Horizontal Segregation
This article covers meaning, importance & example of Horizontal Segregation from HRM perspective.
What is Horizontal Segregation?
Horizontal segregation means either the men or the women are more in a particular sector. Horizontal segregation is the uneven distribution of men and women in various sectors. It is a part of gender segregation, which can be of two types – vertical segregation and horizontal segregation.
Occupational segregation in the world of humans is very common. While we consider work places, gender segregation is very prominent. Vertical segregation is the difference in men and women as they climb up higher in the ladder of career. Again this segregation is due to the stereotypic mindset of people. In workplaces especially women are assigned with work that requires more of writing or research work, while men are allotted with works that require mental strength and physical work. But there are also women who are good at mental works and there are also men who can write very well and are research enthusiasts. Horizontal segregation is visible in every organization.
Importance of Horizontal Segregation
As mentioned, segregation is very much visible everywhere. Gender segregation takes the limelight when it comes to observing segregation in work places. As already mentioned, there are two types of gender segregation – vertical and horizontal. Horizontal segregation addresses the issue of the unequal number of men and women working in various fields. This points us to the fact that gender equality is still a big issue everywhere, even though gender discrimination is said to be wiped off in case of education, these difference in men and women ratios in work places just pose the real situation of gender equality in front of us. While we see in a company, women is always allotted positions and duties that are centered in office. Men are always allotted with mind provoking jobs that require a lot of mental strength and intelligence quotient. The work should be equally divided among the employees not on the basis of gender. Why women are not considered good in finance and why are not men considered good for research work? This questions can be answered. We can always assess employees on the basis of their capability not on whether the person is a male or female. It’s high time we start bending our minds away from the typical stereotypes and evolve a sense of equal feelings amongst us.
Difference between Horizontal Segregation and Vertical Segregation
A closer concept is vertical segregation which is a type of gender segregation. But it is different from horizontal segregation as vertical segregation highlights on the fact how women and men are differentiated while getting promoted to a higher position, also we see men holding major high positions in organization.
Example of Horizontal Segregation
A very live example highlighting the differences in men and women in the form of horizontal segregation is the choice of field while opting for MBA. We see girls opting for HR much more than guys do. Also, similarly we see males opting more for business management than the females do. The decisions students take are not only based on personal biases, but also they get various advices from the family members and others from the society. A girl is preferred more in a recruitment process in HR field, because it has become a mindset of people that girls would do better in that and males would do better in marketing and sales job.
Hence, this concludes the definition of Horizontal Segregation along with its overview.
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