Gender Inequality and Workplace Organizations: Understanding Reproduction and Change

The modern workplace is a pivotal arena for shaping societal gender inequalities. This chapter reviews theory and research on gender inequality in workplace organizations. We first provide a quick historical overview of the role of gender in the modern division of labor and present data on intersectional patterns of gender inequality in labor force participation, as well as horizontal and vertical occupational sex segregation. We then discuss prevailing theoretical explanations for these inequalities, moving from individual-level theories to structural and organizational explanations. This is followed by a review of empirical evidence on gender inequality at work, beginning with studies exploring the cultural, relational and structural mechanisms for reproducing gender inequality in organizations and moving to discussing research on mechanisms for reducing inequality. We argue that more theory and research ought to be focused on the remediation of inequality and discuss two directions: the first is an institutional theory of remediation, examining the ways in which institutional environments and actors can weaken gendered organization; and the second is a political theory focusing on the means and conditions for women to act as agents of organizational change. We conclude with suggestions for future research and theory development.