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How does gender impact on work and employment
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‘Outline ways in which a person’s gender can impact on their work and employment.’Taylor Purrott, Mrs Cody
Both genders should be discussed, and 4 different ways explored, each one supported by a study and statistic.
Gender is mostly described as being one of the two sexes however the term can also be used in a broader manner to
explain a range of identities that do not correspond to established ideas of male and female. Gender is most notably seen
to have an impact on work and employment with work being an activity in which you involve mental or physical effort in
order to achieve a purpose or result whereas employment means being in a state of having paid work.
One way in which gender can impact upon a person’s work, and employment can be seen in Hakim’s 1979 research where
the findings stated that there was occupational segregation and that in the UK, men and women do different kinds of work
which in turn means that men and women are concentrated in different jobs in different areas of the economy. Hakim
notably found that women occupy the lower pay and status in all jobs. This can be backed up by the ONS 2013 report that
declared that 30,000 women are sacked for being pregnant and 440,000 women lose out on pay or promotion due to their
pregnancy. This means that gender can negatively impact upon a persons work or employment as it means that they have
a higher chance of missing out on key promotions and opportunities or risk losing their jobs just for being their gender. For
example, an employer of a leading company may not hire a woman even if she is highly qualified for their position because
they do not want to risk having to pay for her maternity leave should she become pregnant. This links into someone with a
Feminist perspective as they would argue that large companies solely work to aid the patriarchy in keeping men in control
and that as a result of this gender will ultimately have a negative impact on work and employment.
Contrary to this, gender can have a positive impact upon work and employment, and this can be seen in the ONS 2013
report which found that men in female dominated careers like teaching and nursing are far more likely to rise higher and
faster in the ranks. This can be backed up by the Oxfam Internationals 2018 report which found that globally men earn 23%
more than their counterparts an example of this would be that a male teacher who just recently joined a high school is at
an increased chance of earning more and getting a promotion before a female teacher who has been there for longer. This
would link into someone with a functionalist perspective as they would explain that society needs the best of the best at
the top in order to encourage those below them to work hard, thus allowing society to work together as one oiled
machine… Functionalists believe that you need an unequal society because if everyone was equal, there would be no
society. As a result of this, gender can have a positive impact on work and employment. If you are born a male, you are far
more likely to lead a successful career life and have a lot more opportunities regarding the business world and the
economy.
Despite this, another way in which gender can impact upon work and employment can be seen in A Fair Deal For Women
who reported that employers paid women 81p for every £1 men earned, meaning that 1 in 4 are then in low paid and
insecure work compared to 1 in 7 men. Similarly, they also found that over an entire lifetime women will earn 50% than
their male counterparts. An example of this can be seen in the healthcare industry as a female doctor will notably earn less
than a male doctor despite performing the same tasks and having the same level of education in life. As a result of this,
someone with a New Right perspective will argue that the men in the industry are simply working harder and that instead
of complaining, their female counterparts need to work harder in order to receive the same amount of pay and
opportunities in their employment. Thus, we can see that gender can have a poor impact in a persons ability to perform
and achieve in their work and employment as the female gender are born with a disadvantage that their male counterparts
will not face, they are born to be paid less despite having the same qualifications.
One final way in which a person’s gender can impact upon their work and employment can be seen in the UK Feminista’s
report which found that men in national minimum wage jobs is just 30% and that males within their work and employment
industries are found to earn 40% more when receiving their retirement income. This means that the male gender are far
more likely to succeed both during and after work and employment. And although they face negatives such as lower
chances of paternity leave and time with their family/children we can see that their gender has a largely outweighed
positive impact on their work and employment and that their negatives cannot necessarily be comparable to the positives
they gain as a result. For example a male executive CEO of a company will earn far more than a female executive CEO at
the same company both during and after the employment and work period has ended. The male CEO will also have to
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