Gender Discrimination At Work Place - The Bitter Reality

How do you deal with sexism in the workplace especially being a woman? It is one of those questions that make you go, “oh well”. The fact is one may not have a real answer to this in one or the other way; women have been the victims of sexism at work. 

Women have been trying to break the stereotypical views, norms and regulations set by society. They have been fighting for equal rights and a place in the world. 

How do you define sexism in the workplace? 

Sexism in the workplace is any form of discrimination against someone because of their sex or gender which happens at their workplace. For example, passing derogatory comments, objectification, sexist humour or jokes, vulgar comments about clothes and physical appearance, lack of respect and favouring men and excluding women.

Let’s face the fact that women around the world are juggling all of life’s crazy demands such as birthing and raising children, providing financial stability and preparing healthy meals for the family, all at the same time while trying to find out time for exercise, meeting friends and the ‘occasional’ moments of relaxation. Yet they are still largely treated at below par with men in the workforce. 

The world of work has changed and finding a place in the workplace has become a more difficult task than before. Sexual harassment can happen to anyone anywhere and in the workplace, it is unlawful to harass a person because of that person’s sex. The sad reality is that this type of harassment at work is common and an underreported issue everywhere in the world. Harassment does not have to be just sexual; it can also include offensive comments or remarks about a person’s sex.

Major challenges women face in the workplace

Women worldwide continue to remain underrepresented at every level starting from internships to the position of CEO. This is one of the primary reasons causing them to stay behind men. This underrepresentation gets even worse at the senior level as a very low percentage of women are promoted to be managers or CEO. 

Although we as a society have come a long way, women still face a number of barriers and challenges in the workplace such as lack of childcare support, harassment or biased discriminatory behaviour. These issues are ongoing issues for women across all industries around the world. In order to achieve success in professional life, we must first break the wall of barriers.

Pregnancy discrimination is another major dilemma which women face in the workplace and due to this when it comes down to starting a family; many women avoid it or are confused. Pregnancy discrimination occurs when a woman is treated unfairly due to pregnancy or any other medical condition related to their pregnancy. It generally involves stereotypical views, isolation and change of duties when a woman is on her family way. In most cases, the salary may also be reduced. In some cases, the employers may be unwilling to offer much-needed adjustments and accommodations required by the pregnant employees. A number of laws have been put in place to deal with this situation but still, a large number of cases go unreported due to the fear of losing a job and not being able to get another one. 

The gender pay gap is another misogynistic approach against women at work. The gender pay gap is something that is widely discussed in today’s working world. However some may try to dismiss the issue by stating that there is no such gap, the numbers and figures prove otherwise. 

Progressing in their career is much trickier and more difficult for young female professionals who need to work harder than their male counterparts in order to earn recognition and promotion. You will notice a major discriminating recurring pattern at the biggest dogs of the popular corporations where the majority are men! Men advance faster as women are deemed ‘incompetent’ even when they haven’t been provided with the same level of opportunities and equality at the workplace. According to McKinley & Company, for every 100 men who are promoted to managerial positions only 85 women are promoted in comparison. 

Another major problem faced by women at work is regarding their grooming and appearance. This is also known as the beauty expectation gap or the grooming gap. This phenomenon encapsulates the social norms that are imposed on women regarding their grooming and physical appearance. Women are expected to be well-maintained and this maintenance costs a hell lot more than what it costs for men. The “make-up should be well maintained”, and “hands and nails must be well manicured and painted”, are just a few demands. The grooming gap also results in a loss of free time for a woman which doubles their pressure. For men, work generally means only business casual clothing and a short haircut. For women, it can be spending hours each week on makeup, hair styling and finding an outfit that is both attractive and professional. The cost of this maintenance is too much to bear for most women especially when you consider the already existing pay gap. Grooming costs for women can be extremely expensive and have led to rising in aggression among women.

These rules and demands are generally unspoken but they still exist. It has been found in several kinds of research carried over a period of time that attractive workers have higher incomes than their average-looking counterparts. 

Another noticeable challenge that working women face is the lack of work-life balance. No doubt that everyone is struggling to find a balance in their personal and professional life, this situation can be more taxing on women who are expected to manage their house and work all at the same time. Women are still facing societal expectations regarding family roles and this gender role makes it more difficult for women to sustain their jobs. The icing on the cake is when the workplace doesn’t offer sufficient childcare support. Lack of childcare support can leave detrimental effects on working moms. 

Emotions are running high during “that time of the month”. The overly emotional woman is not a new issue and often goes hand in hand with period shaming. Often periods are associated with emotional outbursts and mood swings which is a common myth used to invalidate their reactions and feelings towards certain situations. We all experience frustration, stress and emotional breakdown at work. The real issue here is not “that time of the month” but the kind of attitude that followed it. 

While several laws have been put in place to provide women with a better environment at work, a lot still needs to be done at the ground level. There is still a long way before we can say that there is actually equality in the workplace for all despite of colour or sex.  Till then, women need to be well informed and better equipped with laws that provide them protection from the patriarchal mindset at their workplace.  It is their right to break the glass ceiling on a merit basis.