Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Male-dominated Occupations'

Labor economists have persistently observed a “gap” in the earnings of men and women. In this paper, I attempt to offer a partial explanation for the gender wage gap by analyzing the gender wage gap across male-dominated, female-dominated, and gender-neutral occupations. Using data from the Current Population Survey (2010-2012), I perform three Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions across the entire sample. I then perform decompositions across male-dominated, female-dominated, and gender-neutral occupations separately using the first specification. I find that occupations of different gender concentrations (male-dominated, female-dominated, and gender-neutral) have different gender gaps. In particular, male-dominated and gender neutral occupations have a much larger gender wage gap than female-dominated occupations, even after controlling for human capital and demographic variables. Combined with previous research and summary statistics, these results seem to suggest that certain workplace factors that might contribute to a higher gender wage gap, such as workplace inflexibility and gender discrimination, could be higher among male-dominated and gender-neutral occupations than they are among female-dominated occupations; however, further research into the precise characteristics of male-dominated, gender-neutral, and female-dominated occupations is necessary to confirm this analysis.

In an effort to make documented and fair decisions on work‐related opportunities and career progressions, job performance has emerged as a pivotal Human Resource tool due to its link to quasi‐every career‐related decision in the organization. Indeed, differences in performance evaluations can influence a number of career advancement variables. Performance measurement differences can impart both pay and promotions (Roth, Purvis & Bobko, 2012), lead to lower levels of job satisfaction (Colquitt, Conlon, Wesson, Porter & Ng, 2001; King et al. 2010) and lower levels of perceived organizational justice (Colquitt et al. 2001; Motowidlo, 2003), which in turn break efforts to create a fair and balanced workplace. If within an organization allocation of bonuses, wages, responsibilities and promotions are partially or entirely determined by job performance evaluations, then job performance is likely to mediate the relationship between gender and career advancement, particularly for women in male dominated organizations.The centrality of job performance calls for scrutiny; as job performance has a potential to constitute a powerful mechanism in terms of its potential to marginalize and/or exclude women. Despite legislative and organizational efforts to alleviate gender inequality and shatter the glass ceiling, women are still disadvantaged in the labor market.In fact, women who have managed to enter male‐dominated organizations and occupations are still under‐represented and face numerous hurdles. Empirical evidence is plentiful on gender discrimination even when women are successful at their job (e.g. Parks‐Stamm et al. 2008, Heilman & Okimoto, 2007) and have secured positions in upper management (Heilman et al. 2004). However, little evidence is available on women’s experience of discrimination within the performance appraisal context and how existing job performance prototypes are affecting the perception of their work, including bias by other women.This dissertation is interested in filling that research gap and contributing to the body of knowledge on women’s experience in male‐dominated organizations. The potential of job performance having a marginalizing effect on women, in the sense of limiting women’s career opportunities, is examined with regard to women’s work experience and how women themselves can perpetuate their marginal position in the workplace. The intent is to reveal the mechanisms upholding and reinforcing the glass ceiling and gender inequity in the workplace.Based on the literature review and identified knowledge gaps two lines of enquiry have emerged and will be investigated in this dissertation:-  How job performance functions as a mean of (re)producing gender inequality in male dominated organizations and occupations by its gendered character-  How women in male‐dominated organizations can be participants in maintaining inequality by relying on gender stereotype expectations to evaluate their job performance and that of other female colleagues.In order to grasp and address the complexity of the potentially gendered character of job performance the dissertation takes on a multidisciplinary approach.The dissertation is divided into two main