Gender  Communication  in  Social  Institutions    

Topic:  Work    By  Corey  Templeton  

Overview  

Areas  that  will  be  covered:  

•  Gender/Sex  •  Gender  Communica>on  •  Work  as  a  Social  Ins>tu>on  •  Gender  and  Work  •  Gender  Communica>on  in  the  Workplace  •  The  Future  of  Gender  and  Work  as  a  Social  Ins>tu>on  

What  is  Gender/sex?    

As  defined  by  the  World  Health  Organiza>on:  

Sex  refers  to  the  biological  and  physiological  characteris>cs  that  define  men  and  women.    Gender  refers  to  the  socially  constructed  roles,  behaviors,  ac>vi>es,  and  aKributes  that  a  given  society  considers  appropriate  for  men  and  women.  

Examples  of  Sex  –  Male  and  Female  Examples  of  Gender  –  Masculine  and  Feminine  

For  this  presenta>on,  I  will  use  primarily  use  the  term  gender,  but  it  will  apply  to  both  the  socially  constructed  and  biological  meanings  of  both  gender  and  sex.    

What  is  Gender  Communication?  

As  DeFrancisco  &  Palczewski  (2007,  pg.  107)  summarized:    “People  literally  speak  and  perform  their  bodies  and  iden55es  into  being”  

Gender    is  one  of  many  aKributes  that  make  up   an   individual.   It   is   also   one   of   the  most  recognizable   from   the   perspec>ve   of  studying  communica>on.      How  individuals  communicate  and  construct  gender,   both   verbally   and   nonverbally,   has  implica>ons   on   how   the   individual   is  perceived   on   interpersonal   and   cultural  levels.  

What  is  Work  as  a  SOCIAL  INSTITUTION?  

For   the   purpose   of   this   presenta>on,   I   will   define   work   and   social  ins>tu>ons  using  the  defini>ons  provided  in  the  textbook    (DeFrancisco  &  Palczewski,  2007):    “The  meaning  of  work  is  not  universal.    From  culture  to  culture  and  from  >me  to  >me,  the  meaning  significance  of  work  shiYs.  At  the  present  .me  in   the  United   States,   if   someone  were   asked   to   define  work,   she  or   he  would  most  likely  define  it  as  paid  work  outside  the  home”  (pg.  201).    

Sociologist  Margaret  Anderson   (2006)  defines   ins$tu$ons  as  “established  pa1erns   of   behavior   with   a   par$cular   and   recognized   purpose;  ins5tu5ons  include  specific  par5cipants  who  share  expecta5ons  and  act  in  specific  roles,  with  rights  and  du5es  aGached  to  them.”  (pg.  142)  

Work  as  a  Social  institution  

The  defini>ons  of  work  and  social  ins>tu>ons  are  broad,  much  like  the  ac>vi>es   and   organiza>ons   they   seek   to   define.   Since   culture   plays   a  major   role   in   these   defini>ons,   I   will   tackle   this   topic   using   my   own  culture.  

Work  is  a  major  social  ins.tu.on,  especially  in  capitalist  socie>es  such  as   the   United   States.   The   highest   unemployment   rate   in   the   United  States,  since  it  has  been  officially  recorded,  was  10.8%  in  November  and  December  of  1982  (Manuel,  2012).  Work,  or  the  absence  of  work,   is  a  major   aspect   of   everyone’s   life   in   the   Un>ed   States.   One   of   the   first  things  that  people  ask  a  new  acquaintance  is:  “What  do  you  do?”  What  is   usually   being   asked   through   this   ques>on   is:   “What   do   you   do   for  work?”  

Work  as  a  social  institution  DeFrancisco  and  Palczewski  (2007,  pg.  202)  reference  a  number  of  sources  which  speak  to  the  importance  of  work  in  American  culture:  

•  “The   almost   unques5oned   belief   that  work   is   good   and   the   demoniza5on   of  those   on   welfare   demonstrates   the   way   rhetorical   construc5ons   of   work  maintain  its  func5on  as  a  social  ins5tu5on”  (Schram,  1995).  

