Women are suffering dominance and inferior treatment - Essay Example

?Introduction Women are suffering dominance and inferior treatment at the hands of men from ages. Even after proving that they are equal to men in every area of live, women still suffer from unequal treatment. This unequal treatment and inferior position to men is evident through the practice of gender discrimination at workplace. Gender discrimination is known to prove disadvantageous for women not only professionally, but also psychologically. Researches in the field of sociology have found that people who experience gender discrimination become vulnerable to developing mental illnesses (Andersen and Taylor 552). As a consequence of experiencing discrimination, they experience high rates of hypertension, depression and other forms of mental disorders (Andersen and Taylor 552). This proves how severe are the effects of gender discrimination on women. Hence, women need to take strong steps towards eliminating discrimination at workplace. However, to do that, they have to fight not only their own fears and reluctance, but also the root causes of discrimination, which lies at the core of human psychology. Definition Discrimination can be defined as a behavior or “the practices that single out some groups for different and unequal treatment” (Andersen and Taylor 318). Discrimination leads people to give unequal treatment to people from minority group. Actions like “avoiding social contact with members of minority groups, denying them positions that carry authority, or blocking their access to exclusive neighborhoods” etc., are various forms and examples in which discrimination is practiced (Shepard 246). In fact, according to Allport (1979), extreme actions such as physically attacking or killing people from targeted groups can also be carried out by people practicing discrimination (Shepard 246). This shows that discrimination is a severe threat to the healthy progress of the society. Women being the victims of domination at the hands of men since ancient times, every aspect of their life remains stunted and unfulfilled due to the gender discrimination they experience in the society. Unfortunately, gender discrimination is practiced even in the modern times of today. Gender discrimination today Women experience unequal treatment in many aspects of their job. The earnings gap between women and men, which is persistent from a long time, is evidence of the fact that women are victims of gender discrimination despite of the laws made to prevent it (Andersen and Taylor 317). Even in today’s modern world, on an average, women earn only 73% of what men earn despite of working year-round and full-time, and putting in the same efforts as men do (Andersen and Taylor 317). According to a study by De-Navas et al (2003), in the year 2002, the median income for women working full-time and year-round was $30, 203 while it was $39, 429 for men (Andersen and Taylor 317). This shows how gender discrimination leads to unequal and dishonest treatment of women in the society. Women are never valued for their contribution o the society and development of family. Hence, despite of their importance of such things as nurturing children, jobs that have been historically defined as “women’s work” were never given due value in terms of income or prestige (Andersen and Taylor 317). Hence, it is not just in the past, but even in the present, that women are experiencing gender dissemination at workplace. A look at the top level positions at the Fortune 500 companies shows that women are certainly lagging behind as far as attaining the top level positions are concerned. By the year 2001, while 495 of the Fortune 500 companies were led by male CEOs, only 5 companies had women at the leadership position (Gregory 6). Only one of the hundred largest New York City firms were led by woman while 99 others were led by men (Gregory 6).Across the United States, 95 of the largest law firms have men in the top spot while only 5 have women as their chair-person (Gregory 6). A study in 1998 revealed that while 89 percent of the senior executive positions were filled with men, only 11 percent were filled with women (Gregory 6). Women experience this discrimination at workplace despite of having equal qualification and college education as men. In fact, a survey conducted in 1993 by Hudson Institute revealed that “men with college degrees earned 34% more than women with comparable college degrees” (Gregory 7). In modern organizational structure, the discriminatory bias hinders the women from getting opportunity, advancement and employability (Green 94).Women continue to get lower wages compared to men even “with the same human capital as their male counterparts in terms of training and experience” (Green 96). All these statistics scream of the fact that women experience major degree of gender discrimination at workplace. Hence, it is highly essential to eliminate gender discrimination. However, to eliminate discrimination, it has to be detectable and observable. Subtle ways of gender discrimination Implementation of laws against gender discrimination has not helped much. It has been found that there is a shift in the ways in which the discrimination is being practiced at workplace after laws were enacted to fight discrimination at workplace (Green 91). Discrimination is observed being practiced in a very subtle way so as to avoid getting identified easily and openly (Green 91). Hence, it is usually found in scenarios where there is competition for opportunity and advancement (Green 91). Sadly, even those people who honestly believe in equality become a perpetuator of gender discrimination unknowingly as it has creeped into everyday