Women Employment in the Workforce - Essay Example

Parcheta, Kaifi, and Khanfar (2013) talked about women’s “lapses in employment” that occur when they leave work to give birth and take care of their young children that, in turn, reduce the work experience that is needed for higher pay and job promotion (p.243). In addition, numerous women persist in feeling bound to traditional gender roles and responsibilities, so they feel less aggressive in the workplace. Shriver (2009) mentioned women who are raised to be inferior to their brothers and to focus on home and family activities, thus, when they grow up, they do not exactly want an engaging career or business environment. In the workplace, these kinds of women are not seen and promoted equally as men because of social mindsets and practices that curtail their abilities to be effective employees or businesspeople. When these attitudes and practices about women interact, equal employment is not fully felt and applied at work.

I agree that there is a correlation between how women are treated in society and how they are treated in the workforce. If women are socially perceived as capable and confident individuals who can get their jobs done despite multiple tasks, then HR managers or owners will hire them because of their positive attitudes and employability. If women are seen as lacking confidence and unreliable at work, then they will also be hardly hired and developed for more competitive jobs. Parcheta, Kaifi, and Khanfar (2013) noted that if society sees women as emotionally, or even, intellectually weaker, than men, it will pay women less and will not recognize their management potential (p.242). In addition, if society sees women as doing only gender-stereotyped roles and responsibilities, then they will also be hired for these kinds of “feminine” work only, such as working in caring and educational roles (Parcheta, Kaifi, Khanfarm, 2013, p.243). However, if society sees women as equally capable in their personal and work life, then their gender will not be a hindrance to their recruitment and promotion at work. Gender-equal attitudes in society, thus, are an important foundation for gender equality at work, not just by several women working in every field, but by the beliefs regarding women’s abilities and potential.

My recommendations for women in the workforce are numerous, but it starts always with the right mindset, the self-empowering mindset. Women should never see themselves as inferior in society and the workplace because they are not. If Eunice Kennedy Shriver and past women from lower class and/or minorities can question and oppose gender norms, present-day women can too (Shriver, 2009). Even if women may not have the same education and training as other men, they can always learn and improve their skills and knowledge. The right mindset will help them assess their strengths and weaknesses as employees and find ways to nurture their knowledge and skills. Women must also have workplace goals or ambitions so that they know what they have to aspire for. If they want to be managers and they know that managers have certain degrees or knowledge and experiences, they must prepare themselves for acquiring the needed capabilities. In addition, I agree with Parcheta, Kaifi, and Khanfar (2013) that women must also learn their worth when negotiating for their wages and employment conditions (p.246). They must not degrade their self-worth by allowing themselves to have lower salaries than men when they are all doing the same work. Hence, women should be confident, capable, and goal-oriented, so that they can succeed at any workplace they want to be in.