•  “The   job  a  man  does   is   ‘a  major  basis  of   iden5ty  and  what   it  means   to  be  a  man’”  (Messerschmidt,  1996).  

•  “Every   U.S.   ci5zen   is   expected   to   work,   to   become   a   ‘taxpaying  ci5zen’”  (Pateman,  1989).  

Gender  and  Work  •  Some  occupa>ons  are  more  gender  segregated  than  others.  In  some  instances  it  brings  up  the  ques>on  of  equality  and  in  other  cases  it  brings  up  the  ques>on  of  whether  males  and  females  do  tend  to  have  some  inherent  preferences  for  certain  kinds  of  work.  

•   For  example,  the  small  amount  of  female  CEO’s  at  Fortune  500  companies  appears  out  of  balance  based  on  how  many  females  work  at  those  companies.  In  contrast,  there  may  not  be  outright  discrimina>on  preven>ng  women  from  working  in  the  logging  industry,  but  it  is  an  occupa>on  in  our  culture  that  rela>vely  few  women  pursue.    

 

More  than  90%  Female:  •  Dental  hygienists  •  Preschool/kindergarten  teachers  •  Secretaries  and  admin.  assistants  •  Dental  assistants  •  Speech-­‐language  pathologists  •  Licensed  prac>cal/licensed  voca>onal  

nurses  •  Child  care  workers  •  Hairdressers/hair  stylists/

cosmetologists  •  Recep>onists/informa>on  clerks  •  Payroll/>mekeeping  clerks    

Gender  and  Work  Data  complied  from  2007  illustrates  gender  segrega>on  in  various  careers:            

More  than  90%  Male:  •  Logging  workers  •  Automo>ve  body/related  repairers  •  Cement  masons,  concrete  finishers  

and  terrazzo  workers  •  Bus  and  truck  mechanics  and  diesel  

engine  specialists  •  Electrical  power-­‐line  installers/

repairers  •  Tool  and  die  makers  •  Roofers  •  Heavy  vehicle/mobile  equipment  

service  Home  appliance  repairers  •  Crane  and  tower  operators    

Gender  and  Work  

•  “…Gendering   of   organiza5ons   is   maintained   through  communica5ve   prac5ces   such   as   ‘organiza5onal   structure,  ideology,   interac5ons   among   works,   and   in   the   construc5on  and  maintenance  of  individual  iden55es’”    

-­‐(DeFrancisco  &  Palczewski,  2007,  p.  202)  

In   the   textbook,   the   authors   note   that   sociologist   Dana   M.   BriKon  describes   all   work   ins>tu>ons   as   being   masculine.   Although   that   s>ll  seems   to   be   primarily   true,   I   think   there   are   excep>ons.   Prior   to   the  industrial   revolu>on,   what   we   considered   “work”   was   primarily   carried  out   by   men   and   this   naturally   led   to   work   being   masculinized.   The  increasing   number   of  women   in   the  workforce  will   undoubtedly   bring   a  more  gender  neutral  (or  at  least  less-­‐masculine)  workplace  in  the  future.    

Gender  and  Work  The   overall   percentage   of   women   in   the   workplace   overtook   the  percentage  of  men  in  1990  (Shedlock,  2012):  

50%  

Gender  and  Work  

Although   the   amount   of  women   employed   in   the  United  States  is  greater  than  the   amount  of  men,  women  only   made   79.9%   of   the  income  of  men  (as  of  2008).    It   is   encouraging,   however,  that   the   pay   gap   is   clearly  moving  in  the  right  direc>on.      

(Fogary,  2012)  

Gender  and  Work  Despite  the  overall  income  equality  between  women  and  men  in  the  United  States,  recent  data  from  2012  highlights  a  new  trend:  

“Overall,  women  s>ll  earn  only  about  80  percent  of  men's  wages,  but  among  young  adults,  women  out-­‐earn  men.   According   to   a  recent   analysis   of   147   of   the   country's   150   biggest   ci>es  conducted   by   a  market   research   company,   the  median   full-­‐>me  salaries  of  young  women  are  8  percent  higher  than  those  of  their  male  peers.   In  some  ci>es,  young  women  bring   in  as  much  as  20  percent  more.  Experts  aBribute  the  disparity  to  the  growing  gap  in  educa.onal  achievement”  (Stuart,  2012).    

