Browsing by Subject "gender segregation"

Aims. The main goal of this study is to view if certain phenomena are present regarding men’s career advancement in female dominated industries. The main theory used in this study is the theory of the glass- escalator by Williams (1995). In this theory men advance quicker than women in female dominated industries, but also end up in specific specialties within the workplace. Other central concepts include gender segregation of the labour market and gendered organisations. The aim of the study is to shed light on phenomenon that possibly contribute to inequality in the workplace. Methods. The study was conducted as a quantitative survey in selected departments of a certain university hospital in Finland. The examined group included clinically working nurses, assistant head nurses and head nurses. The selection of departments was based on findings in existing theories. The questionnaire received 453 responses. The data has been analysed with the SPSS statistics program, using mostly cross tabulation. Findings and conclusions. The glass-escalator phenomenon could not directly be observed in the data. Other related phenomena could however be detected. In Williams (1995) study it was noted that men who work in female dominated industries were predominantly found to be working in departments that could be identified as stereotypically masculine, which she called men’s enclaves. The phenomenon was repeated in this study where men were mostly working in the acute and psychiatric departments. It also appeared that though men weren’t overrepresented in the head nurse positions (the highest position in this study), there were significantly more men working as assistant head nursers in relation to women working as assistant head nurses.