Casey Schmidt
Introduction
Gender discrimination
in the workplace has been a worldwide issue since the beginning of time. It is
true that is has gotten tons better since the start of the push for equal pay
for women but there is still wage discrimination in based on
gender happening today in the workplace. One topic that causes gender
discrimination that is important to know is the amount of on-the-job training
the person gets. It is known that “wage effect of sex composition can be explained by gender
differences in the amount of occupation-specific on-the-job training” that an
individual is put through (Magnusson p. 87). Employers will discriminate based
on gender on how much training someone gets, which ultimately will lead to a
wage gap. “Several studies have shown significant differences in on-the-job
training between women and men. In many cases, women receive less training than
men” (Evertsson p. 79). It has been proven that women get less training time
than men because to some employers, women are less valuable and more time and
money should be put into training men because they have a better chance of
being successful. The amount of on-the-job training someone gets has also been
proven to “have a positive impact on wages, as well as on promotion
routes” (Evertsson p. 79). If women are being trained less than men, then that
means they will have an unequal opportunity to get promotions and higher wages.
Thus, on-the-job training is a primary cause in wage related gender
discrimination in the workplace.
Why Women Don’t Participate in OJT
On-the-job training plays a key role in the wage gap between
men and women in the workplace; but what are the reasons behind why women do
not take part in OJT? A main reason that women are not given the opportunity to
take place in training as much as men is because companies are fearful that
women will have higher turnover rates. “If females are more likely to experience job turnover or
breaks in the employment relationship than males, a firm will be less likely to
invest in training females because managers may not believe that females will
remain at the firm long enough to recover the cost of
providing OJT” (O'Halloran p. 630). This assumption is premature for most companies.
It is not fair to women for a company to assume they will leave their jobs and
not equally train them because of it. Women are not getting the same training
which leads to lower wages and chances for promotions because the employers are
scared they will leave is not a legitimate reason for the discrimination.
Studies also need to take into account the OJT durations and intensities of the
training. Sometimes women may go through training but it is not as long or
intense as what a man may go through. So even though women get the chance to be
trained, they “experience OJT that comprises shorter durations than males” (O'Halloran
p. 646). Also, sometimes females were only
offered informal training. In a study it was found that “females
were less likely to receive formal OJT than males” (O'Halloran
p. 631). If women are not offered the chance to receive formal
training that is as long and intense as males, how are they going to ever going
to have equal pay between genders?
Another
reason women do not have the opportunity to participate in OJT is because many
women have to take a leave of absence when they get pregnant or because they
have a child in general. Through a study done about female participation in
OJT, when looking into family variable it was found that “women with
at least one child younger than 7 years of age have significantly lower chances
of receiving training than do men with or without children” (Evertsson p. 84).
So, basically because a woman has a child, they are receiving lower wages than
men because employers are not giving them the opportunity to take part in OJT.
Devaluation Theory
The
devaluation theory is “a frequently used sociological explanation of the
negative wage effect of the female share of occupations” (Magnusson p. 87). There
are many ways that women are devalued that directly come from OJT. The
devaluation of women’s work is seen when the popular form of discrimination
comes into play which is when “traditionally feminine tasks are undervalued
because they are usually performed by or associated with women” (Magnusson p. 88). Many men still
have the idea that women are supposed to be the “nurturers” and stay at home
with the family and be the care takers. Even though women make up a huge
portion of the work force, this mind set of some people still effects equality
based on gender in the labor market. If an employer has this mind set, the
chances of women participating in OJT is lowered; once again, making the wage gap
between genders wider. Even though some studies prove to go against the devaluation
theory as a component of why there is wage discrimination based on gender, it
is important to know about and the risks that go along with it.
Take Away Points
Everyone needs to be aware of the dangers of discrimination
in the workforce. Gender discrimination is just one type that occurs. We have
learned in class that there are many more types of discrimination that exist
in the labor market. Women especially need to be aware that they may be
discriminated against which could lead to lower wages. If women know that the
amount of on-the-job training they receive directly correlates to their
potential wages and chances for promotions, they will fight harder to get the
training they need. OJT is not something I would have thought of as a cause to
the wage gap based on gender but I am glad I know and can look for it in my
future career. Men can also take away something from this too. They might be an
employer that conducts OJT or someone that goes through it themselves and they
need to stand up against the discrimination even if it doesn’t directly affect
them. In addition, if they are the employer they could face legal claims so it
is good to be aware of it so they can avoid legality issues. On-the-job
training is a very good way to train employees and can have amazing benefits
for everyone, but it has to be an equal opportunity program to be successful.
References
Evertsson, M. (2002). Formal on-the-job training: A
gender-typed experience and wage-related advantage. European Sociological Review, 20(1), 79-94. doi: 10.1093/esr/20.1.79
Magnusson,
C. (2009) Gender, occupational prestige, and wages: A test of
devaluation theory. European
Sociological Review, 25 (1), 87-101. doi: 10.1093/esr/jcn035
O'Halloran, P. L. (2008). Gender Differences in
formal on-the-job training: Incidence, duration, and intensity. LABOUR, 22(4), 629–659.
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9914.2008.00427.x
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