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Halle Tecco

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Gender Discrimination: Women in Business Still Face Sexism

Posted: 04/15/10 12:53 PM ET

Sexism is not a glass ceiling; it's a labyrinth of microinequities that add up over a lifetime.
- Amy J.C. Cuddy, PhD


The ubiquitous pant-suit might be a symbol that working women are out in full force, but it's hard to deny that women are still facing gender discrimination in the workplace.

The statistics are disappointing: women make only 77 percent what men earn. While this gap has narrowed from 62 percent in 1982, the Institute for Women's Policy Research estimates that it will take until 2057 to close the wage gap. And while women are earning degrees at higher rates than men, this does not transcend to the board room. Only three percent of FORTUNE 500 companies are led by females.

These disparities are present here at Harvard Business School where women make up 36 percent of the student body, but only six percent of the Baker Scholars (highest graduation honors). Below is a presentation I put together for my class which outlines research and theories for gender disparities in business.

Learn more about Equal Pay Day onTuesday, April 20, 2010. This date symbolizes how far into 2010 women must work to earn what men earned in 2009.

 

Follow Halle Tecco on Twitter: www.twitter.com/halletecco

Sexism is not a glass ceiling; it's a labyrinth of microinequities that add up over a lifetime. - Amy J.C. Cuddy, PhD The ubiquitous pant-suit might be a symbol that working women are out in full fo...
Sexism is not a glass ceiling; it's a labyrinth of microinequities that add up over a lifetime. - Amy J.C. Cuddy, PhD The ubiquitous pant-suit might be a symbol that working women are out in full fo...
 
 
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KellyRyan
A micro-bio for one who has none.
11:13 PM on 04/15/2010
Thank you Halle. I have two generations that preceded me who worked with due diligence toward civil rights and women's rights. I believe it's only been in the last 5-8 years that the number of women entering colleges and universities is equal to men.
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HalleT
02:04 PM on 04/17/2010
Thank you for your comment Kelly! I'm glad you enjoyed the article.
09:07 PM on 04/15/2010
The 77 cents on the dollar number that is constantly pushed by feminists is based on all the money that men make divided by the number of men working vs. all the money women make divided by the number of women who work. This is not an accurate assessment of discrimination and only recognizes what most people know...when corrected for field, years of experience and hours worked the pay gap is less than 2 cents.
10:19 PM on 04/16/2010
actually, that number does account for field, years of experience, and hours worked. check your facts.
07:47 AM on 04/18/2010
If the author provided a link, I would. The 77 cents number has been published by the Bureau of Labor......which is exactly as I described. Please provide a link that disputes this.
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Mister Biggles
05:41 PM on 04/15/2010
Hmm...shocking.

Another feminist article about the generic pay gap and Fortune 500 boardroom positions.

Can anyone recall the last time a feminist demanded equal responsibility or accountability?

Women serve 2/3 of the prison time that men serve for the SAME crime.

66% vs. the 77% pay gap. And that 66% figure is for the same crime rather than a generic comparison.

Never hear ANY complaints from them about that.

If women are equal, should they not be equally responsible and accountable?
07:50 PM on 04/15/2010
This article has nothing to do with crime. All that you have accomplished is derailing the conversation while belittling the point of this article. Also you are not hearing any complaints about that subject mainly because this article has nothing to do with it.

How about finding and commenting about crime statistics on an actual article about that subject. If there isn't one then go write one if it's such an important topic to you.

This isn't a competition of what's worse. This is an article bringing up the discrimination that some working women still face. Whether you like it or not it happens.
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Mister Biggles
09:18 PM on 04/15/2010
My complaint is that feminists will never write an article demanding equal responsibility. AND what you recommend is for me to wait for an article that will NEVER be written to comment?

Uhh...ok.

I think you have missed (or proven) my point.

No feminist will write such an article.
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Mister Biggles
09:21 PM on 04/15/2010
Also, unless you are equally accountable, you don't deserve equal pay.

Period.
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TexasDem0
USMC Vietnam combat vet
04:07 PM on 04/15/2010
I’m all for equal pay for equal work, but how often is simply equal job title and unequal work?

I was hired by a large corporation for a startup project. Three women and two men were hired for that location. All were salaried professionals. There were times when urgent work arrived late in the day, requiring someone to work late to complete it.

Automatically, the women were NOT available to work overtime because they had to go home to take care of their families. Two women had adult children, and the other was single. There was no legitimate reason they could not work overtime.

They were quick to point out that my wife didn’t work. That was an insult given that she home was raising three elementary school aged children. Our joint decision was to get by on one income so one parent would be home to raise the kids. The decision of the women on the work team was that since the men didn’t have to go home and cook, they should stay and work the overtime.

If those women chose to work outside of their homes, why aren’t they responsible for alternate arrangements when job and family time conflict? How did it get to be the responsibility of the men on the team to work all of the overtime to make it easier for the women to have a two income family?

Where was the gender discrimination, and who bore the brunt of it?
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MorganT
07:05 AM on 04/16/2010
Well in your case that seems unfair. But even working women still do the majority of the housework and childcare even if her and her partner are both working the same amount of hours.
12:25 PM on 04/16/2010
Actually if you account for hours worked at the office AND hours worked at home, men and women do the same amount of work. Look it up. I think men should start demanding their wives pay 50% of all household bills.
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Mister Biggles
10:33 AM on 04/16/2010
Go lower on the economic ladder, too.

My gf in college worked at a coffee shop with 5 other girls and 1 man. He had about 5 extra duties...all involving the most physical of the labor at that store...that the girls did not. He was paid the same.

Did the girls do any of his lighter, less physical, more "female" tasks to make up for the extra burden he had?

Of course not. How dare you say that this is "women's work" or anything like it.

I chose this as but one example...men know that women have no problem giving "male" tasks to men...equality be damned...
03:26 PM on 04/15/2010
I'm in Texas, you can fire anyone for any reason. "Your ugly get out, your fired !"

I work in corporate America and I dont see any disparity but I'm going on faith and data from these think tanks.

What I see are a herd of women in charge. I know I'm overwhelmingly out numbered by women in my department, probably 10:1

Whatever -
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02:55 PM on 04/15/2010
That's your typical moronic HR rep for you.
01:06 PM on 04/15/2010
Where I work, my boss--a woman--wanted to fire two slackers, and they were both temps, not even employees. Letting the man slacker go was no problem, but the HR rep said that the woman slacker couldn't be let go because it might look like gender discrimination.
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LizFree
02:56 PM on 04/15/2010
This would only be the case if there wasn't sufficient evidence to back up the dismissal. If there was enough evidence and they still didn't fire her, then that's on them.
04:41 AM on 04/16/2010
Letting them both go at the same time should have put gender claims to rest.