Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Meaning and Evaluation of Fathers in the Professional Workplace

马里兰州大学帕克分校的梅丽莎·米尔基·凯瑟琳·丹尼在其他条件相同的情况下，父亲比没有孩子的男性和专业工作场所的所有女性赚得更多，这种现象被称为“父亲工资溢价”。“此外，调查研究表明，某些父亲，即那些已婚、白色、高度参与子女教育的父亲，比其他人享有特权。个人层面的解释，如积极选择和生产力，不能完全解释父亲的收入优势或这种优势的变化。雇主偏见经常被引用，但很少进行实证研究，作为一个重要因素，负责在专业工作场所中父亲比非父亲和某些父亲比其他人更好。本论文项目探讨了父亲偏好在工作场所的轮廓，并出席了几个关键的差距，在我们的理解如何，为什么，以及哪些父亲在工作场所被忽视。 本研究的主要目的是分析：（1）在专业工作场所中，父亲对子女的参与程度如何评估;（2）不同种族/民族背景的父亲对子女的参与程度如何评估;（3）在没有指定参与程度的情况下，不同种族/民族背景的父亲对子女的参与程度如何评估;以及（4）雇主特征，包括性别、种族和父母身份，如何影响对职业工作场所父亲的评价。本研究通过实验性的小插曲研究和半结构化的访谈研究来解决这些目标。该实验探讨了如何就业的成年人的代表性样本评估父亲在专业工作场所的背景下。半结构化访谈研究通过采访雇主来确定工作场所中对父亲的含义，假设和刻板印象，从而增强了实验。本研究希望能对多个文献的理论与实证研究有所贡献。具体而言，社会学的父亲工资溢价文献将受益于澄清的后果，但不为人所知的作用，雇主的偏见，延续了工作场所的不平等模式。此外，这项研究准备挑战更广泛的文献理论的“理想工人。“通过实证分析什么构成了一个理想的工人谁是青睐和特权的专业工作场所的变化，这项研究有可能改变我们认为理所当然的理解谁体现了理想的工人和为什么。更广泛的影响，从拟议的研究结果将是有用的学术界内外。在学术文献中，该项目将有助于我们理解工作场所中的某些优势等级。这项研究还将服务于应用和实际目的，因为它的总体重点是基于性别和种族的工作场所偏见和歧视。通过有效地宣传和传播研究结果，这项研究有可能促使采取行动，鼓励各组织认真评估自己的工作场所模式和做法。在这样做的过程中，预计项目成果将揭示工作场所内部和工作场所之间的重要但可能基本上未被察觉的工作场所不平等来源。

SES-1332633Melissa MilkieKathleen DennyUniversity of Maryland College ParkAll else being equal, fathers earn more than childless men and all women in the professional workplace, a phenomenon referred to as the "fatherhood wage premium." Moreover, survey research shows that certain fathers, namely those who are married, white, and highly involved with their children, are privileged over others. Individual-level explanations, such as positive selection and productivity, do not fully explain fathers' earnings advantage or variation in that advantage. Employer bias is often cited, though rarely empirically examined, as an important factor responsible for privileging fathers over non-fathers and certain fathers over others in the professional workplace. This dissertation project examines the contours of father preference in the workplace and attends to several critical gaps in our understanding of how, why, and which fathers are advantaged in the workplace. The primary research objectives are to analyze: (1) how fathers' level of involvement with their children is evaluated in the professional workplace; (2) how level of involvement is evaluated for fathers of different racial/ethnic backgrounds; (3) how fathers of different racial/ethnic backgrounds are evaluated without involvement level specified; and (4) how employer characteristics, including gender, race, and parental status, influence evaluations of fathers in the professional workplace. The study addresses these objectives through an experimental vignette study and a semi-structured interview study. The experiment examines how a representative sample of employed adults evaluates fathers in the context of the professional workplace. The semi-structured interview study augments the experiment by interviewing employers to determine the meanings, assumptions and stereotypes held about fathers in the workplace. This research is expected to contribute both theoretically and empirically to multiple literatures. Specifically, the sociological fatherhood wage premium literature will benefit from a clarification of the consequential yet poorly understood role of employer bias that perpetuates a pattern of workplace inequality. Further, the research is poised to challenge the broader literature on the theory of the "ideal worker." By empirically analyzing variation in what constitutes an ideal worker who is favored and privileged in the professional workplace, this research has the potential to transform our taken-for-granted understanding of who embodies the ideal worker and why.Broader ImpactsFindings from the proposed study will be useful both within and outside of academia. Within the academic literature, the project will contribute to our understanding of certain advantage hierarchies in the workplace. The research will also serve applied and practical purposes given its overall focus on gender- and race-based workplace bias and discrimination. With effective publicizing and circulation of results, this research has the potential to induce action and encourage organizations to seriously assess their own workplace patterns and practices. In doing so, project results are expected to bring critical yet likely largely unperceived sources of workplace inequality to light within and across workplaces.