English 0210 – Mishriki

Integrated Essay

"Sexism, or gender discrimination, is a reality women face all over the world." Rita Putatunda

Using at least two sources and your own views on the issue, write a 750-word integrated essay,
analyzing the phenomenon of gender discrimination in the workplace, by pointing out its
different forms, causes, and possible ways to overcome it. Use clear in-text citations to attribute
your sources.
 Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

by Debopriya Bose – Published: 1/6/2010

Despite all efforts by the law gender discrimination in the workplace still exists. This is a big impediment
for the professional growth of women. Other than the female workforce a company also tends to lose on
good talent. Here is what you should know about gender discrimination in the workplace and how to stop
it.

Women have been forming a considerable part of the US workforce for decades now. Efficiency of
women to succeed professionally has been acknowledged all over the world. Nevertheless gender
discrimination in the workplace did exist and still continues in one form or the other. With better
educational opportunities more and more women are opting for financial independence by working
towards a stable career. Today almost every field that was earlier touted as being men-only has been
pervaded by women. If a woman qualifies on the basis of all the requirements of a profession, then there
is no reason why there should be gender discrimination in the workplace. Although laws have been
passed in most countries to provide equal opportunities at the workplace for both men and women, the
fact is that 'women and the glass ceiling' still exists.

What is Gender Discrimination in the Workplace?

Most countries allow for equal opportunities for men and women through the federal laws. For example,
the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, prohibits employers from discriminating against job
seekers. It also protects discrimination against employees on the basis of race, religion, sex, pregnancy
and nationality. However, recent study by US Bureau of Labor shows that women working 41 to 44 hours
a week earn 84.6% of what their male counterparts do. The statistics become more dismal with increase in
hours of work. Women who work more than 60 hours a week were found to earn only about 78.3% of
what men in the same category earned. 

Outright refusal of employment on basis of gender is just one of the most blatant forms of exploitation of
the right of each individual to work. However the scenario is more complex than this. Many times women
are refused benefits - monetary or otherwise, and other privileges that their male counterparts receive as
part of the employment policies. Overlooking their performance while considering employees for
promotion is another type of employment discrimination that is based on gender. This is often done on the
ridiculous assumption that women are not capable of handling stressful situations and tend to be
emotionally influenced when it comes to taking decisions as high ranking personnel in the corporate
sector. 

Even while hiring, many firms prefer men to women employees though most often they don't divulge this
attitude when they advertise for the job opening (as that is illegal too). This is mainly done of the pretext
that the health care requirements and social responsibilities of a woman are different than that of a man
and this is often viewed as a hurdle against her performance at workplace. However, federal laws do not
allow for such kind of employment discrimination. For example, if an employer refuses to hire a woman
with children who she has to care for, but recruits a man with small children at the same position then this
tantamounts to gender discrimination at workplace accountable to federal laws. What fuels such
sentiments is the fact that a woman's role in the society has always been as that of the caregiver in the
family and a working woman does not get any leeward in this responsibility. 

Gender stereotypes in the society has trickled down to gender roles in the workplace as well. It is true that
women have been found to have better verbal skills than men whereas research shows that men have
better visual-spatial abilities. However, such gender related trends should not be used in deciding
eligibility of an applicant for a particular job. However, sadly enough this is being done in workplace,
specially in the corporate sector. 

Other than these common forms, sexual harassment has also been covered within the gamut of gender
discrimination in the workplace. Title VII's provisions prohibit employers or colleagues to ask any co-
workers of sexual favors or creating environment on the workplace that would be hostile for individuals
of either gender. For example if the company even puts up calendar that has sexually offensive content,
then it would violate the act against gender discrimination in the workplace. 

Effects of Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

The most evident effect of gender discrimination in the workplace reflects in the performance of the
company. An organization in which gender discrimination is rampant, compromises on the quality of
work of its employees. Surely the affected individuals cannot work under stressful conditions. For those
whose rights haven't been violated may also get demoralized on witnessing the company's apathy
to gender discrimination. Also as the negative image of a company's discriminatory policies spreads, its
relationship with present and potential clients may also be hampered. This is due to the fact that
discrimination on the part of an employer is a sign of unhealthy business ethics. Also gender
discrimination may result in poor retention and the company may lose potential employees due to its
negative image. 

Preventing Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

The onus of ensuring equality in workplace lies greatly on the shoulders of the management. The
management should ensure that all the policies of the company, right from recruitment to benefits for the
employees do not violate their right to equality. Strict action should be taken by the management against
those who violate gender equality policies irrespective of their position within the organization. Those
who are wondering how to prevent gender discrimination in the workplace also need to understand that it
is not just the management but the employees themselves who can prevent such violation of their rights.
They can do this by being aware of their rights as far being treated fairly at their workplace is concerned.
Both the federal and state laws require companies to ensure that there is:

 Equal pay for equal work

 Uniform policies for male and female employees (this includes all policies including the spouse
of the employees)
 Equal treatment at workplace with respect to promotions, pay raises, other medical or financial
benefits

There are various acts like the Equal Pays Act (1963) and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act that came
into effect through an amendment made in 1978 to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which aim at
curbing discrimination against women at workplace.

