Human Resources Management Commons^™

Vocation, Belonging, Courage: Gender Equity In Narratives Of Non-Exempt Women Administrative Assistants In Academic Units At The University Of Dayton, Julio A. Quintero, Heather Ashley

Reports from the Gender Equity Research Fellowship

Gender roles normalize thinking patterns, behaviors, actions, and attitudes. The workplace is not immune to their influence. Gender roles make certain labor invisible, either because it does not typically fit with the expectations of a determined gender group, or because it is deemed normal and therefore expected.

This report condenses the narratives of 11 non-exempt women administrative assistants at the University of Dayton in reference to how vocation, belonging, and courage are affected by gender. Based on the responses, the report proposes several approaches to equity, which is defined as the modifying of structures and practices that have intentionally or …

Faculty Start-Up Negotiations: An Examination Of Gender Differences And Recommendations For Improvement Opportunities At The University Of Dayton, Kathrin Hanek

Reports from the Gender Equity Research Fellowship

Amidst well-documented gender differences in negotiation and gender wage gaps in academia, ensuring gender equity in faculty start-up negotiations is an important part of the University of Dayton’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The current investigation examined the faculty start-up negotiation process at the University of Dayton from the perspective of department chairs and new tenure-track faculty hires with an emphasis on gender differences in the initiation and outcomes of negotiations as well as potential underlying factors that may contribute to gender disparities.

Data collected from surveys and interviews indicated gender differences primarily in the initiation of negotiations, satisfaction …

What Determines Public Pension Investment Risk-Taking Policy, Nancy Mohan, Ting Zhang

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

State public pension plans, mostly defined benefit plans, cover pension benefits for 12.8 million active public employees and 5.9 million retirees and other annuitants. However, by the end of 2009, public pension plans had accumulated a total funding deficit of $697 billion (measured by the difference between actuarial pension assets and liabilities). On average, public pension funds cover 75 percent of their liabilities, but individual state results vary greatly.

The 2008 stock market crash strongly affected pension asset value in that equity allocation on average accounted for 56 percent of invested assets. The average 2009 pension asset beta of 0.63 …

Upjohn Institute Policy Paper: Public Pension Crisis And Investment Risk Taking: Underfunding, Fiscal Constraints, Public Accounting, And Policy Implications, Nancy Mohan, Ting Zhang

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

Public pension funds that cover retirement benefits for almost 20 million active or retired employees have been significantly underfunded. An important, though largely overlooked, issue related to pension underfunding is the excessive investment risk levels assumed by public plans. Our analysis suggests government accounting standards strongly affect public fund investment risk, as higher return assumptions (used to discount pension liabilities) are associated with higher investment risk.

Public funds undertake more risk if they are underfunded and have lower investment returns in previous years, consistent with the risk transfer hypothesis. Furthermore, pension funds in states facing fiscal constraints allocate more assets …

Turning Points In Relationships With Disliked Co-Workers, Jon A. Hess, Becky Lynn Omdahl, Janie M. Harden Fritz

Communication Faculty Publications

Although most people begin their employment with the education and on-the-job training to handle the tasks their jobs entail, few long-term employees boast that they feel competent in dealing with all the difficult people they encounter in the workplace. Unpleasant coworkers range from annoying nuisances to major sources of job frustration and career roadblocks. Given that periodic preoccupation with unlovable coworkers is nearly a universal feature of organizational life, it is not surprising that such relationships are given due attention in the media and popular press (e.g., Bramson, 1989; Topchik, 2000). What is surprising is how little scholarly attention has …

The Origins Of The Occupational Safety And Health Act Of 1970, Patrick G. Donnelly

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

This paper analyzes the emergence of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and finds previous explanations of its origin inadequate. I trace the roots of this law to the protests of rank-and-file workers across the United States at a time when the support of these workers was particularly important to the two main political parties. The protest was directed not only at those employers who operated unsafe and unhealthy workplaces, but also at union officials who paid little or no attention to safety and health issues in negotiating new contracts.