concerning equal treatment of women and the gender gap.
While we might not always consider gender equity in the workplace to be a pressing issue due to it's lack of coverage in mainstream media, this is an issue that is always relevant. Title IX might have been the most significant legislation passed to address discrimination along with the Equal Pay Act of 1963 but women today are still battling discrimination when it comes to employment. More often than not, a woman with a job is more vulnerable to discrimination in terms of treatment, status, and pay but as well as harassment (mostly sexual). Men too can face similar instances of gender bias and discrimination but the odds are not as high as it is for women.
In fact, according to a study done by Pew Research Center in 2017, "Half (50%) of women in STEM jobs say they have experienced any of eight forms of discrimination in the workplace because of their gender – more than women in non-STEM jobs (41%) and far more than men in STEM occupations (19%) "( Funk and Parker 2018). Instances of discrimination vary from less pay for the same job as a man, treatment as less competent, and being denied a promotion. These numbers are huge and in a field has progressive as STEM, it is disappointing to learn this. What other employment jobs are we likely to see numbers this high against women? What kind of positions would be better about inclusion?
While it's hard to know the answers to these questions, perhaps we should consider not just the blatant discrimination but what Hernán Galperin calls the "invisible advantage" in his article for The Conversation. The invisible advantage refers to male privilege and while this can be seen in employment through the management and higher staff, this is also noticeable in clientele. In this piece,he shares a story about two workers named Martin and Nicole who had shared an inbox for clientele and noticed a distinct difference in treatment.
Inbox for Nicole was often considered to be "rude", "dismissive", and "impossible". Clients were quick to question the work of Nicole (as a woman) with no knowledge that behind their screen was a man (for some time).
Michelle Gorman, writer for Law360, also writes this same concept as she explains the male clientele is more willing to choose male lead attorneys for their case due to a blind bias against women. They fail to recognize females as capable of representing them enough to win their case. Their study showed "Only 15 percent of male-nominated stars were women. This compared with 29 percent of female-nominated stars being women". (Gorman 2018).
Why is it that even customers and consumers carry this belief that employed women are not as competent as their male counterparts? That women don't know as well? That we lack the skills that men have? Where is this mindset rooted?
While I believe gender gaps and employment equity are crucial, one of the most current and pressing issue for the field of employment today regarding women is the #Metoo movement. Following the case against Harvey Weinstein, #Metoo has become a platform for women to open up and speak out against instances of abuse, violence, and sexual harassment. Not all these incidents will take place at work but many do. This movement has given women the chance to speak against wrongful treatment in the workplace and this is something they might not have done previously. With so many brave souls sharing their stories, women get the chance to realize that they are not alone in this battle.
Regardless, the bias against women continues at many levels of employment. Whether bias occurs from within, trickling down from superiors or outside with clientele, it is an issue that can be worked on this year.
Women who attended the Women's March just earlier this week would also agree with that. They understand that we must continue to stand up and resist both bias and discrimination at all times. Which is why many stood to close the gender gap, to talk about sexual harassment in the workplace that is all too common today during the #Metoo movement, and demand equality.
Hi Norma! You bring up really good points about the mistreatment of women in and outside the workplace. It was really alarming that 50% of women in the STEM field have experienced discrimination because of their gender. As a woman going into the STEM field, this post has really raised my awareness to the types of things that go on in the workplace. It is ludicrous to think that today in 2018, people still believe that men can do a better job than a woman, just based on gender. I agree with you that with the #Metoo movement and the Women's March just happening, women are ready to bring more equality to this world, and I am proud to be a woman during this changing time.
ReplyDeleteI never really understood how much discrimination women face until I read your post. You really put things into perspective when you used specific scenarios and listed statistics. Especially when you mentioned blind discrimination, people discriminate even when they don't know they are. I thought it was a nice touch to incorporate the #metoo movement because this is so prevelant currently in social media and in Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteI really loved how you incorporated the image of Pew Research Center's research on the discrimination of women in STEM field jobs. You bring up really solid points on how despite there being current efforts that emphasize the need for gender equality, such as the Women's March and the #Metoo movement, there is still much discrimination amongst women at their workplaces, especially in the STEM fields. I actually attended the Women's March myself this past Saturday and saw many signs that actually talked about discrimination against women in work places - showing how real this issue currently is still. This is just something that we as ordinary people have to continuously bring up time after time in order to bring this issue to more attention in society. In this way, we will be able to make more progressive change. Being a women in a STEM major myself, this issue is something that I would really like to make progress for the better in the future.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post, Norma. I feel like many people don't realize that the fight for women's equality is still going on and it may not be close to being over. I hope that these recent women's marches are able to inform more of the public about this issue and help to solve it. The statistic that you shared that half of women in STEM related jobs have been discriminated in some way is very disturbing, and obviously something needs to be done to solve that. I hope that people will realize the severity of this issue and work together to help make equality a reality.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great time to be writing about a topic like this. As we know the idea that there is a gender gap that women are making less money and that women are being treated as inferior in the workforce is not a new concept. However, in the past year with the change of administration, there has been a resurgance of the movement which I think is very important to take note of. I like how you use statistical data to back your points. It is much easier to convince people that these issues exist when you give them hard facts that they can't argue with.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you included the image from the Pew study just showing how prevalent discrimination against women in the workplace still is. With everything going on in the media right now (similar to what you said) I feel like this issue gets overshadowed a bit and I like how you pulled in multiple examples since its occurring in a fields.
ReplyDeleteI really liked these points, especially with the statement with how women are seen as "bitches" when they try to take charge. This is one of my biggest pet peeves. I noticed when you talked about the salary earnings for men vs women you did mention that despite the same amount of effort out in the position the woman will make less. I don't know if you knew this but women of color actually make even less than white women. Black women are paid 63 sents to every dollar and Hispanic women are paid a little more than 50 cents to the dollar. I believe if we are going to fight to close the wage gape it should be for all women.
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