Gender discrimination in the workplace is not only harmful to the professional growth of an individual
but also limits the growth of business firm. There are laws to prevent violation of employees, be it on the
basis of gender, age or race. However, these laws may vary depending on the laws of the state where the
business firm is registered. There may also be a time limit between the act of discrimination and time of
bringing the act in front of the legislation. To maximize one's chance of stopping such harassment at
workplace, timely action on part of the victim is crucial.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/gender-discrimination-in-the-workplace.html
 Sexism - Gender Discrimination
By Rita Putatunda

Sexism, or gender discrimination, is present everywhere, in every culture, in every country. The terms
‘sexism’ or ‘gender discrimination’ basically means the prejudicial treatment of a group or a person due
to their gender or sex. It involves a reinforcement of behavior and attitude on the basis of traditionally
stereotypical roles people have in the society we live in. Gender discrimination can involve a whole
gamut of issues, from unequal pay to women being portrayed as sexual objects in the media to wives
being beaten up by their spouses. While in theory gender discrimination can affect both men and women,
however, it is women who have been at the receiving end through the ages and across cultures, since most
cultures in the world are patriarchal, or male dominated. 

A stark and recent example of sexism is Hillary Clinton being judged according to the clothes she wears
and her looks, thereby belittling what she stands for intellectually. And there you have it, despite the
emancipation of women in the West, there has not been a single woman president yet – what can be more
telling! Sexism is a mindset that has the potential of affecting practically every aspect of women’s lives,
preventing them from accomplishing their full potential.

Sexism in the Workplace: From being sexually harassed by male colleagues to women getting paid less
for the same jobs to preferential treatment given by male bosses to more compliant women, whom they
don’t consider a threat, to stronger female colleagues being undercut for openly challenging the
conventional gender roles they are supposed to conform to, to discussing female colleagues or making
jokes about them in a denigrating manner, gender discrimination exists to some degree in most
workplaces. 

According to the United Nations, there is not a single society where women are not discriminated against,
or have equal opportunities as men. Even in countries in the West where women’s emancipation has
bettered the lives of countless women, they still experience the unfairness of the ‘glass ceiling’, wherein
women just do not get promoted beyond a certain level. According to the Glass Ceiling Commission in
the U.S., about 95-97% of the senior managerial posts in country’s largest corporations are held by men.

Gender Discrimination in Developing Countries: If women in the emancipated West are still fighting
for justice and equal rights for women, the girl-child and woman in developing countries have a plethora
of discriminatory practices which continue to keep them trammeled. From being sold into the sex-
trafficking trade, to rape, to child abuse, to sex-selective abortion, to infanticide, to neglect, to dowry
deaths and honor killings, discrimination against females is a stark reality that affects large portions of the
society across these countries.

Women the world over are still regarded as passive or weak or sexual objects. There is still a long way to
go to attain gender parity. Women continue to fight for respect, justice, and equality. Gender
discrimination has to be resisted wherever it exists. Whereas in the developing world it can be achieved
by widespread education and economic independence, in the developed world, women must continue to
break all the glass ceiling barriers, to achieve equal parity with men in every field, while continuing to
sensitize men about the issues of sexism and gender discrimination.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/sexism-gender-discrimination.html
 What is the Glass Ceiling?

While the phrase glass ceiling is metaphorical, many women who find themselves bumping their heads
on it find it very real indeed. It is most often used to describe the sexist attitude many women run into at
the workplace. In a discussion of ascending the corporate ladder, the word “ceiling” implies that there is a
limit to how far someone can climb it. Along with this implied barrier is the idea that it is glass, meaning
that, while it is very real, it is transparent and not obvious to the observer. The term glass ceiling is most
often applied in business situations in which women feel, either accurately or not, that men are deeply
entrenched in the upper echelons of power, and women, try as they might, find it nearly impossible to
break through.

Gay Bryant wrote an article in Adweek containing the first documented use of the term in 1984. The
term glass ceilingbecame a permanent part of the American lexicon with a subsequent article in the Wall
Street Journal published on 24 March 1986 by Carol Hymowitz and Timothy Schellhardt. While the term
may be casually used, the Department of Labor took it very seriously in 1991 when they issued a
definition of it, stating that a glass ceiling is made up of "artificial barriers based on attitudinal or
organizational bias that prevent qualified individuals from advancing upward in their organization into
management-level positions." The Department went on to establish a Glass Ceiling Commission in an
effort to “level the playing field".

Other extensions of the glass ceiling include the glass elevator or escalator, which implies that there is an
invisible vehicle that transports men up the through the ranks of corporate power. Glass cliff refers to a
position that a woman may take that will put her in the precarious position of utter professional disaster if
she fails. A take off on the glass ceiling is the celluloid ceiling, which refers to the glass ceiling that exists
in Hollywood.

While many women insist that the glass ceiling is a real barrier to accessing male-dominated positions in
business, many challengers say that it exists mostly because women choose to focus more of their time on
family and, in the end, cannot dedicate as much time to their career. Others claim that women think they
want to focus on their career, but in reality choose family over career. They cite a 2005 report that 43% of
highly qualified, educated women with children left their jobs voluntarily at some stage of their careers.
Although 93% wanted to return to their careers, only 74% did so and only 40% went back to a full time
position. Of those women who wanted to return to work, only five percent desired to return to the position
they had left.

Industries such as the investment industry have suffered the brunt of criticism about past blatant sexism,
with legal judgments punishing Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley for their discriminatory practices.
More recently, the investing industry has made huge efforts to recruit and train women for top positions.
Changes are slow however, since currently, though women represent 33% of the best in the banks analyst
classes, only 25% of newly hired associates are women. Only 14% of the top executives in the banking
industry are women, and in 2005, one report showed that women make 80 cents for every one US dollar
(USD) that men make. Many say that improvement, no matter how small, shows that there are cracks
developing in the glass ceiling.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-glass-ceiling.htm