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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this article is to present a theoretical framework on gender discrimination faced by women in the workplace and also offer a discussion on gender variation theories as identified by Kolb, Fletcher, Meyerson, Merrill-Sands and Ely (1998). Gender variation in the workplace can be identified in several aspects of the organisation i.e. hiring, promotion, remuneration, development, etc. and it is not just a matter of considering an occupation male or female. Four main theories have been identified, according to Kolb et al. (1998) which will be discussed within the scope of this article. Further to that, a fifth theory is going to be introduced indicating the importance of national culture in recognising the root of gender discrimination in the workplace.
INTRODUCTION
During the last few decades there has been an increase in the number of women in the workplace (Davidson and Burke, 2004). However, the advancement of women in managerial positions has not been so positive; the progress of women in the professional and managerial world has been uneven compared to the proportion of working women (Wirth, 2001). While it is evident that women are as well-educated and trained as their male counterparts, according to Powell (1999) they still encounter a "glass ceiling" on their way to the top. Several studies over the years have documented gender discrimination in organisational procedures in the forms of hiring, promotions, the pay-gap, evaluations and even sexual harassment (Bobbit-Zeher, 2011; Gorman, 2005).
In the words of Ely, Foldy and Scully (2008), many people share the view that giving emphasis to gender, race, or any other element of divergence is, at best, frustrating due to the fact that the more one discusses an issue the more of an issue it becomes. Indeed, some might argue that focusing on these kinds of discrepancies can create problems. According to Bobbitt-Zeher (2011) gender stereotypes, which are created by categorising people based on their sex, might be responsible for gender discrimination in the workplace (see also Ridgeway and England, 2007). On the other hand, there is the view that the observation of organisational life 'through a gender lens' (Ely et al., 2008, p. ix), as with other dimensions of difference, makes it possible to comprehend more about individuals' behaviour, the...