The Importance of Addressing Workplace Inequality
In 1848, the women’s suffrage movement began. Females all across New York State joined together to stand up for themselves and their rights as human beings. Since then, we as a society have come a long way with women’s rights. However, we still face significant challenges daily, especially in the workplace. There are countless ways in which women experience this, some including sexual violence in the workplace and unequal pay. Many women also face discrimination, especially when it comes to leadership roles and promotions.
Studies have shown that approximately 8/10 women experience sexual violence in the workplace in their lifetimes. This affects women daily, and it is something that is less commonly experienced with men. Through the recent #metoo movement, millions of women all around the world have had the courage to voice their experiences with sexual harassment, and therefore this issue has been vocalized significantly more than before. Women have been terrified to go into work; a place that is supposed to be safe, and a place of business; a place we have to go in order to make a living. Workplaces are supposed to be a professional, safe place, and it is long overdue for significant change.
Another way women are treated unfairly in the workplace is their pay. The majority of people are still blind or willfully ignorant to the fact that men still earn more money than women. The law in most places state that everyone must have equal pay despite their gender. However, this isn’t being followed by most companies around the world. It has been said that for every dollar men make, women make approximately 79 cents. When added up to what various genders make annually, men make a significant amount more than women. Females are constantly facing inequality, quite frequently without their knowledge of it.
In terms of discrimination with leadership roles and promotions, females are not represented nearly enough as they would be if the workplace had a truly gender-equal environment. The stereotype that men are stronger, more powerful leaders is constantly displayed within the workplace, and therefore has a negative, unfair effect on business-women.
William Keepin, co- author of Divine Duality: The Power of Reconciliation Between Women and Men states, writes “In all societies, both women and men are powerfully conditioned to repress the daily realities of (sexual harassment and workplace glass ceilings) and to collude with the rest of society in keeping these dimensions of shared experiences hidden.” With that, I strongly believe that gender-inequality is a major issue in the workplace. The best way to combat these gender inequalities is to start examining and changing policy and human rights laws that deal with inequalities across the board so everyone can truly feel the effects of an equal, all- inclusive society/world.
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