The role of organizational culture in mitigating social stereotypes and gender inequalities in the workplace

Abstract

Gender inequality remains a prominent concern on a global scale, particularly within the formal workplace. Women frequently encounter different manifestations of bias and inequity, which detrimentally affect their professional encounters. The presence of gender bias leads to a cascade of errors in decision-making processes, posing a significant threat to gender equality within companies and organizations. Various studies have demonstrated that Human Resources (HR) managers tend to rate male applicants as more qualified than their female counterparts. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate and analyze the role of organizational culture in facing and mitigating social stereotypes as well as gender inequalities in the workplace of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC), a semi-government organization in Cyprus known as AHK. The target also is to understand how the practices, values, norms, and beliefs in an organization can conduce to or dispute existing gender disparities and stereotypes. By emphasizing organizational culture, this study aims to explore how collective behaviors and attitudes in an organization or industry can influence issues related to gender. The methodology used was quantitative, with the use of questionnaire with closed end questions. The survey findings indicated that employees in the Electricity Organization generally hold minimal stereotypes about men and women. Additionally, their opinion about the position of women in companies and organizations is rather positive or at least neutral.