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Discrimination against women in America
Discrimination against women in the workplace
Discrimination of women
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Women are also more likely to be victims of sexual assault and rape by male perpetrators, which are other more severe forms of sexual discrimination, and are more often performed by people the victims know, such as coworkers and supervisors, rather than strangers (Matlin, 2012, pg. 425). This phenomenon is referred to as “acquaintance rape” and often occurs, because as the differences in communication explains, men are more likely to perceive others as being seductive, which can also explain why they are more likely to invite sexual activity in the workplace, especially men who have negative ideas about women (Matlin, 2012, pg. 427). These men are also more likely to abuse their power on the job, and exploit the lesser power of the female employees. …show more content…
The typical reactions towards women who have experienced any type of sexual discrimination is victim shaming, which often causes women not to report their attacks, similar to the incidents of sexual harassment in the workplace, and thus, the companies may falsely believe that there is not a sexual harassment issue at their workplace. The physical and psychological effects of these incidents, such as the effects of rape, often leave employees unproductive in the workplace, however, others may generally attribute this to women being incompetent on the job, because of their belief of negative stereotypes of women’s abilities, thus, putting women’s jobs in even more jeopardy. This may make women even more susceptible to being sexually harassed, especially if they are living with post traumatic stress disorder from previous traumas, as they are more committed to securing their jobs, and are even more powerless during this fragile
Throughout the world, discrimination in all forms has continued to be a constant struggle; whether it’s racial, gender based, religion, beliefs, appearance or anything that makes one person different from another, it’s an everyday occurrence. A major place that discrimination is occurring at is in the workplace. One of the largest problems discrimination issues is believed to be gender. Women, who have the same amount of experience as men are not getting paid at the same rate as men, these women also are equally trained and educated. According to the article Gender Pay, it was discovered in 2007 that a woman makes 81 cents for every dollar a man earns.(“Gender Pay”) . This shouldn’t be happening in today’s society for the fact the society lived in today is suppose to be more accepting. Men are viewed as being more popular, valuable and having higher powers than women. The Reason Discrimination is involved in the equal pay equal work is because of the significance it has to how some businesses pay their employees.
Burt explains that “the hypothesized net effect of rape myths is to deny or reduce perceived injury or to blame the victims for their own victimization” (Burt, 217). When men get raped they don't see it as getting raped. Yet, when it comes to women they are more easily blamed because of “poor choices” like walking down an alleyway late at night, wearing sexy clothes or for drinking too much, giving a man a “justifiable” reason for his actions. McMahon also describes how “common rape myths include the belief that the way a woman dresses or acts indicates that “she wanted it” and that rape occurs because men cannot control their sexual impulses” (McMahon, 357). Chapleau, Oswald and Russel also explicate how “benevolent sexism is associated with victim blaming to protect one’s belief in a just world” (602). Benevolent sexism is the reverent attitudes that reward women who are traditionally feminine and is similar to hostile sexism in the idea that hostile sexism is when women are objectified or degraded often presented as anger, resentment or fear, while benevolent sexism is just as harmful, but put into a positive disguise, in a casual nonchalant manner that doesn’t make it so
During the 1950s and 1960s, increasing numbers of married women entered the labor force, but in 1963 the average working woman earned only 63% of what a man made. That year The Feminine Mystique, a critique of middle-class patterns was published. The author encouraged readers to seek new roles and responsibilities, to seek their own personal and professional identities rather than have them defined by the outside, male-dominated society.
Tangibly speaking, discrimination occurring on the basis of sexual orientation, while small in aggregate numbers, reaches the same rates as gendered discrimination against women in the workplace, when measured at a per capita rate, and creates a situation in which homosexual and transgendered individuals typically earn 10 or more percent less income than their heterosexual peers (Croteau, 1996). With this, sexual orientation-based discrimination is a significant problem in American society. In a broad sense, the pervasiveness of this discrimination is facilitated by the significant permeation of religious bias into America's ostensibly secular democracy and civil society. Tangibly, large religious organizations such as the Catholic and Mormon Churches have waged proverbial wars against LGBT individuals, seeking to deny them of equal rights in many American states, with a notable example being the battle over Proposition 8 in the state of California (Wilcox & Iida, 2011, 181-183). Furthermore, anti-gay hate speech emerging from groups such as Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church has permeated the country's public sphere, and thus contributed to a climate that is hostile to LGBT individuals, and which has unfortunately seeped into the business environment, in both systematic and idiosyncratic ways (Barrett-Fox, 2010, 4-5).
In “A distressing summer of workplace sexism reminds us how far we have to go” by Susanna Schrobsdorff, the author states, “according to a Pew Research survey released in August, most American men—56%— think sexism is over and done with. More than half believe that “the obstacles that once made it harder or women than men to get ahead are now largely gone. Of course, most women—63%—disagree” (Schrobsdorff 55). The misbelief that sexism still does not exist allows for the culture in which women continue to only be seen as sexual objects and not competent workers. Ehrenreich describes that, “[you should] watch out for Lon, who has a habit of following his female coworkers into service closets” (Ehrenreich 64). Ehrenreich is warned about a potential harassing employee and that it may happen to you, but most importantly, the behavior is normalized instead of trying to stop it. In “Not Just Fox” by Katha Pollitt, she explains that there is a misconception when it comes to being harassed and it is that, “being harassed is not a matter of weakness; it’s about the enormous power differential between worker and boss” (Pollitt 6). This is further supported by “ a 2015 Cosmopolitan survey, 71% of women said they did not file complaints about sexual harassment, likely because they feared appearing difficult or ‘too sensitive.’And they worry about retaliation and job security” (Schrobsdorff 55). Sometimes the person that is doing the harassing is the supervisor or the manager, when this occurs the victim is left with little options that will not disrupt the workplace. She also runs the possibility of being fired solely to avoid a sexual harassment complaint that she may file against him. Ehrenreich states that, “as a dietary aide, as I understand the job, is dependent on a cook as a waitress is[;] He or she
There has always been a certain status quo when it comes down to getting hired in todays’ society. Many people do not realize that there can be many qualities derived from those who are different than the “norm”. With the workforce rapidly growing there is a demand for acceptance that can no longer be avoided. America has become the melting pot of the world, but there is still a lot of resistance against people who do not look like the average worker. In this paper, I will analyze the different barriers faced by the “outcasts” and how companies should approach these situations.
