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8/6/2019 Project Proposal for Research Method[New][11!05!11]
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Project proposal :
Workplace ethics and its connection with
gender
Written by :AshimaChakraborty
(P09311727)
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Abstract : In employment, it is, prima facie, unlawful to discriminate
against an employee or potential employee on the grounds of sex, sexual
orientation, race, disability, religion or belief and age. Employers found to be
in breach of these statutes may face severe criminal and civil penalties. But
studies show that although laws have been passed in most countries to
provide equal opportunities at the workplace for both men and women, the
fact is that discrimination at work based on gender still exists.
Section1: Introduction
Workplace ethics are moral guidelines specific to a business environment.
They involve everything from honesty with customers to fair hiring practices
to the treatment of fellow employees. Knowledge of and adherence to
workplace ethics contributes to one's value as an employee or business
owner, and leads to greater cohesiveness and the longevity of a business.
Women have been forming a considerable part of the workforce for decades
now. It is acknowledged all over the world that women have very high
efficiency to succeed professionally . Nevertheless gender discrimination in
the workplace exists and still continues in one form or the other. More and
more women are opting for financial independence and w ith better
educational opportunities; they are working towards a stable career. Women
have pervaded almost every field that was conventionallybranded as being
men-onl y. In theory, if a woman qualifies on the basis of all the requirements
of a profession and can show the potential to succeed in their career, they
should be given similar opportunity as the men applicants. The successful
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candidate should be chosen based on merit and should not be discriminated
as ´Weaker Sexµ.
A. Research objectives and Action Plans
1. Thoroughly analyse the work culture and work ethics protocols and
determine how they are implemented at the work places.
2. Conduct surveys and getting feedback: from the working men and
women in order to analyse them and look into the areas whe re future
improvements are possible.
3. Holding regular discussions and analyse any finding that might have
come up.
4. Designing and collection of data from different online surveys and
from colleagues. One can gather trends, impact and general view of
Workplace ethics and discrimination by performing this exercise.
Section 2: Background
The definition of gender inequality in the workplace refers to unfair
treatment toward members of a specific gender at the place they are
employed. This type of discrimination is also called gender discrimination
and is unconstitutional all over the world. Sexism and gender discrimination
or commonly known as gender inequality can happen to both men and
women. For example, a company may refuse to give a woman a raise
because she is or may become pregnant. Other examples include
harassment due to the person's gender or the denial of vacation days and
other perks. Gender inequality in the workplace can also happen to men.
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For instance, a company refusing a man employment or a promo tion in
traditionally "feminine" jobs such as a nurse or a dancer can also be
considered gender discrimination. But this is more prevailing in case women
work force.
Wage Inequality
According to Public Services International, in spite of having equal or better
education and experience compared to their male counter parts, women
across the world still earn lessthan the male workforce. Even in the same
position at the same company, a female employee might make less. A study
shows that women working 41 to 44 hours a week earn 84.6% of what their
male counterparts do. The statistics become even worse with increase in
hours of work. Women who work more than 60 hours a week were found to
earn only about 78.3% of what men in the same category earned.
The federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, prohibits employers from
discriminating against job seekers. It also protects discrimination against
employees on the basis of race, religion, sex, pregnancy and nationality.
Direct and Indirect Discriminations in the work place
There are two types of discriminations that prevail at workplace ² viz. Direct
Discrimination and Indirect Discrimination. Sometimes the employer would
refuse a women candidate outright for work on basis of gender which is
often known as Direct Discrimination.This is not only exploitation of the
right of an individual to work but also unethical and against any human
rights. However women facing Indirect Discrimination is more widely spread
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all over the world and this is more subtle form of discrimination based
gender. Women workers often face refusal of benefits - monetary such as
bonus, perks etc. or rewards at work, and other privileges that their male
colleagues receive as part of the employment policies. The most common
form of discriminations based on gender is o verlooking their performance
while considering employees for promotion .There is a widespread and mostly
incorrect argument from the management that women tend to be very
emotional in nature and as a result will not be able to cope with the amount
of stress often associated with important and high level job profiles in the
corporate sector. As the management board itself constitutes predominantly
with male members, there is very less opportunity for the women to defend
themselves when faced with these decisions.
