‘Having it all,’ except equality


Women who work in the public sector still face equal opportunity challenges, according to a new book authored by FIU Public Administration Professor Mohamad Alkadry.

Women and Public Service: Barriers, Challenges and Opportunities explores obstacles women continue to face in the workplace including segregation, pay inequity, sexual harassment and social costs of career progression. The book is co-authored by West Virginia University Professor Leslie Tower.

9780765631022_p0_v2_s260x420Fifty years after the 1963 Equal Pay Act, women continue to be paid 76.5 percent of what men are paid. The fraction of women in elected offices — one-fifth — has not changed substantially in 10 years. Women continue to be segregated in female-dominated lower-paying federal, state and local health and education agencies where the majority of employees are women.

“The book is a culmination of many years of research on gender issues in organizations,” Alkadry said. “This was our effort to make sense of the many challenges facing women in the workplace. It is a shame that in the 21st century women continue to incur a family cost for their career success and a career cost for their family success.”

While the findings outlined in the book are disappointing for gender-parity advocates, the authors offer hope by presenting possible remedies. The explicit message is that a policy intervention is needed to put gender equality on the right track.

 

Comments are closed.