So, there are a couple of professions that are said to be female-dominated. Nursing. Teaching. Social work. Childcare. And a couple of others. Maybe, there could be companies, where women vastly outnumber men. Does that count as progress? It’s a win, right? The glass ceiling seems to be broken. There are more women. So, what’s the issue?
How about something called “the glass escalator”? According to this phenomenon, which was introduced in the 1960s by Christine Williams, there’s something that might be propelling men in female-dominated professions up the career ladder at a quicker pace. That might mean men could get leadership positions faster than women, enjoy higher salaries and receive more mentorship from colleagues and supervisors. So, men, in this case, are taking the escalator, while women are taking the stairs.
And it’s possible that they may not face discrimination or harassment in female-dominated workplaces, the way women do in male-dominated workplaces.
But, why? Because there could still be unconscious biases, that could make employers or colleagues believe that men may be more competent or better suited to be a leader. There might still be some underlying belief that men are more suited for positions of leadership, while women are more suited to nurture and give care. There might even be a mindset, where success is attributed to male employees, whilst failure is attributed to female employees. And that could impact how people are evaluated for their performance, who gets promotions and how salaries are negotiated.
Maybe, when a man enters a female-dominated workplace, there’s a thinking, like “Oh wow, he’s joined a female-dominated workplace! How brave! Disrupting the status quo!” So, here’s a case where men might be enjoying the benefits of their gender.
So, are the challenges that women face in female-dominated professions or industries the same that they may face in male-dominated professions or industries?
According to Anita Raj, Executive Director of the Newcomb Institute at Tulane University, “We definitely see differences based on whether an industry is dominated by women or men, but the disadvantages appear to be greater for women regardless of industry with regard to both risk for sexual harassment and gender disparity in pay. We found that women are less likely to experience workplace sexual harassment in women-dominated workplaces and more likely to experience it in men-dominated workplaces, compared with what we see experienced by women in industries at gender parity. For men, those in men-dominated industries were less likely to experience s*xual harassment compared with those in industries at parity. We also see that gender pay gaps advantaging men exist in women-dominated professions, but there is some research that the level of the gap varies across professions. For example, the gap is greater for nurses than teachers and for physician specialists in fields, like surgery, as compared with pediatrics”.
According to Rosalind Chow, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Theory at Carnegie Mellon University, “There is research that suggests that even females in female-dominated industries don’t do as well as men in female-dominated industries. So the explanation here is not merely about being a numerical minority; it’s about bias that women face and that men benefit from regardless of which industry or field they are in. There’s also evidence that as females increase in proportion within an industry, the lower the wages go”.
DEI consulting firm Feminuity states, “In women-dominated professions, women may encounter challenges stemming from societal expectations that prescribe traditional roles and undervalue their contributions. For example, women may be more represented as personal care workers, however many of these positions may be underpaid, undervalued or disrespected within society…The broader reasons for gender disparities in professions within a patriarchal society include the reinforcement of traditional gender roles, stereotypes about women’s abilities and roles and an overall culture that may not be inclusive. The biases against women and those beyond the binary in the workplace can manifest in various forms, such as unequal pay, lack of representation in leadership roles and discriminatory practices”.
And are there any negative connotations for men?
Chow remarks, “There’s growing evidence that gender bias can be bad for men as well, in that males who behave too similarly to females are penalized. For example, a man who is more effeminate or shows sadness regularly is rated more negatively than a man who fits the male stereotype. If one of the reasons gender biases is bad is because women can’t behave in accordance with their natural preferences, it’s also true that men can’t either, although the penalties for violating stereotypes seem smaller for men than they are for women”.
According to Feminuity, “Men can certainly also be affected by a patriarchal society that imposes gender-based expectations on men for certain roles. For example, in the nursing profession, men can be assumed to not have the ‘nurturing’ aspect assumed to be required to care for others. However, this is a gender-based bias that has resulted from a wider patriarchal belief that women should be the sole ‘nurturers’ in the household”.
Raj states, “Men in women-dominated professions such as nursing may be at greater risk for gendered harassment, even as they are advantaged relative to women in nursing with regard to pay and time to advancement. We tend to see greater men’s entry into women-dominated professions at times of high unemployment. Maintaining earning in a women-dominated field is better than unemployment for men’s sense of self and well-being outcomes”.
So, if men are aware of the glass escalator phenomenon, what should they do?
According to Feminuity, “All people who benefit from gender-based inequity can challenge those inequities by identifying where those biases and systemic forms of inequity are baked into their policies, processes and programs and fundamentally, their cultures. From there, organizations and team members can work to support people according to their unique needs and women and those beyond the binary may require additional support”.
What’s changing in 2024? Could there be a tangible and visible shift towards gender equality?
According to Feminuity, “It’s fundamentally about creating an inclusive workplace. From minimizing biases and barriers in organizational systems to ensuring that women are heard, appreciated and valued, inclusion is crucial to retaining anyone in an organization… It’s not just about getting women and those beyond the binary into leadership positions, it’s about ensuring they have the right environment, resources and support to thrive and lead effectively. This approach benefits not only the individuals but also the entire organization by fostering a more inclusive, dynamic and innovative workplace”.
Feminity adds:
“If an organization is serious about addressing a lot of the intractable issues that require speaking truth to power, they can focus on the following processes:
-Recruitment Process: Ensure the recruitment process is comprehensive and focuses on the candidate’s qualifications, their fit for the role, as well as the value that they add to the organization, rather than just fulfilling a diversity quota.
-Long-Term DEI Strategy: Integrating greater focus on the needs of women and those beyond the binary into the broader DEI strategy and business goals, rather than as a standalone effort.
-This also means having distinct strategies for women, as compared to those beyond the binary; while some of the tactics will overlap, the experiences of non-binary people vary significantly from the experiences of women.
-Feedback Mechanisms: Establish transparent feedback mechanisms where gender-diverse leaders can share their unique challenges and receive support”
Raj remarks, “It is up to the industry and not the individual to monitor equal pay and equal opportunity for advancement in their systems. And it should be the industry that is held accountable when biases occur that disadvantage people based on gender, race, ethnicity, class, caste or any sociodemographic characteristic”.
“Monitoring and transparency in reporting demographic profiles and salaries for positions could help address the ongoing disparities we see in pay and advancement across industries. I think most, if not all industries are aware that biases persist in their treatment of employees and many are striving to make policy and system changes to address these concerns. Less clear is whether they identify and track data on potential biases. We have little means of identifying issues and tracking improvements because most industries do not publicly share data on salary and time to promotion broken down by gender or other sociodemographic characteristics”.
So, who’s getting off the escalator?
“I do think that men should be more vocal in identifying gender inequity and working to address it when they see it. A man who rises could use his higher position and power to address biases that work against women being promoted at the same rates as men”, quips Chow.
