Women in Employment
“This essay goes into the harsh reality for women in the labour force” It has been an ongoing debate, loudly blared, but with little or no action taken till recent years. With the many improvements in societal views, gender inequality is still a rampant ideology. One wonders what brought about such an imbalance in the social equality gender wise. There are many aspects to social inequality in many facets, but gender inequality is one of the most universal and wide spread practise across all nations, cultures and it is acted on in many forms. Ranging from large gaps in pay grades to lack of social indications and level of responsibility handed in an office setting, hiring filters
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~Jack Gelber” (Qgarden), this quote can be analysed from many angles, but it certainly sums up the general perspective women are viewed by their male counterparts. A simple phrase, but one which represents centuries of oppression, and limitations put on women.“The difference between how much women and men are paid in Canada isn't just a large amount — it’s actually a life-changing one.”(Hpost 2015). Taken from a Huffington post, which stated that the general pay scale between men and women of equal if not proportional level of education, is one of a large chasm. Specifically in Canada where the chasm is twice that of the average pay gap worldwide. “According to Catalyst Canada, a non-profit organization that focuses on expanding opportunities for women and business, Canadian women earn $0.82 to every $1 earned by men.”(Hpost 2015). Taken from the article link which states that women earn just about 75.3% compared to men. Improvement in the wage gap has been minor since 1977 (77.2% to 82.4% for full-time workers). As stated by the article, “The global pay gap was about $4,000 on average between men and women, and the Canadian pay gap was just over $8,000,”(H post 2015). Statically speaking this is quite a gap, looked from any perspective. In terms of opportunities and possible chances of success given to both genders, from the initial start in terms of career of value placed on such “Men are being mentored by more senior people who …show more content…
Currently, women hold only an estimated 0.32 per cent of senior management roles. Canada is by no means alone in this sad fact”(Randstand 2013). As was stated initially, there is lack or if not little level of responsibility given to women in a normal workplace setting, one could view it as the unwillingness of the male counterpart to relinquish a large part of power or social indication expressing a sign of equality . This resistance over the years has prevented and possibly nipped the bud towards females with potential talent and skill that would have benefited everyone in the long run. The unwillingness of men to let women climb the hierarchy in a general workplace is quite deterring. “Research found that the men who exhibited resistance to women’s advancement were “more likely to populate the upper echelons of organizations and thus, occupy more powerful positions.”(HBR 2012).As a result of all these factors, it is no wonder that there has been a lack of progress for women in the last few
Policy statement: Women should receive equal pay for work of equal value. It is recommended that the Canadian government should design and pass a compulsory and proactive pay equity law, which would ensure that all Canadians receive equal pay for equal work.
Another reason for the pay discrepancy is that women are usually employed in low-wage occupations and industries, such as teaching. Even women working in the same industry, and having equal qualifications, earn less than their male counterparts — in fact, even top women executives earn considerably less, on average, compared to their male peers (Patel, 2016). The other reason for the gender pay gap is that more women than men work part-time jobs. According to the Canadian Women's Foundation (n. d), for the last 30 years until 2013, about 70% of part-time/temporary workers were women, which translated to 60% of minimum wage earners being women. Finally, the Canadian Women's Foundation (n. d) claims that approximately 10-15% of the wage gap is
Unfortunately, even today, women are still trying to prove themselves equal to men in many ways. The “glass ceiling” is perhaps one of the most familiar and evocative metaphors to surface from the 20th century. This expression has been used widely in the popular media as well as in official government reports. The image suggest that although it may be the case now that women are able to get through the front door professional hierarchies, at some point they hit an invisible barrier that blocks any further upward movement. “Below this barrier, women are able to get promoted; beyond this barrier, they are not”. Such a situation can be considered a limiting case for a more general phenomenon: situations in which the disadvantages women face relative to men strengthen as they move up executive hierarches. “Traditional approaches to recruitment, organization and job design, performance management and promotions are often designed in ways that are more suited to men than to women. This is what creates the glass ceiling”. Beyond the limit of job titles, the glass ceiling also creates a pay difference between men and women performing the same work requirements.
From the history of being obedient to the rules of society, women have changed their present completely by almost taking half the work force in the industry, making the world move in their direction (58). But still, men get more promotions and are paid more and we look up, to the management chart of a work place, it's hard to find the female staff at the upper levels. Many observers came up with different observation for this which is true to some extent but what is more accurate is women’s drastic lack of confidence (58).
Although many women have achieved a college education, many will nit be able to share the same values as there male peers. Many women will have certain messages conveyed about them which will be used to profile them in their selective fields. These factors will contribute to the controversial issues facing women today in the workplace. The gender roles that have challenge women today will not allow the equal status of women who are trying to advance there job careers. Only with enough support from activist groups of women’s rights will break these stereotypes and, allow women to have a fair and equal role in society.
