Let’s face it. Women help to make the world go round. From handling multiple tasks at a time to birthing and raising children, to preparing healthy, home-cooked meals and contributing to financial expenses, women have fulfilled all demands that life has thrown at them for decades. Yet despite that, women are treated as subordinates and gender inequality in the workplace remains incredibly pervasive. Not only are women underrepresented in senior management roles, but female workers are often paid significantly less than their male counterparts.
Wiping Out Gender Inequality in the Workplace
1. Remove the Gender Pay Gap
The concept of equal pay is an essential element to consider in an organization. Recruiting managers should ensure that their recruitment policies are built on gender equality and reveal their ambitions toward equal staff demographics. If a culture of secrecy where seeking and hiring applicants is fostered within a company, the gender pay gap will only persist.
Companies can rethink their job interviews, while at the same time consistently review salaries to keep them on an equal basis. Employers can also introduce and enforce a culture of transparency, where candidates – both men and women – are not asked what they were paid at their last job. Instead, the hiring managers can outline a clear pay bracket for each position and ask applicants to position themselves within it. Women tend to ask for less than men, so the question: “What salary do you expect?” could be abolished altogether.
An example of a company embracing transparency throughout its organization, is Buffer, a social media management platform. Since the year 2013, Buffer has shared the salary details for each member of its staff so anyone can see the compensation for each role. Though many companies would not like to go to such lengths, outlining the pay brackets for each position plays a crucial role in eliminating any bias.
A survey conducted in Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, showed the majority of employed adults (about 87 percent) believed that both men and women should be paid equally. Likewise, nearly 93% are of the opinion that gender should not be a factor.
As an employer, open and honest communication with your workforce, explaining your intentions is a good practice for gaining substantial progress.
2. Promote A Culture of Meritocracy
It is a good practice to promote a culture where great ideas are appreciated from every demographic represented in the workplace – to ensure that all voices are welcome and respected around the table. Fair pay initiatives based on ability should trickle down from the top.
The first bill signed by President Barack Obama was the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which was signed into law on January 20, 2009, nine days after he took office.
In his 2014 State of the Union Address, President Obama re-emphasized the importance of closing the gender gap, saying, “Today, women make up about half our workforce. But they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014, it’s an embarrassment. A woman deserves equal pay for equal work… Let’s work together – Congress, the White House, and businesses from Wall Street to Main Street – to give every woman the opportunity she deserves. Because I believe when women succeed, America succeeds.”
According to a survey by Deloitte of millennials on optimism and trust, “income inequality and the lack of social mobility were likely factors driving economic pessimism, highlighting the negative impact of an uncertain, unequal environment.’’
Meritocracy rewards people based on their abilities.
3. Prioritize Work-Life Balance to Reduce Gender Inequality in the Workplace
Due to the lack of childcare support facilities in companies around the world, women generally find it difficult to accomplish their career goals. Female labor force participation rates have significantly plummeted because of inadequate childcare support from companies. This also causes frustration and early exits from the company. The gender inequality in the workplace statistics by International Labor Organization (ILO) reveals that “globally, women perform 76 percent of the total hours of unpaid care work, more than three times as much as men.”
As an employer, offering elderly care and childcare support to decrease the high attrition rates amongst female employees would be very beneficial. Plus, providing paternal leaves for fathers to become involved in the upbringing of the child and allowing working mothers to invest more time in pursuing their careers is also a valuable strategy. Part-time or remote work options can minimize stress levels.
Work-life balance and flexibility is a welcome addition to any company’s culture.
4. Develop Strict Policies against Harassment and Workplace Offences
A 2017 survey conducted by CNBC shows that “one-fifth of American employees have been exposed to sexual harassment in the workplace.” Among men it was 10% compared to 27% of women. This makes it imperative to have a strict policy against all workplace offences such as racism, bullying, sexual harassment, etc.
It is the employer’s responsibility to keep a keen eye on such issues at an early phase so as to stop women from getting harassed. Ignorance towards such activities in an organization is a strong indication of gender inequality in the workplace.
