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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a proactive public policy approach to complement relatively reactive existing policies addressing gender‐related employment disparities in the USA, and to provide an initial empirical illustration of the proposal.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides a conceptual application of theories of total quality management (TQM) to the topic of gender‐related employment disparities, followed by an empirical illustration using US Current Population Survey data and a gender equal employment opportunity (EEO) scorecard.FindingsUsing the TQM framework, company outliers were conceptualized on the EEO scorecard as "special" causes of economy‐wide equal employment variation and the industries in which companies are situated as "common" causes. The paper identifies two underperforming industries on gender‐related employment outcomes: Mining and Construction, and Transportation, Communication and Utilities.Research limitations/implicationsFurther conceptual work on the application of TQM to gender disparities in employment is recommended. Also, the study considered broad industry categories; future research should refine these categories further.Practical implicationsIt is recommended that US enforcement agencies incorporate industry considerations more explicitly into their activities. Employer insights may be beneficial to improving equal employment opportunity performance at the industry level.Originality/valueThe application of TQM theory to the topic of gender‐related employment disparities is a novel approach that may motivate new public policies.

Drawing on neoclassical economic, internal labor market, and devaluation theories, we examine how the sex composition of jobs and the sex of individual workers affect earnings, depending upon the formalization of the pay type. Using personnel data for over 8,000 employees, we confirm the existence of a negative relationship between earnings and the proportion female in a job. We also find that for less-formalized pay types (cash incentive bonuses), sex-composition and individual-sex effects are larger than for more formalized pay (merit raises and base salary). Together, these findings support devaluation explanations, suggest that incentive bonuses may widen the earnings gap between women and men, and have implications for the design of pay structures in organizations.

During recessions, the focus on male job losses may overshadow other important outcome variables. We examine the effects of economic downturns on occupational segregation by gender, using staffing data from over 6 million private-sector US establishments from 1966-2010. Consistent with the literature, we find a downward trend in occupational segregation that is diminishing over time. Drawing upon Rubery's (1988) work on women and recessions, we find support for both the buffer and the segmentation hypotheses. On net, however, the buffer hypothesis appears to dominate providing evidence that in periods of economic decline the trend of decreasing economic dissimilarity is interrupted.

PurposeThere is increasing concern about the environmental aspects of business and production processes, and many companies have chosen to implement environmental management systems (EMSs). The purpose of this paper is to examine whether change management efforts improve the perceived success of EMS implementation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyzes empirical survey data using hierarchical regression analyses with a sample of mid‐level engineers and managers in manufacturing facilities.FindingsChange management efforts appear to enhance the perceived environmental performance of manufacturing establishments, primarily driven by top management support for EMS implementation and efforts to institutionalize the EMS.Research limitations/implicationsResults are generalizable to large manufacturing facilities implementing EMSs. Results should be replicated with a larger sample and using measures of actual environmental performance.Practical implicationsChange management techniques can enhance the environmental performance outcomes of EMS implementations.Originality/valueChange management concepts have been neglected in examinations of EMS implementation outcomes, and they may help explain mixed findings on EMS success to date. The findings suggest that change management efforts can enhance the value of firms' EMS implementations.