parts. The first part comprising chapters 1 to 3 reviews the current literature on women’s experience in male‐dominated organizations. These chapters provide the theoretical framework for the research contributions, presented as essays in part two of the dissertation. Chapter 1 presents a literature review depicting the situation of women in the European labor market and the persistent horizontal and vertical segregation. The specificities of token women (less than 15% representation; Kanter, 1977a) in male dominated organizations and the impact of tokenism on women’s job performance are discussed.Chapter 2 details gender stereotypes and explicates their direct impact on the assessment of women’s work and job performance. This chapter argues the case for genders stereotypes as the leading social psychological mechanisms impeding the perception of women’s work as being equivalent to that of men. Perceived incongruity between gender stereotype attributes gives rise to expectations on women’s performance, generally, that they will perform poorly in male‐typed occupations (Heilman, 1983, 1995, 2001). This can therefore penalize women in their career paths and become significant barriers to their social and economic opportunities. In fact, stereotype beliefs about attitudes, characteristics and roles of women and men influence the evaluation process and constitute the backbone of the analysis of this dissertation.Chapter 3 explores the existing literature on women’s participation in biased evaluation of themselves and other women. Women’s roles as evaluators as well as their self‐ perception as performers is outlined in relation to the way they can maintain and reinforce gendered performance norms. Building on system justification theory, this chapter highlights the complexity of gender inequality in organizations and seeks to acknowledge internalized and often unconscious gender biases at work.Subsequent to the literature review of part one, part two (chapters 4 to 8) presents the research contributions of the dissertation, namely the mechanisms, which maintain and reinforce gender inequality in male dominated organizations. Chapters 4 to 5 outline the investigations into the research enquiries posited. Each chapter of part two constitutes an independent essay highlighting through various analytical lenses the complexity of marginalization through job performance. In line with a multidisciplinary approach, the essays presented in chapters 4 and 5 are of a theoretical nature whereas chapters 6, 7 and 8 comprise empirical studies.Chapter 4 sets out to investigate the potential gendered character of job performance and the legitimating effects of meritocracy as the ideological framework, which informs each stage of job performance; from setting the criteria to using performance evaluation information to distribute organizational goods. The major contribution of this chapter is to bring forth the way in which performance and merit intertwine to perpetuate mechanisms of inequality and invalidate contestation at each stage of job performance. Gender‐blind and merit‐based HR (Human Resources) processes such as performance are rarely put to question and revealed as inherently biased themselves. The findings call for a critique of meritocracy on a systemic level as well as the implementation of an outcome‐oriented approach to job performance evaluations and reward allocation.Chapter 5 applies and extends social identity theory to explain the underrepresentation and marginalized position of women in European academia. The chapter illustrates the extent to which the Leading Academic Performer (LAP) is based on male characteristics and therefore contributes to the marginalization of female academics. This chapter endeavors to further the theoretical underpinnings by proposing an applicable taxonomy of social identity theory performance (Klein, Spears & Reicher, 2007). The chapter illustrates how social identities can be strategically performed to enhance the perception of female academics as leading academic performers.Chapter 6 and chapter 7 are contributions based on an empirical study using a social psychological experiment methodology, involving 163 Master students (Business major) from a Belgian university. The objective of the study was two fold. Chapter 6 investigated the standards and criteria used to evaluate male versus female job performance. Chapter 7 looked at how female and male evaluators differed in their evaluations and how they perceived the value of their evaluative work when evaluating a woman versus a man.More specifically, in chapter 6 participants were asked to evaluate the job performance of a randomly assigned female or male IT