Deck 6: Gender and Paid Employment

Question 1

The term female job ghettos best describes which of the following?

A) Occupations with low pay but good employment benefits.
B) Lower-status work found in undesirable geographic locations.
C) Work that offers low pay and few opportunities for career advancement.
D) Occupations that women are naturally better suited for than men.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The "gender labelling of jobs" is best characterized by which of the following?

A) The categories of jobs resulting from employment equity programs.
B) The overall pattern of employers making rational hiring decisions.
C) The outcome of low-skill jobs being paid less than high-skill jobs.
D) The process whereby jobs involving caring or domestic duties came to be seen as most appropriate for women.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

When Nancy was a child, her mother told her she could be a doctor when she grew up. Eventually, Nancy decided to work as a nurse, as that was the occupation where she believed her natural skills would be best employed. Which of the following theories best explains Nancy's career trajectory?

A) Human capital theory.
B) Labour segmentation theory.
C) Gender-role socialization.
D) Dual-economies theory.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following is correct about gender-based differences in earnings in Canada?

A) For full-time/full-year workers, there is no longer a gender wage gap.
B) A narrowing of the gender wage gap can be partially explained by decreasing male wages.
C) In 2011, the gender wage gap was roughly the same as it was in 1976.
D) The gender wage gap is wider in 2011 than it was in 1976.

Question 5

Which of the following groups have been targeted as "equity groups" to achieve employment equity and eliminate the effects of discrimination in Canada?

A) Aboriginal peoples, recent immigrants, older workers, and persons with disabilities.
B) Persons with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals, recent immigrants, and women.
C) Women, LGBTQ individuals, Aboriginal peoples, and persons with disabilities.
D) Women, visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples, and persons with disabilities.

Question 6

The province of Prairieland recently created a Ministry of Jobs to look at the salaries of different types of government jobs. The new ministry has recommended that office managers be paid as much as computer systems managers, based on a comparison of skills required for and responsibilities involved in both jobs. Which of the following terms best describes this recommendation?

A) Skill enhancement program.
B) Employment equity program.
C) Pay equity program.
D) Anti-discrimination program.

Question 7

Which of the following is correct about research on "tokenism" in the workplace?

A) Men in non-traditional jobs sometimes benefit from having token status.
B) Women often benefit from having token status.
C) Because they are few in number, individuals with token status often have significant social support.
D) In general, token women in organizations have good accesses to resources, job opportunities, and rewards.

Question 8

Research on gender and sexuality in the workplace highlights which of the following?

A) Sexuality is mostly absent from the workplace.
B) Work institutions often challenge socially constructed ideas about masculinity, femininity, and heterosexuality.
C) Relationships at work and work structures contribute to defining gender for men and women.
D) Since the late 20th century, sexual harassment has been largely absent from the workplace.

Question 9

Marjorie Cohen's analysis of the Ontario economy in the 19th century demonstrates which of the following?

A) Women's household labour had no economic value.
B) The household was crucial to economic development.
C) Women's household labour was highly valued at the time.
D) There has always been a clear separation between work inside and outside of the home.

Question 10

Which of the following is correct about Canadian female labour force participation (LFP) rates?

A) Canada has one of the highest female LFP rates among Western industrialized countries.
B) Less than half of employed mothers with an employed spouse are in the labour force.
C) Education has virtually no influence on female LPF rates.
D) A large majority of mothers who are lone parents are in the labour force.

Question 11

Leck's study of women's labour market progress as a result of the Employment Equity Act demonstrates which of the following?

A) In general, organizations with equity programs increased the number of women they employed.
B) Managers perceived productivity to increase following the implementation of equity programs.
C) In general, equity programs have had negative effects on human resource practices.
D) Equity programs have decreased "male backlash" in the workplace.

Question 12

Which of the following best characterizes the gendered nature of nonstandard work?

A) The "standard" job can be understood as a masculine norm of employment.
B) There is a gendered, but not a racial, dimension to nonstandard work.
C) After increasing in the 1980s and 1990s, the percentage of women in nonstandard jobs is now declining.
D) Very few women choose self-employment or other forms of nonstandard work.

Question 13

Which of the following is correct about the occupational distribution of women and men in Canada?

A) In general, the gender distribution is even across occupations.
B) A larger percentage of all women work in natural and applied science occupations, compared to all men.
C) Sales and service occupations are comprised of roughly 50 percent women.
D) A larger percentage of all women work in health occupations, compared to all men.

Question 14

The concept "family wage" is best described by which of the following?

A) It has been promoted as a solution to problems of balancing work and family.
B) It describes the belief that men's wages should be high enough for them to support a wife and family.
C) It describes the belief that wages should be kept low so that both wives and husbands have to work outside the home.
D) It is another term for a guaranteed annual income.

Question 15

Rosabeth Moss Kanter used the term office wife to describe which of the following situations?

A) A female senior manager who is resented by the men she supervises.
B) A woman coerced into a sexual relationship with her employer.
C) A woman who co-owns (with her partner) a small business.
D) A secretary who is very loyal to her employer who is very dependent on her skills.

Question 16

Rosabeth Moss Kanter's main argument about gender inequality in organizations can be best described by which of the following?

A) Men and women employed in similar occupations in an organization will react in different ways to their job conditions.
B) There is a biological basis for gender inequality in organizations.
C) There is little gender inequality in modern organizations.
D) An individual's position within an organization influences his or her attitudes and behaviour.

Question 17

Which of the following is correct about the proportion of women enrolled in full-time university in 2006-2007 in Canada?

A) Roughly the same proportion of women and men were enrolled in education programs.
B) More women than men were enrolled in health professions programs.
C) Overall, more men than women were enrolled in undergraduate programs.
D) Roughly the same proportion of women and men were enrolled in engineering programs.

Question 18

In which province is female labour force participation (LFP) the highest, and in which province is it the lowest?

A) Highest in Alberta; lowest in Newfoundland and Labrador.
B) Highest in Ontario; lowest in Quebec.
C) Highest in British Columbia; lowest in Nova Scotia.
D) Highest in Quebec; lowest in Saskatchewan.

Question 19

Evidence that 60 percent of public school teachers are women while only 20 percent of principals and vice-principals are women is evidence of which of the following?

A) Sexual harassment.
B) Horizontal occupational gender segregation.
C) Vertical occupational gender segregation.
D) Different aptitudes and skills of women and men.

Question 20

Research on sexual harassment in the workplace demonstrates which of the following?

A) Sexual harassment has been largely eradicated from the workplace.
B) In the service economy, sexual harassment may originate from customers.
C) Women experience less sexual harassment in non-traditional occupations.
D) Sexual harassment affects women and men equally.

Question 21

What has the government, as well as employers, done to work toward gender equality in the workplace in Canada? How successful have their initiatives been? In your opinion, what further steps does each group need to take in the future?

Question 22

Define employment equity and pay equity policies and discuss how they differ. How effective have they been in Canada? How might these policies be improved to help ensure that their goals are met?

Question 23

Briefly describe how female and male labour force participation rates vary in Canada. Identify some of the factors responsible for these differences.

Question 24

In a few sentences, describe the "family wage ideology." What have been some of its lasting effects?

Question 25

Apply the labour market segmentation theory and the gendered work and organizations theory to an analysis of gender inequality in the labour market. How do these models account for both gender stratification within occupations as well as the gender wage gap?

Question 26

In a few sentences, explain the difference between horizontal and vertical gender stratification within occupations.

Question 27

Outline Elizabeth Moss Kanter's theory of gender inequality in work organizations.