Intertwining Gender Inequalities and Gender‐neutral Legitimacy in Job Evaluation and Performance‐related Pay

This article analyses the intertwining inequalities in wage determination and the gender‐neutral legitimacy that pay systems provide by masking these inequalities. Job evaluation and performance‐related pay were originally designed for purposes other than promoting equal pay, namely as managerial tools for determining wage levels. Typically, the main objective of a pay system is not to promote equal pay. Still, as a tool for assessing the value of work, job evaluation is regarded as a central method in promoting equal pay. The use of job evaluation is recommended by the European Commission and the International Labour Organization, and often features in gender‐equality policy and legislation. In contrast with the status of job evaluation, little research exists on performance‐related pay and gender pay equity. The findings show that the wages determined by pay systems reflect gendered cultural valuations of jobs and occupations. Pay systems provide gender‐neutral legitimacy for gender‐based wage disparities.     

Career Development and Gender Pay Disparities in State Employment in Greece

Much existing western‐based literature on gender argues that deregulated institutional mechanisms have a detrimental impact on gender segregation and pay differentials. However, there is little empirical evidence to confirm the opposite in highly regulated systems such as those in Greece, even though there are strong reasons to suggest that it may be quite different here because of the unusual gender division of labour and endemic patriarchal norms. An apt example of this is national state employment in which centrally determined work processes reflect societal discriminatory structures. This article examines the impact of institutions on career development and its potential effects on gender pay disparities in state employment in Greece. It attempts to achieve this by exploring the extent to which rule‐based systems may overturn gender bias in one public organization in Greece. The study suggests that exogenous parameters may shape centrally imposed institutional frameworks both in terms of facilitating and hindering career progression and thus pay.     

Effects of government public relations on international news coverage

Using content analysis of an international newspaper and a government publication, this study examines the influence of newsworthiness and public relations efforts on international news coverage, one of the key sources for understanding other countries. Grounded in gatekeeping theory, this study hypothesizes strong relations between three variables (newsworthiness, public relations involvement, and international news coverage) in the context of several South Korean news stories.     

International public relations as a predictor of prominence of US news coverage

This study aims to test the public relations efforts of other countries as a predictor of their newsworthiness in the US news media, after controlling for national traits and social significance. Based on a content analysis of US newspaper and television news coverage (New York Times, Washington Post, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN) of 97 countries, this study found that the public relations of other countries’ governments is a significant predictor of these countries’ prominence in the US news coverage.     

From evidence to action: Applying gender mainstreaming to pay gaps in the Welsh public sector

Progress on reducing gender disparities remains painfully slow, despite efforts to identify the determinants of gender pay gaps and specify size and shape. Recent studies highlight the need for a more nuanced account of the way that public policy shapes organizational responses and insights into the types of organizational practices that diminish pay disparities. In response, this research reports on an action research intervention in three large Welsh public organizations, subject to a unique statutory equality duty. Data demonstrate how an evidence‐based gender mainstreaming approach facilitated the development of a ‘no blame’ strategy, which legitimized organizational proactivity through collaborative and empowering change management processes. The research contributes to the study of gender pay gaps by demonstrating that gender mainstreaming, with facilitative local conditions and supportive public policy, shapes action on gender segregation, with particular success in women's low‐paid employment. Conclusions highlight theoretical and policy implications arising from the research.     

Visualising Gender Wage Differences in the European Union

The purpose of this article is to illustrate differences in the gender wage gap in 13 EU member states, using figures taken from the Household Panel for 2000. The methodology is based primarily on the kernel density functions of men's and women's wages. A range of situations can be observed from the Mediterranean countries (with a smaller gender pay gap) to the very specific cases of Austria and the UK and to northern European countries where the gender pay gap is chiefly the result of a larger proportion of men at higher‐paid levels. We also offer conclusions on the relevance of public employment, part‐time employment and short‐term hiring to explain the gender wage gap in each of the countries studied.     

