Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

Women have been forming a considerable part of the US workforce for decades now. Efficiency of women to succeed professionally has been acknowledged all over the world. Nevertheless gender discrimination in the workplace did exist and still continues in one form or the other. With better educational opportunities more and more women are opting for financial independence by working towards a stable career. Today almost every field that was earlier touted as being men-only has been pervaded by women. If a woman qualifies on the basis of all the requirements of a profession, then there is no reason why there should be gender discrimination at the workplace. Although laws have been passed in most countries to provide equal opportunities at the workplace for both men and women, the fact is that 'women and the glass ceiling' still exists.

What is Gender Discrimination in the Workplace?
Most countries allow for equal opportunities for men and women through the federal laws. For example, the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, prohibits employers from discriminating against job seekers. It also protects discrimination against employees on the basis of race, religion, sex, pregnancy and nationality. However, recent study by US Bureau of Labor shows that women working 41 to 44 hours a week earn 84.6% of what their male counterparts do. The statistics become more dismal with increase in hours of work. Women who work more than 60 hours a week were found to earn only about 78.3% of what men in the same category earned.

Outright refusal of employment on basis of gender is just one of the most blatant forms of exploitation of the right of each individual to work. However the scenario is more complex than this. Many times women are refused benefits - monetary or otherwise, and other privileges that their male counterparts receive as part of the employment policies. Overlooking their performance while considering employees for promotion is another type of employment discrimination that is based on gender. This is often done on the ridiculous assumption that women are not capable of handling stressful situations and tend to be emotionally influenced when it comes to taking decisions as high ranking personnel in the corporate sector.

Even while hiring, many firms prefer men to women employees though most often they don't divulge this attitude when they advertise for the job opening (as that is illegal too). This is mainly done of the pretext that the health care requirements and social responsibilities of a woman are different from that of a man and this is often viewed as a hurdle against her performance at workplace. However, federal laws do not allow for such kind of employment discrimination. For example, if an employer refuses to hire a woman with children who she has to care for, but recruits a man with small children at the same position then this tantamounts to gender discrimination at workplace accountable to federal laws. What fuels such sentiments is the fact that a woman's role in the society has always been as that of the caregiver in the family and a working woman does not get any leeward in this responsibility.

Gender stereotypes in the society has trickled down to gender roles in the workplace as well. It is true that women have been found to have better verbal skills than men whereas research shows that men have better visual-spatial abilities. However, such gender related trends should not be used in deciding eligibility of an applicant for a particular job. However, sadly enough, this is being done in workplace, specially in the corporate sector.

Other than these common forms, sexual harassment has also been covered within the gamut of gender discrimination at work. Title VII's provisions prohibit employers or colleagues to ask any co-workers of sexual favors or creating environment on the workplace that would be hostile for individuals of either gender. For example if the company even puts up calendar that has sexually offensive content, then it would violate the act against the discrimination.

Adverse Effects
The most evident effect of such discrimination in the office reflects in the performance of the company. An organization in which gender discrimination is rampant, compromises on the quality of work of its employees. Surely the affected individuals cannot work under stressful conditions. For those whose rights haven't been violated may also get demoralized on witnessing the company's apathy to gender discrimination. Also as the negative image of a company's discriminatory policies spreads, its relationship with present and potential clients may also be hampered. This is due to the fact that discrimination on the part of an employer is a sign of unhealthy business ethics. Also it may result in poor retention and the company may lose potential employees due to its negative image.

Prevention
The onus of ensuring equality in workplace lies greatly on the shoulders of the management. The management should ensure that all the policies of the company, right from recruitment to benefits for the employees do not violate their right to equality. Strict action should be taken by the management against those who violate gender equality policies irrespective of their position within the organization. Those who are wondering how to prevent discrimination also need to understand that it is not just the management but the employees themselves who can prevent such violation of their rights. They can do this by being aware of their rights as far being treated fairly at their workplace is concerned. Both the federal and state laws require companies to ensure that there is:

• Equal pay for equal work
• Uniform policies for male and female employees (this includes all policies including the spouse of the employees)
• Equal treatment at workplace with respect to promotions, pay raises, other medical or financial benefits

There are various acts like the Equal Pays Act (1963) and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act that came into effect through an amendment made in 1978 to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which aim at curbing discrimination against women at workplace.

Workplace Gender discrimination is not only harmful to the professional growth of an individual but also limits the growth of business firm. There are laws to prevent violation of employees, be it on the basis of gender, age or race. However, these laws may vary depending on the laws of the state where the business firm is registered. There may also be a time limit between the act of discrimination and time of bringing the act in front of the legislation. To maximize one's chance of stopping such harassment at workplace, timely action on part of the victim is crucial.