In today’s age it can be difficult for many to imagine a world in which applicants were denied employment for factors such as their gender, race, religion or national origin. We have grown accustomed to living in a country that provides legislative protection in the case of discrimination in and outside the workforce. Yet, this was not always the case. It has been a mere 52 years since the illegalization of “discrimination in education, employment, public accommodations and the receipt of federal funds on the basis on race, color, gender, national origin and religion.”(BL pg.98) This new set of legislation is known as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although it did not make amends for year of abuse and discrimination,
Despite there being many reasons as to why people discriminate homosexuals, the most popular ones are due to their religion or cultural norm. They include acts of verbal and physical abuse towards individuals who are homosexual. For those who are homosexuals, they are verbally abused by name calling such as fag, homo or sissy more than two dozen a day. There was a survey conducted by Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network and found that 86 percent of LGBT teens are being harassed at school in 2007. In 2013, 82 percent of teens had problems from previous year with bullying about sexual orientation. 64 percent felt unsafe at school and 32 percent did no go to school because of feeling unsafe. Even as an adult homosexual are attacked verbally.
Although women have been active members of the workforce for almost 70 years now, there is still a bias against women working. In the United States, there is still an economic bias against women throughout the stages of hiring, payment, and stereotypical jobs. Women should be able to be hired for the same jobs as men, be paid the same, understand that they can choose their jobs, and pay the same amount of money as men do for similar products.
Are women more likely than men to be exploited in sexual relationships on the job? Yes, women are more likely than men to be exploited in sexual relationships on the job because they more often than men lack power, and are in more vulnerable and insecure positions. Roughly 1 in 3 women ages 18 to 34 has been sexually harassed at work, reveals our study of 2,235 fulltime and part-time female employees, conducted by the polling firm SurveyMonkey. Proving that it 's the male boss who 's most likely to sexually harass women, most women polled say 75 percent were targeted by male coworkers and about half were harassed by male clients or customers, compared to 38 percent by male managers. (Ruiz,2016). Men exploiting women in the workplace is related to the male attitude about the proper roles of men in society. Women are subject to discrimination when they receive a lesser valued job assignment, lack of promotions and lower pay. Another way men exploit woman is to make sexual favors and be submission to sexual behaviors for conditions of employment and like to keep from being fired, demoted, or otherwise adversely affected at work. (Sexual harassment - causes of sexual harassment,
Female inequality in workplace is one of the harmful aspect that is afflicting the entire
Discrimination is a feasible method of making decisions in life based on the group, class, or category to which a person belongs to. “In an ideal world, people would be equal in rights, opportunities, and responsibilities, despite their race or gender. In the world we live in, however, we constantly face all kinds of neglect based on different attributes.” When one hears the word discrimination, the first thought that comes to mind is racial discrimination. In fact, it does not solely have to be racial discrimination. There are many forms of discrimination such as age, disability, transgender, and sex discrimination. This paper will focus on discrimination based on gender, race and age in the workplaces.
Research shows that women are more affected by being sexually harassed or abused, especially when it happens at their job. They find it more difficult to carry on after they have been harassed and to move on comfortably. This issue usually has a longer term effect on women than it would have on men. Men are usually the ones who initiate any sexual act that’s going to take place. Therefore it’s more common to find that the men are harassing the women not saying it’s never vice versa but women are shown more in my research.
Sexual harassment is not limited to just one type of form. Rather than coming in a single form, sexual harassment can come in many different forms that can be caused by a wide range of people and can be interpreted completely different when it comes in the eyes of others (Barreio). A typical observer believes that sexual harassment is an offense only done by men in the workplace, but these people are actually wrong. Sexual harassment is a neutral gender offense, as a woman can sexually harass a man and vice-versa. However, though, statistics show overwhelmingly that men actually sexually harass woman more (Barreio). Over the course of one’s career, 54% of people will witness or be the victim of a sexual harassment incident, while 12% of people who are victims of a sexual harassment incident are given threats of termination if they do not comply to the aggressor (Association of Woman for Action and Research). Some examples of sexual harassment in the workplace can be uninviting touching, uninvited kisses or embraces, smutty jokes or comments, making promises in turn for sexual favors, repeated invitations to go out after prior refusals, stalking, offensive phone calls or letters, and requests for sex (Australian Human Rights
... named in the1970s, workplace sexual harassment has increasingly been the subject of legal measures, awareness campaigns and workplace policies in countries across the world. Through these initiatives, a broad consensus around how this kind of treatment should be defined has been developed: it is usually identified as sex-based or sexual behavior unwelcome to its recipient. The research conducted on its extent and dynamics has confirmed that workplace sexual harassment, although it has male victims, is overwhelmingly directed at women. Moreover, it appears to be more often encountered by those who are in a less-powerful labor market position, including young workers, domestic workers, women in non-traditional jobs, migrant workers and women in the informal sector. It is also apparent that sexual harassment imposes heavy costs on both its victims and their employers.