ABSTRACT
As we have seen from the previous three chapters, women and men experience different career outcomes: women are often in lower-level jobs or in different occupations that offer fewer rewards. These career outcomes are the result of different experiences at various stages of their careers and during various organizational processes. In this chapter, we explore the differential impact that some of these organizational practices have on men and women. These organizational practices can contribute to vertical segregation, in particular. We begin with a discussion of how men and women are recruited and selected into jobs. Next, we explore what happens to men and women once they are employed: whether or not they receive challenging assignments, how they are evaluated, and how they are promoted to positions of greater responsibility. Because women have been in the workforce at management levels for many decades and have gained educational credentials equal to that of men, we can assume that their human capital is equal to men’s human capital. The success of corporations will require using everyone’s human capital,
equalizing career opportunities, and ending vertical segregation. Corporations that use the talent and potential of all employees will have a distinct competitive advantage over those that do not.
