In the last two decades, the proportion of the work force that is female has been increasing at a rapid pace. Some of this increase can be attributed to changes in cultural beliefs and norms, yet the assurance of greater opportunities through the civil rights legislation has also contributed to these increased numbers.
The civil rights Act specifically provides for the possibility of a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) in regard to sex. Despite the law and many specific legal decisions, it is true that equal opportunity is denied to female employees in many subtle ways on a daily basis when identical scenarios are provided research subjects, the mere change of a name from John to Joan revealed significantly different attitudes toward hiring females for traveling sales jobs, sending females to management training programs, transferring females to positions in other states, and expecting the female spouse to support the male’s occupational career and not vice versa. Employment interviewers may describe the same job differently to females than males, in the one case emphasizing congenial colleagues and in the other pointing out the developmental opportunities.
A Supervisor may give a female a rather superficial performance appraisal on the immediate job with no discussion of career advancement. When a man is found on the market that a firm really wants, the job may be redesigned to suit, but in self-consciously seeking a female, the job may be designed with such detailed care that the perfect female candidate surprisingly cannot be found.
Sex role stereotyping, mal distribution of power in relationships and socialization to subordinate status are processes commonly found in health care settings. The organization of these settings, typically hierarchical in nature, fosters the development of inflexible and unequal relationships among health care workers. When relationships are unequal, interpersonal abuses, verbal or...........
