Race, gender, and occupational stratification in the workforce nursing sample paper
Race, gender, and occupational stratification in the workforce nursing sample paper. Choose a person to interview. This person should have
experience with race, gender, and/or occupational stratification, either as a human resources manager, a hiring manager, or someone similar, OR you may choose someone who personally experienced race, gender, and/or occupational stratification.
Create at least five interview questions related to racism, sexism, and stereotypes in the workforce.
Interview this person.
Discuss the interview in an organized paper, supporting your analysis of the interview with the text, lectures, and appropriate other resources. Be sure to address issues of racism, sexism, and stereotypes in the workforce.
Finally, apply your own experiences to your interviewee’s responses. Be sure to include your interview questions and the person’s responses to the question in your paper.
Provide a minimum of three references and apply the correct APA standards in the format of text, citations, and references.
Race, gender, and occupational stratification in the workforce
See sample solution to Race, gender, and occupational stratification in the workforce nursing assignment;
Paper type: Term Paper
Course Level: College
Subject Area: Nursing
# Pages: 4
Race, Gender, and Occupational Stratification in the Workforce paper
Whenever people apply for a vacant position in an organization, they normally believe that they have an equal opportunity to compete for the job as other willing applicants. Moreover, the candidates are always hopeful that their applications will be considered by the hiring team. However, in some organizations, whether a person qualifies for the job is largely determined by their race, gender, and social class stereotypes. Additionally, in some firms, the types of occupations that are performed by employees greatly reflect their social class, race, and gender. Such type of practice is what is referred to as occupational stratification. Occupational stratification on the basis of race and gender is not a pleasant experience for employees. As the diversity of today’s workforce continues to expand, there is a great need to understand how today’s managers view the concept of occupational stratification and the actions they are taking to create a peaceful working environment for employees of different races and gender.
The relationship between race, gender, and occupational stratification can best be understood by interacting with organizational leaders who have directly experienced the issue. To gain further insights into the connection between race, gender, and occupational stratification, a hiring manager of company ABC has been interrogated through a face-to-face interview. A list of the interview questions and the responses that have been provided by the manager are included in Appendix 1 of this paper. Based on the interview experience, it is evident that racism, sexism, and social class stereotypes greatly contribute to occupational stratification at company ABC.
Occupational stratification on the basis of race, social class, and gender manifests itself in the workplace in several ways. The hiring manager has admitted that some occupations in the company perfectly reflect the gender of employees. He has stated that company ABC believes that there are certain jobs that can be done best by female workers but not male employees and vice versa. For instance, all clerical and receptionist jobs in the syndicate have been set aside for female employees alone. Similarly, only male workers are often hired to pack finished goods for transportation. As a result, the clerical and receptionist jobs are viewed to be more inferior to other job positions in the company. As Stier and Yaish (2014) explain, most jobs that are considered to be of lower status in many firms are those that are dominated by female employees. In most instances, the pay brackets for such jobs are often lower than those that are dominated by male workers. In that regard, job allocation on the basis of gender at company ABC can be viewed as a strategy to cut down on costs.
The other evidence of occupational stratification at company ABC is wages that are earned by different categories of employees. According to the hiring manager, the whites earn higher wages than employees from other racial groups. By using such a strategy, the company has a notion that the whites are more competent than other groups of workers from other racial backgrounds. The whites are assigned more technical jobs than employees from other races. A similar payment strategy is used for new employees who have held higher positions in their former companies. As Williams (2017) explains, the problem of wage inequality between occupations is one of the contributing factors to occupational stratification in a majority of companies in Britain. Therefore, as opposed to gender, occupational stratification at company ABC is also evidenced by the wages that are earned by employees from different racial groups and social classes.
Occupational stratification in many organizations is largely influenced by the leaders’ perceptions of gender, social class, and race. During the interview, the hiring manager has reported that his perceptions of gender, social class, and race have a great influence on his hiring practices. The reason is that the organization as a whole view the female employee as a weak person who cannot perform physical tasks. Moreover, it perceives the white worker to be more competent than employees from other racial groups. Similarly, the firm’s hiring practices are guided by the notion that employees who have held higher job positions in their previous organizations are more experienced than other workers who are being employed for the first time (Tichman, Looy, & Bruyere, 2012). With these perceptions in mind, the hiring manager ensures that various occupations in the company reflect social class, gender, and racial backgrounds of workers.
