Achieving Gender Equity: The Challenges and Few Solutions - Case Study Example

Achieving Gender Equity: The Challenges and Few Solutions It was in 1999 that a promising scholar from Cambridge received her first appointment abroad as a lecturer in the physics department of the university that she had applied. Overjoyed to share the news with her faculty and friends, she was about to share it with her family back at home when a second email popped up, this time from her department head in Cambridge, asking her to hand over her project to another scholar. The email explicitly outlined that she could leave only after complete handover of the project responsibilities and will not be allowed a day’s leave to attend to registration for the new assignment anytime before handover. While she was surprised by the strictness of the email, her male colleague, who was scheduled to visit his new university on a similar assignment, on the contrary, got his leave without a hitch and came back within two days to complete the rest of his handover. The sad part of the lady’s story was that she could not complete the formalities and due to passage of due date of completing formalities in the new university she missed the opportunity and had to continue in the university she was serving before. In this context, it is easy to see that equal opportunities were given to both the scholars and both got through the tests and landed similar jobs. However, a very subtle gender inequity existed with the management at the University where both were previously employed which led to different treatment in the face of similar opportunities. Gender equity is the process in which equal treatment is given to men and women and both genders are allowed the chance to enjoy joy and pleasure from their individual achievement without downplaying the role of the woman. Although this is an universal effort today wherein WHO and UNO have issued several ordinances for the use of gender equity in all countries. It is also widely agreed that gender inequality and inequity has been successfully abolished in the broader perspective wherever laws were applicable. However, with the above example we see that gender inequity exists in different social strata in a subtle and undetected form wherein women are considered weaker than men in performance and expectations. Common Gender Equity Problems Seen Today Gender devaluation is the undermining of the role played by members of a gender when placed in a responsible situation. Placing women in high authority positions has become common but having them respected and followed by the rest of the male staff is rare. Gender devaluation is reported amongst professionals who hold a lower esteem for their female colleagues and therefore, cannot digest the placement of the lady colleague in a higher position than theirs. As a result, although numbers indicate equal opportunities for women in the company’s top jobs, the treatment meted out to these women leaders, indicates that the men are not ready to take in the new authority. Women in different levels of professional life find the political and social hearing protocols for employee grievances not ready to hear or carry forward the complaints lodged by them. As a result, women need a louder representation of grievances in the company. The direct politically appointed committee in the company is inadequate in registering individual complaints from female employees while it works efficiently towards posting the complaints of male colleagues in the company. When repeated cases of such discrimination are observed in a company, the female employees automatically adapt and try to develop their own grievance re-dressal bodies which work in tandem with the management. This situation is seen today not only in companies but also in society wherein autonomous bodies that claim more freedom and rights for women in society have come up to work with governmental bodies employing the gender equity in the society. There is a horrible tradition of following a linear male dominated model of society and workplace culture that defies the creativity and genuine contributions of female employees across different levels of the company. From workplace to homes, the story stays the same as men become only more and more inclined towards demanding services from people and women around them and women stay inclined to delivering services readily for their colleagues, friends, bosses, and family. This leads to a massive problem in the mindset that one has to have towards gender equity in a modern society. We cannot follow traditional social models to define life in the 21st century and expect productivity and innovation to grow manifold and achieve success without the contribution of women. Conceptual inadequacy regarding Gender Related Development Index and Gender Empowerment Measure is a great barrier in achieving gender equity. The GDI and GEM are ordinances instituted by the WHO in respect of gender equity and require all active organizations to follow the dictums of the principles of equality and equity as laid down in these ordinances. However, the use of the principles till date has had organizations focus on numbers more than on the quality of professional or family life they are gifting to the women whom they are projecting as happy and placed at top jobs within companies. It is more a game of numbers and show rather than realization of the goals of the ordinances. A strong shift towards matured living happens whenever a family brings its second child into this world. This added responsibility often takes a toll on their professional, social or personal performances. The status of adulthood in second time fathers and mothers, and in people who choose second marriage and family has a lot to do towards determining their acceptance to the gender equity approach of the management. This is in stark contrast with the treatment meted out to first time mothers or fathers. Training institutions and making individuals aware of gender equity rights in society, workplaces and within family thresholds through the internet and electronic mode of teaching has become important today. Numerous journals, websites and directories share the latest updates in the science of gender equity to discerning readers. However, only a fraction of the total world population have access to the internet and even out of that only a fraction takes these updates and articles seriously. Solutions Possible in Each Scenario: There are no set rules in achieving gender equity in a single society since each situation wherein unequal treatment is provided to a person is unique and arises out of the individual sentiment towards women in society. A few solutions possible in this regard are as follows: Voting system for trust development: If having women in top jobs is going to lead to gender devaluation of the role that the woman is in, then it is important to win the trust of employees working under that designation to vote for and against the decisions of the leader. In due course of time, devaluation automatically reduces