Gender and Inequality in the Workplace: Lessons from Institutional and Marxist-Feminist Perspectives

Gender discrimination and inequality in the workplace are pertinent issues in the contemporary labor markets across the developed and developing world. The aim of this chapter is to outline two frameworks, namely, Williamson’s New Institutional Economics (NIE) framework and the Marxist-Feminist framework of social reproduction as well as their historical roots, which allow the conceptualization of gender discrimination and inequality in the workplace from a structural perspective. The root causes of these forms of discrimination and inequality are allocated to the wider social context of either (i) different formal and informal institutional settings in the case of the NIE framework or (ii) the exploitation and alienation within the capitalist mode of production. The chapter outlines the relevant methodological principles inherent in these two frameworks to illustrate, with reference to relevant literature, how these can help the interested reader in guiding and conceptualizing his or her research. Where relevant, the chapter supports the theoretical assertions with empirical research and practical examples of gender discrimination in the workplace, which helps us to formulate preliminary policy implications. The chapter closes with a summary of the distinct advantages of the two frameworks and, in the light of these different advantages, a call for methodological pluralism.