impressions of worth, and lurks over the daily human activities like social interactions, perception, evaluation, providing opportunity, etc (Green 91). People working in legal fields have pointed out that as discrimination works not only on conscious level but also on the unconscious level, it is complex and difficult to capture and bring under the eyes of law (Green 92). Hence, detecting gender discrimination is not as easy as it seems as it lies at the core of human psychology. Psychology behind gender discrimination Gender discrimination at workplace has not remained limited to ‘individual’ thinking or action, but has seeped the very core of social structures. People practice discrimination at workplace without even knowing that they are practicing discrimination. Hence, the structures, practices and dynamics of the organization and groups within which individuals work influences and even encourages the more complex and subtle forms of discrimination that are common at modern workplaces (Green 92). This is the reason it has been suggested that regulations need to focus on the operation of discriminatory bias which remain hidden under the subtle and unconscious forms of discriminatory practices (Green 92). One of the major reasons for women experiencing discrimination at workplace is the stereotype thinking. No matter how women behave at work, they are judged through the eyes of stereotypical thinking. There are various ways in which stereotypical thinking causes discrimination. In 1995, a the report given by Glass Ceiling Commission, created by Congress, showed that the commonly held false stereotypes about women gave rise to the typical employer-held perceptions of working women (Gregory 10). Wrong notions held by employers such as compared to men women: 1) do not want to work, 2) have less commitment to career, 3) are weak for survival in business world, 4) are unable to work for long hours, 5) are too emotional, etc., lead them to discriminate against women at workplace (Gregory 11). This shows that discrimination against women will continue unless these stereotypes are eliminated from the workplace (Gregory 11). This is an example of modern type of bias. Well-known social scientists John Dovidio and Samuel Gaertner studied the modern type of bias to understand the root cause of the discrimination. According to them, the problem is that the discrimination due to bias is rooted in the “normal, often adaptive, psychological processes involving cognitive categorization, the desire to maintain power, and a largely automatic internalization of societal values and beliefs” (Green 97). Research by Dovidio and Gaertner suggests that the negative unconscious feelings drive people to discriminate in such a way that they can justify their actions as non-discriminatory (Green 97). According to Reskin (1998), to preserve their power and advantage, men organize and form the social rules that provide unequal rights to women as women pose a threat to traditional White male privileges (Andersen and Taylor 318). This shows how the discrimination against women at workplace continues in a subtle way. Hence, even though people think that they are non-biased and honest in their decisions, they still end up discriminating on the basis of gender. Unfortunately, women tend to suffer discrimination silently as there are many reasons that prevent them from taking step towards getting equal treatment. Reasons for women not taking action There are various reasons for women not considering legal help to fight the gender discrimination at workplace. Women rarely seek legal redress for discrimination as they remain unaware of gender discrimination in their work lives as it is often subtly conceived and not detectable easily (Gregory 11). In case they do detect discrimination, the complexity of legal proceedings makes hem reluctant in seeking help (Gregory 11). Some other major reasons for women keeping away from taking legal actions is lack of financial resources for retaining attorney, family responsibilities making the involvement in extended legal proceedings impossible, fear of losing job and due to self-defeating belief that they are going to experience it no matter where they work (Gregory 11). In this way, there are various personal and social reasons that keep women from seeking legal help against gender discrimination at workplace. Conclusion The discussion above shows that women are given unequal treatment by men even after proving that they are worth getting an equal treatment in the society. Gender discrimination at workplace is one of the major examples of snatching away the prestige respect and equal treatment from women. The implementation of laws against gender discrimination at workplace is a strong weapon that women can use to fight discrimination. However, to use this weapon, women have to shed their deep dears and reluctance as without shedding their weaknesses, they cannot fight the men who are the perpetuator of gender discrimination. It is only by showing strength and willingness to fight, women can eliminate gender discrimination at workplace. Works Cited Andersen, Margaret, L. and Taylor, Howard, Sociology: Understanding a diverse society. 4th ed. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2008. Print. Green, Tristin, K. “Discrimination in Workplace Dynamics: Toward a Structural Account of Disparate Treatment Theory,” Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. 38 (2003): 91-157. Print. Gregory, Raymond, F. Women and workplace discrimination: Overcoming barriers to gender equality. Piscataway: Rutgers University Press, 2003. Print. Shepard, Johm, M. Sociology. 10th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Read More