Shifting Standards and the Evaluation of Competence: Complexity in Gender-Based Judgment and Decision Making

Gender stereotypes regarding task competence may lead perceivers to set different standards for diagnosing competence in women versus men. Specifically, stereotypes may prompt lower minimum standards (or initial screening criteria) but higher confirmatory standards for women than men (Biernat & Kobrynowicz, 1997). In two studies simulating hiring decisions, predictions were that women would be (1) more likely than men to make a short list for a job but (2) less likely than men to be hired for the same job. Results were generally consistent with predictions only among female participants (Studies 1 and 2), among those exposed to a female experimenter (Study 1), and among those held accountable for their decisions (Study 2). The role of motivational factors in the setting of standards is discussed.     

Social Policy and the Politics of Hispanic Aging

Abstract

This study examines the contributing factors to job satisfaction and commitment among lower-income, older (age 55 and over), part-time employees (N = 164). Job satisfaction index (JSI) scores were relatively high for all subjects and did not differ significantly for age, gender, or Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) status. While not particularly low, white employees were significantly less satisfied with their employment experiences than Hispanic or African American workers. The scarcity of fringe benefits was the least satisfying aspect of employment. Older Hispanics, whites, and men reported less interference between job, family, and home life than African Americans and women. Multiple regression analysis revealed that race/ethnicity, skill utilization opportunities, perceived views of elders held by younger workers and supervisors, availability of fringe benefits, and suitable work days explained the majority of variance in JSI scores. Opportunities to interact with others and stay active were more important than financial supplementation in these elders' assessment of the benefits of part-time employment. Findings provide further understanding of those elders likely to be placed successfully in part-time employment.     

A fistful of euros: Is the German one‐euro job workfare scheme effective for participants?

Hohmeyer K, Wolff J. A fistful of euros: is the German one‐euro job workfare scheme effective for participants? Welfare reforms have constituted a major policy issue in many OECD countries in recent decades. In Germany, a major reform in 2005 emphasised the activation of welfare recipients and introduced a workfare programme –‘One‐Euro Jobs’– on a large scale. In the present study, the impact of one‐euro jobs on the employment prospects of different groups of participants was estimated. The analysis was conducted on a large sample of welfare recipients using propensity score matching. The sample of one‐euro job participants and other welfare recipients was drawn from administrative records comprising all those who started their participation in the programme in early 2005. Our results showed that participation slightly improved the medium‐term employment prospects for women but not for men. Participation reduced the employment rate of participants younger than 25 years but raised it for some of the older participant groups. In conclusion, one‐euro jobs are effective for participants who have been jobless for several years but ineffective for participants who were recently employed.     

Prisoners of Love? Job Satisfaction in Care Work

Previous research has established that paid care work is typically undertaken by women and that this work is often poorly rewarded in terms of pay and promotion opportunities. Much less is known about the reasons why women enter these jobs or their experiences of this work. This paper examines the motivations and experiences of two groups of care workers: childcare workers and dental assistants in Queensland in 2009 (N=1,767). We examine intrinsic, extrinsic and overall job satisfaction and the effects of job characteristics, work experience and demographic characteristics on job satisfaction. We find that childcare workers are less satisfied with their jobs than dental assistants on all three measures, despite a greater proportion nominating intrinsic reasons for entering the occupation. The most important factors predicting job satisfaction for both groups are day‐to‐day work experiences such as control over weekly rosters and entitlements that enable work‐family balance. We conclude that although love of the job may be a strong drawcard into care occupations for some women, experiences may not live up to expectations. Moreover, there is considerable diversity across these groups in motivations and outcomes indicating that it is impossible to view all care occupations as similar in terms rewards, outcomes and experiences.     

Discrimination Against Women Teachers: Does it Persist?

Promotion rates of men and women who were teaching in primary and secondary schools in 1979 were compared to establish whether or not prima facie evidence existed for charges of ongoing unfair discrimination against women teachers whose experience and qualifications were similar to those of men. It was found that such prima facie evidence still exists in primary school promotions. Three hypotheses are offered: The large proportion of unqualified persons among women primary teachers adversely affects the professional standing of the qualified women as well; country service is even more unpopular among women than among men in primary than in high schools, because one and two teacher schools are mainly primary schools; junior primary teaching is not valued equally with the teaching of the upper primary years. On the other hand it was found that women entrants into high school teaching in 1970 had just as much likelihood of promotion as their equally experienced male colleagues. Doubt is thus thrown on the validity of claims made by the South Australian Institute of Teachers and by the Department of Education of South Australia for women teachers in High Schools to be exempt from the terms of the Sex-Discrimination Act so that more women may be appointed to Deputy Principalships in such schools.     

