Ethics and the Gender Equality Dilemma for US Multinationals
Author(s)
Mayer, Don; Cava, Anita
Abstract
U.S. multinational enterprises must now follow the policies of Tide VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in their overseas operations, at least with respect to U.S. expatriate employees. Doing so in a culture which discourages gender equality in the workplace raises difficult issues, both practically and ethically. Vigorously importing U.S. attitudes toward gender-equality into a social culture such as Japan or Saudi Arabia may seem “ethnocentric,” a version of “ethical imperialism.” Yet adapting to host country norms risks a kind of “moral relativism.” This article supports the view that MNES which promote workplace equality in a host country such as Japan, which is actively involved in the international economic and political community, is not “ethical imperialism” in any pejorative sense and is preferable to a moral relativism or social contract approach. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, and endowed by their creator with certain rights — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776 All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
