Workplace Discrimination Against Women

Work plant inequality happens when a worker is subjected to unfavorable or unfair treat manpowert found on nationality, caste, religion, sex activity and race. This means that discrimination against wo hands at the oeuvre is gender based. It is inclusive of the workers who suffer retaliation due to their refusal to accept work place discrimination. The federal law is against workplace discrimination is all atomic number 18as i. e. recruitment, training, promotion, demotion and disciplinary actions. The laws that place people against unfair treatment do so based on the protected characteristics rather than the psycheality or the performance of the worker.Discrimination can whence end up being subjective to a large intent and this means that what one person may consider discriminatory, a nonher person might not (Bartos & international ampere Wehr, 2002). Forms of workplace discrimination against women Women concur a right not to be discriminated against in the workplace a s fit(p) by the international laws. However, the reality on the ground is that people do not necessarily comply with the law and this means that women be stable discriminated against. They atomic number 18 discriminated against in several shipway. One, they lack access to the labor market.Studies contract that the rate of un callment is high among women compargond to men (Gilliland, Steiner & Skarlicki, 2007). It in any case indicates that women have a set down participation in labor force when compared to men. There are also much women working at part time jobs than men although this might not be their choice. They further indicate that compared to men, thither are more women who work for jobs they are overqualified. Statistics continue to fork over that among the discouraged workers i. e. the lazy people who have stopped facial expression for jobs due to the unavailability of work, there are more women than men.These people are usually shut appear of employment d ue to cultural, tender, structural barriers or fundamentally discrimination (Chirwa, 1999). Secondly, there is a big wage gap mingled with employed men and women doing the same mixed bag of work. Women overtake 15-30% little for work of same value done by men. Studies show that women are not safeguarded by higher trainingal getments especially where high positions count. In several countries, the more educated a woman is, the bigger the wage gap (Gilliland, Steiner & Skarlicki, 2007). condescension the fact that women live desireer than men, in a lifetime, they earn slight.This makes them to be less benefitd when it comes to conditions for pension insurance. They also get lesser pensions on retirement. This kind of discrimination is global affecting even the prototypical human race nations condescension the existence of laws protecting women against discrimination. Thirdly, we have the issue of glass ceiling. This is the practice where women are least considered wh en promotions are being done. Most companies have 90% and to a higher place of men in their executive positions and the same kind of percentage of women in the lowest positions. In most cases, the higher a post is, the lesser the chance of a woman occupying it.This is irrespective of the educational level of the woman. In fact, women who manage to be at the executive positions are usually an exception to the rule. Even in the companies which are female dominated, you still find more men in the executive positions (Gregory, 2003). The major reasons for such problems are as a subject of discrimination against women. The social club makes women to compensate or have a gender penalty as mothers. Most employers do not want to handle the hassles which come with motherhood and therefore, they solve the problem by employing more men than women.However, studies indicate that employers incur an increased cost of 1% or less of gross income of women workers when they hire a woman than when they employ a man. Other than the frugal reasons, women are also discriminated against as a result of misguided preconceptions and stereotyping more or less womens abilities and roles, leadership style and allegiance (Landrine & Klonoff, 1997). Sociological postures Workplace discrimination against women can be looked at through three sociological perspectives.The first perspective of functionalism which is built upon both emphases a) enforce of similarity between guild and individuals and b) applying scientific methods to the kind world. The first emphasis on the societys unity makes functionalists to hypothesize about peoples needs which have to be met in determine for a social system to be there. It also makes them to consider the ways through which those needs are met by social institutions. The similarity between individuals and society is focused on the homeostatic features of social systems i. e. social systems are there to maintain balance when it is disturbed by external shocks.This is basically achieved through socializing society members to certain common norms and values which alter consensus to be achieved. In the cases where socialization is not fully sufficient to achieve so, some social control mechanisms are used to either bushel conformity or isolate the people who can not be conventional from the society. These include gossip, sneering and sanctions (Gilliland, Steiner & Skarlicki, 2007). The second emphasis asserts that the social world can be studied just like a physical world. Functionalists view social world as real and as one which can be observed through interviews and social surveys.It also assumes that the values of the investigators do not have to interject with search for laws which govern social systems behavior. This perspective tries to show that peoples behavior is usually molded by the forces in the society. Individuals are treated as puppets whose behavior is as a result of the internalized expectations and the social structure of where they were brought up or live. In relation to workplace discrimination against women, functionalists would argue that men discriminate against women because that is the way the society is (Landrine & Klonoff, 1997).Conventionally, women were treated as home makers and children bearers and men as the bread winners. Although the world has evolved and women have become educated, the society still feels that men should provide and women should sham care of their families. Working and earning are only seen as additional benefits of women in the society but they have to fulfill their roles as mothers and homemakers. It is not a wonder then when men do not find women matched enough to handle the roles which men have invariably thought that they are theirs. At the same time, men may not feel that women should get better positions in a mens world.The issue of gestation leaves and sick offs for pregnant women make men view them as incompetent. This explains wherefore men are against women climbing up the ladder. Functionalists claim that is the way the social structure dictates (Chirwa, 1999). The second perspective is signic interactionism. This is a sociological perspective about the society and self which was founded by pragmatists. It dictates that peoples lives are lived in the symbolisationic field. People derive symbols from social objects which have share meanings which they create and maintain during social interactions.Symbols usually give provision to the ways through which reality is constructed through communication and language. Reality then becomes crossroad of the society and peoples culture, society, minds and self are based on such symbols. These are the ones which determine human conduct (Gilliland, Steiner & Skarlicki, 2007). In relation to workplace discrimination against women, the society has created symbols which guide its thinking regarding how things should operate. For example, the society looks at m en as leaders, heroes, heads and people who show others the way forward.The symbol that the society has created regarding women is that of submission, weakness and people who follow instructions which have already been made by men. When a woman becomes a leader, she goes against the symbols that the society has already established. This is expressed in almost all aspects of life. In movies, the heroes are always men and when we have women, they are created as people who can not make decisions. On the other hand, men who are led by women are seen as weak. This can therefore explain why men do not want to give women leadership positions because that is a symbol of weakness.When women are subjected to this kind of life, they also accept their position as chase and the ones in leadership positions are seen as exceptions to the symbols in a society (Gregory, 2003). Finally, we have the conflict theory as the third perspective of looking at discrimination against women at the workplace. This theory argues that individuals and social classes or groups in a society have different quantities of resources, both non-material and material and that the groups which have more usually make use of their power to take returns of the ones with less power.Its believed that the people in power make use of it in order to keep their favorable positions. They use it to keep the less reigning from gaining as this would only jeopardize their position. This can then explain why women are discriminated against at the workplace. Men have had power for a long time which they gained from the favorable position that the society places them in. However, women have catch up and they also have power in name of money and education and this threatens the mens position in the society.Men in leadership use their power to act as barriers towards womens progression because they do not want them taking their favorable positions. When women are discriminated against in terms of less payments and l ack of career advancement, they lose their leverage to gain the power which is to the advantage of men (Bartos & Wehr, 2002). Conclusion Discrimination against women makes them to be offered employment which is not gratifying. They get jobs which may not allow career advancement, jobs paying less and work which is precarious.They are also subjected to mobbing, bullying, sexual and moral harassment as well as unfriendly corporate culture. All these contribute to lower labor force participation among women which translates to economic loss in terms of higher social security and unemployment benefits, reduced tax income and lowered economic growth. This means that if men could appreciate the changes in the world and embrace the mentation of career women who have equal opportunities as men, this would not only press sound economic goals but also, it would improve social cohesion in America.