While it is 2015, the politics of the modern workplace haven’t changed much over the past few decades. Most professions are still dominated by males, leaving women not only with few female role models, but a lack of understanding. From maternity leave, to sexual harassment, to just plain old equality issues, women are still struggling to make their mark in their chosen field—with many women still feeling that they have to make the impossible decision between career and family.
While Canada’s Justin Trudeau certainly has the right idea when it comes to forming an effective government, considerate of both sexes, many companies are still behind the times, putting the modern woman in a difficult situation. Often, women aren’t taken as seriously as men, and they still aren’t being paid as much as they should be (or at least as much as their male co-workers). Here are some of the issues that are still lurking in today’s workplace:
11 Lack of Support
While women are doing their best to mark their territory in the workplace, it seems that a large majority of women are faced with a lack of support on the home front. From household duties, to raising children, many women are still expected to carry on house duties while juggling a burgeoning career. Sounds crazy right? This lack of support can make it difficult for a woman to succeed in her chosen field, especially when she is faced with the heartbreaking decision of having to choose between family and work.
10 Dismissal of Equality Issues
Even as women continue to make gigantic strides in the workplace, there are still problems when it comes to acknowledging the very real issues that female workers face today. Often, complaints are not taken seriously, or a woman is viewed as a troublemaker for bringing her concerns to the surface (in fact, many women won’t make a formal complaint for fear of it affecting her future job prospects). From reporting sexual harassment, to questioning the security of her job prior to and following maternity leave, women often walk a fine line in the workplace—one that they shouldn’t have to.
9 Being Held to Different Standards
From motherhood to sexual preferences, and habits, women are not judged the same way that men are. Their choices are thoroughly examined as a reflection of who they are as people—something that men are not often faced with. For instance, if a woman gets married, or pregnant, she is treated much differently than a man who is getting married or having a child. Rather than a pat on the back, she is more likely to face difficulties in the workplace (as a result of motherhood, maternity leave, marital obligations, etc.). The same goes for if a woman carries on a sexual relationship in the workplace—it is likely to be frowned upon and called out, which is again, less likely to happen with a male co-worker. Uniforms are also called into question here—women are often expected to dress a certain way when it comes to the corporate workplace—sometimes in a way that is not what anybody would call comfortable (think heels and bunions, please).
8 Paying Big Bucks for Haircuts…and Everything Else
Seriously. Why do guys get to pay $22 for a haircut, while females are left forking out anywhere from $60 to $200 for a simple haircut? We understand that long hair takes longer to cut than short hair—but what if a woman has short hair? Or a man has long hair? What then? While some countries are definitely more progressive (think Denmark), women are still getting pushed around when it comes to pricing. From buying razors to shampoo, women are getting taken for a ride. Consider dry cleaning—often cleaners will charge a woman to clean a blouse, while a man is charged for a shirt, which is a couple bucks cheaper. According to an article published by Marie Claire, the dry cleaner tried to explain that women’s shirts needed to be “hand-pressed” which is why it was more expensive. That being said, when the same dry cleaner was asked if they could apply the same “Clean four shirts and get the fifth free” deal to the blouse cleaning, the dry cleaner flat out denied. Smells a little fishy to us.
7 Fewer Role Models
You will find more men that are in more authoritative positions than females. That provides fewer female role models for female employees. While a woman can often take a male mentor, many women would argue that there are differences in the way members of the opposite sex communicate, which may or may not present barriers. According to The Guardian’s Lyndsey Oliver “The trouble is, there are not enough senior female role models in business, and opportunities to meet and be inspired by them directly are few and far between.” Often, women lose confidence in the workplace due to a feeling of exclusion (think boys’ club), meaning that it is important that women have more leaders to look up to as they work their way up the corporate ladder.
6 Equal Media Coverage
Women just don’t seem to get as much coverage and airtime in the media. From movie roles to female sports, males largely dominate our media. Take this lovely tidbit from suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter in 2004. “Let the women play in more feminine clothes, like they do in volleyball," he said. "They could, for example, have tighter shorts.” There are also fewer female professionals in almost every field you can think of, especially those in media-based professions—fewer directors, critics, and politicians. According to TIME Magazine, “Women were quoted in only 19% of news articles in January and February of 2013.” Even better? Most columnists are aging men—the New York Times staffs 10 men to every 2 women, while The Washington Post has 27 men for every 7 women. We also have yet to see a female president—unlike the 49 other countries that have already had a female leader.
5 Menstruation Troubles
From menstruation to menopause, a woman’s time of the month is no joke. It is also something that is completely out of a woman’s control. That being said, it is still something that the majority of women feel completely awkward about—and this is largely due to a lack of understanding about the inevitability of that time of the month. Most men act totally weird about menstruation—from attributing a women’s mood to her “time of the month” to failing to understand why, in some cases, a woman takes a personal day due to pain, or must take constant trips to the washroom. Menopause is another issue that is alien to most male counterparts. This is a problem, because it is a very real (and inevitable) part of being a woman.
4 Motherhood
From bearing children to rearing them, most mothers have their hands full—even without the obligations of a successful career. But many women opt for motherhood and an occupation—as they should. But according to a study by the American Association of University Women, 40% of mothers work part-time in order to be there for their children—while only 3% of men will take on the same responsibility (leaving moms to make the hard choice of career or children—although not all cases require mama to choose). Workplaces are also less sympathetic to the obligations that come with motherhood (taking care of a sick child, etc.), often putting mothers in a difficult position when it comes to trying to forge forward in their field.
3 Pregnancy Discrimination
Despite the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act, over 6,000 pregnancy and maternity leave complaints were filed in 2010 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). While nothing can be legitimately proven without breaking privacy laws, these complaints give the impression that employers feel that mothers are not considered to be as capable as women without children, or even men with children. According to The Guardian, approximately 60,000 women per year lose their jobs as the result of a pregnancy or having had a child. The bigger issue is that many women keep silent about this discrimination, for fear of it affecting their future job prospects.
2 Harassment
In the United States of America, a woman is sexually harassed every two minutes, while every nine out of ten people raped is female. With these statistics in mind, it comes as no surprise that women face sexual harassment in the workplace. From comments about outfits, to flat-out pestering, to unwanted advances, women are often placed in difficult situations in the workplace due to their gender. The truth is, sexuality should not come into play in the workplace, and it all too often does—affecting not only job performance, but also an individual’s sense of security. While policies have been put into place to protect women in a work environment, females are often still faced with the realities of sexual harassment, in one form or another, every day.
1 Equal Pay
This is still the number one issue across America. According to www.whitehouse.gov, women make up almost half of today’s workforce, and they still, on average, only receive about .78 to every dollar their male counterparts earn (non-Caucasian women earn even less than that). While we do have The Equal Pay Act of 1963, it hasn’t affected the state of the workplace much. While President Obama has worked towards getting things straightened out, including signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (which allows more time for female workers to file discrimination claims), America still has a long way to go when it comes to wages.
Sources: debate.org, time.com, theatlantic.com, theguardian.com
