The concept of Gender Inequality at work and its impact on

discrimination and employment in Business Organizations

Introduction
Discrimination against someone based on gender cuts across geographies, age,
cultures, and ethnicity. Unfortunately, women often find themselves at the receiving
end of discriminatory actions throughout most of their life - from overt actions such
as female infanticide, domestic violence, and rape to covert practices of denial of
opportunities at the workplace; forcing women to choose between career and family
and recruitment biases; among many more.
This article focuses on gender imbalance at the workplace, its causes, its criticality in
the functioning of successful organizations, and some steps that can be taken to
ensure a more gender-neutral workplace for all.

Forms of Gender-Based Discrimination at

Workplace
Recruitment & Selection: Women encounter discrimination at the very first step of
their professional careers. Numerous studies have found that women are less likely
to be called for an interview than men for the same skillset and work experience. A
Eurobarometer survey conducted on Gender Equality found that over 33% of
Europeans think men are more ambitious than women. Over 70% of the same
survey respondents said women were more likely to make decisions based on
emotions. No wonder then that biases creep up against women when hiring for a job
role. [1] This misperception among recruiters regarding women's "intrinsic" abilities
creates a barrier of entry for many women.

Performance Appraisal: A study [2] cited by Forbes found that on average, when
firms started with 58% of entry-level positions filled by women, only 29% of
leadership positions were taken up by women. The study, among countless others,
highlights the differential promotional opportunities and performance appraisals
given to women at the workplace. Women who are focused on their careers are
often labeled as abrasive and non-cooperative, while the same behavior from men is
perceived as ambitious. Of every 100 companies listed on the NSE, only 3 have
women in the CEO office. [3] Data points like these indicate the disproportionately
low opportunities women get to rise to the top of the corporate ladder.

Harassment at Workplace: A study conducted by NPR in the US found that over

80% of women had faced some form of harassment at the workplace. Let that
number sink in. That is four out of every five women.

Over 27% reported surviving sexual assault at the workplace. [4] What is more
discouraging is that close to 90% of victims never filed a complaint [5]. Harassment
at the workplace continues to be a leading cause for women shifting workplaces and
even work profiles in some cases. A lack of safe environment, lack of trust in the
grievance redressal system, and victim shaming drive women to bear the brunt of
the assault and change jobs upon facing acts of harassment.

Societal Expectations: Women are subjected to stereotyped expectations that are

deeply conditioned into people's minds at an individual, filial, and community level.
Roles are divided based on gender at a very early age – household work generally
falls on girls to adulthood – pressurizing girls to get married at an "appropriate" age
well into their careers – forced to choose between their family and career. Women
are conditioned into believing they cannot have it all. Women are shamed and driven
(by guilt) to give up their career to raise their child(ren). In a study done by The
Economist [6], the average wages of women who joined work after maternity leave
fell by an average of 40% over 10 years in the US and 20% in countries like
Denmark and Sweden. Clearly, women face a substantial economic penalty for
fulfilling their "duties," and many drop out of the labor workforce for good. Women at
leadership positions often find their authority questioned or downright unaccepted by
their male team members. Speaking up in a meeting assertively, working for long
hours, questioning the status quo, or driving transformation at the workplace are
deemed "unsuitable" or "undesirable" for a woman. However, these are the same
things that corporates look for while deciding upon promotions.

Major Causes of Gender Discrimination

Discrimination against women (or men in some cases) does not start at the
workplace. It is a product of a multitude of factors.

Patriarchal Thought Structure: Even though the world has progressed in providing
equal opportunities to all people irrespective of their gender, many societies still
function from a patriarchal thought structure. Women are denied access to
education, earning a living, and quality healthcare at an early age. These practices
find themselves backed solidly in cultures and rudimentary traditions.

Stereotyping of Roles: Many cultures condone division of work based on gender- a

large number of women are either not allowed to join the workforce or forced out of
jobs early on in their careers. The burden of cultural & societal expectations creates
an intrinsic disadvantage for women trying to succeed at the workplace. India's
female labor force participation (LFPR) was recorded at just over 23% in 2017-18,
which is a historic low. [7]

Lack of Policy Support: There is not enough policy support for women at the
workplace. Women who have to drop out of the labor force to start a family often find
it extremely difficult to get a job afterward. Even though Governments across the
world have taken corrective measures, most private sector companies offer little to
no support. This leaves women with no form of recourse. The choice of family versus
career weighs heavily on a woman and, unfortunately, is career-ending for most of
them.

Education: Given the global scale of this problem, one would expect it to be raised
in the textbooks. Unfortunately, in many developing countries, the official curriculum
does not address the issue at all. Societal conditioning that so often leads to
subconscious discrimination against women must be tackled at an early age through
a systematically designed school curriculum. A lack of one only perpetuates pre-
existing stereotypes.

Need & Advantages of A Diverse Workplace

Research conducted by a Harvard Professor [8] showed that of 1,069 leading firms
across 35 countries and 24 industries, gender diversity-related to more
productive companies when measured by total revenue and market value. This,
however, came with a caveat. The correlation was positive only when Gender
Diversity was accepted normatively. The correlation was not too significant for
cultures where greater gender diversity was not accepted.

