Issues Facing Gender in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Issues Facing Gender in the Workplace - Essay Example Lets take an example of Canada in which men occupy positions that are supervisory or administrative, full-time, high in pay and status, and that are often in the transport, communications and manufacturing sectors while women are predominantly concentrated in non-standard work, usually clerical and service work in part-time or temporary positions that are characterized by low skill requirements, low pay, and few benefits. Even in professional positions, women continue to be disproportionately represented in "feminine" nursing, teaching, and social science professions. (Amber Gazso, 2004) Gender issues in career development have undergone an absolute information explosion. It is generally observed that career ambition in women is lower than career aspiration among men. Men tend to be more motivated and possess a broaden view than women on work. But it is surprising to see that women's aspirations have substantially increased over the past several decades. No matter what the reason behind women's aspirations is, several environmental factors have been implicated, including cultural and ethnical background. Many researchers have observed, for example, that the relative traditionality of gender role attitudes and occupational plans may limit the level of women's vocational and educational aspirations. It is true that women may experience a number of barriers in preparing for career decisions, like home-career conflict. Women appear to be placing increased importance on goals in the work domain. This change has not detracted from the importance women give to the home and family domain, nor diminished the expected conflicts among roles. As might be expected, this shift has presented women with additional challenges in their career planning. As is true with many other stages of women's career development, entry into the work force seems to be more complex for women than for men, given gender discrimination and stereotyping, and the demands of multiple roles. One aspect of career development more typical to women than men is role exiting and reentry. Rather than going directly from school to work, many women first engage in full-time family roles, returning to school or work later