Our society is structured according to already predetermined dimensions. Especially significant is gender. Our gender is an element that can not only define differences but also create advantages and disadvantages (unequal society 148). It therefore becomes essential to consider what gender refers to. Gender is best defined as a way of classifying people based on socially agreed distinctions that are associated with male and female anatomy (gender history 153). Gender differentiation is evident in all societies and in particular in Australia with men and women seen to take on different social roles (gender 384). This has resulted in a significantly unequal spread of life chances (gender 384). Thus creating a category of analysis that inequalities flow from (gender history 154). Differences in opportunity between men and women therefore become evident. This historically established prejudice against women. However, the women’s liberation movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s broke barriers with women gaining more power in respect to education and employment (gender 383). Despite such breakthroughs, elements of gender inequality can still be seen in Australian society. This is interesting as most Australian’s have an assumption that we are an egalitarian society that does not encourage injustice and believes everyone should have a ‘fair go’ (collective identity 167). Through the exploration of the Australian labour force and harassment, violence and discrimination towards women we can see that gender equality is growing, but still evident, in Australian society.
While women were able to gain access to this highly male dominated profession, and in some cases they outnumber their male counterparts, researchers agree that women are still facing discriminatory barriers. While discrimination is more subtle nowadays compared to the blatant and stupid style of the recent past (Adcock, 2006) women are still experiencing discrimination which is preventing them from receiving equal pay, thus hindering their progress and altering their career paths. They still face an array of barriers to achieving equality in their careers, including the allocation of work, opportunities for advancement, income differentials...
Women have historically been submissive to men and with this, it may also be recalled that the perception of one also plays a major role in how that individual is treated by society. The inequalities present between men and women will be further discussed in this essay in respects to the gender discrimination which exist in the workforce.
The institutionalized discrimination of women in the work place is nothing new or unheard of. The brunt of it has happened fairly recently as women began to enter the labor market in force less than a century ago. The affect of this discrimination has had long lasting, generation spanning affects, but as time has passed and feminism spread, the gender-gap has slowly begun to shrink.
Women always have to face the gender equality, in any country. There will be always some problem regarding the topic gender equality.
The gender wage gap is a really important civic issue to address because it shows the inequality and gender bias at the jobsite. In comparison to men, women, especially women who are marginalised by the dominant population in their respective city or country, have to overcome obstacles that restrict how much their salary is, which feed into cycles that make poverty a constant in their family. By guaranteeing that women are paid equally for equivalent labour, closing the gap benefits women as well as families and communities by making sure the economy is stable. For feminists, activists and employers, this is an important problem because of the backlash a company can get and how it can tarnish their reputation, which is a serious civic issue.
Today, they are expected to have a career, parent their children, and keep their homes tidy, all with a smile on their faces. They face discrimination in the workplace, and oftentimes find it difficult to obtain the same careers as men. IJEM* talks about the “glass ceiling.” IJEM* defines the glass ceiling as “the phenomenon where women are underrepresented in their efforts to reach the upper levels in the organizational hierarchy.” IJEM* defines the glass ceiling as “the phenomenon where women are Today, women are able to expand their horizons in the workplace; “However, they remain underrepresented in upper-level management positions,” (IJEM*).
For many decades, women have faced inequalities in the workforce. At one point, they were not allowed to work at all. Although women's rights have improved and are now able to work alongside men, they are still treated unfairly. According to the 2012 U.S. Census, women’s earnings were “76.5 percent of men’s” (1). In 2012, men, on average, earned $47,398 and women earned only $35,791. This is when comparing employees where both gender spend the same amount of time working. Not only do women encounter unfairness in work pay, they also face a “glass ceiling” on a promotional basis. This glass ceiling is a “promotion barrier that prevents woman’s upward ability” (2). For example, if a woman is able to enter a job traditionally for men, she will still not receive the same pay or experience the same increase in occupational ability. Gender typing plays a huge role in the workplace. It is the idea that women tend to hold jobs that are low paid with low status. Women are not highly considered in leadership positions because of social construction of gender. Society has given women the role of “caretakers” and sensitive individuals. Therefore, women are not depicted as authoritative figures, which is apparent with the absence of women in leadership roles in companies. Furthermore, sex segregation leads to occupations with either the emphasis of women in a certain job or men in a certain job. In 2009, occupations with the highest proportion of women included “secretary, child care worker, hair dresser, cashier, bookkeeper, etc.” (3). Male workers typically held job positions as construction workers, truck drivers, taxi drivers, etc. (3). Sex segregation represents inequality because the gender composition for these jobs depends on what ...
It is, therefore, natural for most companies to think that women cannot be as capable as men in terms of assuming strenuous or challenging positions because women, by default, become less participatory and more vulnerable when they start to have family and children. Apparently, this situation has led to various gender discriminations in the labor market. In conclusion, although the roles of men and women have radically changed over the turn of the century, it is still inevitable to have various gender-related occupational differences because the social and biological roles of women and men do not really change. Society still perceives women as the home makers and men as the earners, and this perception alone defines the differing roles of men and women in the labor market.
It can be concluded that women are treated in terms of stereotyped impressions of being the lowest class and greater evidence can be found that there are large disparities between the women and the men 's class. It can be seen that women are more likely to play casual roles as they are most likely to take seasonal and part time work so that they can work according to their needs. They are hampered from progressing upward into the organizations as they face problems like lack of health insurance, sexual harassments, lower wage rates, gender biases and attitudes of negative behavior. However, this wouldn’t have hampered the participation of the women in the work force and they continue to increase their efforts which is highly evident in the occupational and job ratios of females in the industry.