GRSJ224/workplacegenderdiscrimination

Gender discrimination in the workplace involves the prejudicial treatment of people on the grounds of their gender or sexual orientation . Gender discrimination in the workplace can affect any gender and be present at any stage of the employment life cycle, be it the hiring process or during an individual's time as an employee . This type of discrimination has been documented as affecting women and members of the LGBT more than men . Discriminating acts are harmful not only because it can directly or indirectly affect the victim but also because it can affect economic outcomes of workers who are equally productive .

Definition

Lyndon B. Johnson sings the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, a US labor law that tackles on discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, defined gender discrimination in the workplace or employment gender discrimination as the adverse treatment of a job applicant or employee based on the person's gender. Discriminating acts in this context can include differences in pay, benefits, hours, vacation, gestures showing respect, opportunity for advancement, and comments in regards to appearance and personality.

Statistics

Discrimination of Women

Australia

In a study done by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency of Australia in 2017, it was shown that the Australian national wage gap between male and female is 16%, with males earning more. The agency pointed out that this wage gap is mainly caused by existing stereotypes on the types of work women should do and the way women should participate in the workforce. They also cited a lack of women in senior positions and the tendency for women to be the ones performing unpaid secretarial work as potential contributing factors to this difference. It was additionally shown, in this study, that gender wage gap is higher among employees in managerial positions and is most prevalent in the financial services industry. It should be noted that only 27% of all organizations conducted a gender wage gap analysis, of which only half took action to address this issue.

European Union

With data collected by the Structure of Earning Survey in 2015, it was shown by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) that men's hourly earnings were on average 16.3% above those of women in the European Union. Across the EU member states, gender wage gap varied from 5.6% in Luxembourg and Italy to 26.9% in Estonia. Similar to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency of Australia, Eurostat also cited the stereotypes on the types of work women should do as a main contributing factor for this gap.

United States

The United States Department of Labor reported that in 2014, women on average earned 21.4% less than men annually. The largest wage gap was among respondents who identify as White, non-Hispanic . Even when wage gap is adjusted to include the difference in types of work, college major, working hours and parental leaves, multiple studies still show a significant difference of 5-6.6% between male and female

Discrimination of LGBT

The LGBT community has been shown, statistically, to be the demographic that is the most discriminated against. In a survey done by the Williams Institute of the University of California, Los Angeles, 27.1% of all LGBT employees who participated reported at least one form of sexual-orientation-based discrimination, with 7.1% of all participants reported that they lost their job at least once during the five year period prior to the survey. Closeted members of the LGBT communities are also shown to be less discriminated. Because of this, 51-75% of LGBT employees conceal their gender identity in their workplace. This study also revealed that gay male workers are paid 10-32% less than heterosexual males. However, no information on gay female workers, bisexuals, and transgenders are reported in this study.

Effects

Survey results by the Williams Institute show that employment discrimination can affect an individual's physical and mental health. Prejudice associated with gender discrimination creates excessive stress in the workplace, increasing health risks. LGBT individuals also tend to be more susceptible to health risks stemming from social stigmas.This point was illustrated by the fact that 83% of heterosexual respondents reported that they are in excellent health conditions, compared to 78% of homosexual respondents, 74% of bisexual respondents, and 67% of transgender respondents. In a study on the moral effects of pay inequality, Breza et al. showed that teams with pay disparity, when compared to teams with compressed wages, are less productive in work output. Pay difference was also shown to negatively interact with social cohesion

Laws Regarding Gender Discrimination

United States

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. It applies to almost all employers engaged in interstate commerce with more than fifteen employees. With this, it is illegal for employers to discriminate when hiring or referring applicants based on the described factors. This law, however, does not explicitly include members of the LGBT population.

Laws protecting against LGBT discrimination vary from state to state. As of now, twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Only three states have laws against discrimination based on only sexual orientation. The rest do not have laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

European Union

As mentioned in the EU Gender Equality Law update 2010, the EU has laws that tackle on the wage gap between men and women, treatment of men and women in employment, treatment of men and women in occupational social security schemes and the protection of pregnant workers. Laws that directly protect individuals against direct and indirect discrimination are also present. .