PATRIARCHAL PRESSURES - AN EXPLORATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES THAT EXACERBATE AND ERODE GENDER EARNINGS INEQUALITY

The focus of this article is on the organizational contexts in which g ender-based earnings inequalities are exacerbated or eroded. By concep tualizing patriarchy in workplaces as a process of dynamic struggles o ver organizational practices and rewards, we assume that the degree of gender inequality in workplaces should vary as a function of organiza tional structure, resources, and practices. We examine five organizati onal characteristics hypothesized to affect the level of gender inequa lity: organizational resources, regional gender culture, market sector size of firm, and formalization of employment relations. Gender earni ngs inequality varies across organizational contexts, with the predict ed female-to-male earnings ratio ranging from as little as 51 percent to parity. In particular we find that gender earnings inequalities are higher where organizational resources are greater and lower where for malization of the employment relationship is greater and in medium-siz e firms. We conclude that the gendered wage determination process refl ects an interaction between organization job, and individual character istics.