Eff ects of Gender Discrimination in the Workplace
Gender discrimination in the workplace has a grave impact on the
performance of the company. An organization in which gender
discrimination is rampant, the quality of work of its employees often
becomes compromised. The affected women individuals are constantly
undermental stressand become more and more demoralised . The victims
start being absent from work and also show lack of concentration and
enthusiasm while conducting any job at workplace. For those whose rights
haven't been violated also becomes sceptical witnessing the company's
apathy to gender discrimination.As the negative image of a company's
discriminatory policies spreads, its relationship with present and potential
clients may also be hampered. Gender discrimination may result in poor
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retention and the company may lose potential employees due to its negative
image. If any women employee decides to take legal actions in the judicious
court, the company will not only face financial obligations but also will have
negativepublicity which will affect the future businessopportunities.
Preventing Gender Discrimination in the Workplace
The main responsibility of ensuring equality in workplace lies greatly on the
shoulders of the management. Right from recruitment to benefits for the
employees should not violate their right to equality and the management
needs to keep all the policies updated in order to maintain this . Strict action
should be taken by the management against those who try to take the
advantage of their higher position at work and blatantly violate gender
equality policies within the organization. In order to ensure that policies will
be successfully implemented to prevent gender discrimination in the
workplace, employees also need to understand that it is not just the
management but also themselves who can prevent such violation of one·s
right. They can do this by being aware of their rights as far being treated
fairly at their workplace is concerned. Both the federal and state laws
require companies to ensure that there is:
Equal pay for equal work
Uniform policies for male and female employees (this includes all policies
including the spouse of the employees)
Equal treatment at workplace with respect to promotions, pay raises, other
medical or financial benefits
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There are various acts like the Equal Pays Act (1963) and the Pregnancy
Discrimination Act that came into effect through an amendment made in
1978 to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which aim at curbing
discrimination against women at workplace.
Gender discrimination in the workplace is harmful to the professional
development of an individual but also curbs the growth of a business firm.
There are laws to prevent violation of employees, be it on the basis of gender,
age or race. Timely action on part of the victim is very crucial to stop the
injustice and harassment faced at workplace but sometimes the victims do
not report these incidents out of shame or for the fear of being targeted by
other colleagues at work.
Steps taken by employers to end gender discrimination
To prevent gender discrimination or sexual harassment from occurring in the
workplace, more and more employers are adopting a zero tolerance policy towards
all acts of discrimination. This usually includes the creation of an official written
policy against discrimination that is circulated to all employees, as well as education
and training courses for all managers and for all employees. Employers should
conduct a thorough investigation every time a claim of discrimination or harassment
is lodged. The management should always immediately notify the human resources
department when an incidence of discrimination or harassment has been reported
and needs to be investigated.
Section 3: Methodology: Viability and testing
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Making judicious use of the theoretical framework, it is obvious that
although discrimination at Work is unlawful and unethical, It is very much
in practice and does have a substantial effect on the work force as well as
the mind frame of a person in general. Critical research is concerned with
identifying conflicts and contradictions, and critical researchers would try to
explain why a certain way of seeing the world dominates. The aim of critical
research is to focus on the power relations and is very much effective when
looking at how the wider social history of perceptions between men and
women and their relative importance in the society has shaped the way of
running an organisation. Critical research would see to identify and
challenge the idea of domination in the society and on the other hand the
taken for granted status. Critical theoretical approaches tend to rely on
dialogic methods; methods combining observation and interviewing with
approaches that foster conversation and reflection. This reflective
dialogic allows the researcher and the participants to question the 'natural'
state and challenge the mechanisms for order maintenance. This is a way
to to reclaim conflict and tension. Criteria for research should be based on
community agreement, and researchers have the responsibility to justify
their work and address and answer to any tension that manifests itself in
the research endeavour.
Data Collection methodology
A formal data collection process is necessary as it ensures that data
gathered is both defined and accurate. The process provides both a baseline
from which to measure from and in certain cases a target on what t o
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improve. Type of data collection methodology suitable for this topic will be -
By personal interview as well as group survey. It is essential for the author
to get in touch with local companies and start with small or medium scale
companies where the number of employees is fairly small. Questionnaire
must be set keeping the sensitivity of the issue in mind. The questions
would be tested on a small sample of people in order to gain the initial
feedback. Work will be done to improve the questionnaire and this will also
include any suggestion that has some merit in them. Any questions from
previous surveys will be used as a base of the present survey.
