Manifestation of gender discrimination in the process of human resources development—A content analysis based on interview data

Abstract

This study focuses on the issue of gender discrimination manifested in the process of human resources development (HRD). A theoretical model is developed based on prior literature. Scenarios of gender discrimination in enterprises are obtained from in-depth interviews. Results of content analysis indicate that gender discrimination in HRD have four forms of manifestation, namely occupational gender segregation, employment gender discrimination, glass ceiling, and gender salary discrimination. Compared with top and middle-level managers, employees can perceive more employment-related gender discrimination and less glass ceiling. There is no significant difference between female and male in the above four manifestations. Compared with other types of enterprises, gender salary discrimination is more likely to happen in private enterprises, and occupational gender segregation and glass ceiling are more prevalent in foreign funded enterprises. It is also found that gender discrimination often occurs at the stage of job arrangement in the process of HRD.

Keywords

human resource development,employment gender discrimination,occupational gender segregation,glass ceiling,gender salary discrimination,content analysis method

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2009 Higher Education Press