrier to women’s progress in their careers financially. Women, on

average are paid 70 cents out of a dollar compared to men, according to a Newsweek article

(Bennett & Ellison, 2010). The barrier could be the stereotype women have (mother, sex object,

iron maiden) or congressional protection laws that are interpreted by upper management to

restrict women from progressing in the workplace. In addition to glass ceilings, Wood (2009)

termed ‘glass walls” as the typical jobs women take (clerical, assistance) and do not have

advancements paths (p.245). Therefore, women are stuck in the jobs, without satisfaction or

potential to possess decision-making careers.

Fortunately, if women view gender differences as something positive then they will be

able to empower themselves to progress in the workplace. Wrigley (2002) stated “positive

emphasis on gender differences may lead to empowerment for some women” (p.46).

Unfortunately, women are advancing in the corporate world at a very slow pace. That could be

that certain environments are more suited for men and some for women, although, most

workplace environments are historically suited for men. In When does Gender Matter in

Negotiation? by Dina W. Pradel, Hannah Riley Bowles, and Kathleen L. McGinn (2005), the

authors stated, “some environments are full of triggers that encourage superior performance by

women, while others are full of triggers that encourage superior performance by men” (p.3).

Therefore, women in a male dominate environment may not perform at their best because the

triggers in that workplace are not suited for them.

Men and women in the workplace communicate their gender roles in verbal and non-

verbal communication, and their interpretation of gender roles according to social constructs.

Women are at a disadvantage because the workplace is not suited for them. They are stereotyped


into roles that only hinder their career potential and protective legislation is interpreted to restrict

them in the workplace. Ferraris (2003) indicated that employers interpret the term “protective” to

suit their needs, “protective to mean exclusion based on sex, because the notion of ‘protective’

appeared in several different guises…” (p.38). Protection can be for women’s rights to have

children or for women not to be discriminated in the workplace. Whatever definition the term

takes, it is somehow used against women. Ferraris (2003) also mentioned “labor legislation

aimed to preserve workers independence,” for example, women entering the workforce, “and the

second type was a series of laws applied almost exclusively to women to preserve the position of

men” (p.38). Therefore, women were protected from the jobs that men were supposed to have.

Upper management interpreted the protection laws to preserve the gender balance in the

workplace.

In conclusion, there is clear evidence that gender difference does play a large role in the

workplace. Even though women have made strides since they entered the workforce, however,

they are still being paid less than men on average across all fields (education, media, law

enforcement), and women will always be at a disadvantage in the workplace as long as the

protection laws are interpreted to benefit the other gender as negative social construct persist.


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Social Construct of Gender

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