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Whether or not manual workers actually valued industrial welfarism has been largely subsumed within the debate over its productive or coercive function. Yet many workers seemingly placed little importance on such benefits, either when demanded by unions or provided by employers. This rebuttal should not be read only in terms of the primacy of money wages within a hierarchy of demands. Taking construction as an example of a male dominated industry, it is argued that key aspects of welfarism ran counter to masculine constructs of workplace culture. Improved physical amenities devalued such defining attributes of worker identity as self-sufficiency and toughness; even cash benefits like paid holidays were misappropriated by a significant minority who preferred more traditional manly pleasures. Yet the value placed on 'conditions of work' issues also reflected broader structural changes within the industry: notably issues of workplace control. Only in such contexts can attitudes to welfare be understood. It was n ever simply a question of want or dislike., Twentieth century employer welfarism--that 'ragbag' of fringe remunerations and non-money wages (1)--has, by and large, been judged pejoratively: damned for being a 'sugared pill' sufficiently appealing to steal away workers' [...]

Research on tokenism processes is reviewed and coalesces around two conclusions. First, gender constructs different social contexts for token women and for token men. Second, gender is most usefully conceptualized as a status variable, not something internal to the individual. Gender serves as a status marker such that women's subordinated status intersects with other indicators of status, such as race/ethnicity, and token difference to produce negative and variable outcomes for women not experienced by similarly underrepresented men. Thus, reducing negative tokenism outcomes, most notably unfavorable social atmosphere and disrupted colleagueship, can be done effectively only by taking gender status and stereotyping into consideration. These findings have applied implications for women's full inclusion in male-dominated occupations.

Building on previous theory and research, we propose a 'structural relational' view of the sex gap in small business success. Our findings, based on analyses of data from 423 small business owners in Iowa, show support for our model and suggest that links between owners, social relational processes, business structure, and small business success operate differently depending on the industry location of the business and the owner's sex. Results also indicate that the business owner's sex has direct and indirect effects on business success. This finding suggests that social relations, organizations, and institutions are all gendered in ways that influence the sex gap in sales, but that further research is needed to more fully explain sex differences in small business success. We discuss these and other findings in terms of their theoretical and practical implications, and suggest directions for future research.

This article discusses the relationship between sex role, clerical work, and salary in nineteenth century Scotland. Topics include job discrimination, sex discrimination, and the division of labor.

Michael Burawoy reflects on the manner in which Donald Roy has interpreted the social, political, and historical aspects of labor relations and Marxist economics. Topics include sex role, ethnography, and capitalism.

This article examines the contributions of feminist scholarship to the study of work, occupations, and organizations. Three themes in the literature are explored: (1) characteristics of housework and so-called women's work more generally; (2) economic inequality between men and women; and (3) structural and institutional bases of gender in the workplace. Feminist activists have shaped the direction of feminist scholarship on these themes, and this scholarship in turn has influenced feminist activists' strategies and orientations. The article concludes with a discussion of future challenges for feminist research on work.

The security industry has seen an influx of women in recent decades. Although some have been resegregated into relatively poorly rewarded jobs seen as suitable for women, some have found better jobs or jobs usually seen as 'men's work.' We trace these variable outcomes to the flexibility of ideas about jobs and gender, the greater power of ideas about gender relationships, the tension between gender homophily and gender status expectations, relationships to clients and targets (people dealt with for the client), and client and target gender. Gender ideas, inequality, and segregation are both reproduced and revised in the security industry.

This article discusses the influence of gender on employee discrimination in the legal profession. Topics include discussion of gender inequity, subordination of women, and sex discrimination.

This article examines the impact of gender on the relative economic success of microentrepreneurs, their contributions to family income, and the impact of gender ideology and income on household decision making. The concept of economic success is problematized by examining how these businesses, even those of limited assets and income generation, offer women increased autonomy in household budgetary matters and decision making. The analysis draws on data from a representative survey of 201 male and female microentrepreneurs in the Dominican Republic. The findings show that household decision making is influenced by variations in economic power but that gender ideologies structure the direction and extent of this influence, reflected in distinct 'gender thresholds,' or the point at which income contributions start to matter.

This article examines the career planning and development strategies of women in the banking industry. Topics include incrementalism, hierarchy, goal setting, and self-promotion.

