Gender equality is one of the most important practices in workplaces. It gives both men and women equal opportunities and access to other important resources. Gender equality in the workplace aims to remove all barriers to equal participation including leadership roles and other involvement without any gender discrimination.

This practice not only promotes mens and women equality but also allows the business to be more productive. With gender equality, businesses can fetch more skills and different ideas from their employees which ultimately helps the organisation to work as a more powerful unit. It is also observed that many people want to work for a company that understands gender sensitivity. In a recent survey, it was found that approximately 55% of job seekers prefer working for an organisation that highly encourages men and women equality.

Benefits Of Practicing Gender Equality In Workplace

There are several benefits to be earned by practicing gender equality in workplaces, following are the most important ones:

Gender-diverse work culture: It helps organizations to create a comfortable ambiance in workplaces where all the employees feel equally respected. While working as a team, employees are also likely to notice different skills and ways of tackling workplace challenges of their team members, these little differences create respect amongst them while working together in a positive work culture.

Productive results: Every individual has their own strength and weakness. Similarly, different genders possess different skills that can be utilized to improve the productivity scale while working together as a team. In fact, organisations more often find that a diverse workplace can bring more ideas to workplaces which helps the entire team to be more innovative.

Adds value to the organisation: While practicing gender equality in the workplace, businesses not only earn respect from their employees but also receive immense respect from outside. The culture attracts more people who want to work for the organization. As a result, businesses successfully create a strong workforce.

Fewer conflicts: Gender equality in the workplace brings people from different gender, and it is natural to observe the difference in their ways of communication. This results in the creation of two categories, people who communicate directly about their issues and others who perform the role of peacemaker. The combination of these two categories creates fewer conflicts and maintains smoothness in the workplace.

Factors affecting gender inequality

Both men and women can face gender inequality issues in the organization, but in maximum cases, we see women discrimination more often. Here are the top 4 factors that affect gender inequality in organizations:

Wage gap: Based on a U.S. Census Bureau 2020 survey it was observed that women are getting 83 cents of every dollar earned by men for the same job profile. It was more common in the 1960s but it is shocking to see that it still exists in various parts of the world.

Gender leadership gap: Another practicing gap is the gender leadership gap. Some surveys show that many qualified women dont get the desired leadership role because of the biased nature of the organization. For example, few companies do not promote a mother to a higher and more responsible designation because they think that it will be difficult for them to manage two different responsibilities, but they can comfortably consider a father for the same role.

Hiring process: It starts from the beginning for women when they face difficulty in getting hired. In a conducted experiment, it was observed that 60% of males were getting hired as compared to 40% of women. This happened even after the same and sometimes better qualifications of women who applied for the same job roles.

Gender exclusion: Excluding an individual from any task, meetings, company outings, etc. is another factor that fuels gender inequality. It also limits the capabilities of excluded employees, as a result, it affects their growth and productive nature.

Here are some steps that can be taken to address gender discrimination in the workplace –

1. Gender-diverse hiring

Diverse hiring allows businesses to hire qualified candidates for the required profile without getting biased towards any gender. This can be achieved from the beginning of the hiring process. Employers can make some considerable changes in the job description to broaden the pool of candidates, such as reducing the required experience, accepting more profiles with different experiences if it is possible, and they can always remain open to considering qualified people from different profiles and educational backgrounds for higher positions.

2. Equal pay

There are laws that state that men and women are equal and should be given equal pay if they are getting hired on the basis of the same experience and same position. This means employees that are getting hired for the same profile will carry the same set of responsibilities, working hours, and other relevant efforts. Additionally, companies can consider a pay audit as well to check if all the employees of the same work profiles are getting the same pay.

3. Add segment into the training

Organizations can add segments related to discrimination and gender equality in their training programs. If it is already a part of the training program, make sure there is enough information added there to provide an impactful message to all the present employees of the company regarding discriminating behavior and their outcomes.

4. Avoid pay secrecy policies

Pay secrecy can also be considered a controversial policy and can be illegal in some cases. As the employees may discuss their salaries, it will make them feel the inequality which can dent the teamwork. Organizations can consider sharing the salary information to ensure every working professional is getting paid an equal and fair amount as per their experience, education, and job roles.

5. Encourage work-life balance

Many working professionals find it difficult to grow more in their careers. The reason behind their slow growth is the number of responsibilities. For example, a mother finds it very tough to manage her workload as she has to raise her child as well. In such cases, workplaces can address their issue by offering flexible working hours or work-from-home options.

6. Appreciate performances

The managerial level of an organization can always appreciate the good work done by the employees. Try to interact with the team members as much as possible to know them personally. Regardless of their gender, stay in reach to know if they are facing any kind of issue in the workplace. Doing this will create an open-minded work culture and make all the employees feel equally important.

Conclusion

Organizations have to understand the need for gender equality not only to create a world-class workplace environment but also to develop themselves into a successful business. All the above-mentioned core factors and other crucial points can help businesses to eliminate this issue easily.

Frequently Asked Questions