Why women ‘opt out’ of the workforce

Yahoo India:

Washington, July 29 (ANI): A new research from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University have explained why many Americans fail to see persistent gender barriers between man and women at work front.

The research demonstrates that the common American assumption that behaviour is a product of personal choice fosters the belief that opportunities are equal and that gender barriers no longer exist in today’s workplace.

The study suggested that the assumption that women “opt out” of the workforce, or have the choice between career or family, promotes the belief that individuals are in control of their fates and are unconstrained by the environment.

“Although we’ve made great strides toward gender equality in American society, significant obstacles still do, in fact, hold many women back from reaching the upper levels of their organizations,” said co-author Nicole M. Stephens, assistant professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School of Management.

“In our research, we sought to determine how the very idea of ‘opting out,’ or making a choice to leave the workplace, may be maintaining these social and structural barriers by making it more difficult to recognize gender discrimination,” added Stephens.

Read the whole story: Yahoo India