Diversity and the Media, Essay Example

Article Summary

The article “Why Gender Equality Matters in Business success” by Christine Carosella in Forbes Magazine explores the persistent gender inequality in corporate organizations. It illustrates the state of gender representation incorporates and reasoning, benefits of gender equality in business, and ways through which organizations can achieve gender equality. The article establishes that women are sidelined and disregarded in corporate environments, and gender equality is far from getting achieved. For example, North America is projected to achieve gender equality in 151 years. Women are still underpaid in similar positions to men because they do not need as much money as men taking care of families. Also, women are not promoted to leadership positions, and the few that make it there are subjected to stereotypes of their role, such as serving meals or being the host in meetings.

The article illustrates that businesses that pursue gender equality and equality across diversity are more successful than those that do not. Statistics indicate that reducing the gender gap in organizations would increase the global GDP by $12 to $28 trillion. Moreover, inclusivity in corporate teams facilitates 87% better decisions and makes higher profits alongside long-term value creation. In contrast, nations with low diversity in gender or race are likely to make 29% fewer profits (Carosella, 2020). Women-led organizations also tend to thrive more and inclusive organizations have less employee turnover. The article also identifies ways for organizations to achieve gender equality, including equal pay on the basic salary on the job, not individual factors, equal treatment of employees, equal opportunities for training and career progression, company benefits that favor all employees, and equal representation of women in leadership teams (Carosella, 2020). The article recommends that the organization make diversity and equality a strategic goal, create an environment that is safe to communicate and discuss inequality issues and pursue inclusivity across social aspects, including religion, gender, race, and sexuality.

Comparison of Dominant/Minority Representation in the Article

In the article, Men are represented as the dominant group while women are the minority. Men are regarded as more convenient and desirable employees in the business context, while women are less unemployable. Men are still perceived as the primary breadwinners, and women in employment are regarded as only supplementing what their husbands bring home. For instance, the author explains that women are not given training and career development opportunities or promotions because they are considered at work temporarily. It is perceived that women will leave employment once they have children or if their husbands relocate their jobs; thus, no long-term development is needed in the workplace. At the same time, men are paid more because they are considered to have children and families. Women in leadership teams are expected to perform conventional feminine roles such as serving meals and are not especially regarded for their opinions when it comes to roles (Carosella, 2020). The article’s representation of men and women is thus very distinctive, typified by prejudice, inequality, and outdated and unfair stereotypes.

Moreover, group differentiation in the article is mainly along gender lines, although there are mentions of other aspects of inequality such as race. The differentiation is based on gender roles, gender expectations, perception of gender, and stereotypes. For instance, men are regarded as the primary providers while women are regarded as domestic’s caregivers. Men are expected to lead and take care of their families, while women are expected to carry out domestic roles such as catering and hosting. Women are expected to prioritize their kids and husbands over their jobs, thus making low investments in their career development (Carosella, 2020).

Sociological Theories

Sociological theories can promote the comprehension of the gender inequality that persists in business and corporate environments and is the article’s subject. Labeling theory is one of the prominent sociological theories. It promotes a person’s or people’s perception in society as a product of social processes. People are identified or self-identified as different from the mainstream or other groups of people based on social experiences and social processes that shape society (Chavez & Rocheleau, 2020). The social processes in society place a designation on a group of people that is socialized and becomes part of their identity. The designation can be positive or negative and affect the individuals and their experiences, but it becomes embedded in culture, making it hard to change. The victims of labeling may even accept the designation and live by it. The idea that women’s role is domestic, women with no kids or family do not need money, and that women will prioritize their husbands ad kids over work are all aspects of labeling throughout human history. The expectation of women to take the back row and play hostess in the meeting is also a product of social-cultural labeling (Carosella, 2020). The labels underlie the gender inequality that typifies corporate environments.

Conflict theory also explains the issue of gender diversity and inequality in a modern corporate environment and through human history. The basis of conflict theory is that society is constantly in conflict due to competition over limited resources. Social order is thus maintained through power and domination as opposed to conformity for consensus. Gender inequality is thus explained as the attempt of men to sustain control and privilege over women. The social explanations that society uses to defend and excuse gender inequality are meant to perpetuate the conflict and continue the inequalities (Kaufman & Taniguchi, 2020). The association between gender inequality and conflict is linked to gender roles, gendered socio-economic development, and societal capacity. Gender norms accord differing stereotypical values and expectations to masculinity and femininity, placing a higher value on masculine roles. Social and economic development is conceptualized more for men than women and associated with power. Lastly, economic capacities in society are limited and social stereotypes are used to favor men over women (Forsberg & Olsson, 2020). An example of conflict theory in gender inequality in the corporate environment is masculine settings to discuss business matters that segregate women marinating the gap. Stereotypes such as women prioritizing family or not working once they have kids are all intended to sustain the power difference between men and women in favor of men. Gendered social-economic development is evident in the justification that men need higher play because they take care of their families while women are stereotyped as not being primary providers to justify lower pay.

