3 Forms Of Workplace Discrimination Women Still Endure In 2018 (And What They Can Do About It)

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The workplace is supposed to be a breeding ground for talent and productivity. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure that they provide their employees a safe haven in which they can do their jobs and pursue their careers without the fear of harassment, discrimination or mistreatment. We all, at least on paper, have our rights to pursue happiness and fulfillment in the world of work without the risk of being treated differently on the basis of our gender, religion, race, disability or sexual orientation. Yet, for all the legislation that is intended to prevent it, discrimination against women is rife in the workplace. Women all over the world face a glass ceiling of opportunity, workplaces where the mistreatment of women is endemic and (in some cases) a culture of hostility that makes their jobs unbearable. While this is a mentality that many would expect belongs in the 1950s the young women entering the workplace know better. Indeed, in the UK some 41% of young women aged 13-22 expect that their gender will be used against them at some point in the workplace.

Here we’ll list three of the most egregious forms of discrimination against women that are going on in offices, stores and workplaces of all shapes and sizes around the world right now…

The gender pay gap

Make no mistake, ladies, the gender pay gap is real. Despite the efforts of a great many pioneering organizations to address the gender pay gap and its myriad causes, economists predict that the pay gap could take upwards of 200 years to close. That means that even your great-granddaughters may not make the same money as a man doing the exact same job when they enter the world of work.

Objectification

Women are objectified on a daily basis in all forms of media, so it’s almost understandable that employers and colleagues may think that it is acceptable on a casual basis in the workplace. It absolutely is not! A massive cultural change inside and outside of the workplace is necessary for this particular giant to be slain.

Pregnancy discrimination

Women should have the absolute right to determine whether or not she wants to undergo the journey of motherhood, and if she does she should be welcome to do so without the fear of discrimination against her by her employer. This isn’t some flag-waving, bra-burning radical notion, there’s plenty of legislation to back it up. Nonetheless, every year women submit claims against their employers on these grounds. Perhaps this will always happen in an era in which corporate employers insist on putting profits before people. Indeed in a 2004 interview, President Trump publicly stated that pregnancy was an “inconvenience” for employers.

In 2014 it was estimated that claims of pregnancy discrimination made up almost 20% of suits filed against employers to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Moreover, the vast majority of applicants were women in managerial positions begging the question of just how many working class women have been discriminated against without feeling that they have the support infrastructure to submit a claim.

What you can do about it

The most important thing a woman can do is know her rights and educate herself about what constitutes workplace discrimination and what does not. Discrimination is an unfortunate reality in today’s workplace but if we all pull together we can make great strides to end it within a generation.

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