Did you know that nearly half (42%) of women have encountered gender discrimination at work? This number is significantly higher in the technology industry, where 75% of women reported sexism.
Adults spend up to one-third of their lives at work, so they should feel comfortable, and they should have the same opportunities as anyone else, no matter their gender. These are signs of sexual discrimination in the workplace.
Favoritism of one gender over another
Some companies may hire, train, promote or provide greater benefits to members of one gender than the other. People of the same gender may get fired, laid off or demoted. Supervisors or managers may give favorable job assignments to members of a specific gender or provide less support to individuals of one gender. For example, two people of different genders may perform the same job and earn different salaries. Individuals from one gender may also lose their jobs for violating specific policies more often than those from the other gender.
Harassment based on gender
Individuals may also target one gender for derogatory comments, inappropriate jokes and stories or other forms of harassment. These individuals may not even realize that their behavior is offensive. Some of these workers even target their own genders, but this does not negate that their behavior is discriminatory.
Gender-discriminate policies and practices
In some cases, employers actually create policies, procedures or practices that discriminate against one gender over another. For example, pre-employment questions may be discriminatory or employment terms may vary amongst individuals from different genders. Disciplinary actions and work requirements can also contribute to discriminatory environments.
Discrimination is never acceptable. Employees need to understand the signs of these practices and learn what to do if they encounter them.
