Myths About Gender Inequality

Verniers, C., & Vala, J. (2018). Justifying Gender Discrimination in The Workplace: The Mediating Role of Motherhood Myths. 13(7): e0201150. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0190657#sec012 

Research Problem 

The workplace has for many years failed to offer equal opportunities for both males and females. Irrefutably, women face more challenges in workplace than men. The workplace inequality has been caused by several myths and beliefs that people hold to. As such, the article by Verniers and Vala (2018) brings to light some of the myths and beliefs that deny women equal opportunities with men in the workplace. 

Literature Review of the Research Problem 

According to Stamarski and Hing (2015), gender inequality is profound in the workplace. The female gender is most affected when it comes to training, hiring, promotion, and salary increment (Stamarski & Hing, 2015). The research by Stamarski and Hing (2015) ha sidentified sexism as the root cause of gender equality in the workplace. Sexism leads to oppression and discrimination towards women because they are denied opportunities to advance their careers. 

Specific Question 

The research article by Verniers and Vala (2018) aimed at answering the question on how motherhood myths affect gender equality in the workplace. 

Specific Hypothesis 

If motherhood myths persist in the workplace, then gender inequality will continue posing oppression and discrimination against women in the various workplaces. 

Research Sample 

In compiling their research, Verniers and Vala (2018) relied on 2012 and 1994 waves of the ISSP Family and Changing Gender Roles cross-national survey. Anonymity of the participants of the survey were concealed to avoid criticism and discrimination in their workplaces. The survey consisted of 18 countries, namely Austria, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden (Verniers & Vala, 2018). The 2012 survey included of 24222 participants, with 54.4% being women. Their average age was 49.38. On the other hand, the 1994 survey consisted of 27410 participants, with 54.4% being women. The women participants in the 1994 survey had an average age of 44.26 years. 

Data Analysis 

The research by Verniers and Vala (2018) used quantitative method to analyze data. The research analyzed three main variables, namely sexism, motherhood myths, and Opposition to women’s career. Responses to the three variables were presented on a scale basis of 1 to 5. Scale 1 indicated that the participant strongly agrees while scale 5 indicated that the participant strongly disagrees. The data was then presented in a chart to show the percentage of those who agreed and disagreed whether the three variables affected gender equality or not. 

Results and Implications 

From the research by Verniers and Vala (2018), more men than women believe that giving equal work opportunities to men and women will endanger the wellbeing of children and the family structure (Verniers and Vala, 2018). As such, men still hold to motherhood myths and sexism across the 18 countries from where the participants were drawn. These results imply that the female gender will continue facing more challenges in the workplace than their male counterparts. 

Ethical Issues Presented by the Research 

There are several ethical issues that have been presented in the research by Verniers and Vala (2018). The first ethical issue is gender discrimination. Women in the workplace are not offered equal opportunities as men to fully explore their skills. Secondly, instances of toxic workplace culture are numerous. Women in the workplaces are poorly paid and denied job promotions. 

Effects of culture’s structures and values 

Culture structures and values that do not offer equal opportunities to both genders are unreliable. For instance, the workplace culture structures and value demean the value of women, thus, women are negatively affected. 

Extent to Which the Article Helps One to Understand Forms and Mechanisms of Oppression and Discrimination 

The article by Verniers and Vala (2018) helps one to understand that in the workplace oppression and discrimination against women are many. Jobs recruitment, job promotions, salary increment, and workplace security are deliberately denied to the women. 

How the Article Contributes to One’s Understanding of Social Work 

Social work is inadequately upheld in the workplace. Women are denied of their rights and opportunities to freely participate in the job market. There is no equilibrium between males’ and females’ opportunities in the workplace. 

References 

Stamarski, C., & Hing, L. (2015). Gender Inequalities in The Workplace: The Effects of Organizational Structures, Processes, Practices, And Decision Makers’ Sexism. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01400/full 

Verniers, C., & Vala, J. (2018). Justifying Gender Discrimination in The Workplace: The Mediating Role of Motherhood Myths. 13(7): e0201150. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0190657#sec012