Price Waterhouse made several flaws in the treatment of Ann Hopkins. The partners refused to consider Ann for the partner position that she was highly qualified based on gender stereotyping. Ann’s colleagues indicated that she carried out functions at a partner level and that no one else in the firm was able to secure the types of contracts she acquired (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015, p. 396). Prior to her applying for the position she received accolades for excellent customer service and outstanding performance appraisals.

The partners turned her down for the position advising that she was overly aggressive, hard to work with and in general needed to be more feminine. The discrimination narrative paint a picture of women workers as viewed first as women, second as workers (Bobbitt-Zeher, 2011, p. 778). Additionally, the written investigation had gender stereotyping in quotation marks which is a clear indication gender stereotyping was happening. The definition of gender stereotyping is the assumption that most or all members of a particular gender must act or dress a certain way (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015, p. 366). Price Waterhouse was not able to give clear legitimate support for turning Ann down for the partner position.

The treatment that Ann Hopkins received from the other partners did not make good business sense. Ann proved that she was highly skilled and capable of performing the job. She obtained contracts that no one else in the company could. Utilizing her skills as a partner could help the company acquire additional contracts and facilitate growth. By not placing her into a position where her strengths can be utilized is a detriment to the company. The company is at risk of losing a highly qualified and talented employee. She could find a job with a competing company which in the long-term would hurt Price Waterhouse’s bottom-line.

To avoid the problems found in this case employers need to identify areas at risk for gender stereotyping and educate employees in ways to prevent this from occurring. After interviewing female executives, it became clear that female directors consistently experienced distinct barriers in the boardroom when they were the only woman, or one of just a few women, on the team. From the male point-of-view, we found a significant lack of awareness regarding these obstacles (Hernandez, 2018, p.1). Management should talk to employees to understand what issues genders face in the workplace and address them. 1 Corinthians 11 states, “Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman” ( New International Version). To have a productive and balanced work environment both men and women are needed. Each brings unique skills and talents to the workplace.