By: Shalismar Nivar

Have you ever experienced discrimination at your place of work? Many working females can relate. For many years’ women have fought for equality. Finally, being socially accepted for women to be able to work instead of only being responsible for household duties such as cleaning, cooking and taking care of the family. When you hear of women discrimination in a work environment you may immediately invasion sexual harassment, yet there are other factors that contribute to the discrimination of women in the work force. For instance, pay rates or job opportunities.

            An investment company by the name of Morgan Stanley paid out about 300 women 54 million dollars for allegedly not being paid or not having access to the same promotions as the men working for this company (Welle, Heilman 2005). In another event, the business corporation Wal-Mart; 1.6 million women are in pursuit to file a civil rights lawsuit, these women have also been experiencing sexism in the workplace (Greenhouse 2004).  Further investigation done by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found that the number of lawsuits due to discrimination against women have not reduced in the past 12 years (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 2004). 

            Research has shown that most fortune 500 companies have CEOS ran by men, as well as 84% of them being corporate employees (Catalyst 2002).  In these same companies, 50% of the employees are women with job titles lower than those which the men occupy (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2003). With this known research, lawsuits and statistics that many women experience discrimination at a workplace it still goes unnoticed and biases are still present in these companies.

            Being a woman and experiencing this discrimination at work takes a toll on you psychologically. You feel as you need to work 10 times harder in order to be seen. You feel as you need to go up and beyond in order to be recognized. In most cases, these women have accomplished so much that puts them in a position to be able to have a higher wage or a better position yet, these opportunities are presented to the men. Women can have the same amount of education, they can have the same amount of experience, same number of skills yet still will be overlooked. This leads to me to the glass ceiling theory, which is basically an invisible hurdle that blinds the rise for professional opportunities. The glass ceiling mainly affects women and minorities. 

            I remember working for this company and noticed how much work I was putting into my craft yet realizing that the male figures at this company weren’t working as hard. These individuals were making more than me and being treated as they were accomplishing much more than I was. Its detrimental to your self-esteem because one feels like they are not good enough or well prepared to take on the tasks. Being acknowledged and being treated equally at a workplace is very important and plays a big role in how you maneuver in your workplace. 

            Something that should become normalized is not stereotyping jobs. In example, saying that certain jobs are for men and others for women. Associating heavy lifting jobs, plumbing or construction with men leaves little room for women to be able to pursue careers in these types of fields. As well as associating women with being teachers, nurses or baby-sitting jobs. Sorting out what jobs go for which gender creates biases in these work environments and creates a certain perception of where men and women should be employed. Research has shown that men are described with better characteristics which leads them to be suitable for leadership positions compared to the characteristics associated with women, this makes it less favorable for women to achieve these positions (Martell, Parker, Emrich and Crawford 1998). 

            How can the treatment of women in these companies be refined? For starters, these companies should not include gender into craft. What someone can do or is capable of doing should not stem from their gender. These companies should look at everyone’s performance the same and not assume a certain gender is doing a better job. These jobs should be applying the same evaluation techniques on all employees and not alter these evaluations due to gender biases. Creating a diverse, safe and welcoming environment for all genders and treating all with respect and dignity will help keep away the strain of discrimination in women. 

Citation

 H & R. (2017). DISCRIMINATION IN AMERICA: EXPERIENCES AND VIEWS OF LATINOS. DISCRIMINATION IN AMERICA: EXPERIENCES AND VIEWS OF LATINOS, 1-56.

Becerra, D., Androff, D., Cimino, A., Wagaman, M. A., & Blanchard, K. N. (2012). The Impact of Perceived Discrimination and Immigration Policies Upon Perceptions of Quality of Life Among Latinos in the United States. Race and Social Problems, 5(1), 65-78. doi:10.1007/s12552-012-9084-4

WELLE, B., & HEILMAN, M. E. (2005). FORMAL AND INFORMAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN AT WORK. THE ROLE OF GENDER STEREOTYPES.