Introduction
Sexism stems from the belief that men are superior to women in some way. It has led to workplace biases where women are recruited to less lucrative jobs or paid less than men for the same job (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2023a). Even though women face sexual harassment, exclusion in decision making, being judged by their clothes and appearance, recruitment difficulties, and the gender wage gap. Sexism can be overcome through transparent salaries, training, equal work opportunities, and promoting work-life balance.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment occurs in many forms, such as derogatory remarks, objectification, and sexist humor, as well as in creating a hostile, intimidating, and offensive work environment for women to cope with. In most cases, the perpetrators justify their actions by pretending to be joking and that nothing is serious (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2023a). It leads to stress, embarrassment, frustration, missed workdays, lower efficiency and performance, and high staff turnover among female employees.
Exclusion from Decision Making
Women are still under-represented in decision-making on matters that shape communities’ politics, economics, education, and socio-cultural domains. For example, in the EU parliament, females are less than half the total number, and more heads of state in those countries are men (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2019b). Like in the EU, other countries across the globe are equally lagging when it comes to having close to the same ratio of males and females in decision-making. This has negatively reflected the failure of several nations to be sensitive to diversity when formulating their policies.
Judging Women by Cloths or Appearances
Despite attempts by many countries to enact laws that mainstream gender equality in workplaces, this is still far from reality. For example, in the United States of America, 52% of women would prefer to work from home (Madalon, 2022). They do so to avoid the stress they go through, spending most of their time trying to look attractive instead of performing their duties.
Inequality in Recruitment
There is a tendency and inclination to favor a candidate due to gender prejudice. It’s a big hiring issue and usually affects all stages of the recruitment process (Eaton, 2022). Women continue to get huddles during hiring because most employers rely on gender stereotypes and gender-differentiated work expectations (Birkelund et al., 2021). They are generally ignored due to their sexual orientation, even when they meet the qualifications required for the jobs.
Gender Pay Gap
The gender pay gap is a big issue among several corporations in many countries. For example, in the United States, females have been earning about 84% of what men are paid (Barroso & Brown, 2021). It would take close to 42 extra days of work for women to get salaries equivalent to what male workers got in 2020 (Barroso & Brown, 2021). This has remained so because females are viewed as less equal to men by contemporary society.
Overcoming Sexism Inequalities
Despite enhanced publicity and talks at every level of society surrounding the inequalities, the gender gap at work is still an issue. Organizations must focus on gender diversity during recruitment (Schooley, 2020). A transparent pay policy should be implemented across different sectors of society where salary issues are communicated openly to all employees to narrow the gender pay gap (Lam et al., 2022).
Furthermore, institutions must be more deliberate in training their staff on gender diversity and inclusion initiatives to negate the traditional stereotypes about women (Beth Braverman, 2019). In addition, counties, companies, and organizations should capacity-build and support women’s leadership (UN Women, 2022). This will assist in boosting their presence and esteem at work.
Likewise, a level scale should allow males and females equal opportunities in promotion and retention. In cases where they meet the qualifications needed, women should be appointed (Gruver, 2020). Lastly, because females have many responsibilities, including managing their spouses and children at home, organizations should consider a conducive work-life balance that ensures that they are not stressed to maintain their efficiency (Sheffy Kolade, 2022). This is supported through flexible duty hours and daycare centers for those with little babies.
Conclusion
Despite campaigns to eliminate sexism, women still face sexual harassment, exclusion, judgments based on appearances, discrimination during recruitment and promotions at work, pay gaps, and are not considered key in decision-making. The outcome of this has always created anxiety, shame, and anger among females. Furthermore, it could lead to demoralization, absenteeism from work, reduced productivity, and high staff turnover among women employees. Therefore, to overcome these prejudices, corporations, organizations, and employers must implement transparent pay policies bridging the salary gaps between women and men. Secondly, they should train their staff on the importance of gender diversity in the workplace. Lastly, women must be given equal opportunities during promotions and a conducive work-life balance.
Reference List
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