Gender Inequalities in the Workplace - Essay Example

This paper will examine different aspects of gender inequality in workplace and factors leading to this social issue. It will also make suggestions to improve the situation. The US education sector clearly indicates the dominance of women over men. To illustrate, currently US college students represent 42% women and 58% men. For the Harvard Class of 2009, nearly 55% of females were awarded honors degrees whereas only 51% males achieved it (“Gender inequality in the workplace”). According to the statistical data published in 2011, among the age group 25 to 29, 36% of women had a bachelor degree or other higher degrees while in the case of men it was only 28% (“Gender inequality in the workplace”).

However, this woman dominance disappears while entering the job market. Official information shows that a woman is paid only 80 cents for every dollar earned by a man (“Gender inequality in the workplace”). Although women are more (or equally) qualified than men, in the real world, they fail to convert their educational qualification into success because of the extreme gender based discrimination prevailing in the society. According to Elizabeth Broderick, the Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, “there is no question that the gender pay gap is alive and well, particularly in the top ASX companies.

” (qtd in Chun). . As Wright, Baxter and Gunn argue, “this underrepresentation of women in positions of authority……is not simply an instance of gender inequality; it is probably a significant cause of gender inequality” (407). It is generally misperceived that as compared to men, women cannot complete a job perfectly. Evidently, this misunderstanding is attributed to the fact that women are physically weaker than men. Similarly, statistical data indicate that women with higher educational qualification are more likely to get discriminated in the workplace.

This trend is illustrated in the diagram1. The graph clearly indicates that women having a professional degree earn only 60% of what men with the same degree earn. Similarly, in order to get promotions to the next rank, women need to work longer time than men do. For instance, as per the National Center for Education Statistics, women working in teaching sector may be promoted to principal post only after three years of their appointment whereas their male counterparts do not need to work such a long period to achieve the same.

It is argued that firms assign monotonous tasks to their women employees and deliberately keep them away from mentally demanding areas. While talking about the factors leading to gender inequality, one must consider the patriarchal system of family that has been prevailing in most of the countries ever from the beginning of human civilization. When father is given the primary position and respect in the family, the role of mother is often undermined despite the significance of her contribution in the family.

Most of the religions maintain that woman must be inferior to man and their roles must be limited to giving birth to children and bringing them up. Those teaching are so solid even in the