A common theme of Hamlin Garland's realistic short stories about the late-nineteenth-century Midwest was the difference in sexual divisions of labor in immigrant and Yankee families. Educated in American schools, [...]

In determining when sexual behavior in the workplace creates a hostile working environment, some courts have asked, 'Would a reasonable person view this as a hostile environment?' Two recent court decisions, recognizing male-female differences in the perception of social sexual behavior at work, modified this standard to ask, 'Would a reasonable victim view this as a hostile environment?' As yet, there is no consensus in the legal community regarding which of these standards is just. We propose that moral theory provides the framework from which business people can construct just procedures regarding sexually hostile environments. We argue that the natural duty of mutual respect of persons and the natural duty not to harm the innocent compels business people to identify sexually hostile work environments from the perspective of the reasonable victim, usually from the woman's perspective. Within the context of this moral framework, a training approach designed to reduce the incidence of sexually harassing behaviors in the workplace is proposed.

This study of gender stereotypes within a traditionally male occupation was based on the hypothesis that male managers would describe their female subordinates as more closely resembling occupational gender stereotypes than would female managers. A survey was conducted of 77 U.S. managers who supervised women in the traditionally male occupation of industrial sales. All the managers described their subordinate saleswomen (n = 202) on gender stereotypes relating to their 'selling ability,' their 'human relations ability,' and their 'motivation.' The presence of some stereotypic thinking was evident. Male managers described the 'selling ability' of their female subordinates more stereotypically than did 19 female managers. No significant gender differences were noted between male and female managers' perceptions of saleswomen's 'human relationships' and 'motivation.' The implications of these findings are discussed.

This study focuses on women's position in engineering. A conflict model that emphasizes the interplay of structural and interactional resources is developed to explain the occupational positions of women engineers. A central feature of this model is the 'culture of engineering'--the socially defined standard of behavior and interaction among engineers. This model is used to explain the occupational experiences of a cohort of male and female engineers. Males and females with virtually identical qualifications and occupational attitudes show dissimilar current job status. It is argued that the culture of engineering, strongly identified with the male gender role, works against women. Where that culture is strongest, women do most poorly in occupational status and mobility.

Based on in-depth interviews with a nonprobability sample of male nurses, this study argues that while male nurses do experience the interaction dynamics associated with tokenism as outlined by Kanter (1977a, 1977b), their experience is substantially different from that of female tokens because of socio-cultural factors that interact with group proportions in forming patterns of group interaction. Not only do male nurses react differently to the dynamics of visibility, polarization, and assimilation, but gender-related issues of status and stigma are also important to them. Although Kanter's framework is applicable to male nurses, many of the differences they experience compared to female tokens are attributable to socio-cultural definitions of masculinity and femininity as well as gender-based issues of status rather than group proportions alone. Thus, these findings suggest that socio-cultural factors, interacting with group proportions, strongly influence patterns of interaction among nurses.

Many organizations have established policies and procedures to deal with sexual harassment, yet few complaints are reported. Some have suggested that the lack of complaints is due to the absence of a problem, or the timidity or fearfulness of victims. This article proposes that the reasons for the lack of use of sexual harassment grievance procedures lie not in the victims, but rather in the procedures themselves. Women perceive sexual harassment differently than men do, and their orientation to dispute-resolution processes is likely to differ as well. The way that policies define harassment and the nature of dispute resolution procedures may better fit male than female perspectives. This gender bias is likely to discourage women from reporting complaints.

This article discusses three basic strategies used by women coal miners to manage sexual harassment. 'Ladies' sought to cast men into roles as gentlemen and withdrew socially when they encountered offensive behavior. This approach was often effective for older women but inhibited Ladies' promotion aspirations. 'Flirts' engaged in interactions with men in a way perceived to be seductive. They were likely to receive come-ons from men which Flirts interpreted as flattery. However, they experienced severe harassment as a consensus grew that the women were using their sexuality to obtain preferential treatment. 'Tomboys' emphasized an identity as miners and engaged in jocular/sexual interactions associated with the work role. They experienced a great deal of sexual 'razzing' but this was often intended and interpreted as friendly, inclusionary treatment. Those Tomboys who reciprocated the level of vulgarity typical of men, however, risked escalation of razzing into harassing episodes that distressed them. Policy implications of the study include supportive programs for women and greater structuring in training and assignment procedures.

This article discusses the manner in which gender and race are left out from Michael Burawoy's interpretation of labor relations. Topics include social relations, subjectivity, and narrative.

