The Role of Gender in the Employment, Career Perception and Research Performance of Recent PhD Graduates from Dutch Universities
Abstract
Recent decades have seen a sharp increase in the number of female PhD graduates in the Netherlands. Currently, the share of females among newly graduated PhDs is almost on par with that of males. A considerable body of scientific studies has investigated the role of gender in the academic workplace. However, the role of gender in the careers of all PhD graduates, including those outside academia, has been studied less.
In this study, we investigate gender differences in type of job, occupation, career perception and research performance of recent PhDs. The study is based on a survey of persons who obtained a PhD from one of five Dutch universities between 2008 and early 2012. We show that gender differences in post-PhD careers are non-existent in some aspects studied, but there are small differences in other aspects, such as sector of employment, type of contract, involvement in teaching and management, and career perception. In contrast, male and female PhDs differ sharply on two factors. The first is field of PhD, females being heavily underrepresented in engineering and the natural sciences.
The second is part-time employment, females being much more likely to work part-time than males, especially if they work in the Netherlands. In later career stages, the combination of the small and large differences can be presumed to affect the career progression of female PhDs through cumulative disadvantage.
Annotation of the Article
Summary
The number of women graduating with higher education, especially earning a doctoral (PHD) degree has been on the rise in the Netherlands. Waaijer et al., (2016) seek to understand the role of gender in the occupations of all PhD graduates, plus those outside the academic world. Specifically the researchers investigate gender disparity in type of occupation, job, career observation and research performance of the recently awarded PhDs.
Data
Waaijer et al., (2016) surveyed a sample of 2,193 PhD graduates from top universities between April 2008 and March 2009. They sent emails and used LinkedIn to contact the potential. respondents.
Findings
The researchers find that some aspects in post-PhD careers do not show gender differences, however there are small differences in other parts, such as type of contract, sector of employment, career perception, and involvement in teaching and management. Also, contrastingly the results show sharp differences between male and female PhDs. One, female PHDs are very much underrepresented in technical fields of engineering and natural sciences. Two, females are more likely to work part-time than males.
Connection to Sociology and Improved Understanding of Sociology
Sociology assigns women particular roles that they are required to undertake. Traditionally, division of labor is organized according to gender roles and as some roles are considered best performed by women and others are left for men. Therefore, it is expected that roles performed by men and women will not be the same. Therefore, sociology can explain that women encounter various gender-based problems at the place of work.
The article has captured a concept of inequality that sociologists argue that there is gender inequality because of different roles assigned by society. Also, gender functions at every level of communal life and is entrenched in how work is structured. States that gender is not just an element that people carry with them to the workplace, but is entrenched into the place of work itself. Regardless of the huge headway women globally have made in chasing careers, there remain major impediments that challenge women in the workplace. The upper limit and work-related prejudice against women mirror the constraints on women as they endeavor to enter and rise through the ranks of the labor force.
Gender Equality in Employment: The Experience of Kazakhstan
Abstract
No country in the world has achieved full gender equality in labor relations. Kazakhstan has just begun a long way of creating legislative and organizational conditions for equality in the workplace. It is obvious that to create a more equal, gender-sensitive society, a state will require profound changes in perceptions, attitudes, stereotypes, and laws. Facilitating such changes is justified not only from a moral but also from an economic point of view.
Today, the requirements for women in society in the performance of labor functions are the same as for men. However, in family and domestic relations, there is a persistence of the gender stereotype of male privileges. There is no change in sectorial gender segregation. Women still make up more than 70% of employees in the health, education, and social services sectors, while women’s representation in the financial and public sectors is slightly more than half. Traditionally, these types of sectors are less profitable compared to “male industries,” such as construction, oil and gas, mining, and transport. The level of attracting female labor in innovative, infrastructural, and high-tech projects and programs is very low.
The issue of expanding the economic opportunities of rural women, who are denied access to public and state resources and services, remains relevant. In the article, we show the possibilities for ensuring equal employment of men and women in Kazakhstan. The proposals on the improvement of legislation on labor protection and labor conditions and improvement of working conditions are presented, and the possibilities of introducing and expanding flexible forms of employment are considered. Conclusions are drawn on the revision of the list of works prohibiting the use of female labor and ensuring that women have access to types of work that do not pose a danger to women’s health due to their automation, technologization, and informatization.
Annotation of the Article
Summary
Kazakhstan has been implementing a legal framework and implementing organizational requirements to promote equality at the workplace. Apart from the regulatory framework, Buribayev and Khamzina (2019) state that creating a more equal and gender-sensitive culture must be supported by deep changes in people’s perceptions, attitudes, and stereotypes. Even though women have been employed in some sectors of the economy, other key sectors including oil and gas, construction, transport and mining are male dominated. Buribayev and Khamzina (2019) seek to show that equality can be realized among men and women across all sectors of the economy.
Data
The researchers did not collect any data for the research study. The researched relied on overall scientific methods.