manager and to decide on whether they should retain their position. Major findings of this study show that not only did evaluators (regardless of their gender) automatically assign female IT managers higher interpersonal skills, thereupon confirming the use of stereotype beliefs, but they also used double standards to decide the retention of the female employee. When it came to female employees, their retention decision was directly linked to their performance evaluation. This was not the case for male employees. Other standards outside of job performance were used to retain the male employee. In addition, results reveal that female evaluators systematically gave lower ratings than their male counterparts. The results in this study show that both men and women evaluators not only use similar norms to evaluate but are also harsher when evaluating female performance.Chapter 7 explores the evaluators’ perceived entitlement in regards to the task of evaluating the job performance of a man versus that of a woman. Contrary to previous research on the depressed entitlement effect (i.e. phenomenon where by women underpay themselves relative to men but are just as satisfied with their employment situation as men) in this study, all evaluators, men and women expressed an elevated sense of entitlement when appraising the performance of a female worker. Evaluators assessing a woman’s job performance felt that they deserved 19,64% more (monetary reward) compared to those evaluating a man’s job performance. Interestingly, evaluators who gave high interpersonal skill ratings exhibited a depressed entitlement effect. It would seem that focusing on female associated skills gives evaluators the perception that this work is less worthy. Both chapters 6 and 7 highlight the gendered character of evaluating performance and point to the difficulty evaluators might have in evaluating female job performance. Equally, the findings support the claim that women themselves participate in system‐maintaining mechanisms that stress communality injunctions on female workers.Chapter 8 presents a study, using qualitative methodology, conducted in a Belgian subsidiary of a multinational IT corporation. The study is based on semi‐structured interviews with 32 managers and employees across organizational departments. The aim is to highlight job performance expectations and to render visible criteria thought to be best predictive of good employee performance. To bring forth existing yet hidden gendered elements in the discourse on job performance, gender subtext was chosen as the analytical tool. Gender subtext analysis allows for an understanding of how seemingly gender‐blind language is in fact embedded with gendered meanings. Results of this fieldwork support the analysis in previous chapters: Job performance expectations perpetuates a prototype of the exemplary performer as masculine, thereby forcing the few token women to position themselves in masculine terms or risk increased marginalization from deviating the dominant management style. Finally, a section of the chapter is dedicated to analyze how women do work in their predominately male dominated organization and how this could lead to perpetuating masculine norms of performance.A general discussion concludes the dissertation and analyses the findings (i.e. the four mechanisms that have been identified, which reinforce the glass ceiling and maintain gender inequality through job performance). Overall, the investigations into the research enquiries have revealed the gendered and thus biased character of job performance. If within an organization, androcentric job performance criteria and evaluations are partially or entirely used to determine the allocation of bonuses, wages, responsibilities and promotions, then job performance constitutes a powerful gendered mechanism legitimating and maintaining gender inequalities. Each essay in part two has examined and brought to light the (re)production of gender inequality in male dominated organizations and occupations through job performance. By using a multidisciplinary approach, the theoretical analyses presented, is consolidated the laboratory experiments and fieldwork. Equally, the role of women in maintaining gendered performance norms by relying on gender stereotypes, albeit unconsciously, is uncovered. The participation of women themselves in maintaining and reproducing the status quo limits the possibilities for contestation and hinders attempts at transformation towards more gender equity. To conclude, the chapter proposes practical recommendations alleviate contributing mechanisms behind the glass ceiling.
Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

