Gender at the workplace revolves around on both physical and emotional aspects. They are features that affect how people interact in the workplace. Men and women face differences in the way they perceive in the work environment. This type of perception can be linked to the company structure, problem-solving techniques and how people look and work-related conflicts. Some organizations advocates for gender diversity and allows both men and women to take part in making critical decisions and giving equal opportunities.
Other organizations tend to discourage it, promoting inequality/discrimination. Gender equality is enjoyed when workers enjoy the same resources and opportunities regardless of their gender. Over the past years, many countries have geared toward achieving gender equality in almost all sectors of the economy. The gap still exists, women still earn less, less likely to advance their careers and accumulate fewer savings compared to men. On the other hand, men also are given less access to family-based laws/policies like parental leave. Gender equality should be grounded in achieving results that are equal for both women and men. The causes of gender inequality, adverse effects, benefits of gender equality and ways of achieving gender equality in the workplace.
Unequal pay is the leading cause of gender inequality in the workplace. It’s true that most female workers are not being paid unfairly compared to men. The difference in pay also suggests an imbalance and possible abuse of power. Latina women are more likely to work low-paying salary jobs in the United States (Green). For comparison, Latina women make $1.00 while white men make $1.46 (Green). In addition, “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named María,” author Judith Ortiz Cofer comments that women with little known English and few skills work in domestic, waitressing, or factory jobs. Hispanic women will have to wait until 2233 and Black women will wait until 2124 for equal pay. There have been talks about pay in recent years, and it’s becoming an issue in the work environment. Finding a pay gap will prompt someone to start examining how essential they are to the company. Companies are not being realistic when it comes to the job, and they are being corrupted by job descriptions that are outdated. Employers don’t look at the markets trends or what the job entails. People are not being paid for the job they did but based on their job titles, and this act is worsening gender equality. This is why unequal pay is in the top list as the cause of gender inequality in the workplace.
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Another cause of gender discrimination in the workplace is the fact that women are not well represented especially in sectors that are dominated by male. Men in these industries have power and authority and don’t want to welcome women who speak up because they believe it creates tension and confusion. This situation also happens in companies where there are male executives, and they see women as less important or not in a position to perform a more pleasant task (Hitlan,et al pg. 217). Gender inequality affects people’s health and the growth of the company. When an organization’s culture discriminates people, they will shift their roles and decide to act on practices that distinguish them. A trend like that is going to affect people productivity which will in turn impact on company’s profitability. On the other hand, gender bias increases the employees turn over. Employees won’t feel comfortable working for a company that discriminates them on gender lines. This type of discrimination also fuels sexual harassment, directed to women in most cases. There are instances where an organization may give opportunities to one gender and isolating the other one (Fenstermaker). This has adverse effects on the other gender and requires the government to come with an excellent platform that will cater to the needs of disadvantaged people in the workplaces. The workplace should always be a safe environment, but unfortunately in some cases it is not. Both women and men have reported being harassed in the workplace. Vox Journalist Tara Golshan reported that “in male-dominated fields and low-wage jobs, women experience high levels of harassment. 75 percent of workplace harassment victims experienced retaliation when they spoke up […] because they do not have bargaining power to push back.” More controversial and though not at the same rate, men also experience sexual harassment in the workplace. For example, Sam Barsanti wrote that actor Terry Crews was sexually harassed by a “high level” Hollywood executive when the Hollywood executive walked up to him at an event and grabbed his genitals. According to a “Washington Post survey” by Gary Langer, 10 percent of men have experienced sexual harassment at work.” Between 1990 and 2009, reports of men experiencing workplace sexual assault doubled, from 8 percent to 16 percent of all claims.
Gender equality in the workplace help strengthens communication and blends various viewpoint. Communication helps in revealing the differences between men and women. Having strong communication skills between employees is vital in fueling business success as people can exchange ideas and concerns whenever they arise without any barrier. Men tend to be good at handling confronting the issue and communicating issues while women like solving problems at hand. The two aspects are thus right ingredients for working together. On the subject of viewpoints, both work together to come up with different ideas on the table.
There is a mix up of skills, talent, and strengths which help run work chores effectively. To effectively monitor gender equality, it’s best to provide training on gender to management to managers and come up with policies that promote gender equity. Managers should be educated on the best to identify and handle cases of discrimination that might be evidenced in business. Top management should also showcase their effort of promoting gender equity. Other stakeholders or the general public should know how determined they are in promoting gender equality (Fenstermaker). When it comes to policies, they should ensure there is equal pay for doing the same work. Apart from compensation, policies should be fair when it comes to job recruitment, training, hiring, and promotion. To realize correct balance, policies should be inclusive and support both men and women. Dealing with women alone will not always work out well.
It’s a good practice when women go for maternity leave; men be given parental consent. Furthermore, management should come up with policies that help workers balance their work and personal life (Rapoport, Rhona, et al). It’s a good practice also to create systems that discourage any form of harassment and make sure there are consequences for bullying. Gender equality will be useless in the workplace if not well monitored and managers should act as role models. Companies should also strive to create empowering environment for their employees. Workers should be given the training they deserve and be allowed to be themselves in the work environment.
In conclusion, gender equality is an essential element and women are uplifted, men too rise. When all the above factors are utilized, women are likely to advance in their careers- and men also will become managers and clinch senior managerial positions. Companies will show real progress if men and women are treated equally in the workplace.