as members of the team partly agree or disagree with the leader like in the case of male leaders, and realize there is not much difference. Often, this can lead to better performance and productivity instead, even if it is used in the case of male leaders. Creating a Common Adaptation against Discrimination: Like we have already seen autonomous bodies develop and showcase sufferings of women in any situation, if governments of all countries unanimously agree to a set standard of bodies created for this purpose, then these bodies will be created, maintained and registered in a common manner all over the world, helping standardize the protocol for demanding gender equity in different societies. Electronic Learning of Gender Equity Principles Redone: Working on company laws and family laws is not enough to bring in gender equity. It has been seen that WHO’s indicators, GDI and GEM, fail when the mode of application of these principles differs from country to country. Therefore, on a global scale, it is important to have a uniformly designed awareness program to be shared with companies, societies and governments which can be relayed across countries through the internet, television and radio and used to educate people living in there. Define Traits in Second Shift Statuses: Since a lot of discrimination is seen towards parents of the second child or transition during the same it is important to identify and set standards which define people who perform in this section and not confine people only because of their parenthood status. There may be single or married individuals who are not second parents who still fall in low productivity sections of the company and should be demarcated on basis of performance and not marital status. Minimal discrimination must be applied on these sections and they should instead be encouraged with perks, opportunities and takeaways to improve their productivity. Compare and Contrast: While we are all aware of the present status of gender equity in all countries, it is interesting to note that different countries have made slow but discernable progress in their own ways in reducing the gender gap. However, only developed countries have been able to find that in spite of the progress the stigma remains in the minds of people and needs to be addressed from the roots to allow complete usage of the laws being set in this field. The solutions that we have suggested are based on success of studies conducted by scholars in the field of gender equity. Studies have shown that women, when faced with the daunting challenges at workplace, mainly dominated by the linear male model, have been making crucial compromise sin family and professional life to strike a balance. If in real life, we have lesser challenges in front of these women (Campbell & Sanders, 69), the stress in their daily lives will decrease manifold helping them deliver better results. What stays unnoticed is hat stress in work life not only affects women but also their families and husbands. Therefore, in order to help the average society grow, one needs to have awareness, driven by individual changes in mindset in a society that respects gender equity (Moss, 652). Fathers have a serious load on their shoulders even if it is for a second time that the family is having a child (Coltrane, 12). Therefore, giving them a fair share of workload and rewards for delivered performance is the best way to bring in stability in their lives and still have them perform at their best. Issues in gender equity can be identified best when indicators are understood and assessed in the right manner (Ashford, 29). Therefore, if a company has access to the internet literature or electronic awareness (Volman & van Eck, 619) courses of gender equity assessment and wishes to use it in the right way in the company, then they need to move away from impressionistic usage (Monroe, 225) of the principles and go through hardcore training (Torr & Short, 116) and follow the productive discussions (Hsi & Hoadley, 34) that led to the creation of the laws and principles in gender equity to learn the practices that help one achieve it in a company (Wright et al, 516). This helps them to understand the underlying principle behind the practices and helps every one work towards achieving it. When everybody works in a unified fashion and believes in the efficacy of attaining the same goals of gender equity, it becomes easier to bring in equality and helps enhance the performance of individuals in the company. The same holds good for bringing gender equity in society as a massive portion of the socioeconomic inequity seen today arises out of individual experiences and practices at home and work, which carries forward to a social mindset. If the management of the college (Bailey, 329) understood the urgency of a candidate’s journey to a different state or country, it would readily create provisions for hindered project closure and allow the person to travel forth and back and complete handover while joining the new assignment he or she has been asked to join. Lack of an equal mindset in this regard will ruin the chances of many more candidates who are women and are in dire need for a change in situation based on professional or academic qualifications. This is the best way to ensure that even when they have equal opportunities, members of both genders are able to enjoy the benefits of utilizing these opportunities. References: 1. Campbell, Patricia B., and Jo Sanders. "Uninformed but interested: Findings of a national survey on gender equity in preservice teacher education." Journal of Teacher Education 48.1 (1997): 69. 2. Coltrane, Scott. Family man: Fatherhood, housework, and gender equity. Oxford University Press,1997. 3. Ashford, Susan J., et al. "Out on a limb: The role of context and impression management in selling gender-equity issues." Administrative Science Quarterly(1998): 23-57. 4. Volman, Monique, and Edith van Eck. "Gender equity and information technology in education: The second decade." Review of Educational Research 71.4 (2001): 613-634. 5. Moss, Nancy E. "Gender equity and socioeconomic inequality: a framework for the patterning of womens health." Social science & medicine 54.5 (2002): 649-661. 6. Hsi, Sherry, and Christopher M. Hoadley. "Productive discussion in science: Gender equity through electronic discourse." Journal of Science Education and technology 6.1 (1997): 23-36. 7. Torr, Berna Miller, and Susan E. Short. "Second births and the second shift: A research note on gender equity and fertility." Population and development Review 30.1 (2004): 109-130. 8. Monroe, Kristen, et al. "Gender equality in academia: Bad news from the trenches, and some possible solutions." Perspectives on politics 6.02 (2008): 215-233. 9. Wright, Anne L., et al. "Gender differences in academic advancement: patterns, causes, and potential solutions in one US College of Medicine." Academic Medicine 78.5 (2003): 500-508. 10. Bailey, S. M. (1993). The current status of gender equity research in American schools. Educational psychologist, 28(4), 321-339. Read More