High hazard work sectors are often male-dominated, and can have occupational cultures that impede following safety regulations. Many of these sectors, such as the skilled trades, have cultures that align with conventional masculine norms. The existing literature suggests that workers in these fields often experience safety compliance measures as conflicting with this normative culture, and this can lead to increased risk taking. It has also been found that organizational attitudes towards safety in the workplace individualize these issues, rather than considering a widespread lack of compliance as a symptom of underlying social issues. This research project used a case study approach to evaluate risk taking and organizational approaches to safety at the male-dominated organization, WestTech. Using both quantitative and qualitative accident reports, I found that risk taking and accidents vary by occupational sector; however, this was not addressed in WestTech's conclusions or safety recommendations. The relatively new accident investigation model, “Curtailing Accidents by Managing Social Capital” (CAMSoc), is discussed and employed to evaluate how the inclusion of social factors can help to better scrutinize the role of these underlying issues and how they contribute to negative safety outcomes.

Patterns have been identified in the careers literature that suggest there has been a change from traditional to contemporary careers over time (Sullivan & Baruch, 2009). More recent research has seen definitions of career success being shaped to acknowledge the variety of career paths that now exist. Recent definitions therefore, often refer to the achievement of desirable work-related outcomes at any point in an individual’s work experiences over time (Arthur, Khapova & Wilderom, 2005), as opposed to achievements that are associated with the end of an individual’s career. However, it is argued that occupational context continues to play an important role in defining careers and subsequent career success. Despite this, literature on gender and careers continues to advocate key differences in the success of males and females, regardless of occupational context. Predictors of male career success include objective indicators such as salary, promotions and hierarchical position; whereas subjective criteria, such as helping others and maintaining a work-life balance are thought to be more important to females (McDonald, Brown & Bradley, 2005; Ng et al, 2005). In contrast, many studies have focused on gender-segregated occupations and indicate that women experience discrimination and disadvantage in relation to success in male-dominated environments (Dann, 1995; Demaiter & Adams, 2009). However, despite a small body of research that documents mixed experiences of males in female-dominated occupations, career success of males in this context is yet to be explored. This thesis therefore aimed to address the gap in the current knowledge by conducting an in-depth exploration of male definitions of career success in one professional and one non-professional female-dominated occupation. A qualitative methodology was adopted in response to calls from the career success literature to utilise this approach to uncover personal meanings of success. First, a series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of male primary school teachers (n=15) and university administrators (n=19) to explore personal definitions of success, motivations for entry and experience of working in a female- xi dominated environment. Findings suggest that male definitions of success related to complex themes of personal, professional, social and life success, in contrast to objective and subjective categories in the existing literature. It was apparent that success was considered to be a fluid concept that could be achieved on a continuous basis in line with occupational and organisational influence. The second phase of the case study evaluated career interventions available to males in primary schools and universities in relation to personal definitions of success. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with an opportunity sample of representatives from male’s employing organisations, including n=4 members of Senior Leadership Teams from primary schools and n=9 managers and personnel staff from universities. Themes that emerged suggested individual and organisational definitions of career success were conflicting at times. Specifically, career interventions did not always complement the achievement of success. Rather, males referred to the benefits of informal organisational mechanisms to support their achievement of success, such as communication, socialising and information sharing, which organisations did not appear to be aware of. Overall, the case study provides a critique of the literature on generic predictors of male success by reconceptualising definitions to include themes of personal, professional, social and life success. Implications of the key findings are discussed and avenues for future research and applications to practice are considered.

The tenets of representative bureaucracy suggest that the composition of the bureaucracy should mirror the people it serves including women in order to influence the name, scope, and implementation of public policies. Women account for the largest segment of the workforce and have attained more education and advanced education than men. Although there have been steady increases in executive leadership positions, management positions, professional and technical positions in most occupations, women are still underrepresented in mid-to-upper management in male-dominated occupations. When women are under-represented in mid-to-upper levels of management in government, there are implications regarding representative bureaucracy.

Through the use of qualitative methods, this study examined the career progression experiences of women who were successful in reaching mid-to-upper levels of management in male-dominated occupations in state government. Specifically, the study explored how women perceive various occupational factors including their rates of participation, experiences, gender, roles within the bureaucracy, interactions with their coworkers, leaders and organizational policies, personal influence, and decision-making abilities.

The findings revealed that women experience various barriers to career progression in male-dominated occupations, but find mechanisms to navigate obstacles imposed by the negative consequences of tokenism. The findings indicate that although women have been successful in reaching mid-to-upper level management in male-dominated occupations, they do so in institutions, regional, district, field or offices with fewer overall employees where they have less opportunity to have influence on overall agency-wide policy decisions. The decision-making power is limited to implementation strategies of agency-wide policies within their smaller domains or geographical area of responsibility.

The aim of our paper is to examine from a sociological perspective the consequences women experience in their work in male-dominated occupations. We also want to examine different expectations placed on women in a male-dominated workplace and how these women in turn experience their professional role. Finally, we want to find out how these women view their leisure time and how it has a connection to their choice of profession. We have used qualitative interviews where eight women aged 20-50 were interviewed. Being questioned, tested all the time and placed in a union was of great importance in how the respondents experienced themselves in their male-dominated profession. The respondents have used different approaches to be able to prevent this. These included behaving more "boyishly" in order to be accepted by the male colleagues, trying to keep up with the "guys'" jokes as it is easier to have it and do with the men and to be tough. With the help of various theories and concepts, we have gained a broader perspective in the area we have investigated. We have chosen Yvonne Hirdman's theory of gender systems to gain a deeper understanding of the power structure that organizes the relationship between the sexes. We also delve into Judith Butler's theory of the heterosexual matrix, where masculinity is to express man and femininity is to express woman. Finally, we have chosen Erving Goffman's theory of dramaturgical sociology, which is important in Goffman's thinking about appearances that an individual presents in front of a group of observers where the observers also have an impact on the individual.

