Contemporary Perspectives on Women in the Workplace - Essay Example

? Contemporary Perspectives on Women in the Workplace “Sometimes equality means treating people the same, despite their differences and sometimes it means treating them as equals by accommodating their differences”. Discuss this statement by Abella with reference to remedies offered by Agocs, Burr and Somerset or in any other readings studied in the course. Equality refers to the state where individuals living in a society are free from the discrimination at all the levels. However, the discrimination and its various components are subject to continuous change with respect to time, knowledge, experience and understanding of people. This indicates that things which were acceptable for a particular society few years back might not be appreciable in the current circumstances. Let’s talk about women and their social status which was limited to the domestic work few decades before. Due to this they were substantially facing equality issues. But today the modern human society does not have any place for such differences and women are no longer bounded to the domestic restrictions. Though women have entered into the work force, the employment opportunities are limited for them and consequently they are often subject to employment based discrimination. According to Abella, equality in employment signifies that every individual is given an equal working opportunity irrespective of all the innate abilities (Abella; Chapter 1: Defining Equality in Employment, 1984). In the contemporary world equality in employment has yet another perspective i.e. employees must be treated as per their differences, because if we are ignoring the individual differences for the sake of equality then as per the arguments of Abella, it is also a form of discrimination. There are basically two types of differences, one which arises due to personal actions and policies such as education, financial status, etc. and other is solely based upon the innate characteristics such as gender, ethnic background or disabilities. The latter one can be accommodated through equality in employment. One of the most significant methods to apply employment equality in a workplace is to remove the individual differences based on gender, disability, ethnicity or race because they do not have any acceptable justification (Abella; Chapter 1: Defining Equality in Employment, 1984). In this regard Agocs, Burr and Somerset have given several remedies which require the employers to first eradicate the current employment obstacles faced by the disadvantaged groups of the society such as aboriginal people, women and other minorities, who need to have an equal employment opportunity without any difference of treatment. Their innate disabilities and skill deficiencies must be accommodated. The second most crucial remedy is the surety of prevention from future discrimination. Third remedy focuses on the equal distribution of resources among the workforce regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or disability (Agocs, Burr and Somerset; Chapter 1: The State of Art, 1992). The Report of the Royal Commission 1984 has a legislation regarding the equality in employment which considered compulsory employment regulations so as to ensure equal employment opportunity for the disadvantaged groups of the society. In the later part of the second chapter, authors have discussed further solutions that can play an important role in the elimination of discrimination and projection of equal employment opportunities. In this regard we first of all require developing a sound understanding of what does inequity means and where does it exist in a workplace. Subsequently we need to remove all the barriers for the disadvantaged groups through employment equity programs. Afterwards we necessitate developing smooth access to the jobs with an additional accommodation program which satisfies the needs and requirements of an intensely diverse workforce. Equal Employment opportunity also requires the employers to maintain an ethical and hospitable internal working environment so that employees can have maximum chances to advance and develop their careers (Agocs, Burr and Somerset; Chapter 2: The Remedy for Workplace Disadvantage, 1992). One of the most important themes raised in class discussions is that there is a seemingly huge contradiction between traditional and modern expectations of women, yet women are still expected to live up to both. Given that, ideally, the choice to be a mother, a worker or both shouldn't penalize women or pit women against each other, discuss the challenges involved in organizing women with respect to their varying interests or goals related to work. Women have always been a center of attention with a lot of expectations attached to their social status. For instance, previously the role of women was limited to the domestic work only. However, in the contemporary world the expectations are immensely raised and now they are expected to fulfill domestic as well as earning responsibilities. This had a direct effect over the organization of women which has now become an extensively challenging task due to their interests and preferences. Let’s consider the example of part time work and gender equality. Part time jobs are significantly common in some regions of the world therefore it has become a competitive job market where men and women both compete in order to get ahead of one another. Before going into its detail we need to understand that there are different categories of women in a workforce. For example, there are women who leave the workforce soon after their marriage or childbirth, while some of them rejoin work once their child is old enough. Since a significant number of women are employed in part time jobs which are primarily women dominated such as teaching, child care, nursing, etc., therefore there is a huge wage gap and lack of promotional opportunities for women in the workforce. Contrary to this men are often employed in full time jobs while having substantial career development opportunities. Hence it can be concluded that the responsibilities of full employment are actually the core reason for men to ignore all the household chores which makes the part time jobs more challenging for women workers due to increased domestic burden (Fagan, 2000). To resolve this issue of equality in employment the authors have represented an applicable strategy with 5 crucial recommendations. These are (Fagan, 2000): Increased proportion of part time jobs in overall working environment Expansion and equal division of child care and relative responsibilities Encouraging men to get involved with the household chores Make laws and protection systems for the part time workers Eliminate discrimination against these workers. Leah Vosko has critically analyzed the overall Canadian job market while particularly emphasizing upon the increasing trend of part time jobs. In order to manage and maintain a work life balance women often opt for part time