Death makes news: the social impact of disease on newspaper coverage

This paper is an integrated analysis of newspaper coverage, epidemiological rates, and recent social history of six prominent diseases. HYPOTHESES: Newspaper coverage of a disease has three developmental stages (emergence, maturation, and decline & death). Trends in newspaper coverage of a disease reflect trends in its mortality, prevalence, and incidence. Magnitudes of newspaper coverage of diseases reflect their differential mortality rates. DATA: Using the LEXIS-NEXIS news archive for major U.S. newspapers, we retrieve articles about cancer, heart disease, AIDS, diabetes, Alzheimer disease, and arthritis for the period 1977-1997. We also obtain mortality, prevalence, and incidence trends for the six diseases. RESULTS: During the two decades, newspaper coverage emerges for AIDS and Alzheimer disease and is in the mature stage for the other diseases; declines begin for heart disease and AIDS. Trends in news coverage closely parallel mortality trends, and less consistently prevalence and incidence trends. Sharp downturns and upturns in mortality are mirrored in news volume. High-mortality diseases prompt both the most news coverage and the largest proportions of articles with death topics. CONCLUSION: Newspaper coverage of diseases is responsive to their mortality levels and trends.     

Media Discussion on the Naturalization Policy for Syrians in Turkey

This study focuses on the public opinion on the naturalization policy for Syrians in Turkey. It analyses news media coverage in the religious, far‐right newspaper (Yeni Akit), a centre‐right newspaper (Hürriyet), a social democrat newspaper (Cumhuriyet), and a socialist‐left news portal (Solportal). The research question is: What are the metaphors, arguments, and omissions produced by media of different ideologies about the possible citizenship of Syrians in Turkey? The results show that metaphors and arguments differ according to ideological stance, suggesting that the current political polarization in Turkey affects the public's acceptance of Syrians and challenges Turkey's established migration policy. Each ideological stance accepts Syrians on a selective basis, implying that universal naturalization of Syrians is not welcome; instead, there seems to be consensus favouring naturalization according to socio‐economic criteria. These results indicate a need for a change in migration policy, especially concerning disadvantaged Syrians.     

Incentive compensation in the public sector: Evidence and potential

Conclusions During much of the 20th century, the U.S. public sector underwent a conversion from a patronage to a civil service system of work and pay. Later in that century, a substantial proportion of public employees became unionized, with the consequence that pay (and other terms and conditions of employment) became less single-mindedly management determined and more collectively determined. Still later, fiscal crisis, the government re-invention movement, and broadened economic competition spurred governments to shift away from strict payment for time practices and adopt various incentive compensation initiatives based on the principle of pay-for-performance. That this is not the only pay principle operative in governments, however, is attested to by the existence of prevailing wage, minimum wage, and, most recently, living-wage statutes in many if not most governments.     

News coverage of child sexual abuse and prevention, 2007-2009

News media coverage of child sexual abuse can help policymakers and the public understand what must be done to prevent future abuse, but coverage tends to focus on extreme cases. This article presents an analysis of newspaper coverage from 2007 to 2009 to describe how the daily news presents and frames day-to-day stories about child sexual abuse. When child sexual abuse receives news attention, the stories focus primarily on the criminal justice details of a specific incident rather than contextual information about causes of and solutions to child sexual abuse, and prevention is rarely addressed. We offer suggestions for strategies that advocates can use to help reporters improve news coverage so that it better contextualizes child sexual abuse and links it to prevention policies.     

Biased and Unbiased News: Reporting Racial Controversies in the New York Times, 1960—July 1964

The merits of two competing views of newspaper bias are evaluated using the New York Times' coverage of racial controversies in New York City between 1960 and July 1964. The idea that the news is biased receives only limited support. Minority actors were not prohibited successfully from presenting their case to the public, were seen as initiating a variety of actions and received similar placement in the paper for their activities as more powerful political adversaries received. The conditions under which information derived from newspaper stories can be treated as a reliable and valid record of conflicts are discussed.     

