Race and Gender Differences in Workplace Autonomy: A Research Note

Abstract

While many studies have focused on race and gender differences in monetary labor market rewards, few studies have used national samples to examine race and gender differences in nonmonetary labor process rewards. Utilizing multivariate analysis on data from the 1993 and 1997 National Employee Survey, the present study examines how race and gender interact in shaping workplace autonomy. We regress an index of autonomy on human capital, structural level variables, and race and gender interaction terms. Findings show that black and white females, relative to white males, fare worse net of controls for human capital and structural level variables. Black males fare worse than white males when controlling for human capital but this disadvantage fails to retain its significant effect when controlling for structural level variables. We conclude that contrary to some beliefs that black females have experienced greater success in the labor market as a result of affirmative action policies, black females remain hindered by the double jeopardy of race and gender.

Gender and Discretionary Work Effort

“…Scholars have documented gender differences in most of these aspects of jobs in both the United States and Britain. Women tend to have less autonomy (Petrie & Roman, 2004) and less authority (R. A. Smith, 2002) in their jobs than men do.…”

One size doesn’t fit all

“…Therefore, an older worker in general may be stereotyped as lacking adaptability, and an older female worker may be viewed as both lacking adaptability and emotional stability (Brewer, Dull, & Lui, 1981). The double-jeopardy hypothesis has largely been applied to the study of minority women in the United States, and Black women in particular, and has been theorized to explain lower income, fewer benefits, and a higher unemployment rate for Black women than Black men, White women, and White men (Fox & Hesse-Biber, 1984;Sanchez-Hucles, 1997); lower labor market rewards for Black women even after controlling for human capital and organizational-level variables (Petrie & Roman, 2004); and higher reported incidence of racial and sexual harassment among Black women as compared to other demographic groups (Buchanan & Fitzgerald, 2008). Support for the double jeopardy hypothesis has also been found in non-U.S. populations, and with minority female groups besides Black females.…”

The Differential Effects of Racially Homophilous Sponsorship Ties on Job Opportunities in an Elite Labor Market: The Case of NCAA Basketball Coaching

“…More than four decades after the American Civil Rights movement, racial inequality remains an important issue in the United States. While some research shows a narrowing of racial disparity in the workplace since the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibiting racial discrimination in occupations (Farley and Allen ), most research points to non‐white individuals being disadvantaged in the workplace (e.g., Bielby ; Elliott and Smith ; Petrie and Roman ). For instance, blacks continue to lag behind whites on earnings and net worth (Bielby ; Beggs ), on employment in key economic sectors (Martin ), and on promotion rates (Greenhaus, Parasuraman, and Wormley ; James ).…”