The designer needs to be prepared to face a wide range of challenges and
obstacles. The issue is sensitive and company management may not be
willing to take part in the personal interviews. Also many employees may not
feel comfortable to voice any issue against the employer. Trust will remain a
major role between the interviewer and the participants and confidentiality
issues need to be followed very strictly.
Section 4: Conclusion
Sexual harassment in the workplace presents an on-going and growing risk
to business operating all over the world. Thus, this is a high time for the
businesses to begin to manage the risk in this area more wisely. Preventing
gender discrimination at work involves a considerable investment of time.
The human resources team who will face the challenge of dealing with
situations where sexual harassment has been reported would require to be
properly trained, show compassion and deal with the matter professionally
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and with empathy. Though these types of trainings will means cost
involvement, this will be offset by significant savings in legal fees and
health-care costs. As workers will be relatively stress free and have a
friendlier working environment, the compa nies will benefit from increased
productivity. This will also mean a better relationship with existing and
potential clients and wider market for business. So it can be concluded that
from a purely business point of view, a company stands to gain more if i t
takes no-nonsense, strict and efficient position to prevent gender
discrimination at work. From a human rights point of view this is not only
the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.
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List of Bibliography:
1. Bose, D, ´Gender Discrimination In The Work Place, 1/6/2010,
(http://www.buzzle.com/articles/gender-discrimination-in-the-
workplace.html)
2. Westen, Peter. ´The Empty Idea of Equalityµ, Harvard Law Review, Vol.
95, No.3, 1982, p.537. 14
(http://www.equalrightstrust.org/ertdocumentbank/The%20Ideas%2
0of%20Equality%20and%20Non-
discrimination,%20Formal%20and%20Substantive%20Equality)
3. Leitner, S. ´Sex and Gender Discrimination Within EU Pension
Systemµ, 2001
4. Shaffer, Margaret A.; Joplin, Janice R. W.; Bell, Myrtle P.; Lau,
Theresa; Oguz, Ceyda;
5. ´Gender discrimination and job-related outcomes: A cross-culturalcomparison of working women in the United States and Chinaµ,
Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol 57(3), Dec 2000, 395 -427.
6. ´The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Opportunity Employment
Commission." National Archives and Records Administration
7. Discrimination in the workplace against Women of Color (Gender
Studies Journal, #4). 11111. Chapter 4
8. Primer, A; Roberts B; Mann R ´SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE
WORKPLACE .
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Appendix ² A
Project Name: Worplace Ethics And Its ConnectionWith Gender Project Description : Academic
Project Length : 3 monthsWorking Days: Monday -Friday
Start Date: 01/03/2011 End Date: 20/05/2011
Task Name Start Date End DateDuration Comments
Project Proposal 01/03/2011 20/05/2011 58
Reseach for suggested references 01/03/2011 15/03/2011 11
write the proposal 16/03/2011 01/04/2011 13
review and edit the proposal 04/04/2011 29/04/2011 20
receive feedback 03/05/2011 20/05/2011 14
Literature Review 23/05/2011 30/06/2011 25
research existing literatures andcreate outline
23/05/2011 10/06/2011 15
write literature review 17/06/2011 30/06/2011 10
Data Collection and Case StudyReview
01/07/2011 28/10/2011 86
collect case studies and reviewthem
01/07/2011 22/07/2011 16
approach organisation for survey 01/07/2011 29/07/2011 21
approach organisation for settingup interview
01/07/2011 29/07/2011 21
write and deploy survey 01/08/2011 12/08/2011 10
writing up the transcript of theinterviews
15/08/2011 16/09/2011 25
sysnthesis of the data 19/09/2011 30/09/2011 10
Project Write Up 03/10/2011 14/10/2011 10
Literature review 03/10/2011 14/10/2011 10
Data Section 17/10/2011 28/10/2011 10
Introductory chapter and abstract 31/10/2011 04/11/2011 5
Recommendations, Reflections andConclusions
07/11/2011 11/11/2011 5
Review and Edit Project 14/11/2011 30/12/2011 36
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Allow a fresh pair of eyes to reviewand edit
14/11/2011 16/12/2011 25
Apply changes and print for final 19/12/2011 30/12/2011 11