Titel: Att vara kvinna i männens värld- En kvalitativ studie om kvinnors utvecklingsmöjligheter inom mansdominerade yrken Frågeställning: Vilka karriärhinder upplever kvinnor inom mansdominerade yrken?  Syfte: I följande arbete ämnar vi identifiera hinder för karriärmässig utveckling för kvinnor inom  mansdominerade yrken, för att skapa förutsättningar för organisationer att bygga bort dessa hinder.  Metod: Studien har en induktiv forskningsansats och en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi. Det empiriska materialet utgår från nio intervjuer med kvinnor som arbetar inom mansdominerade yrken. Slutsatser: De karriärhinder som uppstår för kvinnor som arbetar inom mansdominerade yrken baseras i konservativ kultur, diskriminering, att andra kvinnor blir konkurrenter,  image, sexism och problematiken med att veta sitt eget värde. På följande vis blir kvinnor utpekade som det “andra könet” och underordnade mannen och mansnormen.
Title: Being a woman in the world of men- A qualitative study of women's development opportunities in male-dominated occupations Research question: Which career obstacles do women experience in male-dominated occupations? Purpose: In the following paper, we intend to identify obstacles to career development for women in male-dominated professions, in order to provide conditions for organizations to remove said obstacles. Method: This study has an inductive research approach and a qualitative research strategy. The empirical material is based on nine interviews with women who work in male-dominated occupations. Conclusions: The career barriers that arise for women working in male-dominated professions are based on other women becoming competitors, discrimination, sexism, conservative culture, personal image, and the issue of knowing their own worth. In the following way, women are designated as the "other sex" and subordinate to the male and the male norm.

The purpose of this study was to understand the reasons the four female participants decided to pursue electrician technician training, their perspectives of the apprenticeship program, their perceptions of successful employment in a male-dominated occupation, and differences in treatment based on their gender. The exploratory questions that guided the study were: what led the females to make the decision for applying to the electrician technician apprenticeship; what was the nature of the education and training experiences of the participants in the electrician technician apprenticeship program, what were the participants’ perceptions of being successful in advancement within the workforce as a female electrician technician; and what gender differences did the participants experience as female electrician technicians? The theoretical framework for this study is based on feminist standpoint theory (Harding, 1991, 1993, 1987; Hartsock, 1997, 1998a 1998b; Smith 1987, 1997). Data collection methods consisted of a demographics questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, participant journals, researcher’s reflexive journal notes, and electrician apprenticeship program data. The cross-case analysis generated five major themes: family support, independence, mentors, self-directedness, and gender stereotypes. These five themes included discussions of the micro, meso, and macro levels in a male-dominated occupation. Implications for practitioners and policy makers are described. This study contributes empirical research on feminist standpoint theory and females in male-dominated occupations. It also adds to the body of literature on female electrician technicians’ decision processes, which are rarely studied, and success in a male-dominated occupation.

This dissertation seeks to expand and refine our understanding of sex-segregation in the labor market. The rapid changes in women’s roles that have taken place in recent decades have made traditional explanations incapable of accounting for current patterns of mobility in the labor market, and the persistence of sex-segregation in modern times. Throughout this dissertation I draw on a wide variety of sources and research methods to examine the striking movement of women out of male-dominated occupations in the U.S. There is an important conundrum to unravel, as less attrition of women from male-dominated occupations would mean more progress was being made toward the integration of men and women in the workplace. Results indicate the emergence of new line of demarcation between women; whereas a minority of women tend to plan their job careers more efficiently in a similar way to men, low-status women continue to have unstructured career patterns.
Esta tesis busca ampliar y refinar nuestra comprensión sobre la segregación de género en el mercado laboral. Dados los recientes cambios en los roles de las mujeres, las explicaciones tradicionales son insuficientes para explicar los actuales patrones de movilidad y la persistencia de segregación en el mercado de trabajo. A lo largo de esta tesis, se emplea una variedad de fuentes y métodos de investigación para examinar la cuantiosa salida de mujeres de ocupaciones mayoritariamente masculinas en los EE.UU. Este es un dilema importante que desentrañar, ya que reducir el número de mujeres que salen de ocupaciones típicamente masculinas significaría progresar hacia la integración de hombres y mujeres en el lugar de trabajo. Los resultados indican la aparición de una nueva línea de demarcación entre las mujeres; mientras una minoría tiende a planificar sus carreras de trabajo de manera eficiente, similar a los hombres, las mujeres en ocupaciones de bajo estatus continúan desarrollando carreras desestructuradas

