Inequality Between Men And Women In The Workplace

Everyone appreciates an interesting movie, right? Especially one with two well-known celebrities, such as Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams. All the Money in the World, directed by Ridley Scott, is just that. However, months after the movie was released, it was revealed that Mark Wahlberg earned a whopping $1. 5 million for reshoots, while Michelle Williams only received a measly $1000 (Mays, 2018). It sounds absurd, but this is only one example out of a countless amount of shocking stories. Things like these happen all the time in today’s day and age, not only in Hollywood, but in various work environments. All over the United States and Canada, women face an endless amount of sexism and inequality while they are working. They constantly need to endure difficult and sexist conditions in the workplace, therefore they are not treated as equals.

First of all, there is an ever-present wage gap between men and women in Canada and the United States. In 2011, women made only 74 cents for every man’s dollar in Canada (“Pay Equity Commission”, 2016). In the United States, women made 83 cent for every man’s dollar in 2012 (Leith, 2014). These statistics are very similar for each country, as are the causes behind the gaps. Gender stereotypes play a significant role in the wage gap. For instance, fathers tend to earn more money than mothers due to “the motherhood wage penalty” and “the fatherhood wage premium” (Weeden, Cha, & Bucca, 2016). In other words, typically new mothers take time off of work, or at the very least go from a full-time job to a part-time job, in order to easily care for their children. On the other hand, new fathers tend to increase their weekly hours, earning more money in order to “provide for their family”. This stems from the idea that women are nurturing, their maternal instincts urge them to stay home and tend to their children, while men have to work hard and pay the bills for their family. These stereotypes affect the decisions of not only the men and women themselves, but also their employers.

Consequently, a large portion of men are paid more than their female coworkers, especially for hourly paid jobs (Weeden et al, 2016). However, this is not the only problem that mothers face with their salary; women with children need certain accommodations that they don’t always receive. This includes flexible hours and a higher paid family leave. The current idea that most employers have of a “perfect employee” is not a working parent. They want someone who is guaranteed to be available to clients at any time, someone who is open to travel and relocation (Weeden et al, 2016). This conflicts with their idea of a typical mother, who spends more at time at home with the kids than at work. Therefore, most bosses either do not want to hire mothers or do not want to prioritize their needs over childless employees. Moreover, in the United States, there are countless violations of laws that attempt to eradicate the gender wage gap, such as The Equal Pay Act of 1963. Many female employees go to court when they feel that their employers are not respecting the Equal Pay Act. One woman claimed she was not treated equally, as her male successors were payed more than her. The court sided with her employer, claiming that there was no reason to believe that, had she stayed in her previous position, she would not have earned a higher salary (Tufarolo, 2016, p. 332). This reasoning is invalid; there is no explanation as to why the salary of a certain position would suddenly increase as soon as the woman left her job. Evidently, the wage gap between men and women in the United States is unnecessary and plays a significant role in the inequality that women face in the workplace.

Discrimination and sexual harassment are also ongoing problems for women in the workplace. An online survey conducted by the Canadian government in 2017 found that women are more likely to be sexually harassed in the workplace, especially if there is a high percentage of men in positions of power (Government of Canada, 2017). Therefore, it is very hard for a lot of women to feel safe, comfortable and at ease at work. For instance, several male bosses tend to use bribes and threats in order to receive sexual favours from their “inferior” female employees, who are vulnerable, hoping for a better position or higher salary. (“Sexual Harassment in Employment, 2018). A prime example of this is Harvey Weinstein, a film producer who used his position to sexually harass numerous female actresses (Victor, 2017). Similar to the situation with Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg, although this is an example of a celebrity case, it applies to every kind of work environment. After several actresses came forward with their stories regarding Weinstein, #MeToo began to trend all over social media, with women all over the world admitting that they too have been sexually harassed, in and out of work (Victor, 2017).

Additionally, as more and more women enter “male-dominated” sectors of work, men are exhibiting hostile and unwelcoming reactions to women “invading their territory”. Men prefer to work with other men, who they are more comfortable with, thus they tend to be less kind to their female coworkers. Their reasoning suggests that women “just don’t get” their sense of humour, that men cannot have their beloved “locker room talk” with so many female coworkers around (Wright, 2016, p. 353). In other words, instead of cutting down on jokes that women may not appreciate, some men would prefer to not hire as many women and remain in the work environment that they are accustomed to. On top of this and the threat of physical sexual harassment from their coworkers or bosses, women face countless sexist comments from their colleagues due to gender stereotypes. As previously mentioned, working mothers face an onslaught of stereotypes that claim they are incapable of properly caring for their children while working a full-time job (Baker, 2016, p. 891). Moreover, both mothers and childless women can receive comments on how they dress at work. If women are not wearing high heels, not wearing make-up or wearing a pant suit instead of a skirt, they risk a higher chance of receiving sexist remarks from their male colleagues, given that gender stereotypes suggest that men and women each dress a certain way (Leskinen, Rabelo, and Cortina, 2015, p. 192). Clearly, the constant threat of discrimination and/or sexual harassment affects women in the workplace tremendously.

Additionally, women have a consistently hard time attaining their desired positions in the workplace. As previously mentioned, women, most notably those with children, are more likely to work part-time than men (Government of Canada, 2017). A large part of this is due to gender stereotypes and the pressure that women feel to be home for their kids, while letting their husbands earn the money. However, this is not the only way that women have been kept from positions that they deserve.

Men are increasingly afraid to hire or work with women because of potential sexual allegations, especially since the rise of the #MeToo movement (Tarbox, 2018). In other words, some men would rather hire more males to avoid potential accusations from female employees, instead of working to ensure that their workers will not harass any women they hire. This is lazy, and is only avoiding the problem, not solving it.

Furthermore, there is a much smaller percentage of women with higher-ranking jobs than men. In 2015, only 39. 2% of managerial positions in the United States were occupied by women (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). This is otherwise known as the “Glass Ceiling Conundrum”. Women are less likely to attain high-level positions than men, because of an invisible barrier, or a “glass ceiling”, made up of gender stereotypes and sexism that indicate that men are better suited for these types of occupations (Ganiyu, Oluwafemi, Ademola, & Olatunji, 2018, p. 141). In addition, in 2015, only 6. 7% of managerial positions in the construction industry were occupied by women (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). Women interested in the manual trades typically struggle for employment. Therefore, there is usually a much higher percentage of women training for construction than those that are actually employed (Rodriguez, Holvino, Fletcher, Nkomo, & Wright). Once again, this is due to gender stereotypes and sexism; There is a popular belief that since men are generally stronger than women, they are more capable of working in manual trades, even if women go through all the proper training and have the adequate knowledge required for that field of work. There is no doubt that women have a much more difficult time than men obtaining the jobs that they seek.

In conclusion, inequality between men and women in the workplace is as concerning as ever. The wage gap, discrimination and sexual harassment, and the difficulty that women face trying to attain their desired positions clearly display this. As a result, we need to fight for our rights in the workplace. However, the problem must be addressed in terms of the bigger picture, through the government, as Henry Giroux attempts with critical pedagogy. Trying to resolve the problem through each individual workplace, similar to how Ira Shor uses his classes, would be much less effective and slower. Now is the perfect time to act. With the recent rise of the #MeToo movement, the media has finally begun to focus on and expose gender inequality. Therefore, it is the perfect opportunity to make a change.