Equal opportunities,true options or hidden unemployment? A comparative perspective on labour‐market marginality

Previous studies have shown that women generally adjust to unemployment better than men. This study shows that young women value work equally as highly as men, and have negative feelings when unemployed, which indicates the existence of a closed gender gap. However, children have a different influence on men's and women's unemployment experiences. Being a parent increases job-search activity and work involvement among men. On the other hand, children moderate negative experiences of unemployment among women, and they decrease their job-search activity and work involvement. Being a parent increases labour-market marginality among young unemployed women. For young men it is a motivational factor for searching for and getting a job. The comparison shows furthermore that patterns of re-employment vary in the involved countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Scotland. They reflect differences in the overall unemployment situation in the countries and the welfare strategies applied.     

The Role of Empowerment in Home Care Work

ABSTRACT

The home care industry experiences similar problems with the recruitment and retention of direct care workers (DCWs) as those faced by institutions, and it is important to identify strategies to help retain and grow this important workforce. The empowerment of DCWs has been shown to be an effective strategy for increasing job satisfaction and decreasing turnover in nursing homes but has not been studied in home care. Using Kanter’s organizational theory of empowerment, including structural empowerment (structure of opportunity, access to resources, access to information, and access to support) and psychological empowerment (meaning, competence, self-determination or autonomy, and impact) this study examined whether home care workers (HCWs) feel empowered in carrying out their jobs. An exploratory, qualitative study of 12 HCWs, recruited from two states in the United States, found high levels of both structural and psychological empowerment among research participants, as well as a number of disempowering aspects of their job. Findings suggest ways to support elements of the work that HCWs find empowering and decrease elements that contribute to job dissatisfaction and turnover.     

Organizational Changes and Job Satisfaction among Support Staff

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to identify job satisfaction amongst support staff employed by a nonprofit company undergoing organizational changes. The Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) scale was used to measure overall job satisfaction and was conducted among 38 workers and the data was analyzed using content analysis. The findings indicate that workers were satisfied with some sections of their job but also dissatisfied with some others, scoring an average job satisfaction amongst the participating groups. Factors such as good relations with colleagues, training opportunities, and work flexibility were identified to assist with increasing worker satisfaction. Further suggestions for enhancing employees’ job satisfaction are provided.     

Gender similarities of social work managers

The purpose of this research was to determine if men and women social work administrators can be distinguished from one another by their work behaviors or their attitudes about work priorities. In addition, this prior question is addressed: To what degree is the state of knowledge in social work administration based on research that excludes women managers? Data from two independent samples of directors of hospital social work departments are examined as well as seven years of empirical research published in Administration in Social Work. The authors found that women and men social work managers are quite similar in their use of time and their perceptions of the priority of various organizational goals. Also, they found that the growing empirical research record is based on samples that consistently included women, and generally more than half of the samples are women. After offering an explanation of the findings, the authors propose a research agenda for those interested in social work administration.     

初婚年龄的影响因素分析——基于CGSS2006的研究

本文基于“2006年中国综合社会调查”（CGSS2006）数据,使用事件史分析方法,探讨了城乡居民初婚年龄的变化趋势及其社会经济原因。研究发现,教育、职业和家庭的社会经济特征对初婚年龄有着显著的影响,并表现出性别和户籍差异。教育程度对女性初婚年龄的推迟效应大于男性,高等教育对农村户籍女性初婚年龄的推迟效应大于城市户籍女性,技术类职业相比非技术非管理类职业,对农村户籍男性居民的初婚年龄有着显著的提前效应。在城市户籍居民中,父母的教育程度越高,子女的初婚年龄越晚;兄弟姐妹越多,初婚年龄越早。对城市和农村户籍居民而言,父亲从事管理类职业对儿子的初婚年龄均有显著的提前效应,而且对农村户籍居民的影响要高于城市户籍居民。     

Transitions to employment from labour market enterprises in Norway

In this article we analyse a labour market programme for partially disabled workers that involves the transition from labour market enterprises to a job in the ordinary labour market. We found that the percentage of these people who found jobs after a maximum two-year programme period increased over time. In 1995, 28 per cent became employed in the ordinary job market after leaving the programme. Exit rates to employment increased to 36 per cent in 1998 and to 39 per cent in 1999. We also found heterogeneity in the job transitions. Employment ratios for men were relatively stable over time, varying between 30 and 40 per cent over the period 1995–1999. For women, however, we found a significant change in employment ratios, with 21 per cent finding a job in 1995 and 40 per cent in 1999. In 1995, employment ratios for female participants were below those of male participants, although there was no difference over the whole period studied (1995–1999). In 1999, the average transition rate to employment was higher for female than for male participants.     

Gender, Ethnicity, and Power

Group-based power is generally associated with three types of group distinctions: adult-child, gender, and ethnicity. We argue that gender-based power is not comparable to ethnic-based power, in part because the forms and degree of institutional discrimination experienced by men and women of subordinate ethnic groups are not similar to one another, and in part because stereotypes and categorization processes pertaining to gender are not comparable across ethnic groups. Finally, in experiments using college students as participants, we show that whether applicants are placed into occupations that would enhance or attenuate group-based inequality depends jointly on job applicants' ethnicity and gender. Implications for theories of inequality based on gender and ethnicity and the relationship of gendered power to other group-based forms of power are discussed.     