Findings
The study findings indicate that women are mainly employed in sectors of the economy regarded as less profitable. However, men dominate employment in key industries such as construction, oil and gas, mining, and transport. The country has, therefore, not realized equal employment across all sectors of the economy.
Connection to Sociology and Improved Understanding of Sociology
Even though women are succeeding at work, they cannot be at the same level as men. Sociology describes specific gender roles for women that restrict their ability to be equal to men at the place of work. There exist inequalities of work in society as a result of conflict between family and career, gender inequality, structural barriers, social exclusion, such as psychological stereotyping as well as gendered socialization. Sociology assigns women particular roles that they are required to undertake. Traditionally, division of labor is organized according to gender roles and as some roles are considered best performed by women and others are left for men.
Therefore, it is expected that roles performed by men and women will not be the same. Therefore, sociology can explain that women encounter various gender-based problems at the place of work. The article has captured a concept of inequality that sociologists argue that there is gender inequality because of different roles assigned by society. Also, gender functions at every level of communal life and is entrenched in how work is structured.
States that gender is not just an element that people carry with them to the workplace, but is entrenched into the place of work itself. Regardless of the huge headway women globally have made in chasing careers, there remain major impediments that challenge women in the workplace. The upper limit and work-related prejudice against women mirror the constraints on women as they endeavor to enter and rise through the ranks of the labor force.
Gender Still Matters: Effects of Workplace Discrimination on Employment Schedules of Young Professionals
Abstract
The influx of women into the legal profession has significantly changed the landscape of legal practice. Women lawyers today no longer face the challenges to entering the legal profession they encountered thirty years ago. However, despite these advancements, research continues to demonstrate that there are still gender-based issues women have to face in the legal workplace. Among these issues to date are the difficulties in combining responsibilities of work with responsibilities of families and children that underpin women’s employment and earning disadvantages. Using survey data from a national representative U.S. panel study of lawyers, we examine how work schedules, comparing full-time to part-time work, vary by personal disposition and workplace characteristics.
Drawing from prominent explanations of gender inequality in the legal profession, we focus on inquiries of commitment to work, performance, ideal worker expectations, practice settings, and job satisfaction among dimensions of workplace characteristics and examine their effects on women and men lawyers’ work schedules. Logistic regression results show that work schedules significantly vary by gender, parental role, and experience of workplace discrimination. We find that, although all parents experience types of discrimination, there are still major differences in work schedules between mothers and fathers. Our study adds to the gender debate of employment and organizations by examining quantitatively experiences of workplace discrimination.
Annotated Bibliography
Summary
Women today do not face serious challenges in entering the legal profession. However, women lawyers still encounter various gender-based problems at the place of work. Plickert and Sterling (2017) examine how work schedules (full-time or part-time), differ by personality and workplace attributes.
The article focuses mainly focuses on commitment to work, ideal worker expectations, practice settings, performance, and job satisfaction among dimensions of workplace characteristics and examine their effects on women and men lawyers’ work schedules.
Data
The researchers used survey data from a nationally representative U.S. panel study of lawyers. The first sample of 5000 U.S. women and men lawyers was randomly selected and interviewed particularly in the years 2002 and 2007.
Findings
Findings from the survey reveal that there is a huge variation in the work schedules, parental role, and experience of workplace discrimination. There exist key dissimilarities in work schedules between mothers and fathers.
The findings are consistent with the researcher’s statement that women lawyers still grapple with numerous gender-based problems at the place of work.
Connection to Sociology and Improved Understanding of Sociology
Sociology assigns women particular roles that they are required to undertake. Traditionally, division of labor is organized according to gender roles and as some roles are considered best performed by women and others are left for men. Therefore, it is expected that roles performed by men and women will not be the same. Therefore, sociology can explain the findings of Plickert and Sterling (2017) that women encounter various gender-based problems at the place of work. The article has captured a concept of inequality that sociologists argue that there is gender inequality because of different roles assigned by society.
Also, gender functions at every level of communal life and is entrenched in how work is structured. States that gender is not just an element that people carry with them to the workplace, but is entrenched into the place of work itself. Regardless of the huge headway women globally have made in chasing careers, there remain major impediments that challenge women in the workplace. The upper limit and work-related prejudice against women mirror the constraints on women as they endeavor to enter and rise through the ranks of the labor force.
References
Cathelijn, Waaijer1., Hans, Sonneveld., Simone, Buitendijk., Cornelis, van Bochove1., Inge, van der Weijden. “The Role of Gender in the Employment, Career Perception and Research Performance of Recent PhD Graduates from Dutch Universities”. PLoS ONE, 2016, vol. 11, no. 10: e0164784.
Yermek, Buribayev and Zhanna, Khamzina. “Gender equality in employment: The experience of Kazakhstan”. International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 2019, vol.19, no. 2, pp.110-124.
Plickert, Gabriele and Sterling, Joyce. “Gender Still Matters: Effects of Workplace Discrimination on Employment Schedules of Young Professionals”. Open Access Journal, 2017, vol.6, no. 4, pp.1-22.