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

The case of Varuni illustrates two issues-of harassment and inefficiency.
The woman worker in question was not sure whether her boss was preparing
to make a sexual overture to her by constantly asking her to work late,
although it was not necessary to do so. Subsequently, the boss used her to
cover up his own inadequacies vis a vis his work by claming that Varuni was
incompetent, and that her work required his constant attention. As the
company consisted of three workers and as the principals were based abroad,
the boss was ultimately able to dismiss Varuni despite her having performed
extremely well throughout her tenure with the company, and having received
her annual bonus/letters of commendation on a regular basis. It was ironic
that the boss’s bonus was withheld one year due to his poor performance.
Varuni obtained legal counselling; the case was settled out of court and she
was granted compensation. The boss, however, retained his position despite
having been noted for his incompetence.
Politics of Language
Another fundamental means of observing how the micropolitics of gender
operate within an organization is with regard to language usage. This involves
“rumour, gossip, sarcasm, humour, denial, ‘throwaway remarks’, etc.” (Morley
1999). The language utilized by employers and workers in the workplace
can be insensitive or laden with gender-based assumptions. For instance,
language utilized in advertisements (used for staff recruitment and to market
products) can portray sexist ideologies - sometimes quite subtly, and at
other times quite overtly. In any event, the utilization of the pronoun ‘he’ in
reference to staff vacancies in an advertisement conveys a gender bias; even
though this is an accepted practice and the linguistic norm, there is the
implication here that the required person should be a male.
In another instance, a male subordinate refused to give his female superior
due respect at work. It is noted that often, without resorting to direct
insubordination, men used various nuances of voice and language to
undermine women’s authority; for example, by calling seniors by their
first name; and by refusing to use titles and terms of respect.
This is another aspect of intra-workplace relations that more women, than
men, have to deal with. Women superiors use various strategies in dealing
with these challenges such as ignoring the insults, addressing the issues
directly, and reprimanding the culprits.
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Yakkinna: She-devil
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