Gender and Inequality in the Canadian Workplace - Essay Example

? Gender and Inequality in the Canadian workplace Nadia Giannatiempo   Gender and Inequality in the Canadian workplace “According to a recent Annual World Economic Forum study, Canada lags behind Sri Lanka, Lesotho and Latvia at No. 20 in a global ranking of equality between men and women”(Canada ranks 20th in global gender equality study, 2011). It should be noted that Annual World Economic Forum has analyzed statistics from 134 countries and a neutral external observer may surprise to see Canada’s position in this statistics. Canada is believed to be one of the most advanced societies in the world and even same sex marriage is legal there. However, when it comes to gender inequality at workplace, Canada seems to be having one of the worst statistics. “On average, the estimated earned income for Canadian women is $28,315 compared with $40,000 for men”(Canada ranks 20th in global gender equality study, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to study why Canada has such bad statistics with respect to gender inequality even though it has a reputation of one of the most civilized nation in the world. Issues related to gender inequality in Canada Canada is a country to which immigration is rapidly growing. “In 1981, there were approximately 1.1 million visible minorities, accounting for 4.7 percent of the total population. By 2001, the number of visible minorities reached almost 4 million or 13.4 percent of the population” (Banerji, 2006, p.2). The above statistics clearly show that the minority population size in Canada is growing at a much rapid pace than that in other parts of the world. Majority of the women from immigrant community are coming to Canada for employment. In fact the women from immigrant community are suffering more employment discrimination and wage inequality compared to the local women. This is because of the increased racial profiling and stereotyping. “For instance, using the Ethnic Diversity Survey, Reitz and Banerjee (2005) found that while only about 10 percent of White respondents perceived overall societal discrimination in the past five years, more than a third (35.9 percent) of visible minorities reported experiencing discrimination” (Banerji, 2006, p.2-3). The increased participation of women in paid work seems to be the major factor behind increased gender inequality in Canadian workplace. Earlier, women were not much interested in coming out from the kitchens and look for any paid jobs outside. In fact male domination prevented them from doing so. However, the changing concepts of social life and the increased call for men and women equality helped women to break the barrier and increase their participation in outside jobs. Theoretical perspectives A separate study released by the Toronto-Dominion Bank says the earnings wage gap is related to motherhood. "Women in this group appear to be incurring larger wage penalties unrelated to their skills, education and experience,” the bank says. “Evidence strongly suggests that labor force intermittency is the main, yet multidimensional, culprit." Women without children tend to have similar wages to men with comparable levels of experience and education. Women who leave the workforce to have children tend to experience "an unexplained, but persistent" wage gap of about 3% per year for each year they are away, the bank says (Canada ranks 20th in global gender equality study, 2011). Motherhood seems to be a major reason for the wage inequalities and employment discriminations in Canada. Motherhood prevents women from working as normally as men. Motherhood imposes certain burdens upon the females and therefore it is difficult for them to work just like men. Employers know this fact very well and they cite those reasons while explaining employment discriminations at work places. Genetically men seem to be much stronger both physically and mentally than females. In other words, women cannot undertake some jobs which require hard labor and mental strain. Even though, current females are willing to undertake any jobs, employers are not much interested in posting women at risky positions. Still, the general perception about women employees in Canada is that they are more suited to clerical and administrative jobs than managerial or executive jobs. “Workplace discrimination can be explained by social cognition theory. Social cognition theory points that individuals automatically and unconsciously classify others into one of two groups: ingroup or outgroup” (Banerji, 2006, p.4). Women always rated as theoutgroup in employment sector whereas men tend to be regarded as the ingroup. In other words, women contributions are often gone unnoticed whereas men contributions will be projected more at workplaces. In short, stereotyping is one of the major problems in Canadian workplaces which causes severe employment discrimination and inequality in jobs. “Women in the private services sector in particular are at high risk of low pay, but enjoy little protection from union coverage which is concentrated among private sector men and public sector women” (Jackson, 2004, p.1). Trade unionism among women employees is comparatively smaller than that among male employees. It should be noted that trade unions which argue vigorously for employment rights, keep meaningful silences over the issue of gender and wage inequality at workplaces. Male domination is visible at the top of trade unions also and as a result of that trade unions argue more for the rights of males rather than that of the females. In short, women are handicapped by the absence of proper bodies to raise their claims at workplaces which is exploited by the employers. The following statistics will give a rough idea about the women participation in Canadian workplaces. 