Beyond Glass Ceilings and Brick Walls - International Labour ...

achievements, rather than the individual employee. While acknowledgement of
teamwork is a key component in good management, it needs to be balanced
with credit where it is due, if employees are not to be disheartened. Often,
women’s performance can be obscured to higher management through work
practices such as these.
One respondent disclosed how she executed the bulk of the work in
the software-testing department of her company; yet, credit was given to
her male boss and the department as a whole.
There has often been a disturbing trend in many societies to devalue
employee characteristics that are attributed to “females” such as being
“cooperative, quiet, nurturing…” Fortunately, this is currently being
reversed alternative and new management styles and techniques advocated
by the latest management gurus. Nonetheless, “male” characteristics such
as being “assertive, authoritarian, loud…” are still given more recognition
and value. In fact, our data shows that it is possible that there is a general
tendency to prefer the hiring of women at the lower/non-skilled levels
precisely for those “female” characteristics.
The companies alluded to by the respondents were seen to carry out
various types of annual appraisals in regard to their employees. Several
appraisals seem comprehensive in that they assessed a range of employee
capabilities. They reviewed daily job tasks, long-term assignments,
organizational skills, personality, leadership, overall presentation, attitudes,
interaction with colleagues/clients, overall confidence and conduct, general
performance, work-times, and on-the-job problems.
Some appraisals were internal individual evaluations executed by the
immediate bosses without room for management/employee dialogue, while
others were more participatory in nature with the advantage of inputs from
the employee herself. Yet others were performed according to standardized
evaluation forms. Here, it is worthwhile noting that research on appraisal
schemes has shown that those that are not wide-ranging and detailed can
not only do a disservice to the employee in general, but that they can also
have gender specific implications (Rao et al 1999). This is because the simple
consideration of limited tasks/skills/personalities might serve to privilege a
particular gender. Consequently, characteristics such as teamwork,
organizational skills, intuitive skills, ability to deal with ambiguity, social
and interpersonal skills, participatory management and flexibility qualities
that are more associated with women, can be discounted or devalued in
standered appraisals.
On the whole, evaluations had a direct impact on the annual increments
of the employee, although they did not always influence the employee’s path
of upward mobility-being limited to the exercise itself. Furthermore, it was
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