Once again, Gender Inequality is in the Spotlight

Despite gender inequality occurring in the workplace, women in the 20th century have made major advances.

In the beginning of the century, very few women carried jobs compared to 1999, where 60% of women were in the labor force. In addition, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 act passed, along with the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The first was a legislation that prohibits employers from making hiring, firing, salary and promotion decisions based on gender, while the latter specifically prohibits workers with the same job title who perform with the same skill level at similar productivity to be paid differently because one is a man while the other is a woman.

While women have made huge strides in the past century, far too many women still experience discrimination in the workplace. Today, women make only 79 cents for every dollar men make.

But you may be thinking, “I’m a man, so why does this truly matter to me?”

I hope I can help you see past this issue as more than a “he vs. she” issue. This is a human rights issue that needs to be solved.

The reality is:

• Gender still has a relation to pay.
• Sexual harassment is prevalent in many offices and many instances are not reported.
• Access to all occupations and industries, including leadership roles, is not fairly open to all men and women.
• Women have been treated unfairly or fired because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth.

On top of that, about 95% of sexual harassment cases in the workplace go unreported. Let that sink in — 95%!

However, there are benefits of workplace gender inequality besides the main reasons like equality and fairness. So, how can gender equality in the workplace help a business?

• Reduced Expenses. A high employee turnover is expensive. As both women and men view their workplace as a fair environment, they are less likely to leave.
• Better performance. Workplaces with gender equality tend to make better, holistic decisions for the company.
• Attracts Top Talent. Unappealing workplaces for women suffer when women go to work for competitors with more appealing workplaces.
• Increased resources. Giving women a chance to develop into their full potential because not giving women a fair chance hurts not only the company but their country’s competitiveness as they waste unused talent.

I hope you now can see how the issue of gender inequality in the workplace is not just an issue women should be concerned with. However, you may still ask, “Is this issue really serious in our decade?” The answer is yes.

In the past few years, several women spoke out about instances of workplace inequality. Notably, Jennifer Lawrence in October 2015 wrote an op-ed for the online newsletter Lenny titled “Jennifer Lawrence: “Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Co-Stars?” Lawrence boldly acknowledged how the Sony Hack revealed her lesser pay compared to her American Hustle male co-stars Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale.

Meanwhile, in office buildings, the study “Freezing women, oblivious men” published from Nature found “the formula used to calculate standard office thermostat temperatures was biased and based on the resting metabolic rate of a 40-year-old man who weighs 154 pounds.” Pretty much, offices are built with men in mind and women, who get warmer at slower rates, are winding up a lot more discomfort in their work environment.

A former UPS driver, Peggy Young, was forced into unpaid leave while pregnant because she turned in a doctor’s note with a lifting restriction. The company cited her inability to lift the 70 lbs. in the job description as the reason, but Young still sued. The Supreme Court ultimately decided in Young’s favor on the grounds that UPS did not make comparable special accommodations for pregnant women to keep working like they did with others with specific health conditions. Young won the case and helped draw attention to discrimination against pregnant women in the workforce.