Gender inequality is a pressing issue for many companies, as adjusting this setting can change the prioritization and overall attitude of the organization. According to Figure 1, women comprise about half of the labor force in the country. Thus, the right balance must be struck to achieve the goals and fulfill the company’s mission.
Gender inequality can often manifest itself in the distribution of wages and responsibilities, which negatively affects the team’s overall morale. This state of affairs can negatively affect future opportunities for women and men in various areas. An important indicator is that women must work much harder to earn as much money as men (Wooll, 2021). Thus, women’s rights are constantly being stifled, and they are at risk as such attitudes negatively affect their well-being and daily experience.
In addition to monetary inequality in the workforce, one can also trace the prejudice against certain social groups, such as LGBTQ+ persons and women of color. This negatively impacts corporate ethics as employees can be exposed to various negative ill-treatment factors. Career advancement can be significantly slowed down because men in leadership positions are unwilling to give promotions to people from diverse social groups.
This hurts the productivity of companies, as many qualified professionals are unable to get the jobs they deserve because unworthy attitudes from management people infringe upon them. Improving the situation can be a critical aspect that leads to better working conditions for all social groups. Offensive and deceptive statements can significantly complicate the situation, creating more negative working conditions and reducing productivity.
Occupational gender segregation is a significant modern problem that creates significant obstacles for new professionals who start working. The phenomenon of segregation is manifested in the fact that people are highly concentrated in certain areas by gender (De Beauvoir, 1949, p. 7). Such an uneven distribution does not allow the full use of the benefits of companies and some social benefits. For example, in areas such as teaching in schools, nursing, or social work, the majority of workers are women, which creates a problem of inequality.
Due to this location in these areas, wages can be calculated unfairly, and entire areas of employment experience unfair depreciation of labor. At the same time, areas dominated by male workers offer high salaries, which reflects on employees’ material and moral situation. Breaking down such barriers to diversity and the concentration of specific processes per gender can positively impact productivity as employees perform better at equal pay.
Gender disparity in working conditions can be explored in more detail, including the barriers women face on their way up the career ladder. Sh superiors and other employees who do not want to show sufficient solidarity and abide by ethical standards can manifest career barriers. Thus, the problem can develop into a toxic team, creating the need to establish new corporate ethics to prevent such situations. The spread of stereotypes and gender bias in the workplace can help such negative patterns be reinforced and lead to more aggressive and destructive work (Phillips-Anderson, 2012).
Women are often burdened with disproportionately heavy workloads, such as family care or household chores, which make them less comfortable in the workplace. Thus, Career development is made more difficult because women cannot devote as much time to work responsibilities as men because they are not burdened with household and family responsibilities. Thus, considering the family factor is essential for the employer to understand how much action is needed to provide quotas.
Regarding women in the workplace, the concept of a glass ceiling can be considered, which means that they will not be able to advance further in the service and receive promotions due to barriers. Such non-obvious factors of infringement of women can be the previously discussed stereotypes, biases, or perceptions of women as workers with less pronounced leadership qualities. This creates a subconscious negative impression of women workers, even when they perform their work in full quality on an equal footing with men (Phillips-Anderson, 2012).
Ideas about leadership qualities can largely depend on the personal biases of top management, which leads to specific problems associated with sufficient promotion. This can be especially evident in those areas where men initially dominate and where women are underrepresented. Thus, the notion of a glass ceiling further aggravates this situation by not allowing the average working balance and representation of people of different sexes to normalize.
Harassment and discrimination are aspects that constantly persecute women in most industries in which a large number of men work. Thus, it can be scary and unsafe for women to remain in any position because their work is not judged on their ability. Due to the potential for harassment and other negative manifestations in the workplace, women must be given protection guarantees (Hyland et al., 2020).In addition to harassment in the workplace, which may cause bosses to promise women promotions, they may face sanctions for motherhood. This includes reduced career opportunities and a potential drop in earnings after the baby is born (Phillips-Anderson, 2012). In this way, women can choose when to care for a child, devote all their time to a career, and not have a family.
References
De Beauvoir, S. (1949). The second sex. Vintage.
Hyland, M., Djankov, S., & Goldberg, P. K. (2020). Gendered laws and women in the workforce. American Economic Review: Insights, 2(4), 475-490. Web.
O’Neill, H. (n.d.). Gender equality in the workplace: It’s about more than the money. Bold. Web.
Phillips-Anderson, M. (2012). Sojourner Truth, “Address at the Woman’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio,”(29 May 1851). Voices of Democracy, 7, 21-46. Web.
Wooll, M. (2021). Gender inequality in the workplace: The fight against bias. BetterUp. Web.
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