Uncovering Rape: The Watchdog Press and the Limits of Agenda Setting

This article reports the findings of the second in a seriesof field experiments on the agenda-setting effects of news mediainvestigative reports. The authors used a pretest-posttest quasi-experimentaldesign to assess the impact of a newspaper investigative seriesabout rape on a randomly selected group of Chicagoans and apurposive sample of policy makers. Unlike the first study, theseries had a minimal impact on public opinion and policy making,but affected profoundly the subsequent newspaper coverage ofrape.     

American Ebola Story: frames in U.S. National Newspapers

The 2014 Ebola epidemic saw the first symptomatic and fatal cases of Ebola in the United States. Concurrently, news coverage in U.S. media about Ebola increased. Research has shown that media’s framing of events influences public perception and understanding. To address framing of the Ebola epidemic in the U.S. media, researchers conducted a content analysis of newspaper articles reporting on the Ebola epidemic during the U.S. contact tracing period from September 30 to December 2, 2014 (n = 718). The top three circulating U.S. national newspapers were used in the analysis. The results show that the human interest, conflict, and action frames had the highest presence across newspaper articles, whereas the presence of attribution of responsibility, morality, and economic frames was lower. This study furthers knowledge of U.S. news media framing and coverage of new public health emergencies, and how newspapers may drive audience understanding and perception of the 2014 Ebola epidemic. This study also discusses implications of the findings and suggests directions for future research.     

Promoting Gender Equality without a Gender Perspective: Problem Representations of Equal Pay in Finland

The current locus of promoting equal pay in Finland is the workplace. Legal instruments, like gender equality planning and its pay surveys, are to be implemented in workplaces. This development raises important questions about the central role of the local trade union representatives as promoters of equal pay. This article analyses how local trade union representatives construct the problem of unequal pay and their role in narrowing the gender pay gap and their possible agonistic adversaries in negotiations on equal pay. Different problem representations concerning equal pay are analysed and evaluated on the basis of their potential to fracture the gender‐blind wage bargaining culture and ability to cash in on the promises made towards narrowing the gender pay gap.     

Variations of the same? A sectoral analysis of the gender pay gap in Germany and Austria

Germany and Austria are two countries with a comparably and persistently high gender pay gap. Further, both countries are classified as conservative welfare states where the male breadwinner model has been only partly modernized and strong corporatist structures shape working conditions. At the same time, welfare policy and provision are not only based on but also shape gender‐related norms, beliefs and assumptions that are virulent for job valuation and collective bargaining. Against this background the article analyses similarities and differences regarding the gender pay gap in Germany and Austria. While both countries show significant similarities regarding the causes for the gender pay gap, there are some differences regarding legislation and further policies with which the gender pay gap could be reduced. Arguing that the institutional framework strongly influences income opportunities for women and men, the article provides a sectoral analysis of the financial and insurance sector and the human health sector in both countries. Using qualitative data from a recent research project, it is argued that in the classification of a sector as ‘female’, the sectoral income level combined with different wage‐setting mechanisms have a crucial impact on wage inequalities between women and men.     

The gender pay gap in nonprofit executive compensation in South Florida

In general, systemic imbalance in pay between men and women is well established, but the literature on pay imbalance is mixed for nonprofit executives. Difference in organizational size could be a relevant factor in explaining pay imbalance, as previous research suggests average female nonprofit executives lead smaller organizations. The present study examines the role of governance accreditation on the gender gap in chief executive pay, using a 2 × 2 analysis of covariance to control for organizational size (as measured by annual revenue) when comparing samples of accredited and nonaccredited organizations in South Florida. We found a wage gap for gender, with female executives averaging 12% less compensation than male executives, after controlling for organizational size. No significant effect was found for accreditation; although the only significant difference between genders was in the nonaccredited sample, the findings hint that any trend towards pay equity would be due to a pattern of the male executives in the accredited sample being paid less than their counterparts in nonaccredited organizations.     