Several recent incidents have revealed that discrimination against women patients and harassment of female scientists are still important concerns. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Bernadine Healy has issued guidelines on sexual harassment at the NIH and wants to include more women in medical studies. Stanford neurosurgeon Frances Conley made headlines when she submitted her resignation after 25 years at Stanford, allegedly because a colleague was harassing her. Women who have sued the NIH over discrimination and harassment claim that the government drags its feet when the cases come to court. Margaret Jensvold brought a suit against the National Institute of Mental Health because she felt her complaints of sexual harassment filed with the Equal Opportunity Office were not being processed. Healy wants to double the number of equal employment opportunity counselors at NIH and speed the processing of discrimination cases. Most of these incidents should be dealt with before they reach court.

Why women join unions is not a question that has elicited much interest from the industrial relations community. Despite the many studies of union organizing efforts among men, there are [...]

Sexual harassment of employees by organizational superiors is a significant and all too common problem in the workplace. Victims of harassment typically want to achieve a variety of instrumental, relational, and identity management goals. The present study tested the perceived effectiveness of different messages with respect to several of these goals. Messages varied systematically with respect to what O'Keefe (1988) has termed 'design logic' and 'goal structure.' Participants (N = 577) generally perceived messages reflecting advanced design logics and goal structures as being most effective at projecting desired identities and preserving relationships. However, the effects for goal structure were qualified by interactions with gender and interpersonal cognitive complexity. Significantly, none of the messages were perceived as particularly effective at stopping the harasser's offensive conduct. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for both O'Keefe's analysis of messages and the management of sexual harassment in the workplace.

The Finnish labor market is sharply segregated by sex. Previous research has shown the work of women to be inferior to that of men in that it is less autonomous, allows less freedom for self-regulation and self-determination, is more restricted in space and time, and is more monotonous. This study sought to determine whether the segregation of work by sex at the workplace affected the qualitative aspects of men's and women's work. Data were taken from the Finnish Survey on the Quality of Work involving a representative sample of the Finnish wage-earning population (N = 4502), with 48 per cent women workers and 52 per cent men. Workers were classified into three categories (single sex, balanced and token groups) according to functional sex-segregation. Results showed that women usually did profit from the fact that they performed the same sort of work as men, although this effect was more apparent for the high-status white-collar than for blue-collar women. Results from the Finnish Quality of Work Survey showed that there were no objective reasons why women should not enter the typical male-dominated occupations since the salaries are high, work is autonomous, varied and less rigidly paced. However, there are not such reasons for men to enter typical female-dominated occupations since men lost in pay with the integration of work by sex. In addition to the results from the Finnish Survey on the Quality of Work, some topics connected with male/female interaction patterns (unwanted sexual attention and sex-stereotypical attitudes) were supplemented by results from a questionnaire study of men (N = 536) and women (N = 573) working in six occupations which were chosen on the basis of their sex composition and socioeconomic status.

This paper argues that where, as in Iran, the perceived needs to subjugate women has been firmly articulated with the prevalent belief system, it becomes more difficult to find practical strategies for liberation through employment of women and their participation in the processes of production. Where women are defined as 'dependent', encouraged to marry early into polygamous marriages, and where they are systematically excluded from the work place and the formal labour market, then female poverty can ultimately become integrated and institutionalised. In a country which is not prepared to finance a national welfare system or protect the poor, women are forcibly squeezed towards the outer margins of the economy and obliged to eke out a living on the borders of legitimacy. Unavoidably many now populate the prisons and some even find that their families are better off living off the pensions paid to their dependents.

Humor is viewed as a desirable personality characteristic that can be employed to let go of tension, transmit organizational norms, and relieve boredom. What is funny to one individual can be offensive or inappropriate to another, however. Joking can therefore have an effect on human rights and civil rights court cases or more generally on the quality of the work environment. A survey of 165 individuals asked to assess the appropriateness of three types of workplace jokes was undertaken. Results suggest that females and whites considered sexist and racist humor more inappropriate than did males and blacks. Inexperienced workers found all workplace joking behavior to be less appropriate than did experienced workers.

Women, men and changing organizations: An organizational culture examination of gendered experiences of telecommuting, Annika Hylmo, George Mason University. (Abstracts) Telecommuting brings with it a number of unanswered questions in [...]