Human Security Implications of Discrimination Against Women in Workplaces
September 13, 2023by Helani Yapa Bandara
Published on Ceylon Today on 01st September 2023.
As per UNICEF (2017), women discrimination refers to the unjust and prejudicial treatment of individuals based on their gender, typically favoring one gender over another or limiting opportunities and rights based on gender accordingly involves the unequal treatment, expectation or assumptions about the abilities, roles and worth of individuals due to their gender. Those discriminations can occur in various aspects of life including education, employment, healthcare, social interaction and access to resources. Typically, this is rooted in stereotypes and biases associated with traditional gender roles and expectations. You may have a fair question; why we are particularly focused on addressing women’s discrimination? Because there are historical and systemic oppressions; mean throughout history, women have faced systemic discrimination and oppression based on their gender. This includes limited access to education, economic opportunities, political participation and reproductive rights and especially gender equality is a fundamental principle of human rights. It is enshrined in various international conventions and declarations, such as the universal declaration of human rights. By focusing on women’s discrimination, majority aim to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their gender, have equal rights, opportunities and protections under the law. Thus, it is important to note that addressing women’s discrimination does not mean neglecting or ignoring other forms of discrimination, Equality and justice require us to address discrimination and oppression in all its forms and strive for a society where everyone’s rights are respected and protected. Gender discrimination can occur in any place at any time, but has deep-researching effects on employees in the workplace; the reason when we consider an individual, he/she spends a significant amount of time in the workplace. In addition, it is also pivotal to identify and understand women's discrimination in the workplace, as a human security issue as pronounced by United Nations.
(Ketchiwou and Dzans, 2023) In their work titled “Examining the impact of gender discriminatory practices on women’s development and progression at work” has stated that, “Many women still suffer from gender discrimination and remain at the bottom of organizational structures despite their efforts to ascend. Globally, women encounter more challenges in their career advancement than men, even though the number of women in senior positions has increased worldwide, women are still underrepresented at the top levels.” Moreover, this article mentions the challenges that women face in the workplace. Accordingly, challenges are discrimination based on gender in the hiring or firing process, losing a promotion because of gender; also known as the “glass ceiling”, receiving less pay than a male worker doing the same job, being a victim of sexual harassment including unwanted sexual advanced and request for sexual favors, being given less paid sick leave or denied employee benefits on account of gender, being written up for behaviour that does not result in disciplinary action when performed by an employee of another sex, being referred to by a name or gender that you do not identify with (e.g. a transgender man is referred to as ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs.’), becoming the target of discriminatory or offensive words because of being a female. Although the aforementioned barriers are crucial, other factors include status in society, religion, level of education, and financial status.
It is extremely important to investigate whether the personal and organizational characteristics of working women are more susceptible to discrimination based on gender. Depending on her place of work (position), location, and other distinguishing qualities of herself and her coworkers, a woman may suffer different types of discrimination at work. Many women face barriers to advancing within organizational structures despite their efforts and qualifications. Deeply unshakeable societal biases and stereotypes about gender roles and capabilities can influence decision-making processes within organizations. According to M. Somers (2022), these biases can lead to women being undervalued, overlooked for promotions, or relegated to certain roles seen as traditionally feminine, thereby limiting their upward mobility. For example, when we consider about Board of Directors in a club; a woman always holds the secretary position while a man maintains the president position of the same club.
According to Kagan (2022), the glass ceiling refers to the invisible barriers that prevent women from reaching top leadership positions in organizations. Gendered norms and expectations about leadership styles and behaviours can create barriers for women seeking advancement, as they may face bias and resistance when attempting to break through these norms. Women often face a lack of access to mentorship and sponsorship opportunities, which are crucial for career advancement. Having mentors and sponsors who can provide guidance, advocacy and growth opportunities can significantly impact a person’s career path/ trajectory. As per Stamarski et al (2015), some organizations may have policies or practices that unintentionally or intentionally disadvantage women. This can include biased performance evaluations, unequal pay practices, limited flexible work arrangements or lack of support for family-friendly policies.
