Due to the recent pandemic–that everyone is honestly tired of talking about–Americans have had a job crisis. Either there are not enough jobs or not enough people “wanting” to work. This has also been a time to highlight the issues within the workplace as a whole. One of them being the blatant discrimination against women.
Even though American women are fighting for equality and have been making headway, it’s highlighting even more issues. It may seem like a hopeless plot point but in reality, this is good and will inevitably help women actually get to a time of real equality.
As of early 2022, according to ZIPPIA, women consist of 46.6% of the workforce in the U.S. Women are also beginning to hold more higher positions–becoming CEOs, doctors, educators, etc.
Sadly, though, some do not get treated as a proper authority by some of their male counterparts. According to some studies, some men don’t find women intimidating enough to hold some of these positions.
Many women are stripped straight to their emotions in some professional environments for being vocal about issues that run deep in the system.
Some are seen as angry or irrational, which isn’t always the case. Understandably, everyone has their off days, but women are disproportionately accused of being more emotional than their male counterparts.
Countless women in higher positions are also belittled down to just their appearance. Women in the public eye who hold higher positions–whether in the government or owning their own business–have had their fair share of articles written on how they look over their careers.
Women are also subjected to possible workplace sexual harassment. According to “What To Become,” about 38% of women in the workforce have been sexually harassed or assaulted as of 2022. However, this only counts the women who actually file complaints. The lack of knowledge of the fear of filing these incidents is due to either the perpetrator getting a slap on the wrist or the victim getting blamed for the assault.
Thankfully, there are many movements trying to help women in these situations like the Me Too movement. This has been a great help in trying to give more support to women who are struggling with speaking out against the mistreatment they may feel in the workplace.
Luckily, there are some laws that help fight against workplace gender discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is one of these laws. This law prohibits not only gender-based discrimination in the workplace but also race, color, religion and nationality-based discrimination as well.
Even though this is great and in effect, it still does not help with the anxiety many women feel to speak out against misconduct in the workplace.
Thankfully, the law already accounted for that and noted that retaliation against the person who is discriminated against is illegal.
These are only the beginning steps towards these laws being taken more seriously. Hopefully, with more information being spread and more people speaking out, women in America will have a much safer and more inclusive work environment.
This article is reprinted from the author’s personal blog created for Dr. Moore’s EN496 Word Web and Design course.
