Workplace Identities of Women in the US Labor Market

Dina Banerjee

Department of Sociology and Anthropology Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/sm.2013.31004                

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the effects of gender and race/ethnicity on American workers’ workplace identities. Literature on gender, work, and occupation suggests that gender and race are significant predictors of workers’ workplace identities. Literature also posits that self-perceived competency and reflected appraisals from others in workplaces also contribute considerably to workers’ workplace identities. However, there exists hardly any empirical study that explores the impacts of gender, race, workers’ self-perceived competency, and their reflected appraisals altogether on their workplace identities. That is what I accomplished in this study. Deriving the data from the National Study of Changing Workforce (NSCW: 2008) I ask: 1) Do women and men workers in America differ in their perceptions of workplace identities; 2) Do non-white and white workers in America differ in their perceptions of workplace identities; and 3) Do gender and race of the workers impact their workplace identities when self-perceived competency and reflected appraisals enter the equation? Analyses are based on quantitative methods. Results show that workers’ self-perceived competency and their reflected appraisals are more significant predictors of their workplace identities than gender or race.

 

Keywords

Gender; Identity; Workplace; Labor Market

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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