Do Stereotypes affect communication?

 Stereotyping occurs when a person classifies a person or group or people based on oversimplified notions, conceptions or beliefs. It creates barriers in communications at the work place and discourages creative thinking and teamwork among employees.

Stereotyping at work causes employees to place assumptions on others based on the stereotypical role that they may play. Someone working in an insubordinate position might be deemed to be uneducated with little to offer, when in fact, this is not true and employers can lose out on valuable opportunities by not communicating with them, and including those in the lower-level positions in the creative process.

After facing many decades of discrimination in the workforce, women are now protected under equal rights laws. Gender stereotypes still exist in the workplace, however, to the detriment of both sexes. By becoming aware of the effects of gender stereotypes between managers and subordinates, businesses can gain insight into current issues and prevent future problems.

Gender stereotypes are generalizations about a person's character, personality, interests and activities based on their sex. Commonly held gender stereotypes deem women as weaker than men, more emotional, less objective and more suited for domesticity instead of the professional sphere. Gender stereotypes of men often concern power, aggression, drive, ambition and being more suited to mental pursuits and workplace success. Gender stereotypes have a long history in many industries, but Laws make it illegal to harass, discriminate against or pay lower wages to anyone due to his gender.

Gender roles typically call for men to be the more authoritative, in-control worker, with women as more emotional. This stereotype can adversely affect a woman's role in the workplace, especially in senior management positions. Gender stereotypes prevent those with true, leadership and management capabilities from getting ahead. This adversely affects both the women and men in the workplace and their ability to communicate for the better of the company.

There are various results of this. Gender stereotypes between managers and subordinates can cause miscommunications and hinder productivity as well as lead to more serious issues, such as unequal pay, withholding promotions, discrimination, sexual harassment and lawsuits. Gender stereotypes of women are most common in workplace settings and can lead women who are stereotyped to feel alienated, misunderstood, frustrated and uncomfortable in the workplace. As a result of gender stereotypes, women are less likely than men to be promoted to high level positions, making the instances of male managers stereotyping female subordinates more likely to occur. Women still hold a very small percentage of top-level professional positions.

Another result of gender discrimination is unequal pay. Unequal pay for women is a common result of g stereotypes in the workplace. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women who worked full-time in the second quarter of 2011 had median weekly earnings of $689, or 83.5 percent of the $825 median for men. Women continue to earn less than men on average, with women employed full-time in management, professional and related occupations earning a median of $931 a week, or 73 percent of what men in the same positions earn weekly -- $1,268, according to the BLS. Men in service jobs earned $544 on average and women earned $439, or 81 percent of what men earned in the second quarter of 2011. In third world countries like Pakistan the figures are even lesser for women as there is more gender discrimination and less rights for women in these countries.

Women who are stereotyped at work are often discriminated against as well. Although laws prohibit discrimination against women in the workplace due to pregnancy or caregiver status, gender stereotypes sometimes lead managers to withhold promotions of women employees, especially pregnant or care-giving employees, based on stereotypes such as mothers won't put work first or are not as motivated or reliable at work. Some managers may be unwilling to be flexible for women who need to attend to child care issues or emergencies. Gender stereotypes lead some men to harass women in the workplace, which is illegal and places a company in danger of getting sued. Women who are being harassed or discriminated against at work can file a claim with local offices.

Women have to contend with assumptions held by potential employers that they are going to want to settle down and leave the workplace to have children, even when this is not necessarily the case. Women often end up in lower-paid, less-respected jobs than their male counterparts. Women are considered to be nurturing and sensitive, which makes them perfect to take on ‘caring’ roles within society. Men, on the other hand, are perceived as rational and decisive, which makes them perfect to get involved in business or politics.

When women do make it in male-dominated industries they have to fend off the stereotype that they are just a pretty face in order to be taken seriously, though there is a good chance they will be passed over for promotion in favor of their male colleagues, anyway. Men can also face difficulties when they decide to pursue stereotypically female jobs, such as nursing, often encountering discrimination and assumptions about their masculinity.

Stereotypes not only affect men and women in the workplace, as they can also influence their social lives. Men are portrayed as either being confident, sex-obsessed and promiscuous, which is somehow considered ‘normal’, or as being passive, weak and useless with members of the opposite sex. Similarly, women are either not much interested in sex or it is all they are interested in. Unlike in the case of men, though, promiscuous women tend to be cast in a more negative light.

Gender stereotypes can be funny, as sometimes they have an element of truth to them, but it isn’t so funny when people are being held back because of assumptions being made about them just because of their gender.

MUHAMMAD HASHIM HAMEED