Filipinas as residential long-term care providers: influence of cultural values, structural inequity, and immigrant status on choosing this work

This exploratory study investigated reasons why Filipinas in Hawai'i have become the primary caregivers of elders in residential care homes and if they thought their children would follow them in this profession. A random sample of 173 Filipina care home operators (CHO), of which 95% were first-generation immigrants, was interviewed using telephone survey methods. Data were collected: to profile caregivers; to identify motivations for becoming a care home operator; and to gauge if they or their children would continue in this line of work. The sample was composed of middle-aged Filipina CHO with training and experience in elder care who concurred that the job fit their cultural values. About a third also felt that this job was open to immigrants and helped them buy a house. Twenty percent or less felt discriminated against because of this work. Although half the sample felt that women were better caregivers than men, only 38% felt that caregiving was primarily the responsibility of women. Almost 90% planned to continue with this work, but only 12% said it was likely that their children or grandchildren would become CHO, supporting the notion that choosing this profession had less to do with cultural values and gender expectations than with economic opportunities available to the current cohort of CHO. Given these findings, Hawai'i's capacity to meet future residential long-term care needs is discussed.     

Swedish and Lithuanian employed women's subjective well-being

National differences in subjective well-being (SWB) and relationships between SWB and socio-demographic factors were investigated in samples of middle-aged employed Swedish (N = 316) and Lithuanian (N = 308) women. The results showed that the Swedish women scored significantly higher on each SWB component than their counterparts in Lithuania, except in extrinsic job satisfaction. For the Swedish sample, the largest mean differences between different socio-demographic groups were found for global life satisfaction between married/co-habiting and single women and between women who had at least one child and those without children. For the Lithuanian sample, the largest differences in all SWB components were found between women characterised by high or low education/income.     

Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations, 2007

Jennifer L. Bluth

The relationship between body image satisfaction and depression was investigated with a group of adolescent and preadolescent males and females. A total of 382 participants constituted the sample, 194 fourth graders from two suburban elementary schools, and 187 eighth graders from one suburban middle school. Through the use of four measurement scales: the Body Esteem Scale, the Body Dissatisfaction Scale, the Depression Self‐Rating Scale, and the Short Acculturation Scale, this study confirmed what has been reported in the literature about adolescent females, that as a group, they exhibit greater body dissatisfaction than adolescent males and preadolescents of both genders. However, this study also supported evidence for the contention that adolescent males and preadolescents of both genders are not immune to experiencing body dissatisfaction. Through the use of body image measures and the depression measure, results from this study also demonstrated that the relationship between body image and symptoms of depression works the same way for adolescents as it does for preadolescents. The more satisfied one is with one's body, the fewer symptoms of depression. Because the majority of participants scored high on level of acculturation, one can assume that level of acculturation did not serve as a mediating variable between satisfaction and symptoms of depression. Therefore, increases in symptoms of depression among participants are likely due to feelings associated with a negative body image rather than to issues pertaining to acculturation.     

Socioeconomic Status,Gender Inequality and Women's Mental Health: Some Findings from the Canberra Mental Health Survey

Data from the Canberra Mental Health Survey are utilized to answer questions concerning the mental health status of women (especially married women). Using the Langner Scale as the main index it is shown that there is a complex relationship between the socio-economic status of a married woman's occupation, and the status of her husband's job. It is also shown that there is an association between sex, marital status and mental health that runs in the direction of Jessie Bernard's summary ‘marriage is good for men, but not for women’.     

Satisfaction with Health Care and Community Esteem Among Rural Women

The present study examines the ways in which satisfaction with health care may be associated with the lives of rural women. One hundred thirty one rural women between the ages of 45 and 70 years completed measures of community esteem, life satisfaction, satisfaction with health care, health status, and mood. The results showed that rural women's satisfaction with their health care was associated with the extent to which they hold their community in esteem and their degree of life satisfaction. Moreover, women who had poor health were less satisfied with the available health care than were healthier women. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the well-being of rural communities in general.     

歧路纷出，何处是归程？--民国时期知识女性在事业与家庭上的两难选择

近代以来随着男女平等思想的传播,受过新式教育的知识女性要求在婚后学以致用,服务社会。男性也希望自己未来的配偶具有独立谋生的能力,共同分担家庭的经济压力。但是,整个社会对女性相夫教子的传统要求并没有消失或减弱。因此,民国时期的已婚知识女性就承担起了事业与家庭的双重责任。在难以兼顾的重压之下,最终多数人选择了回归家庭。究其原因,虽然政府颁布了产假制度,育儿社会化思想在社会上也广为传播,但是在经济疲敝的社会背景下产假制度与育儿社会化都缺乏得以实施的现实土壤。