Biology at Work: Rethinking Sexual EqualityRutgers University Press, 6 jun 2002 - 288 páginas Does biology help explain why women, on average, earn less money than men? Is there any evolutionary basis for the scarcity of female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies? According to Kingsley Browne, the answer may be yes. Biology at Work brings an evolutionary perspective to bear on issues of women in the workplace: the "glass ceiling," the "gender gap" in pay, sexual harassment, and occupational segregation. While acknowledging the role of discrimination and sexist socialization, Browne suggests that until we factor real biological differences between men and women into the equation, the explanation remains incomplete. Browne looks at behavioral differences between men and women as products of different evolutionary pressures facing them throughout human history. Womens biological investment in their offspring has led them to be on average more nurturing and risk averse, and to value relationships over competition. Men have been biologically rewarded, over human history, for displays of strength and skill, risk taking, and status acquisition. These behavioral differences have numerous workplace consequences. Not surprisingly, sex differences in the drive for status lead to sex differences in the achievement of status. Browne argues that decision makers should recognize that policies based on the assumption of a single androgynous human nature are unlikely to be successful. Simply removing barriers to inequality will not achieve equality, as women and men typically value different things in the workplace and will make different workplace choices based on their different preferences. Rather than simply putting forward the "nature" side of the debate, Browne suggests that dichotomies such as nature/nurture have impeded our understanding of the origins of human behavior. Through evolutionary biology we can understand not only how natural selection has created predispositions toward certain types of behavior but also how the social environment interacts with these predispositions to produce observed behavioral patterns.
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Página 4
... men's work” and other work “women's work.” Although the content of the categories is by no means fixed—what some cultures label “men's work” is “women's work” in others—there are, nonetheless, some con- sistent patterns. Big-game ...
... men's work” and other work “women's work.” Although the content of the categories is by no means fixed—what some cultures label “men's work” is “women's work” in others—there are, nonetheless, some con- sistent patterns. Big-game ...
Página 5
... men's work” and “women's work.” Thus, most men work mostly with other men, and most women work mostly with other women. Moreover, even in largely integrated occupations, men are more likely than women to achieve the highest ...
... men's work” and “women's work.” Thus, most men work mostly with other men, and most women work mostly with other women. Moreover, even in largely integrated occupations, men are more likely than women to achieve the highest ...
Página 7
... men and women differ in fundamental ways (beyond mere differences in physical strength and reproductive capacity). These differences have significant workplace implications, as average sex differences in temperament, cognitive ...
... men and women differ in fundamental ways (beyond mere differences in physical strength and reproductive capacity). These differences have significant workplace implications, as average sex differences in temperament, cognitive ...
Página 11
... men, or vice versa, only that they have them, on average, in lesser amounts. Thus, knowing that a person is a man may not tell you much about whether he is an aggressive risk taker, but knowing that one large group of people is made up ...
... men, or vice versa, only that they have them, on average, in lesser amounts. Thus, knowing that a person is a man may not tell you much about whether he is an aggressive risk taker, but knowing that one large group of people is made up ...
Página 17
... men and women. Men have generally achieved status through domi- nance over other men; women have achieved status not primarily by achieving dominance over other women (or over men) but rather through their association with high-status ...
... men and women. Men have generally achieved status through domi- nance over other men; women have achieved status not primarily by achieving dominance over other women (or over men) but rather through their association with high-status ...
Índice
1 | |
11 | |
Women in the Workplace | 32 |
The Proximate and Ultimate Origins of Sex Differences | 91 |
Public Policy and Sex Differences in Workplace Outcomes | 131 |
Sex and the Workplace Sexuality and Sexual Harassment | 189 |
Notes | 219 |
Bibliography | 233 |
Index | 269 |
About the Author | 282 |
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activities affirmative action aggressive Alice Eagly androgens argued argument asserted attributes average behavior biological blue-collar boys career cause chapter child comparable worth comparable-worth compensation competition David Lubinski differential discrimination disparity dominance earnings effect effect size employers ences engineering environment equal evidence example explanation fact factors force full-time gender gap girls Glass Ceiling greater Gutek hierarchies higher hormones housework human husband important increase individuals influence interest kibbutz labor large numbers less levels Lubinski males and females man’s mate math and science mathematical measures men’s number of women nurturance outcomes parental leave part-time pattern percent performance physical positions preferences productivity psychology reason relatively reproductive success require responsible result salary scores selection sex differences sex segregation sexual harassment sexually dimorphic social society spatial ability statistical status stereotypes substantial suggest testosterone tion traits variables verbal ability victims wage gap woman workers workplace