Media reputation in initial public offerings: A study of financial news coverage in Hong Kong

This study investigated media reputation in initial public offerings (IPOs) by proposing eight attributes of substantive media reputation from environmental and product-resource perspectives. A content analysis on financial news coverage (2281 newspaper articles from 2004 to 2010) in Hong Kong was conducted to examine how print media reported financial and nonfinancial information on 38 IPO firms in the sectors of financial, properties and construction, and consumer goods. Results from partial least squares analysis showed that, although substantive media reputation and recency of news coverage together only explained a small proportion of changes in IPO share price, substantive media reputation has a significant positive effect on changes in IPO share price. Apart from the significant positive effect from the presentation tone of environmental attributes, the tone of social attributes had a significant negative effect on substantive media reputation. With the increasing concern on measuring media reputation attributes in financial news coverage across different contexts, this study contributes to the applicability of environmental and product-resource attributes in the specific context of IPOs.     

Agricultural Journalists' Assessments of Print Coverage of Agricultural News1

Abstract Critics of agricultural news claim farm media and mass media coverage of agriculture is systematically distorted, a condition that could seriously affect the agricultural information system. A national survey used agricultural journalists as expert judges to assess how well three types of print journalists cover agricultural news. Their assessments indicated that mass media reporters who do not regularly cover agricultural news tend to write agriculture stories that are superficial and stereotyped but not biased toward agricultural interests. Farm magazine writers' stories are not superficial or stereotyped, but writers are uncritical of agriculture, biased toward agroindustry, and overlook important social and environmental issues. Newspaper farm beat reporters are closer to farm magazine writers in not trivializing agriculture and closer to general newspaper reporters in avoiding close ties with industry. Both farmers and public thus receive biased and fragmented reporting that may polarize their views on current agricultural issues. Even if reporters are aware of critical shortcomings in their coverage, improvement may require reduction in structural constraints on story choice.     

Joan Acker and Doing Comparable Worth

Joan Acker's seminal book Doing Comparable Worth, based on her first‐hand experience of implementing comparable worth for Oregon state employees, constitutes a major contribution to understanding the obstacles to achieving the goal of equal pay and is a precursor of her inequalities regimes work. For Acker the foundering of the comparable worth exercise on the rocks of management's opportunistic strategy to marginalize trade unions provided a direct experience of how gender and class inequalities are simultaneously produced and reproduced. Consequently, wage setting is always political and change to wages generates widespread resistance above and beyond issues of gender inequalities. While the feminist activists may be rightly criticized for naivety in their belief in a technical solution to gender pay inequalities, their robust critiques of pay practices is sorely missing in today's renewed acceptance of a gender‐neutral labour market, and more limited feminist interest in theories of pay.     

WOMEN CANDIDATES IN THE NEWS: AN EXAMINATION OF GENDER DIFFERENCES IN U.S. SENATE CAMPAIGN COVERAGE

By covering male and female candidates differently, the newsmedia may influence the success of female candidates for publicoffice. A content analysis was conducted to assess potentiallyimportant differences in the newspaper coverage of a sampleof male and female U.S. Senate candidates in the elections of1982–86. The results of the study show that female candidates for the U.S. Senate are treated differently by the press.Female candidates receive less news coverage and the coveragethey do receive concentrates more on their viability and lesson their issue positions. Furthermore, female candidates' viabilitycoverage is more negative than that of their male counterparts.Given these gender differences in press treatment, we wouldexpect voters' recognition of male candidates to exceed thatof female candidates and we would also expect evaluations offemale candidates to be tied more closely to their perceivedviabil ity. Because female candidates are often considered noncompetitiveby the press, this attention to the horserace may lead votersto develop more negative evaluations of female candidates. Theseresults suggest that current patterns of press coverage mayserve as a critical obstacle for women running for the U.S.Senate.