Sex stereotyping in the workplace: a manager's guide - Women in Business

Business Horizons, March-April, 1993 by Eileen P. Kelly, Amy Oakes Young, Lawrence S. Clark

Institute Family-Friendly Policies

Traditionally, women have borne the brunt of child care in our society. To meet these family obligations, working women often require more flexibility in their work schedules than traditional corporations have allowed. Because of this need for flexibility, women frequently find themselves blocked in their career path and stereotyped as lacking the commitment to the company that men are perceived to have. Recent debate on the "too to my track" indicates the extent of this stereotype in the corporate world. With the increasing divorce rate, employers are being forced to face the realities of single-parent families and the need to provide more family-friendly policies in the workplace.

Increasingly, companies are turning to a variety of innovative human resource policies such as dependent care benefits, job sharing, flextime, work-at-home arrangements, parental leave policies, and child care to accommodate the family life of their employees. As accommodation for family concerns becomes less stereotyped as a "woman's" issue, the stigma attached with being the care provider may lessen for women.

Create a Fair Working Environment

Employers need to create a "fair" working environment. A workplace in which men and women are treated with both respect and professionalism helps a great deal in discouraging sexual stereotyping. A fair working environment can be established in any business. One of the most successful ways is through the example of supervisors and managers. If people in management positions use gender-neutral terms and constructive discussion instead of destructive stereotyping, employees will conclude that this is the only type of acceptable behavior.

Document Employment Decisions

Firms should begin to document all employment decisions sufficiently. Every action and response relevant to employment, hiring, firing, and promotion should be written down and placed in each employee's file. For example, if a woman is denied partnership or a promotion, the reasons for the denial should be documented in genderneutral terms. There should be no implication that gender influenced the decision in any way. For example, the evaluations of Ann Hopkins stated that she was "too macho." Such a phrase is a perfect example of a gender-influenced evaluation. Through training, supervisors can learn to identify and avoid biased phrases or words in documentation. If a lawsuit does arise that claims impermissible stereotyping, gender-neutral documentation provides strong evidence that the reason for the denial was completely legitimate.

Sex stereotyping is alive and well in the United States. Fortunately, most businesses are becoming aware of the perils of this impermissible situation and are looking for solutions to the problem. Nevertheless, unconscious stereotyping is still a hurdle that must be overcome.

References

Anita Cava, "Evaluating the Professional: New Perils for Management," B&E Review, July-September 1989, pp. 27-29.

City of Los Angeles v. Manhart, 435 US 702 (1978).