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1996.
Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-54).

碩士
國立中正大學
勞工關係學系碩士在職專班
105
Abstract This study focused on female occupational safety management specialists’　leadership under safety and health rules, project progress, project completion deadline requirements and male dominated working environment. The objects of this study are female occupational safety management specialists of contracted pipeline works. From their educational background, payroll difference, promotion development, marital/obstetrical status, paradox and obstacle in a male dominated working environment together with gender psychology, current law in relation to gender equity understand their career development and the predicament they faced. Then this study induce　conclusion and impart suggestion to strengthen career resilience. The research method is based on qualitative research through documentary analysis and personal interviews. By reviewing and sorting reference, a semi-structured interview was designed and aimed for a purposive sampling of 12 one on one interviews. This research found that the gender differences of occupational safety management specialists are not the key point to the leadership instead of communication and interaction skills. The more professional the expertise is, the better transcendence of sex difference obstacle. The recommendations break into government policy aspect and civil aspect. From policy aspect, first, tax exemption but not subsidy for setting up nursery room. Second, enhance gender equity education at workplace. Third, schools open interpersonal relationship and communication class for occupational safety management specialists. Forth, subsidize civil company for manpower gap caused by nursery stay. From civil aspect, first, design a more ergonomic workplace to reduce female physical burden. Second, set upsexual harassment complaint channel. Third, improve the communication skill of occupational safety management specialists. Forth, attach great importance on occupational safety by promotion and award, so as to establish a long-term career path. Key words: occupational safety and health, male dominated job, gender equality, career development

The paucity of women in senior leadership positions as indicated in the Business Women Association of South Africa 2011 census corroborates that gender equality is still a concerning issue even in the democratic era that we live in. This study explores career developmental experiences of women in senior leadership position in the civil engineering industry. The primary objective was to investigate how these professional women were managing their careers and what career experiences contributed to their ascent to the senior echelons of management. Meaning to the career experiences of these women had been given according to the self-determination theory. By means of purposive selection, seven women at senior management level were selected from both the private and public sectors in the civil engineering industry. Based on the semi-structured interviews conducted, personal documents reviewed and footnotes recorded; it was evident that there were different factors that had facilitated the ascent of these women to senior positions. Their career experiences were also characterised by challenges that subsequently instigated the development of coping strategies and methods. The study has implications for organisations in civil engineering that wish to attract and retain women from generations to come.
Psychology
M.A. (Psychology)

Text in English
The purpose of this study was to explore the work-life balance experiences of female engineers as they progress through various career life stages. Research has demon-strated that female engineers experience unique challenges as a result of gendered norms within male-dominated occupations, with changing life-roles, needs and ex-pectations across the various career life stages, impacting how they negotiate and perceive work-life balance. A qualitative research approach was followed using a her-meneutic phenomenology paradigm that employed a multiple case study approach consisting of semi-structured interviews with nine female engineers across three career life stages. The findings of the study confirmed current research into work-life balance, highlighting that work-life balance needs and expectations are different across the lifespan and are particularly affected by the changing nature of the work role within the lives of female engineers. Companies should consider changing their organisational culture to acknowledge the needs of female engineers in both family and work domains.
Industrial and Organisational Psychology
M.Comm. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)