Sex Stereotyping
Are women in senior management and
professional positions held to a different
behavioral standard than men? In one case,
a female executive, described by supporters
as "authoritative" and "formidable" was
denied a partnership because several male
partners describe her as "macho" and
suggested she take "a course at charm
school." She had been advised by another
partner that in order to improve her
chances for partnership she should "walk more femininely," wear make-up,
have her hair styled and wear jewelry.
Proving that an employer's articulated criteria for advancement is inconsistently
applied to men and women, and is therefore a pretext to discriminate on the
basis of sex, still remains a daunting challenge for women in various corporate
cultures. These discriminatory phenomena, as with all forms of discrimination,
require that a plaintiff prove her case under one of the four general theories of
discrimination:
* Disparate treatment - for example, paying women less than men; firing an
Asian employee for an infraction that non-Asians are not disciplined for; not
considering or hiring African-Americans for employment;
* Policies or practices that perpetuate the effects of past discrimination - for
example, a present day seniority system that was established at a time when
overt discrimination against women was the custom and is still causing adverse
effects today;
* Policies or practices, not justified by business necessity, causing an adverse
impact on a protected group - for example, a selection system for promotion in
a corporation by a team of male executives using subjective criteria, which result
in eminently qualified females not being promoted;
* Failure to make a "reasonable accommodation" for a qualified employee's or
applicant's disability or religious observations and practices.
