Gender Equality in the Workspace

Achieving gender equality is a very important thing and it can provide huge benefits to the
company. It is observed that female employees are still paid significantly less than their male
counterparts, and continue to be under-represented in senior management positions. Lots of
women still face discrimination.
23% of women at work face sexual harassment, while only 8% of them report it. Nearly 43% of
mothers face maternity discrimination. Discrimination can be subtle, can be intentional, or
unintentional, representing disrespect and inequality. Research from Catalyst has shown that if
the company is more gender-equal, it will be beneficial for both male and female employees.
We must have heard someone saying that “raise your daughters like sons” but have you ever
heard someone saying “raise your sons like daughters”. Why? Does it sound like downgrading?
Only 5% of women we see in supervisory roles and the rest are stuck in lower-paying grassroots
level roles. There can be many reasons behind this situation. There exists stereotyping of roles
as well. Some roles are only considered for men. Women could be so busy balancing home,
family, work, domestic chores, and many more due to which they are unable to give priority to
careers. Males do face discrimination too. There are some which are considered to be not for
men. One such role is that of a nurse. Male nurses often face denials from patients and are
often considered gay.
Gender equality is actually a very complex problem. When it comes to inequality in the
workspace today, what we have is knowledge and what we lack is understanding. We know that
workspace will benefit from having women in leadership positions, we know that women face
numerous challenges to get there but what we lack is understanding as to why. The way we
treat other people should not be based on their gender.
In order to assure gender equality, some solutions can be implemented. Everybody should be
treated equally. An inclusive atmosphere should be created. Ensuring equal access to
opportunities will allow learners to participate fully in the process of learning. Skills must be
provided to workers, students to counter sexism, racism, and other parts of discrimination. The
gender pay gap must be closed. As men run 95% of the world’s companies, they need to be
active participants in the process. Flexible working hours can also be provided. A good
grievance handling mechanism must be present for women to report their problems. Women
employees must be taken seriously. If a woman is unwilling to take up the lead position,
everybody else starts thinking it is maybe because she is incapable. Women are capable of
taking responsibility. We women must not underestimate ourselves and should have a strong
belief that we can do it.
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