of working women are in clerical, nursing, or service occupations, all of which bring less status and monetary compensation than comparably skilled male-dominated occupations (Jacobs & Steinberg, 1990; Peterson and Runyan , 1993). STEREOTYPES AND THE GLASS CEILING A final barrier that prevents women, as a group, from reaching top positions in the workplace, can explain these differential outcomes. Barriers based on attitudinal or organizational bias that prevent qualified females from advancing
gay, lesbian, and differing sexualities. Many sociologists, in particular feminist thinkers, see heterosexuality as oppressive for women and subsequently another form of patriarchal control to reinforce their subordination, influenced by constructed gender norms and differences between men and women. Heteronormativity is the norm across all institutions and is the way in which heterosexuality is legitimised (Richardson, 2000). It reduces the agency women hold in relationships and controlling women’s