One possible question that might arise about companies that face criticism for occupational stratification is whether they demonstrate respect for diversity as is required of contemporary organizations. Occupational stratification can only occur in organizations that hire employees on the basis of race, gender, nationality, and ethnicity, among other factors (Thomas, 2015). When the hiring manager is asked whether he values employee diversity, he has responded that he highly values the racial backgrounds, gender differences, and variations in social class among employees. This response contradicts what is actually happening in company ABC as far as hiring practices are concerned. Essentially, an organization that respects employee diversity cannot have a workforce that is segregated on the basis of their occupations.
Occupational stratification is a sign of employees’ discrimination and workers should raise complaints about such practices. The workers must ensure that they address their concerns to the right agencies such as the department of labor. During the interview, the hiring manager has stated that no complaints have been raised against the hiring practices that are used by the organization. He further asserts that the fact that no employee has complained is an indication that all workers are comfortable with the types of jobs that they have been assigned to perform. This might be happening because the company has prevented workers from airing their concerns. A company that embraces diversity must have a policy that guides employees on how to present their concerns (Stier & Yaish, 2014). It is therefore clear that the problem of occupational stratification has persisted in company ABC because the organization lacks policy that can encourage employees to report unacceptable behaviors by the leaders.
Occupational stratification has a negative impact on an employee’s ability to perform in the workplace. In a study conducted by Thomas (2015), the researcher found out that black immigrants who were faced with the problem of occupational stratification in their places of work suffered social, emotional, and psychological problems. These impacts significantly affected their ability to perform in the workplace. On the contrary, the hiring manager has denied the notion that an employee’s ability to perform cannot be affected by occupational stratification. This shows the extent to which the management of the organization support occupational stratification on the basis of gender, race, and social class stereotypes.
In summary, several lessons have been learned from the interview experience with the hiring manager of company ABC. For instance, gender, race, and social class play a significant role in the types of jobs that are performed by employees. The problem occurs because the organization does not embrace the diversity of its workforce. Again, the fact that company ABC lacks a policy that can encourage employees to address their concerns is an indication that the management greatly supports occupational stratification on the basis of gender, race, and social class stereotypes.
References
Stier, H., & Yaish, M. (2014). Occupational segregation and gender inequality in job quality: A multi-level approach. Work, Employment, and Society, 28(2), 225-246. doi: 10.1177/0950017013510758
Tichman, F., Looy, S., & Bruyere, S. (2012). Employer strategies for responding to an aging workforce. The NTAR Leadership Center. Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/odep/pdf/NTAR_Employer_Strategies_Report.pdf
Thomas, K. (2015). Occupational stratification, job-mismatches, and child poverty: Understanding the disadvantage of black immigrants in the US. Social Science Research, 50, 203-216.
Williams, M. (2017). Occupational stratification in contemporary Britain: Occupational class and the wage structure in the wake of great recession. SAGE Journals, 51(6), 1299-1317.
Appendix 1: Interview Questions and Responses
Question 1
Interviewer: How does occupational stratification manifest itself in the workplace?
The Hiring Manager: Occupational stratification is evidenced by the types of jobs performed by employees and the wages that they earn.
Question 2
Interviewer: How do your perceptions of gender, social class, and race influence your hiring practices?
The Hiring Manager: My perceptions of gender, social class, and race have a great influence on his hiring practices. The reason is that people from different gender, social class, and racial groups possess different levels of competencies and can be beneficial to the organization in various ways.
Question 3
Interviewer: How do you value the racial backgrounds, gender differences, and variations in social class among employees when selecting candidates for a new job position?
The Hiring Manager: I highly value the racial backgrounds, gender differences, and variations in social class among employees. I perfectly believe that a culturally diverse workforce has a positive impact on the performance of the organization.
Question 4
Interviewer: Have employees in the firm ever complained of occupational stratification?
The Hiring Manager: No complaints have been raised against the hiring practices that are used by the organization. This is an indication that all workers are comfortable with the types of jobs that they have been assigned to perform
Question 5
Interviewer: Can occupational stratification impact an employee’s ability to perform in the workplace?
The Hiring Manager: No. An employee’s ability to perform cannot be affected by occupational stratification. The reason is that segregation of worker is done based on their ability to perform specific tasks
