Corey Templeton CMS 498 Work Presentation

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

Gender/sex?

What
is

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.

Gender
Communication?

What
is

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.

Work
as
a
SOCIAL
INSTITUTION?

What
is

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.

Gender
and
Work

Data
complied
from
2007
illustrates

gender
segrega>on
in
various
careers:

More
than
90%
Female:
More
than
90%
Male:

•  Dental
hygienists
•  Logging
workers

•  Preschool/kindergarten
teachers
•  Automo>ve
body/related
repairers

•  Secretaries
and
admin.
assistants
•  Cement
masons,
concrete
ﬁnishers

•  Dental
assistants
and
terrazzo
workers

•  Speech-‐language
pathologists
•  Bus
and
truck
mechanics
and
diesel

•  Licensed
prac>cal/licensed
voca>onal
engine
specialists

nurses
•  Electrical
power-‐line
installers/
•  Child
care
workers
repairers

•  Hairdressers/hair
stylists/ •  Tool
and
die
makers

cosmetologists
•  Roofers

•  Recep>onists/informa>on
clerks
•  Heavy
vehicle/mobile
equipment

•  Payroll/>mekeeping
clerks
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.

Gender
Communication
in
the
workplace

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:

•  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.

Works
Cited

DeFrancisco,
Victoria,
and
Catherine
Helen.
Palczewski.
Communica5ng
Gender
Diversity:
A
Cri5cal
Approach.

Los
Angeles:
Sage

Publica>ons,
2007.
Print.

Fogarty,
Kevin.
"Gender
and
the
Workplace."
TheLadders.com.
N.p.,
n.d.
Web.
Dec.
2012.
<hKp://

www.theladders.com/career-‐advice/gender-‐workplace>.

"How
Women
Spend
Their
Time."
U.S.
Bureau
of
Labor
Sta5s5cs.
U.S.
Bureau
of
Labor
Sta>s>cs,

Mar.
2011.

Web.
09
Dec.
2012.
<

hKp://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2011/women/>.

Manuel,
Dave.
"Unemployment
Rates
in
the
United
States
since
1948."
DaveManuel.com.
Web.
09
Dec.
2012.

<

hKp://www.davemanuel.com/historical-‐unemployment-‐rates-‐in-‐the-‐united-‐states.php>.

Shedlock,
Michael.
"Percentage
Growth
in
Government
Jobs
vs.
Private
Jobs:
Some
Facts."
Web
log
post.
Financial
Sense.
N.p.,
14
Aug.
2012.

Web.
09
Dec.
2012.
<hKp://

hKp://www.ﬁnancialsense.com/contributors/michael-‐shedlock/percentage-‐growth-‐in-‐government-‐jobs-‐vs-‐

private-‐jobs-‐some-‐facts

Stuart,
Elizabeth.
"Growing
Pains:
Rate
of
Young
Men
Struggling
in
Careers
Alarmingly
Higher
than
for
Young

Women."
DeseretNews.com.

N.p.,
2
June
2012.
Web.
09
Dec.
2012.
<hKp://

www.deseretnews.com/ar>cle/765580083/Growing-‐pains-‐Rate-‐of-‐young-‐men-‐struggling-‐in-‐
careers-‐alarmingly-‐higher-‐

than-‐for-‐young-‐women.html?pg=all>.

"Tradi>onal
Jobs
For
Men
And
Women
And
The
Gender
Divide."
Weblog
post.
The
Digera5
Life.
N.p.,
29
May

2007.
Web.
09
Dec.
2012.

<hKp://www.thedigera>life.com/blog/index.php/2007/05/29/tradi>onal-‐jobs-‐for-‐men-‐and-‐women-‐the-‐gender-‐divide/>

Tugend,
Alina.
"Why
Don't
Women
Act
More
Like
Men
at
Work?"
The
Atlan5c.
N.p.,
15
Mar.
2012.
Web.
09

Dec.
2012.
<hKp://

www.theatlan>c.com/business/archive/2012/03/why-‐dont-‐
women-‐act-‐more-‐like-‐men-‐at-‐work/254556/>.

"What
Do
We
Mean
by
"sex"
and
"gender"?"
WHO.
World
Health
Organiza>on,
n.d.
Web.
09
Dec.
2012.

<hKp://www.who.int/gender/

wha>sgender/en/>.

"Your
Rights
at
Work."
AFL-‐CIO.
N.p.,
2012.
Web.
09
Dec.
2012.
<hKp://www.aﬂcio.org/Issues/Civil-‐and-‐Workplace-‐Rights/Your-‐Rights-‐at-‐

Work>.

•

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