Before Inclusion Policies Can Be Effective, Discrimination Must Be Recognized
Creating an inclusive culture is becoming a major priority for organizations as research continues to uncover benefits of increased profitability, reduced employee turnover, increased employee engagement, and more. However, in many cases, such efforts are ineffective as those implementing the policies are not perceptive to the discriminations they are working to prevent. Forty-two percent of women in the U.S. report feeling discriminated at work based on their gender (Parker, Funk, 2017), whereas men do not report perceptions of discrimination to the same extent or at all (García-González, Forcén, Jimenez-Sanchez, 2019). Furthermore, men more than women tend to report perception of gender equality coming at their own expense (Kehn, Ruthig, 2013).
Today, men hold the majority of leadership and decision-making positions. In order to implement effective policy and program to fight gender discrimination, it is critical for them to be perceptive to it (García-González, Forcén, Jimenez-Sanchez, 2019).
Here are three ways to identify gender discrimination.
Representation: Who is being catered to? Who is the default?
For most of history, the workplace has been a place dedicated to men. With the National Service Act implemented in just 1941, women in the workforce is still a relatively contemporary concept. As such, modern workplace culture is built around what researchers refer to as “masculine norms”, which are actions shaped by beliefs of what is acceptable and expected by male peers. This often takes shape as gendered language (read “5 Simple Language Switches to Create a More Inclusive Culture”), hyper-competition, stigmatization of accepting parental leave services/mental health/personal time off, etc.
Workload: Who’s taking on more responsibilities? Who’s contributing to intangibles like culture?
In 2021, women were even more burned out than they were the previous year, and the gap in burnout between women and men has almost doubled (Burns, Huang, Krivkovich, Rambachan, Trkulja, Yee, 2021). This is due to many factors both inside and outside of work. Within the workplace, women tend to fall victim to emotional labor (read “Is Emotional Labor a Glass Ceiling?”), take on more administrative tasks, and do more to support their team and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for various marginalized groups (Burns, Huang, Krivkovich, Rambachan, Trkulja, Yee, 2021).
“Compared with men in similar positions, women managers are taking more consistent action to promote employee well-being—including checking in on their team members, helping them manage their workloads, and providing support for team members who are dealing with burnout or navigating work–life challenges” (Burns, Huang, Krivkovich, Rambachan, Trkulja, Yee, 2021).
Recognition: Who receives praise? Who’s passed over for promotion? Who gets paid more?
I recently had a male colleague approach me with a concern as he noticed women on his team being overlooked for promotional opportunities with no basis. After years of him advocating for one particular woman’s advancement, he ultimately realized gender discrimination may be at play. When he inquired as to why she wasn’t promoted, the only justification provided was, “There’s just something about her.”
Despite the greater workload mentioned above, women tend to receive less recognition for their contributions compared to their male counterparts. In 2021, about 30% of women reported having 30% increased workload and responsibilities; however, only 14% of those women have received increased compensation (Safuan, Kurnia, 2021). As individuals take notice of their team member’s contributions, this should be coupled with taking stock of the recognition and praise awarded. On a grander scale, organizations should monitor promotions and pay to identify gender equalities organization-wide, as well as by department, region, etc.
These three pillars of representation, workload, and recognition provide a helpful framework to assess one’s organization to uncover biases or inequalities. To learn about How to Call Out Gender Discrimination When You See It, stay tuned for the next article in this series.
SOURCES
Burns, T., Huang, J., Krivkovich, A., Rambachan, I., Trkulja, T., & Yee, L. (2021). Women In The Workplace 2021. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace
García-González J, Forcén P, Jimenez-Sanchez M (2019) Men and women differ in their perception of gender bias in research institutions. PLoS ONE 14(12): e0225763. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225763
Kehn, & Ruthig, J. C. (2013). Perceptions of Gender Discrimination across Six Decades: The Moderating Roles of Gender and Age. Sex Roles, 69(5-6), 289–296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-013-0303-2
Parker, K., Funk, C. (2017). Gender Discrimination Comes In Many Forms for Today’s Working Women. Pew Research Center.
Safuan, S., & Kurnia, T. (2021). Literature review of pandemic Covid 19 effects on employee compensation. Journal of Business and Management Review, 2(1), 057-064.