Employment and society

Gender equality in the workplace has been an issue for so long ever since women have penetrated the working Assumptions that work against women have always been the perpetuator behind the glass ceiling that prevents women to gain financial benefits and employment or advancement opportunities. The management, which is mostly consisted of male employees, find women not flexible enough, or assume that women do not want to be relocated or put long hours for the company because of their family responsibilities. Because of this, talented and skilled women lose the opportunity to be promoted to the higher management. Although there are women being promoted to the next level, there are still several signs that the place of women in the workplace is still at a lower level compared to men. Although the compensation gap between men and women employees are slowly narrowing, women’s compensation range is still at 77% lower than men’s in a 1999 data (Gregory, 2). By 2000, 46. 5% of the US workforce are women but only 11. 7% have held board of director positions and only 12. 5% are corporate officers (Gregory, 2). Sadly, women themselves have unwittingly become the perpetuator of their own discrimination. Some women do not recognize that a certain policy is discriminatory in nature. Others, who recognize the discrimination, do not want to become involved in legal proceedings. Or are scared of losing their jobs or think that it is useless to bother with such issues as all other workplace are also infested with discrimination. There have been various laws that were passed to ensure that women get an equal opportunity in the workplace. This proves that the course towards gender equality in the workplace is on the works. It may be a bit slow but it surely is gaining momentum. One of the laws that was passed to equalize financial opportunities for women is the Equal Pay Act. This law requires employers to pay their employees, regardless of their gender, equally based on their work responsibilities. A female secretary should have the same salary as a male secretary. A female supervisor should have the same salary as a male supervisor. But the Equal Pay Act is a far cry from destroying the barrier between women and advancement opportunities. Women have been stereotyped in certain work functions such as clerical, administrative and service work, thus keeping them at a lower salary range compared to male employees. Another law that was passed to help women against gender discrimination at work is the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975. The Sex Discrimination Act protects all employees against discrimination in recruitment and all stages of selection, terms and conditions of employment, benefits and services offered to employees, opportunities for promotion, training and transfer, dismissal and post-employment discrimination. This law aims not only to protect women but also men against discrimination, not only in the workplace but also in other sectors such as education and housing. The act made discrimination unlawful and it helped start a revolution in employment practices. Although it does not entirely eliminate discrimination in the workplace, it is a great start in enlightening people what discrimination is and what we can do to prevent it. Over the years, other laws were passed to battle gender discrimination such as Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations of 2003, Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations of 2003 and Employment Equality (Age) Regulations of 2006. The most recent law that was passed is the Equality Act of 2010. This law has two purposes: to unify discrimination law and to strengthen the law to support progress on equality (Davies, 134). The Equality Act of 2010 creates a standard definition of discrimination and its underlying concepts such as victimization, occupational requirement, etc. It also irons out existing inconsistencies in other acts. But even if there are several laws that have been enforced against discrimination in the workplace, it does not necessarily mean that the culture and attitude of the society towards women and employment have changed. It is easier to pass a law than to change social values and culture. Although there is a gradual change in the perception of women at work, it still has a lot to improve on. Gender equality does not necessarily mean that there should be a one-size-fits-all policy. It does not mean treating everyone, male and female employees the same way. A fair treatment does not mean treating everyone the same. Providing an equal opportunity to male and female employees mean valuing them for what they can contribute and how their skills can add to the advancement of the company (Worsam, 171). The true sense of providing equal opportunity is to give both men and women a chance to contribute according to their skills and capabilities. If a female candidate is better than a male candidate in managerial skills, then equal opportunity means giving that woman employee a chance to contribute to the company her skills in order to better provide management to its people. Through this, we give a chance for both men and women to help reach the fullest potential of the company. Gender equality provides women an equal chance as men to contribute and to give value to the company’s goals. Gender equality does not only mean treating women the same as men. Women do not aim for that. Women want to be valued for what they can do, for what they can give. That is the main purpose of gender equality in the workplace: to allow women to prove their skills and capabilities in the different roles and functions that men dominate. Works Cited Davies, A. Employment Law and Workplace Law Handbook: Human Resources. Cambridge: Workplace Law Group Ltd., 2011. Gregory, R. Woman and Workplace Discrimination: Overcoming barriers to gender equality. NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2003. Worsam, M. Effective Management for Marketing. MA: Elsevier Science Ltd., 2002.