FINAL RESEARCH PAPER TOPIC : gender discrimination in the workplace
Describe and/or summarize the journal articles you are using. Discuss the relevant points of the research – what were the researchers studying, how did they study it, and what did they find?
Focus on background and results/conclusions
Propose future directions for research – provide your ideas/critique of previous research and ideas for future research. (This section should be at the end of the paper and should be no more than two pages).
The existence of the gender pay gap indicates an even much wider problem; gender
discrimination. Even though there have been countless struggles for women’s emancipation and
liberation, some women are yet to enjoy the fruits of these struggles. Though not visible at a
surface level, gender discrimination is still a serious issue that has taken opportunities from many
women, leaving them with zero opportunities. Even with the few opportunities that some women
get, they have to contend with subtle discrimination and sexism, which is difficult for them to
endure. The discrimination of women in the workplace is a serious issue that has to be addressed
when discussing the gender pay gap. While other factors may have caused the gender pay gap,
the continued discrimination of women has played a big role in making most women feel
demoralized. In some cases, women have had to quit their jobs because of increased
discrimination and being perceived as weak. As a result, there are fewer chances for women to
climb the corporate ladder or get promotions in their places of work. This condition is further
worsened by the idea that women who attain higher positions in the corporate world are often
seen as different from other women.
Regardless of race or ethnicity, level of education, age group, or political affiliation, the
percentage of working women who have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace
remains generally constant. This holds true regardless of how many years of schooling they have
had. When it comes to the many types of discrimination in the workplace that were investigated
by the poll, however, there are significant disparities among women that are mostly caused by
their educational attainment. This is the case for all forms of discrimination.
There is a considerable disparity in the rates at which women with a bachelor’s degree or
above and women with a lower level of education report experiencing various forms of
discrimination. And the most academically accomplished women are distinctive in certain ways.
For example, whereas 57% of working women with a graduate degree report experiencing
discrimination because of their gender, 40% of working women with a bachelor’s degree report
the same, and 39% of working women with no college degree report the same (Kim et al., 2020).
Gender discrimination in workplaces is a menace that can be observed in organizational
practices irrespective of their stature. Primarily, women have been the subject of gender
discrimination due to an evident huge pay gap compared to their male counterparts. The federal
and state governments have adopted several legislations to alleviate the disparity with little
success. Segregation and discrimination experienced by women in their workplaces have been
the predominant factor in various structures (Kim et al., 2020). Gender is one of the key
determinants of an individual occupation, as there are roles traditionally known to be occupied
by men rather than women. Few women have been able to eliminate the barrier even though they
remain poorly enumerated compared to men. In a workplace, the prevalence of gender
discrimination results in widespread conflicts and low employee morale, causing devastating
impacts such as mental health issues (Schnurr& Fuchs, 2022; Coffman et al., 2021). This makes
it imperative for organizations to address gender discrimination faced by women and
consequently advocate for gender equality to enhance their productivity, diversity of views, and
a stable synergetic workforce.
Like men, women possess enormous potential in the workplace and, as such, should not
be discriminated against, and their pay should reflect what their peers receive. A work
environment characterized by respect for gender through the advocacy of gender equality
impacts the workers positively while creating a culture aimed at thwarting widespread
discrimination. In such an environment, everyone feels motivated to carry out their role offering
themselves and the company an opportunity to thrive (Heilman & Caleo, 2018). Discrimination
creates a toxic work environment where female employees feel intimidated to carry out their
roles effectively due to constant harassment and poor pay. Issues regarding gender should be a
thing of the past and should not be utilized as a determining factor on which roles should be held
by who and their respective salary range. Achieving an environment free of discrimination is a
vital aspect of uplifting the standard of women in society and, consequently, the elimination of
gender inequalities, developing a culture founded on equality.
Gender discrimination creates a toxic workplace with high turnover, negatively impacting
overall business productivity. Nonetheless, organizations can adopt a culture aimed at thwarting
gender-based discrimination by elevating transparency and introducing employee training to
develop a togetherness culture (Kim et al., 2020). Elevating transparency encompasses affording
all workers an equal opportunity for promotions and increased wages based on their input into
the business. Significantly, it involves making the recruitment and evaluation process transparent
and identifying workers’ milestones to achieve the promotion of higher pay or promotions.
Furthermore, providing training activities to the workforce creates an avenue through which
workers can build trust and empower others by cooperating to elevate their level of productivity
(Heilman & Caleo, 2018). Therefore, organizations should be encouraged to work from the front
in alleviating the gender discrimination menace and create a society where everyone has an equal
opportunity to thrive based on their passion and commitment.
Although a sizeable percentage of men report experiencing gender discrimination on the
job, it is still by a wide margin that women are the ones most frequently affected by this problem.
Men can take the lead in the fight against discrimination and prejudice directed toward women.
Nevertheless, the culture in many working environments is extremely sexist and biased against
women. A few men’s efforts to battle workplace discrimination will only become successful
when appropriate steps have been implemented to address the core cause of the problem. Until
then, their efforts will remain unsuccessful (Coffman et al., 2021). The problem of
discrimination can be linked back to the views and preconceptions that men have about women.
This has been the case for quite some time. These preconceptions are then carried over into the
culture of the workplace. People’s attitudes and the toxic workplace culture need to be addressed
first to combat prejudice in the workplace (Heilman & Caleo, 2018).
References
Coffman, K. B., Exley, C. L., &Niederle, M. (2021). The role of beliefs in driving gender
discrimination. Management Science, 67(6), 3551-3569.
https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2020.3660
Heilman, M. E., &Caleo, S. (2018). Combatting gender discrimination: A lack of fit
framework. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 21(5), 725-744.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430218761587
Kim, G., Kim, J., Lee, S. K., Sim, J., Kim, Y., Yun, B. Y., & Yoon, J. H. (2020).
Multidimensional gender discrimination in the workplace and depressive
symptoms. Plos one, 15(7), e0234415.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234415
Schnurr, B., & Fuchs, C. (2022). Public reactions to instances of workplace gender
discrimination. Journal of experimental psychology: applied.
https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000433