7 Killer Challenges Women Face In The Workplace Every Day
Within the working environment, everybody is equal, right? Wrong. In the USA, many studies have found that women are still not equal within a working environment. Each day women face plenty of challenges that their male counterparts don’t have to face. Whilst the general society has a newfound appreciation for women, the workplaces have not. Women are still second-class citizens in the working world. They are not given the same opportunities and chances that men get on a daily basis. Few bosses will admit the underlying inequality that exists within the workplace. After all, discrimination is illegal and should end right now. The general feeling about gender issues is that women are making too much of a big deal. It is true that the situation has improved a great deal in the last few years. Just because things are better for women than they once were, that doesn’t mean that we should stop fighting for our rights. Here are seven killer challenges women face in the workplace every day.
-
Male colleagues judging you on what you wear
For a man, office attire is straightforward. Men wear dark suits, with clean shirts and nobody bats an eyelid at their clothing. Women have things much harder than men. If they wear something that flatters their shape, the men in the office will begin to talk about them in a sexual manner. In the same respect, if they wear something that covers up their shape and hides their curves, men will begin to call them frumpy and ugly. It has never been okay to say complementary or derogatory things about men’s appearances. It is commonplace to talk about how a woman looks on a daily basis.
-
Bosses asking whether you plan to have a family
In an interview scenario, the boss will often ask women whether they plan on having a family. Remember, it is illegal for your boss to discriminate against you because you want to have children. You don’t have to answer the question and it is better if you dodge that bullet by saying nothing at all. You are in a catch 22 situation. If you say that you want children, your boss assumes that you are not dedicated to the role. If you say you don’t want children, your boss assumes that you are weird and frigid. Single women are a threat to the workplace, as they might leave and move somewhere else. Your boss will think that you’re unstable if you don’t have a family, yet if you do, they will worry about you taking maternity leave.
-
People assuming that women can’t lead men
In the office, there is an unspoken theory that women are weaker than men. Of course, nobody will ever say the theory aloud, but bosses often overlook women for promotion as they assume that women are not up it. Many men feel emasculated having to answer to women and bosses are aware of this fact. They may not make a conscious decision to overlook women for this reason, but they will likely do so all the same. This challenge is hard to tackle as you will likely have no proof that your boss has sidelined you on account of your gender.
-
Women are still paid less, despite being more qualified than men
A recent study found that there are now more female graduates leaving college than male graduates. That in itself should mean that women have a better representation in the workplace. There are many things you can do with a business degree, and having the qualification will open up many doors. In the current economy, women should do everything they can to set themselves apart from the crowd. The sorry truth of the matter is that women are often more qualified than men, yet still don’t get the same opportunities.
-
The lack of role models and people to look up to
Because the gender problem has existed for many years in the workplace, women find that they have fewer role models than men. In the workplace, it is uncommon to have women holding the most senior roles. That means that when new, young women come into the environment, they have nobody to aspire to or look to for inspiration. In an office where male bosses dominate the space, there is little women can do to get ahead. The fact that many of the powerful people in the workplace are male means that they are more likely to hire men into strong positions. There is an awful gender-bias that exists in many modern workplaces.
-
Finding a work and life balance
When a man gets home from work, nobody expects him to do anything. The sorry state of our society means that when a woman gets home her husband still expects her to cook and clean. The household gender roles have not changed to suit modern perceptions. Despite the fact that men are no longer the primary breadwinners, they still expect women to take on household duties. That means that many women have to work twice as hard as men. They need to balance being career-centric with many household chores.
-
An unawareness of the inequality that faces women
One of the largest issues that women face in the workplace is an unawareness of their inequality. Over the years, the media has conditioned us to believe that we have the same opportunities as men. People are always telling women that we’ve never had it so good, and so we should be grateful for what we have now. The fact that it was so awful in times gone by does not excuse the state of affairs now. Both men and women in the workplace have an unawareness of these gender issues. It is a cultural problem, as people tell us that we live in an equal society, when in fact things are far from equal. Without the knowledge that things are not equal, women can do nothing to fight for their rights.
