Implementing gender equality in the workplace remains a pressing concern across the world. This article examines the key reasons behind current workplace gender discrimination and provides practical solutions.
Gender inequality in the workplace has been pulling women back from advancing in their careers ever since the border between kitchen cubicles and office cubicles began to blur. Undoubtedly, the women’s rights movement of the mid-20th century and various laws, such as the U.S. Equal Pay Act of 1963, the U.K.’s Sex Discrimination Act of 1975, and India’s Maternity Benefit Act of 1961, made substantial progress towards bringing the genders on the same side of the equation.
But the prominent question is: Is that equation still a bit imbalanced?
As per a study by Pew Research Center, in 2017, 42% of working women in the United States face workplace gender inequality. And that’s not all! The Women in the Workplace 2024 report by McKinsey & Company states that women’s representation in top managerial positions has recorded only a modest rise from 23% in 2015 to 29% in 2024.
This shows that despite putting in their best and breaking into the long-forbidden arenas of various competitive professions and roles, women are still forced to stay away from true professional growth.
Now, let us look at how gender discrimination persists in the workplace through some very common instances:
- Many people still believe that women are not competent to handle technology-related tasks and are more suited to administrative roles. Due to this bias, a woman who is a technology graduate might still be assigned an administrative job.
- Interviewers may think about asking women about their marriage plans before hiring them. Often, they do not consider asking similar questions to men.
- Women face limited networking opportunities. Male employees regularly socialize after work, from which female colleagues are excluded.
Why gender discrimination continues in the workplace—the root cause
The primary reason why gender inequality persists in the workplace is the stereotypes that exist in one form or another in many societies. Let’s examine the significant ones.
- Motherhood penalty vs fatherhood bonus – Working mothers are at a disadvantage in the workplace when compared to men or women without children. They are considered less committed to work, more emotional, and less reliable. Companies often sideline them during recruitment and promotions or pay a lower salary. But ironically, when men become fathers, they experience a fatherhood bonus. They are now seen as more responsible, hard-working, and dedicated, and get more pay and work. This arises from the stereotypical thought that fathers are primary breadwinners while mothers are primary caregivers.
- Think Manager—think male and the glass ceiling – The glass ceiling refers to the invisible barriers that prevent women and other minorities from reaching top corporate positions, regardless of qualifications. A key factor to the glass ceiling is the ‘think manager-think male’ bias. This is a cultural stereotype that relates masculinity to leadership and managerial roles and often results in sidelining women during promotions to top leadership positions.
- Societal expectations on career choices – The career choices men and women make are also shaped by the expectations of the society. While women are usually encouraged to take up careers in nursing and other caregiving fields, men are encouraged to take up careers in fields such as technology and engineering.
- Unequal distribution of domestic duties – Although more women are joining the workforce, they still bear a major share of domestic duties. The work stress and domestic workload create a double burden, which can lead to burnout.
Self-empowerment of women for breaking gender barriers in the workplace
Self-empowerment of women is important for breaking gender discrimination! Women should step forward, challenge stereotypes, break the glass ceiling, and transform their careers. A few changes women can implement by themselves at the workplace include:
Do thorough industry research and get a clear understanding of what they truly deserve.
- Identify where they are lagging when it comes to the question of skillset! Fill those gaps with necessary training and a proactive search for growth opportunities.
- Use confident language and be assertive where required
- They should stop remaining silent and be vocal about any form of discrimination thrown at them.
- Get to know the company’s policies on gender discrimination. Knowing their rights will arm them with enough confidence.
Bridging the gender gap promotes innovation and growth in organizations
The need for bridging the gender gap goes beyond being the right thing to do. Moral considerations apart, this can bring considerable business advantages.
Men and women bring diverse experiences and different approaches to problem-solving. An equal representation of men and women encourages diversity of thought. A workplace with gender equality also creates a sense of value and loyalty among women employees. They will be more engaged at work and contribute their best to the organization.
The challenges women face in the workplace
There are several issues that we need to address for promoting workplace gender equality.
- Unequal pay – Disparity in pay is a demotivating factor that harms the financial well-being of women. The pay gap widens as women age due to the career breaks taken for childcare responsibilities. If women are not compensated fairly, they are likely to quit their jobs.
- Sexual harassment – Workplace sexual harassment can be physical, verbal, or visual. Such behaviours harm a woman’s physical and mental health and bring negative consequences. Mostly, women do not report sexual harassment due to fear of retaliation, making the issue worse.
- Work-life imbalance – Men and women play different roles in their personal lives. Due to domestic responsibilities, women often look for flexible work arrangements. Long work hours along with domestic duties can increase stress and burnout. Unfortunately, managers often disapprove women taking leaves to meet their personal commitments.
- Bias and stereotypes – Needless to say, gender bias at work is a significant barrier to women’s career advancement. Managers usually make assumptions about a woman’s capabilities based on gender stereotypes and deny them responsible roles.
How to overcome the challenges women face in the workplace
The following are a few measures for overcoming the challenges women face in the workplace.
- Diversity in recruitment – Ensure that there is diversity in recruitment by sourcing candidates equally from both genders. Eliminate bias from hiring decisions across all positions by establishing interview panels with representation from both men and women.
- Fair compensation and promotions – Implement a fair compensation policy where the pay is proportionate to the work, regardless of gender. Furthermore, during promotions, ensure that qualified women are given equal opportunities through standardized evaluation procedures.
- Work flexibility – Women often require flexible work arrangements to balance their domestic demands and professional needs. Implement flexible work opportunities that address women’s needs, such as pregnancy, motherhood, and menstruation.
- Accountability of managers – Holding managers accountable for gender discrimination is a highly effective approach. Managers must ensure that their teams are diverse and inclusive. They must also encourage the women in their teams to reach their fullest potential.
- Training programs for gender equality – Arrange training to create awareness about acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in the workplace. It should also include guidelines on how to interact with women colleagues.
Conclusion
So there, we now know why gender equality in the workplace is of such great importance. The issue is something you can’t ignore. It affects organizational performance on the whole, and not just the career paths of individuals.
We should keep aside time and energy to recognize the complexities revolving around the matter and make sure that we commit towards forging effective strategies. Full-fledged approaches should be considered and taken in when it comes to policies and strategies to sweep away workplace gender inequality from its roots.
Let’s put in the best of our capabilities to turn workplace gender equality into a complete reality in the future. Let our workplace be gender-friendly.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is the gender gap in the workplace?
The gender gap is the disparity in pay, job opportunities, and possibilities of promotion existing between men and women doing the same job in the same place. Despite all the attempts made to dilute the gender gap, it still exists in various forms all around us.
What is the main reason behind gender inequality in the workplace?
Social stereotypes are the simple answer! The stereotypes that have been revolving around played a major role in strengthening gender inequality. Society always carries certain thoughts and ideas about how and what men and women should be in a professional and domestic environment.
How do gender roles affect the workplace?
Gender roles obviously moulds the types of job roles the genders choose. Based on such gender stereotyping, women are subtly but undeniably forced to choose traditional roles like caregiving, education, and administration, while their male counterparts go for opportunities in the field of science and technology.