Gender  Communication  in  the  workplace  Communica>on   paKerns   in   the   workplace   tend   to   follow   broader  cultural   trends.   Even   in   the   largest   corpora>ons,   individual  workers  s>ll  have  their  own  unique  iden>>es  and  communica>on  paKerns.    General  stereotypes  about  men  and  women  in  the  workplace:  “As   bosses,   men   tend   to   be   more   authoritarian   and   women   more  collabora5ve.  Men  don't  give  much  feedback;  women  want  too  much  feedback.  Men  are  thought  not  to  ask  enough  ques5ons;  women  are  thought  to  ask  too  many  ques5ons.”  (Tugend,  2012).        Is   there   truth   in   the   above   stereotypes?  For   every   example   given,   I   can   certainly  think  of  both  men  and  women  that  meet  or   do   not   meet   those   generalized  expecta>ons  of  their  gender.    

Just   as   our   social   ins>tu>ons   have   been   created   through   gender,   our  understanding  of  gender  is  affected  by  our  social  ins>tu>ons.        “As  men  engage  in  gendering  prac5ces  consistent  with  ins5tu5onalized  norms   and   stereotypes   of   masculinity,   they   nonetheless   create   social  closure  and  oppression”  (DeFrancisco  &  Palczewski,  2007,  pg.  206).      Instead   of   seeking   to   create   a   completely   gender-­‐neutral   workplace,   I  think  there  may  be  value  in  recognizing  differences  between  genders  and  invi>ng  people  to  u>lize  the  most  beneficial  traits  associated  with  either  gender  as   it   relates   to   the   task  at  hand.  For   instance,  most  workplaces  require   employees   that   are   flexible   and   able   to   solve   problems   in   a  variety  of  ways.      

Gender  Communication  in  the  workplace  

There   are   many   laws   and   regula>ons   that  seek  equality  for  all  genders  in  the  workplace.  The   AFL-­‐CIO   (the   largest   labor   union   in   the  U.S)   website   provides   some   informa>on   on  this  maKer:  

Gender  Communication  in  the  workplace  

•  Title   VII   of   the   Civil   Rights   Act   of   1964   prohibits   employment   discrimina.on  based   on   sex  by   a   private   employer,   state   or   local   government   or   educa>onal  ins>tu>on  with  15  or  more  employees.  

•  Sexual  harassment  is  a  form  of  illegal  sex  discrimina>on  that  violates  Title  VII  of  the  Civil  Rights  Act  of  1964  

•  Congress   is   considering   the   Employment   Non-­‐Discrimina>on   Act   (ENDA)   that  would   prohibit   discrimina>on   in   hiring,   firing,   promo>ons,   compensa>on   and  other  employment  prac>ces  because  of  a  person’s  sexual  orienta.on  or  gender  iden.ty  by  employers  with  15  or  more  employees.    

   

The  Future  

I  think  it  is  important  to  recognize  how  work  is  closely  linked  to  the  rest  of  our  our  lives,  and  that  it’s  success  in  being  a  posi>ve  part  of  society  does  not  stop  and  end  at  the  beginning  and  end  of   the   workday.   Since   work   is   such   an   important   part   of   our  lives,  it  is  very  much  worth  studying  as  a  social  ins>tu>on.    Our  textbook   looks  at   the   importance  of   intersec>onality   (how  various   intersec>ng   factors   affect   our   iden>>es)   and   just   as  intersec>onality  creates  individuals  it  creates  and  maintains  our  social  ins>tu>ons  as  well.  Just  as  people  are  more  than  simply  a  gender,  work   is  also  dependent  upon  other  factors  such  as  the  ins>tu>ons   of   family,   educa>on,   and   media.   I   think   that  studying   gender   holis>cally,   from   an   individual   to   a   societal  level,  will  always  be  a  beneficial  prac>ce.  

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