Another research published by Harvard Business Review [9] proved that companies
that had leaders with diverse backgrounds were more likely to innovate more, have
a creative environment, and share some everyday experiences with the end user- all
of which had a net positive effect on the companies’ products/services.

Diverse boards of companies also raise more money. Studies have shown that
investors penalize companies for lack of diversity (directly or indirectly) and place
value in firms that follow best practices, including diversity. A gender-diverse board
has proven to be more successful for start-ups to raise more money in the early
stages of funding.

A report by Mckinsey Diversity Matters [10] conducted a study on over 350 global
firms, looked at metrics such as financial results and the composition of top
management and boards, and reported the following two key findings. Companies in
the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 percent more likely to have
financial returns above their respective national industry medians.

"Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 percent more likely to have
financial returns above their respective national industry medians. Companies in the
top quartile for gender diversity are 15 percent more likely to have financial returns
above their respective national industry medians."

The study also concluded - differential performance of companies in the same

industry and same geography implied that diversity is a competitive
differentiator giving more diverse companies a higher market share. [10]. A gender-
balanced workforce is not only preferred but a necessity to succeed in this
increasingly globalized world. Study after study has shown that having more women
in leadership positions improves the company's decision-making, is
directly correlated with better financial performance in the long run and
enhances innovation capabilities.

The business case for having more women in the workplace could not be stronger.
An article by the World Economic Forum [11] talks about the changing normative
acceptance of diversity among millennials. As millennials grow up to take more
leadership positions globally, not having a diverse workforce might come with an
adverse economic cost as more and more young women (and men) look at the
workforce composition while deciding upon their future employer. Thus, a gender-
diverse workforce might become indispensable in attracting and retaining top talent if
it has not already become so.

Global Best Practices & Case Studies

While gender biases and discriminatory practices remain prevalent in most parts of
the world, some companies lead the way with gender-inclusive policies. Here are a
few examples

Goldman Sachs: Goldman Sachs announced in January that the company would
not take any other company public (in the US and Europe) if it does not have at least
one diverse board member. While on the face of it, the act might seem purely social,
it has economic backing. According to the company, "Companies with one diverse
board member saw a 44% jump in their average share price within a year of going
public, while those with no diverse board members saw only a 13% increase in the
share price." [12]

Ethiopia: Political Representation In Ethiopia, the Prime Minister, shook up his

cabinet in 2018 to ensure 50% of all cabinet positions were held by women. He
appointed the first female Chief Justice of the country, the first female head of the
country's National Electoral Board, and the first female president. [13] Apart from
making the decision-making (especially regarding matters such as human trafficking
and healthcare) more diverse, the move helped challenge the country's existing
norms that label women as indecisive and inadequate leaders.

Sodexo: Sodexo went from a 9% share of women in their workforce in 2009 to 40%
in 2017. Over 40% of the members on the board of directors of the company are
women. The company found that by having increased female participation in their
workforce, they boosted their brand image by 5%, gross profit by over 20%, and
overall employee engagement by 4%. The company runs Gender Balance Networks
and promotes healthy female participation in other companies. A gender balance
study conducted by the company found that a 40-60% share of women on the board
of a company is optimal for its financial performance. [14]

Conclusion
Women have been historically disadvantaged at arguably all stages of life. Thus, any
discussion on gender diversity at the workplace is incomplete without talking about
the numerous factors that build up to the net disadvantage women feel at their place
of work. These factors can be boiled down to society's normative structure and the
resulting societal conditioning that often forces women into a false binary choice.
There is no dearth of examples of companies that have succeeded – financially and
otherwise- from a more gender-diverse workforce. The benefits of having a healthy
share of women at the workplace are well documented. Despite this evidence,
discriminatory practices prevail. The world can take cues from companies and
governments that have successfully implemented gender-inclusive practices and
reaped the reward for the same.
References
1. https://factorialhr.com/blog/gender-bias-recruitment/
2. http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~lane/papers/male_female.pdf
3. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/at-only-
3corporate-india-is-still-struggling-to-bring-women-to-the-top/
4. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/21/587671849/a-new-survey-
findseighty-percent-of-women-have-experienced-sexual-harassment
5. https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2018/10/29/stats-about-sexual-harassment-in-
theworkplace-you-cant-ignore/
6. https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/01/28/how-big-is-the-wage-
penaltyfor-mothers
7. https://www.livemint.com/news/india/india-s-workforce-is-masculinising-
rapidly1560150389726.html
8. https://hbr.org/2019/02/research-when-gender-diversity-makes-firms-more-
productive
9. https://hbr.org/2013/12/how-diversity-can-drive-innovation
10. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-
insights/whydiversity-matters
11. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/04/business-case-for-diversity-in-
theworkplace/
12. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2020/01/23/goldman-sachs-wont-
takecompanies-public-if-they-have-all-male-corporate-boards/#32585be39475
13. https://www.africanews.com/2019/04/11/one-year-on-ethiopia-pm-lauded-for-
hisefforts-in-promoting-gender-parity//
14. https://www.sodexo.com/inspired-thinking/research-and-reports/gender-
balancestudy-2018.html