Good Essay On Women And Health Issues

Introduction

Gender-based discrimination at the work place is not a new idea to anyone who has been studying gender studies or labor-related information in any economy. Currently, 46% of the American labor force comprise of women most of whom earn 76% of what they male counterpart earn. It should be noted that these male and women are at the same level of education, experience, skills and what differentiate the two is their maleness or femaleness and their anatomical sex difference. According to the 2013, Bureau of Labor Statistics reports in America, women full-time workers makes 78cents from one dollar earned by men. Such forms of discrimination have surpassed pay and that they have extended to pregnancy discrimination, failure to get promotions, and sexual harassment among others (Hélio 74). Based on this insightful overview, the paper seeks to prove that women will always be discriminated based on gender and sex because the society seems to embrace a male dominated culture.

Gender based discrimination at the work place

Gender-based discrimination is a universal social problem affecting women at places of work. Various countries have enacted laws to curb the problem, but implementations seems to be ineffective; thereby, encouraging male hegemonic practices to discriminate women especially at their places of work. In Canada, article 15 of the constitution states that, gender based discrimination is prohibited (Schmidt 160). Out of 6428 gender-based suits filed in the courts of law, only 11% succeeded in bringing culprits to book. The majority of those involved in practicing the vice were men most of whom harassed women sexually to intimidate them. For more than 25 years, gender-based discrimination and sexual violence have been outlawed, but they remain to be a problem. The Human Rights Commission observed that 88% of women who reported gender based discrimination noted that they emanated at their work places.
Although the civil rights act of 1964 provides that, no one should be discriminated based on sex or gender, many women especially in middle and low classes suffer gender-based discrimination at the work place, which is majorly perpetuated by men (Schmidt 160). The current society favors men as opposed to women and that is why gender based discrimination among women will always exist. Reports from the 2003 census indicated that four out of ten women in America are breadwinners in their families yet most of them earn lower than what their male counterparts earn. On realization, most women have launched complains about their predicaments, but in most cases, those handling their cases are male and they tend to sustain the status quo. Some women have failed to report such cases because they are aware of the frustration they will experience from the male dominated society and for that reason, they opt to persevere with the situation or seek alternative companies where they are treated fairly.
According to the 2012 reports of the Equal employment opportunity commission of America under the Equal Pay Act, men and women of the same academic qualification and experience should receive the same remuneration (Hélio 76). However, the legal provisions do not quell the problems experienced by most of women at their work places. The institute for women’s policy research observed that most women in various job profiles have more college degrees as opposed to their fellow men. Despite that, they continue to earn lower salaries compared to men at the same job scale or group.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, women have entered job occupations previously dominated by men, but their move has not given them a chance to fight male hegemonic practices prevalent at the work place. In the construction industry, women have integrated with men as engineers, or project managers, but most of those who work in such industries experience high levels of discrimination even from junior employees. In terms of occupational distribution, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that women occupy service and clerical positions, while men occupy white-collar jobs positions in a given organization.
Government institution observes that, out of ten positions that are supposed to be felt by promotions only two or one is given to women, while the rest are left for men who sometimes have lower qualifications for the same positions. The National Center for Educational Statistics stated that women teachers have to work three years longer than their male counterparts do before they assume principal positions (Williams 39). The society has never believed that women can give effective leadership; they are considered weak and should not be trusted with superior positions. Stereotypically, the society has been indoctrinated to consider that some occupations are meant for women, while others are meant for men and that women should not “trespass.”
Education, childcare, and Nursing have been known to be feminine occupations, while business, finance, and technology are considered men related. Some women in institutions of higher learning have been discouraging women from taking some courses citing that they belong to men or are complicated for them. Even though some of the universities have retreated behind such austerity measures, they enroll fewer numbers of women in some courses at the expense of men. In such cases, such institutions seek to support the culture of favoring men at the expense of women. In the future, the work place will continue to be controlled by men because women are being denied chances of undertaking some courses.
Fortune 500 rarely feature companies that are managed or controlled by women yet in the private sector, women offer more than 35% of the total job positions compared to all the companies listed on fortune 500 (Schmidt 162). This is an indication that Fortune 500 embraces the inherent culture of favoring men at the expense of women. Even though president Obama signed a memorandum of association with federal contractors about the submission of pay list of all their employees to the Bureau of Labor, he has been silent about initiating measures that will reduce the gender gap pay, which keeps widening by the day.
Considering that most women experience an artificial barrier that hinder them from ascending to higher positions, they continue facing gender based discrimination even at middle or low levels of management. During decision-making or problem solving in most top organizations with high market capitalization women are excluded from attending important meetings because their impact in decision-making or problem solving is considered low. Some have been excluded from taking part in games such as golf, which link business professionals. Most top management bosses when asked about gender discrimination, they deny but, when analyzed closely, they do not favor women because most of them are “difficult to work with.” Such stereotypes bear no facts and that they are based on indoctrinated negative stereotypes that women are cause problems when working with men.
In the realm of politics, women have been “barred” from contesting some of the seats because of the “glass ceiling” which prevents them. In America for example, women account for 18% of the all the congress seats. During electioneering periods, the public, and sometimes their competitors subject women to discriminatory environments such as asking them frustrating or discriminatory questions, which distract them from vying for the same of higher political seats in the future (Schmidt 163). Naturally, the public is meant to think that men and not women should better handle some political positions. The rationale behind it is that women are deemed weak, while men are strong based on culture, and masculinity. Apart from enacting laws that seeks to curb the social problem, feminine civil rights movement have been protesting about gender-based problems at the work place, but the male dominated society has done nothing to alleviate the situation.

Conclusion

Gender-based discrimination at the work place is a universal social problem hindering women from competing men on a plain level ground. Women have been denied promotions at the work places even if they qualify for those positions, and some have been relieved from their duties upon noting that they are pregnant. As others have failed to receive equal pay even if their experience and qualification is the same as that of men, others have been victims of sexual harassment at the work place. Such gender-based discrimination is encouraged by the male dominated society because law enforcement agencies are not fighting the war against gender-based discrimination because of the stereotypic culture that controls them.

Works cited

Hélio, Irigaray,, and Arthur Reis. "Women in the Work Place: Broadening the Discussion on Gender." Tamara Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry. 9.1 (2011): 69-81. Print.
Schmidt, Steffen W. American Government and Politics Today, 2013-2014. 16th ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
Williams, Christine L. Gender and Sexuality in the Workplace. Bingley, UK: Emerald, 2010. Print.