Issue within Merton’s Categories of Prejudice

Merton’s categories of prejudice can be applied to further the comprehension of ender inequality and workplace issues. Under the unprejudiced discriminators’ category, people discriminate against others when it’s necessary or when it is in pursuit of self-interest. The category will respect rules and policies to ensure their habits display an unbiased perspective. The other category is prejudiced nondiscrimination, who perceive a group unfairly and inequitably using stereotypes but will not do it illegally against social pressure. The last category that applies to the issues is prejudiced discriminators who perceive others as inferior to them and thus have a sense of right to be discriminative (Allbort & Merton, 2020). The three categories typify people who perpetuate gender inequality in workplaces. Men stay quiet or perpetuate gender inequality because it favors them in more opportunities for promotions and higher pay. Stereotypes justify the lower pay and low rates of women’s promotion in jobs. Lastly, people hold patriarchal beliefs that women are inferior to men and thus agree with the gender inequalities at work.

Data Supporting Article Provisions

The article holds that gender equality in the workplace would see a significant increase in GDP across the globe as a rationale for businesses pursuing gender equality. The McKinsey report that provides statistics indicates that the $12 trillion increase would be achieved by 2025 if organizations implemented policies for gender inclusivity. The report indicates that women make up half of the global working population. Further statistics indicate that realization of full gender parity would achieve as much as $28 trillion more in international GDP (Woetzel et al., 2020). An exploration of the advantages of gender equality by the European Union provides the further scope of benefits of narrowing the gender gap in corporate environments. It illustrates that gender parity by 2050 would achieve a 6.1-9.6% increase in EU GDP. It would also increase job opportunities by adding 10.5 million more opportunities, with 70% of the jobs taken by women but rightfully so since women make up the larger population. Also, the EU would achieve an 80% employment rate, and poverty levels would decline because women are more adversely affected by poverty than men (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2022).

Power Influence

Power is depicted in the article as a masculine concept and contributes to the discrimination of women in the workplace. For instance, corporate executives and leaders set up meetings in masculine-oriented settings such as golf courses where women are scarcely present. Women’s attempts to penetrate such environments lead them to be allocated host responsibilities such as driving golf carts and serving snacks that are stereotypical feminine roles (Carosella, 2020). The socialization of men as family leaders and providers also puts power on men allowing them to argue that they provide for families, thus higher wages. The author, who controls the article’s perspective, uses her personal experience to illustrate the extent of women inequality and puts more strength and conviction into her arguments about gender disparity.

In conclusion, there is a lack of gender diversity in top corporate leadership and gender inequality in the treatment of women in workplaces. Yet, gender equality can significantly promote businesses and the general economy. Several policies are advanced to close the gender gap and make corporate systems more inclusive, but implementation is poor and inconsistent. Incentives for organizations that pursue and display a commitment to closing the gender gap are critical policies that can be implemented at the local, state, and federal levels to address the poor implementation of gender equality policies. The incentives would include cash gifts, certificates of recognition, bronze, silver, and gold seals awarded every five years, or tax reliefs.

References

Allport, G.W., & Merton, R., (2020). Foundational Theories Chapter 1: Prejudice and Discrimination. Sage Publication Inc.

Carosella, C., (2020). Why Gender Equality Matters In Business Success. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesnonprofitcouncil/2020/03/27/why-gender-equality-matters-in-business-success/?sh=603bdca5669c

Chavez, J. M., & Rocheleau, G. C. (2020). Formal Labeling, Deviant Peers, and Race/Ethnicity: An Examination of Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Process of Secondary Deviance. Race and Justice, 10(1), 62–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/2153368717727122

European Institute for Gender Equality (2022). Economic benefits of gender equality in the European Union. Retrieved from https://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/policy-areas/economic-and-financial-affairs/economic-benefits-gender-equality#:~:text=Improvements%20in%20gender%20equality%20would,80%25%20employment%20rate%20by%202050

Forsberg, E., & Olsson, L. (2021). Examining Gender Inequality and Armed Conflict at the Subnational Level. Journal of Global Security Studies, 6(2), ogaa023.

Kaufman, G., & Taniguchi, H. (2019). Gender equality and work-family conflict from a cross-national perspective. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 60(6), 385–408. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020715219893750

Woetzel, J., Madgavkar, A., Ellingrud, K., Labaye, E., Devillard, S., Kutcher, E., … & Krishnan, M. (2020). How advancing women’s equality can add $12 trillion to global growth. McKinsey & Company.