Abstract
Negative gender-role stereotypes con-tinue to pervade the careers of many women. The current study examines the careers of female National Health Service (NHS) nurses in the United Kingdom. The study identifies organizational mindsets which militate against women's career advancement. These mindsets form the basis of the "ethic of discrimination" which both maintains and perpetuates unequal outcomes for women in NHS nursing. We examine the implications for management in promoting non-discriminatory decision making, and the barriers that are faced in overcoming the "ethic of discrimination".
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beardshaw, V. and K. Robinson: 1990, New for Old? Prospects for Nursing in the 1990s, Research Paper No. 8 (Kings Fund Institute, London).
Buderi, R.: 1999, 'In Search of Innovation', Technology Review (November-December), 42–51.
Business Week: 2000, 'As Leaders, Women Rule', Business Week, Special Report, November 20.
Carpenter, M.: 1977, 'The New Managerialism and Professionalism in Nursing', in M. Stacy, M. Reid, C. Heath and R. Dingwall (eds.), Health and the Division of Labour (Croom Helm, London), pp. 23–35.
Carrier, S.: 1995, 'Family Status and Career Situation for Professional Women', Work, Employment and Society 9(2), 343–358.
Cockburn, C.: 1991, In the Way of Men, Men's Resistance to Sex Equality in Organisations (Macmillan, London).
Cohen, J. R. and L. E. Single: 2001, 'An Examination of the Perceived Impact of Flexible Work Arrangements on Professional Opportunities in Public Accounting', Journal of Business Ethics 32(2), 317–328.
Collinson, D. L. and J. Hearn: 1994, 'Naming Men As Men: Implications for Work, Organization and Management', Gender, Work and Organization 1(1), 2–22.
Collinson, D., D. Knights and M. Collinson: 1990, Managing to Discriminate (Routledge, London).
Corby, L.: 1991, 'When Two Halves Make Total Sense', Health Service Journal, 9–11, July.
Court, G.: 1995, Women in the Labour Market: Two Decades of Change and Continuity (Institute of Employment Studies, Brighton), Report No. 294.
Davies, C. and J. Rosser: 1986, Processes of Discrimination: A Study of Women Working in the NHS (Department of Health and Social Security, London).
Derry, R.: 1997, 'Feminism: How Does it Play in the Corporate Theatre?' in A. Larson and R. E. Freeman (eds.), Women's Studies and Business Ethics: Toward a New Conversation (Oxford University Press, Oxford), pp. 11–29.
Halford, S., M. Savage and A. Witz: 1997, Gender, Careers and Organisations (MacMillan, London).
Hardy, L.: 1986, 'Career Politics: The Case of Career Histories of Selected Leading Female Nurses in England and Scotland', in R. White (ed.), Political Issues in Nursing: Past, Present and Future (Wiley, London).
Heilman, M. E.: 1997, 'Sex Discrimination and Affirmative Action Remedy: The Role of Sex Stereotypes', Journal of Business Ethics 16(9), 877–899.
Heilman, M. E., C. J. Block, R. F. Martell and M. C. Simon: 1989, 'Has Anything Changed? Current Characteristics of Men, Women and Managers,' Journal of Applied Psychology 74(6), 935–942.
Himma, K. E.: 2001, 'Discrimination and Disidentification: The Fair-Start Defense of Affirmative Action', Journal of Business Ethics 30(3), 277–289.
Jackson, C. and L. Barber: 1993, Women in the NHS: Experiences in South-East Thames (Institute of Manpower Studies, Brighton), Report 249.
Labour Market Trends: 2000, Labour Force Survey 104(3), 73–75.
Lane, N.: 1999, 'Inequality in the Careers of NHS Nurses: A Regional Case Study of Qualified Nurses in NHS Wales', Personnel Review 28(4), 319–335.
Lane, N.: 2000, 'The Management Implications of Women's Employment Disadvantage in a Female-Dominated Profession: A Study of NHS Nursing', Journal of Management Studies 37(5), 705–731.
Laurance, J.: 1997, 'Hand That Soothes the Patient's Fevered Brow is Ageing Rapidly', The Times, Tuesday January 14th, p. 5.
Nuttall, P.: 1983, 'Male Take-Over or Female Give-Away', Nursing Times 72(2), 12–12.
Maddock, S.: 1998, Challenging Women: Gender, Culture and Organisation (Sage, London).
Mackay, L.: 1989, Nursing a Problem (Open University Press, Milton Keynes).
Maier, M.: 1997, 'Gender Equity, Organizational Transformation and Challenges', Journal of Business Ethics 16(9), 943–962.
Maitland, A.: 2000, 'America's Gender Gap Travels Abroad', Financial Times, October 20, 16.
Marshall, J.: 1995, 'Gender and Management: A Critical Review of Research', British Journal of Management 6, Special Issue, 53–62.
Oakley, J. G.: 2000, 'Gender-Based Barriers to Senior Management Positions: Understanding the Scarcity of Female CEOs', Journal of Business Ethics 27(4), 321–334.
Parkyn, A.: 1991, 'Operating Equal Opportunities in the National Health Service', Personnel Management 12(3), 29–33.
Reskin, B. and I. Padavic: 1994, Women and Men at Work (Pine Forge, Thousand Oaks, CA).
Rubery, J. and C. Fagan: 1993, Occupational Segregation of Men and Women in Employment in the European Community, Social Europe Supplement 3/93 Luxembourg, CEG.
Seccombe, I. and A. Patch: 1995, Recruiting, Retaining and Rewarding Qualified Nurses in 1995 (The Institute for Employment Studies, Brighton), Report No 295.
Simpson, R.: 1997, 'Have Times Changed? Career Barriers and the Token Manager', British Journal of Management 8, Special Issue, 121–130.
Winson, G.: 1992, 'Career Patterns for Male and Female Nurses', Nursing Times, 3(2), 12–17.
Witz, A.: 1992, Professions and Patriarchy (Routledge, London).
Wyatt, S. and C. Langridge: 1996). 'Getting to the Top in the National Health Service', in S. Ledwith and F. Colgan (eds.), Women in Organizations: Challenging Gender Politics (MacMillan, London), pp. 212–245.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lane, N., Piercy, N.F. The Ethics of Discrimination: Organizational Mindsets and Female Employment Disadvantage. Journal of Business Ethics 44, 313–325 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023644602447
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023644602447