75: The labour force participation rate for women (compared to 83% for men). 22: Percentage of women in parliament. 100: Percentage of girls enrolled in primary school. 36: Percentage of female legislators, senior officials and managers. 57: Percentage of females in professional and technical worker positions (Canada ranks 20th in global gender equality study, 2011). The above figures clearly suggest that women participation in critical policy making bodies such as parliament is extremely small compared to that of men participation. Even though the population statistics of both males and females are almost similar, male domination is evident in critical employment sectors and policy making bodies. It should be noted that female participation in parliament is only 22% whereas only 36% of females working as legislators, senior officials and managers. Implications of gender inequality Employees who are disadvantaged or treated unfairly are usually most likely to feel discrimination. Perception of discrimination is driven by employees’ awareness of their rights and their sensitivity to unfair treatment. Thus, individuals’ expectation for equity also plays a role in their perception of discrimination (Banerji, 2006, p.3). Employment discrimination can decrease productivity and efficiency of women workers. It is a fact that only satisfied employees may deliver their maximum productivity or efficiency. If two people doing the same job draw different salaries, the person who is getting lower salary may become uncomfortable in continuing his work. This is true in the case of women also. There are many organizations in Canada which honour the jobs of the males more than that of the females. Because of this type employment discrimination, Canadian women may not bother much to improve their productivity or efficiency and ultimately the sufferer would be Canadian economy. Canadian Charter of rights and freedom and inequalities at workplace The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which falls under the Constitution Act of 1982, guarantees the rights and freedoms of all Canadians. It encompasses all aspects of human rights, from fundamental freedoms such as mobility, through legal rights, to the right to free communication. It also protects everyone's right to be treated fairly, without discrimination (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Overview, 2010). Canadian laws prohibit all types of discriminations in the society. It specifically mentions that all Canadians irrespective of their gender have the right to claim equality in the entire segments of human life. Under such circumstances, employment discriminations at Canadian workplaces cannot be justified. In front of Canadian constitution, both males and females hold same power and authority. None of them are superior to other. Morally, it wrong to discriminate male and females since both of them are important to the sustainment of human generation one earth. In other words, nature created males and females with equal status. A male cannot do some of the works performed by the females whereas females have problems in doing certain works as done by the males. The above fact should be accepted by all and discriminations with respect to gender at workplace should be eliminated. Conclusions Canada is one country in which employment discriminations and wage inequalities persist more than that in some other countries. Immigrant community constitutes a substantial portion of Canadian population and therefore racial profiling is more in Canadian workplaces. Even though motherhood is cited as the major reason for employment discriminations in Canada, it is fact that in a male dominant Canadian society, stereotyping problems are extremely huge compared to that in other parts of the world. Employment discriminations in Canadian workplaces will definitely affect the productivity of the women workers in Canada and therefore it should be avoided at any cost. In a civilized society like ours, employment discriminations and wage inequalities cannot be tolerated. References Banerji R. (2006), An Examination of Factors Affecting Perception of Workplace Discrimination, Retrieved from http://www.cira-acri.ca/docs/workingpapers/StudentPerceptions%20of%20Workplace%20Discrimination_Banerjee_081506.pdf Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Overview (2010). Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/legislation/canadian_law/federal/charter_of_rights/chart_right_free_ov.cfm Canada ranks 20th in global gender equality study (2011), National union of public and general employees. Retrieved from http://www.nupge.ca/content/3656/canada-ranks-20th-global-gender-equality-study Jackson, A. (2004), Gender Inequality and Precarious Work: Exploring the Impact of Unions Through the Gender and Work Database, Retrieved from http://www.genderwork.ca/conference/Jackson_edited_final.pdf Read More