Issue link: https://industrialmanagement.epubxp.com/i/656209
26 Industrial Management While these experiments show subtle levels of discrimination toward women, prejudice and discrimination can take more overt forms. In a court case reported by Jonathan D. Silver in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2015, a U.S. District Court jury found that Hunter Panels and Carlisle Construction Materials Inc. discriminated against a female worker, Sandra S. Robertson, subjecting her to a hostile work environment and retaliating by firing her. Robertson was awarded more than $13 million in damages and pay. According to Silver, one male colleague referred to Sandra Robertson as a "big girl" (Robertson is 6 feet tall), another male colleague reportedly made obscene gestures when he heard her voice over the company radio and a third dismissed her complaints of harassment, saying that Robertson was "throwing fits" and "losing her mind." Robertson worked as a shipping supervisor at the Smithfield plant of Hunter Panels for six years. During that time, she was paid less than her male predecessor even though she had several years of experience working as a supply specialist in the U.S. Air Force. Robertson was fired in April 2012, reportedly because of her job perfor- mance and management style. A focus on women in engineering In recent years, an increasing amount of attention has been given to the under- representation of women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (the STEM disciplines). The Office of Science and Technology Policy and the White House Council on Women and Girls are working together to increase the participation of women in these disciplines. A recent report found that women comprise 20 percent of engineering school graduates; however, almost half of these women either do not enter the engineering profession or enter and then leave. As a result, only 11 percent of practicing engineers are women. In Stemming the Tide: Why Women Leave Engineering, Nadya A. Fouad, Romila The climate within organizations plays an important role in whether women stay or leave the engineering field. Singh, Mary E. Fitzpatrick and Jane P. Liu report on their survey of more than 5,500 women with degrees in engineering. They found that the climate within organizations plays an important role in whether women stay or leave the engineering field. Based on the study's results, these researchers suggest that organizations create visible and trans- parent paths toward advancement to encourage women to stay. Promotions need to be performance-based and attainable by all. They also suggest that organiza- tions need to communicate clear work goals to their employees and show how individual tasks fit into the larger organizational agenda. In addition, organizations need to provide training and professional development oppor- tunities so that women can strengthen existing skills, develop new skills and remain interested in and energized by their work. Beyond these developmental and promotional opportunities, these researchers found that the broader workplace climate had a significant impact on women's decisions to stay or leave. Women engineers were more satisfied with their work and more likely to stay in organizations that valued their individual contributions. The women engineers surveyed also indicated that they were happier working in organi- zational cultures that respected all and where any concerns they may have had regarding uncivil behaviors were addressed. Fouad and her colleagues also found that a supportive network of super- visors, peers and mentors (both formal and informal) increased the satisfaction of the women in their survey, as did working for organizations that offered work-life balance initiatives that were embedded in family supportive organi- zational cultures. Working toward inclusion and professional advancement In 1995, the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission defined the glass ceiling as an invisible barrier that keeps minorities and women from reaching the highest levels of the corporate hierarchy. The commission proposed a series of recom- mendations to help women and minor- ities break through, making the most of each employee's skills and contributions. Despite the progress women at work have made since then, women occupy fewer than 5 percent of CEO positions at Fortune 500 companies, even though they make up 52 percent of the professional workforce in the United States. This delayed rate of progress is a result of many reasons and can be described as more of a labyrinth than a glass ceiling. Elements of the labyrinth include prejudice, a resistance to women as leaders and the necessity for women to develop leadership styles that blend aspects of the communal behaviors expected of them with the agentic behaviors required of all leaders. In addition, women have generally taken on a higher level of responsibility at home, reducing their investment in social capital and various opportunities for advancement. Addressing this challenge requires work at the societal, organizational and individual levels. At the societal level, it is important to look at any conscious and/or unconscious expectations and biases toward women. At the organiza- tional level, it would be helpful to revisit the recommendations of the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, which pointed to a commitment to diversity throughout the organization, with the inclusion of diversity in all strategic business plans and human resource policies and practices, as well as formal mentoring programs for diverse popula- tions, education and family-friendly policies. At the individual level, women need to take advantage of the various training and development opportunities that are made available to them, work to develop helpful workplace skills like negotiating, participate in mentoring opportunities, and invest in social capital by developing networks that will help their career progress and assist with the progress of other women at work. v