Achieving sex integration

Moving the minority sex or completely excluded sex into a social endeavor, activity, or society may succeed in achieving sex integration. In a workplace environment promoting investment in sex-neutral skills is a mechanism that may produce sex integration. Attributing relative meaning to gender or sex may transcend a belief in the reality of gender or sex so as to reduce sex segregation and dominance by exclusively males or females.

Sex integration
Sex integration is the intermixing of people or groups previously segregated on the basis of sex. Automatic sex integration may occur in humans naturally as indicated by studies of such early peoples as the San of southern Africa, where individuals of either sex are relatively equal and the society egalitarian. Some saunas and 'clothing optional' beaches are generally sex integrated, for example.

Sex neutral skills or traits
Self-monitoring is the ability and willingness to read verbal and nonverbal social cues and alter one's behavior accordingly. This seems to be a sex-neutral skill. Other traits that differentiate between women managers and nonmanagers: first-born children, either an only child or the eldest of no more than three children, happy childhood in a traditional, warm and loving, upwardly mobile middle-class family, identify more with father than mother and received support and encouragement from father to succeed.

Autointegration
In information systems automated semantic integration is referred to as auto-integration (autointegration). Automatic sex integration may occur in humans as indicated by studies of such early peoples as the San of southern Africa, where individuals of either sex are relatively equal and the society egalitarian. While some segregation does occur, it appears limited, related to sex differences, and unenforced, influenced or controlled. Gender identification and labeling, rather than similarities in sex-typed activities, usually result in some sex segregation. Self-awareness of sex differences can add to individual development and need not lead to harmful sex segregation or inequality.

Sex integration and dominant groups
The dominant group uses its dominance to advance its own position. Dominant groups remain privileged because they write the rules, and the rules they write enable them to continue to write the rules to thwart challenges to their position. Between 1970 and 1980 occupational sex integration increased by 10 percent, but the sex wage gap for full-time workers declined by under 2 percent.

When the dominant group is married men, for example, the sex wage gap need can be due to the need of themselves as household heads for a "family wage". When millions of women became heads of households, occupation supplanted as the principle for assigning wages. Sex integration to equalize women and men by occupation would be opposed as it is seen as another effort to close the sex wage gap. Were married women or women household heads the dominant group, sex integration would also be opposed for the same reason.

Sex integration in sport
Sex integration in professional sport faces some limitations apparently based on marginal sex differences such as height (males on average are taller than females) or upper body strength and behavior in terms of violence. Although height is important in basketball, for example, skill and strength often far outweigh height. Yet, so far, the National Basketball Association and the Women's National Basketball Association of North America remain unintegrated. However, in the October 23, 2007, NBA Preview Issue, Sports Illustrated features "Inch by Inch: The All-Time, All-Size All-Stars." The 5'8" slot is awarded to Sue Meyers, the 5‟6" to Dawn Staley and 5‟4" to Suzie McConnell. In addition to these three women, identified as the best ever at their heights, 11 of the 72 runners up, listed under the winner of each height category, are women – starting at 6‟4" and ending at 5‟3". In this continuum-based showcase by height, out of 101 players listed, 14 are women.

The same can be said of the National Hockey League, also of North America, regarding sex integration. There are women hockey players of apparently comparable ability, for example, Hayley Wickenheiser who plays for a third tier Swedish men's hockey team, and as of 2003 became the first woman to score a goal playing in a men's professional league.

Unlike its counterparts in other sport, the Professional Golf Association does allow sex integration, as demonstrated by Michelle Wie who has played in events.

Entirely eliminating sex as an organizational category in sport may not result in participatory parity, but, instead, in greater cultural and material marginalization.