Engendering Change

Engendering Change: Organization Dynamics and Workplace Gender Desegregation 1975 – 2005

Matt L. Huffman University of California – Irvine

Philip N. Cohn University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

Jessica Pearlman University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

2010 by Johnson Graduate School, Cornell University.

Introduction

The segregation of jobs and occupations is a persistent feature of the labor market and the proximate cause of many forms of gender inequality

* The negative effects of gender segregation on women’s labor market opportunities such as lower wages and lower chance to get promoted to higher positions.

Many studies showed the relationship between the presence of female organizational leaders and reduced inequality. But, these studies have many limitations to be generalized

* The studies tended to be industry specific, cross sectional, or limited to specific labor markets or certain time periods.

New theory : How various organizational features have an impact on gender inequality?

* How the relationship between the presence of female organizational leaders and reduced inequality is conditional on organizational change

* How women’s access to organizational power structures is related to patterns of workplace inequality.

* Focuses on three key establishment-level characteristics

1. Women’s access to organizational power structures

2. Establishment size and growth

3. The effect of time on the organizational dynamics that affect gender desegregation

Establishment Size

Hypothesis 1 : The positive effect of women’s representation in management on the level of gender integration will be enhanced by establishment size.

Bureaucratization VS Formalization

Larger size may lead to the entrenchment of existing patterns of gender segregation

Size is positively correlated with the formalization of personnel policies and other practices, and formalization is thought to reduce gender-based ascription by...