Many countries across the world define women’s discrimination in the workplace differently under their respective laws and regulations. In the United states, gender discrimination is explicitly prohibited under Title vii of the civil rights Act of 1964, a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination in the workplace on statements of colour, race, sex, religion, and national origin. Although this landmark labour law has given nationwide protections for employees and applicants for several decades, discrimination based on based on gender still occurs in contemporary workplaces, disproportionately affecting women of colour and transgender women. Gender discrimination against workers is illegal under federal law. However, there are no currently federal workplace protections for employees who are discriminated against based on based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Women discrimination is a crucial human security issue in Sri Lanka. So, there are some actions taken by Sri Lankan government to prevent or reduce women discrimination within workplace environment. For examples, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is ratified by Sri Lankan government in 1981, this Act which accomplish the country to take measures to eliminate discrimination against women and promote gender equality in various spheres of life. Secondly, Protection of Women's Rights Act (No. 22 of 2005) is providing legal protection and remedies for women against various forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment, gender-based violence, and workplace discrimination. Thirdly, Employment of Women and Children's Act (No. 47 of 1956) is establishing regulations and safeguards related to the employment of women, young persons, and children. This Act prohibits discrimination against women in recruitment, working conditions, and equal pay. Finally, Women's Charter which outlines a comprehensive framework for promoting and protecting women's rights by Sri Lankan government in 1993. This Charter covers various areas, including health, education, political participation of women, especially women’s employment in labour force. However, women discrimination cannot be stop by laws or Acts alone as law follows society and often women victims should have courage to make use of the legal framework. According to Patabendige (2023), men and women are different biologically, and due to those biological reasons, decision-making is affected. Problems in the eyes of a man will be different from problems in the eyes of a woman. Even though they may have the same point, the way they perceive things is different. When there is a gender-sensitive matter or concern about women, the decision should be weighed, debated, and perceived by women. However, unfortunately, as organizations and the majority of decision-making bodies consist of male counterparts and therefore, the interests and grievances of the females are unheard of, unreported, and rarely discussed. Nevertheless, Triana and Jayasinghe (2019) also found that gender discrimination had an opposite relationship with work-related outcomes, job attitudes, physical health outcomes and behaviours. So, addressing challenges requires a multi-faced approach that involves individuals, organizations, and society as a whole. On the other hand, workplace discriminations impact on the woman’s personal life. Every man needs his wife to be educated and good in her career progress so that they can build a better lifestyle. Every parent needs their daughter to be good in her life. Undoubtably, as soon as she enters to the workplace harassment, she cannot maintain a good mental health. So how she can maintain a good family responsibility as a daughter, as a wife, as a mother and a sister. It can be affected to her work-life balance. As a result, everyone those who around her will unhappy. Thus, women discrimination should not arise in any forms any time within organization.
To address women discrimination in the workplace considerable changes are required, such as ensure equal pay and benefits for working women, promote leadership diversity, equal and flexible organizational policies for every worker, fair hiring and firing practices, make a good monitor and measure processes, promote better mentorship, encourage work-life balance and encourage to held good relationship among co-workers. In detail, efforts should focus on, raising awareness and challenging unconscious biases and stereotypes, promoting diversity and inclusion in organizational policies and practices, providing mentoring and sponsorship opportunities for women, implementing transparent and fair performance evaluation processes, supporting work-life balance through family-friendly policies such as family care leave, reduced working hours for working parent, flextime and flexible work arrangements, encouraging women’s leadership development and skill-building programs. Accordingly, organization can arrange those changes as short-term and long-term actions. Then every organization can ensure security of its women workers. Furthermore, each organization must deeply understand how valuable women’s participation in organization as well as enhancing their performance, treat equally for all woman in the workplace as a human security concern.
Link to the original source : Click here
* Ms. Helani Yapa Bandara is an Intern (Research) at the Institute of National Security Studies (INSS), the premier think tank on National Security established and functioning under the Ministry of Defence. The opinion expressed are her own and not necessarily reflective of the institute or the Ministry of Defence.
-The Ministry of Defence bears no responsibility for the ideas and views expressed by the contributors to the Opinion section of this web site-