Table of Contents
Introduction
What is sex discrimination? Sex and gender are often used interchangeably in conversation, but there is a clear difference. Sex, as defined in the social sciences, is the anatomy of a male or female. Gender is usually associated with male or female characteristics. But discrimination based on one or both is illegal under the law.
Sex or gender discrimination is the taking of any employment action that is unfair to or adversely affects a person because of their sex. This can include hiring and firing decisions, assignment of responsibilities or tasks, or work schedules, and who works where and when. Such discrimination may also involve your compensation or opportunities for advancement and career advancement.
According to “Sex Discrimination at Work”, For sex discrimination to be illegal it must involve different treatment that negatively affects the terms or conditions of employment. Illegal sex discrimination occurs when an employer treats an applicant or employee differently because of his or her gender or because the person is associated with an organization or group related to a particular gender. Sexism involves treating an employee or applicant differently based on gender stereotypes or because he or she is not traditionally feminine or masculine.
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Sexism also includes verbal or physical harassment of unwanted sexual orientation, sexual requirements and other sexual behavior. Sexual harassment may also include offensive remarks to women or men in general. Given their success in almost every field, women can do their jobs as well as men. Women now hold leadership positions in companies of all sizes, academic institutions and political positions. However, many women find themselves constrained by the issue of gender discrimination.
While this is primarily a problem for women, there are also cases of sexism against men. For example, the equal employment opportunity commission (EEOC) recently filed a lawsuit against the Ventura Corporation, a beauty products company, for refusing to hire men as sales representatives. “The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.”
Issue
Female firefighters were not given proper firefighting uniforms while male firefighter was given two uniforms, which put them at risk for years; were not given restroom or shower facilities; and were otherwise not treated comparably to male firefighters. (Wedow v. City of Kansas City Missouri)
Ruling
The court found that despite the tire department’s arguments to the contrary, tills was gender discrimination. (Wedow v. City of Kansas City Missouri)
Facts
In the Wedow v. City of Kansas City, Missouri case, female firefighters were not given proper firefighting uniforms. The male firefighters, however, were given two uniforms. The female firefighters were not given showers or restroom facilities. They felt they weren’t treated equally to the male firefighters.
Each firefighter is issued two sets of personalized protective clothing called bunker gear, consisting of a coat, pants, boots, helmet, gloves, a tool belt, and a self-contained breathing apparatus. It’s important to have two sets of a protective gear because if one uniform become soiled or wet with chemicals there is a danger of injury form steam when the same gear is worn to another fire in the same day.
The uniforms must fit properly also to protect against injury due to smoke, water, heat, gasoline, and chemicals and to ensure the ability to move while fighting a fire. Ms. Wedow & Ms. Kline were required to wear male firefighting clothing that didn’t fit. Because the protective clothing didn’t fit properly, they suffered injuries from fire and chemicals when the coats wouldn’t close properly.
Also, the pants didn’t fit properly because it causes restricted movement. The gloves they wear also didn’t fit properly to where they couldn’t hold objects securely. No efforts were made by the fire Department to provide adequate fitting protective clothing from 1990 through October of 1998. Ms. Wedow and Ms. Kline had to suffer with poor dangerous uniforms.
Not only were the women not given the correct uniforms, they were not provided with the proper facilities in the firehouses. There was a lack of adequate restrooms, showers, and private changing facilities. Oftentimes, the facilities the ladies were provided were filled with storage items, did not contain shower rooms, could only be accessed through the men’s locker room, or simply did not exist.
The women traveled to different firehouses often and were not once provided with the same private facilities as their male counterparts. “Department officials were aware of complaints about the clothing and facilities as early as 1993. From 1994-2000 the fire department submitted yearly budgets to the city requesting money for female locker room upgrades and were granted the allotment for the money but diverted the money to another station that already had a female restroom.” (Wedow v. City of Kansas City Missouri)
According to Title VII, it is “unlawful to discriminate on the basis of sex with the regard to the ‘terms, conditions, or privileges of the employment’ and prohibits and employer from depriving ‘any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affecting his status as an employee’ on the basis of sex.” (Bennett-Alexander, D., and Hartman, L.) The record showed that a female firefighter employment was affected by the lack of adequate protective gear, sanitary showers and restroom facilities, and because of these conditions they jeopardize the ability to perform the core function of the job in a safe manner. Judgement for the plaintiff affirmed.
Analysis
In spite various debates, legislations and amendments in favor of gender equality, still there are cases of obvious gender discriminations, it is very surprising that women are given lesser priority at workplace in 21st century. It is an act of discrimination when the officials did not provide the required clothing and other facilities equally to both male and female firefighters. Even though they are aware of the complaints, they did not take any action.
The fire department should have taken action immediately upon the hiring of female employees. There should have been no question about ordering two sets of the correct size uniform. Women should be given the same “well-fitting” uniforms and the men.
Determine the requirement of protective clothing and other equipment required for female firefighters and procure them from the source. Separate the male and female lockers rooms and restrooms. The female restrooms should be clean.
The images, magazines which are sexually explicit should be removed from the women’s restroom. The money allocated by the department should be used to upgrade the female locker room and the reports have to be submitted to the department for transparency. There should be a strict policy on sexual harassment in work place.
In this case, female firefighters were discriminated because women are stereotyped as weak. When they complained, the officials may have though the females are facing problems due to lack of capability rather than the ill-fitting dress and facilities. The men firefighters are treated better because the officials may have a perception that they are more productive in the organization and it is necessary to cater only their needs. The officials perceived the lack of facilities as an inconvenience but not discrimination as there are no changes in the pay, benefits or the job performance. The administration is negligent towards the complaints from the female fighters.
Even though there are resources, the administration did not heed to the requests of women for eight years and have not even attempted to take action in that direction. The circumstances indicate underlying gender discrimination.
Conclusion
The basic reason why Sex discrimination has always existed is gender stereotype. Another factor is differential respect. Gender stereotypes – People’s beliefs about the imaginary characteristics of men and women. These stereotypes exist in both genders, and both positive and negative features are present.
For example, a positive female stereotype suggests that women are kind, teachable, and thoughtful. On the contrary, they are considered to be indecisive, passive and too emotional. Similarly, stereotypes assume that men have both positive and negative characteristics. For example, men are considered decisive, self-confident, and positive, but they are also aggressive, slow-moving, and arrogant. In the case of differential respect, both women and men show more respect to men.
Reference
- Bennett-Alexander, D., and Hartman, L. (2019). Employment Law for Business 9th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
- Sex Discrimination at Work. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2019, from https://www.equalrights.org/legal-help/know-your-rights/sex-discrimination-at-work/
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2019, from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sex.cfmWedow v. City of Kansas City Missouri 442 F. 3d 441 (8th Cir 2006)
