UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 34, Page 2
June 9, 1994
Prof says advancement of women still slow process

     Although doors to the workplace continue to open for women, a
glass ceiling culture exists that prevents them from reaching their
highest career potential, Beth Haslett, communication professor, told
150 faculty and staff at the Perkins Student Center June 1. Sponsored
by the Commission on the Status of Women, Haslett's lecture was
entitled "The Gendered Workplace."
     "For many women seeking career goals and job satisfaction, it is
the best of times and it is the worst of times," she said. "The
opportunities are there to enter, but not once you've gone through the
door."
     According to Haslett, a woman still makes 67 cents for every
dollar a man makes and has a one in 10,000 chance to reach the highest
career positions available in corporations and businesses.
     Perceptual bias  is a major factor contributing to the slow
advancement of women to positions of authority, which contributes to
the devaluation of a woman's ability to do her best work, she said.
Women face double criticism in a workplace still driven by traditional
managerial tactics thought to be male-dominant.
     If a woman displays verbal aggressiveness, individual instead of
group thinking or controls the course of a discussion, she is
criticized for being domineering or un-feminine, Haslett said. In
contrast, she also receives a negative evaluation if she displays a
"softer" mangerial style.
     "If a man has a picture of his family on his desk, he is
perceived to be solid, a good family man," Haslett said. "If a woman
has a picture of her family on her desk, she is perceived as not
taking her job as seriously as the man, as the family is thought to be
a distraction to her job."
     Discrimination, job segregation and subtle micro-inequities also
present barriers to job satisfaction among women. The many biases
received by women in the workplace, although each of them is isolated
can accumulate and resemble, Haslett said, "the rings of Saturn."
Discrimination and criticisms become layered and may eventually rise
to the point where they can erode a woman's self-confidence and her
ability to function in the job.
     While women use questions to maintain interaction, men view them
as requests for information. Likewise, as women tend to share
experiences and offer reassurance, men give advice directly to solve
the problem. These cross-sex communication differences can lead to
misinterpretation and a "clash of cultures" in the workplace, Haslett
said, but they can be alleviated by gradually breaking down the
stereotypical barriers and applying each style to a given situation.
Haslett suggested that women form support groups and increase their
networking to include men.
     "If you are allied only with women, you are excluding 60 percent
of the workplace," she said.
     "I believe in working within the system," she said. "Pick your
battles and exercise power where you can. There is power in numbers
and power in support groups.
     "If a woman has more than one 'ism', it's always a question as to
which 'ism' draws the most penalty," Haslett said. "A woman in the
workplace must determine the largest 'ism' and make a decision as to
how she should change that impression co-workers have of her, in order
to adapt to the style of the organization."
     A faculty member since 1971, Haslett has taught in the areas of
organizational communication and behavior; gender, communication and
organizations; corporate culture; cross-cultural communication; and
public speaking. She recently co-authored, with F.L. Geis and M.
Carter, Organizational Woman: Power and Paradox , which describes the
barriers to women's advancement in organizations.
                                                          -Richard Gaw