jobs. However, the continuously increasing rates of part time and temporary jobs have actually made the Canadian labor force more precarious. This has actually contributed to increase the challenges for working women because a large number of employees are entering into the part time job market which has subsequently reduced the wage rate for women workers. In addition to this the part time jobs are not protected by the law, therefore women employees cannot take an action against the increasing wage gap neither they can qualify for pay equity (Vosko, 2009). Yet another important aspect attached to the organization of women work force is that of care and social welfare. Woman are always considered a caring individual however, the income level, social status and racial background largely affects the varying responsibilities of women. Government programs must be introduced in order to distribute the caring responsibility between men and women so that in a workplace both can actually perform their duties well enough. Additionally, employers must organize the women labor force in such a way that it does not create hurdles in achievement of their personal goals for instance, in paying their due responsibilities towards family and friends (Carol T. Baines, 1998). The information discussed in this course indicates that differential treatment in the workplace is imbedded in larger systems and structures of power and gender relations - and that most solutions tend to respond to situations rather than prevent them. With reference to readings, offer some potentially preventative strategies for one of the following: the glass ceiling/sticky floor, sexual harassment, workplace violence, the wage gap or any other issue of your choice. In the contemporary world employment equity and pay equity are as important as the job itself. Lesley Jacobs has a great emphasis over the implementation of such rules and regulations which are beneficial in reducing discrimination on the basis of employment. In order to prevent such discriminating actions in future she has presented an idea that there should be a clear difference between the work-based policies and home-based policies. Equality is not only required at the working level rather it also plays an important role on the family level since every member of a family contributes some part to the overall income. She has further discussed the factors which influence the efficiency and effectiveness of women workers. For instance, women are mostly occupied with the household work and child care responsibilities leading towards low productivity level. This issue must be resolved by making laws related to pay equity and by creating incentives for men so that they are also encouraged to participate in the domestic chores (Jacobs, 1995). McDermott has identified solutions for reducing wage gap. Her emphasis is over the job categories and job evaluations. For instance, women are often refused to do jobs which are male dominated despite of the fact that they can equally perform such duties. While on the other hand their evaluation is also done on the basis of gender difference leading to increased wage gaps. Government must implement equivalent job evaluation techniques for both genders while ensuring that there is no difference in job categories expect for those which require extensive male domination (McDermott, 1999). In addition to this further solutions are formulated to address the issue of wage gap. These include (Lassonde, 2007): Pay equity law: New pay equity laws must be introduced while giving due attention to the job evaluation on the basis of skills, experience, education, job responsibilities and the overall challenges faced during the working hours. Eligibility criteria: The current employment laws does not include women workforce. However, due to their increasing participation in workforce it is now mandatory to change the eligibility criteria. For instance, aboriginal women, disabled women and those who have minimal skills and education must also be included in the eligibility criteria. Protecting employees: Employees either working on part time or full time basis must be protected by the pay equity rules and regulations in order to reduce the possible chances of discrimination. Involvement of Employees: When making regulations regarding pay equity employees must be involved in the overall process of decision making. Maintaining pay equity law: Employers are required to abide themselves by the pay equity laws to avoid any legal action against them. Pay equity commission: the government officials need to develop a commission especially to look after the matters of pay equity. This commission would be responsible to identify the wage gaps subsequently reducing them while ensuring that employees and employers are fully performing their duties. All these strategies in regard of reducing wage gap cannot be operated on immediate basis. These require a lot of planning and consideration with an active involvement of employees and employers. Women constitute a large percentage of workforce therefore it would be feasible to consider their dual status and the overall distribution of their household and working responsibilities so that the more effective wage gap solutions can be formulated. Removal of wage gap would not only facilitate the women workforce rather it will also increase the workforce productivity which will lead to early achievement of organizational goals. References Abella, R. S. (1984). Canada: Commission of Inquiry on Equality in Employment: Report of the Commission on Equality in Employment; Chapter 1: Defining Equality in Employment. Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada. Carol Agocs, C. B. (1992). Employment Equity: Co-operative Strategies for Organizational Change; chapter 1: The State of Art. Ontario: Prentice-Hall Canada. Carol Agocs, C. B. (1992). Employment Equity: Co-operative Strategies for Organizational Change; Chapter 2: The Remedy for Workplace Disadvantage. Ontario: Prentice-Hall Canada. Carol T. Baines, P. M. (1998). Women's Caring: Work Expanding, State Contracting. Oxford University Press . Fagan, O. R. (2000). Part-Time Work: Challenging the "Breadwinner" Gender Contract " in The Gendering of Inequalities: Women, Men, and Work. Burlington USA: Ashgate . Jacobs, L. A. (1995). "Equity and Opportunity" in Gender and Politics in Contemporary Canada, edited by Francois-Pierre Gingras, Toronto. New York: Oxford University Press. Lassonde, A. C. (2007). Status report on pay equity in Canada. National Association of Women and the Law. Final Report of the Workshop on Pay Equity . McDermott, P. (1999). "Pay Equity: Lessons from Ontario" in: Women, Work and Inequality : The Challenge of Equal Pay in a Deregulated Labour Market, edited by Jeanne Gregory, Rosemary Sales and Ariane Hegewisch. New York: St. Martin's Press. Vosko, L. (2009). Precarious Employment and the Challenges for Employment Policy. Public Policy for Women: The State, Income Security and Labour Market Issues . Read More