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Topic 2 Paper

Omer Siddiq

OGL 345: Organizational Ethics

Professor Fox

February 27, 2022

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Topic 2 Paper

Gender inequality has been an issue in the workplace for many years now. When this

topic is discussed, it tends to mean that the female gender is seen as underrepresented compared

to the male gender in leadership positions and in wages. This problem is not new however, and

in a lot of ways many societies are making great strides toward equality for all genders, but it is

still an issue that should pushed a little harder. In many ways this issue is not just limited to fair

wages and promotions but is also entails the difference in treatment towards women in the

workplace. One of the biggest examples of this is belittling behavior towards women, which can

be done in so many different ways. Belittling behavior can be seen as undermining women,

insulting their opinions or appearance and failing to recognize contributions, just as a few

examples. In many organizations women face more obstacles than men when trying to climb the

career ladder and are not valued as much as a male would be, when it comes to their

contributions. In a Harvard Business Review article written in 2010, Nathalie a senior marketing

manager at a multinational consumer goods company was advised by her supervisor that she

would not be able to land a new role without seeking additional training, which was not the case

for her male colleagues. It took her having to take these extra steps in order to land on the radar

of her superiors. She states, “I’d been here for 12 years, and nothing happened,” observes

Nathalie. “Now I am being mentored to death.” (Why men still get more promotions than women,

2017). Seeing that Nathalie received this treatment and her male colleagues did not, even though

they had been in the same position as each other for the same amount of time shows how unjust

gender inequality can be in the workplace. Another huge example of gender inequality in the

workplace surrounds equal wages between men and women for the same roles and has been the
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case for ages. Studies have shown that for every one dollar a man makes, a woman is only

making eighty-two cents. This goes to show the inequality women receive when it comes to

wages in the workplace. Along with this, studies also show that women of color suffer an even

more significant wage gaps. More specifically, while non-Hispanic white men make one-dollar,

Filipino women are only making eighty-three cents (Bleiweis, 2022).

Now discussing gender inequality in the workplace and how it affects those who identify

as transgender, it has been seen that the transgender community has experienced a radical change

in their workplace experience after transitioning. Studies have shown that woman that have

transitioned to the male gender have seen an increase in their wages, while men who have

transitioned to the female gender have experienced a decrease in their wages by one third

percent. This qualitive study also showed that males that transition to female have noticed a loss

of authority and an increase in harassment, while those who have transitioned from female to

male have experienced in overall increase in respect and power (Schilt & Wiswall, 2008).

Overall, these examples all support the argument regarding gender inequality in the

workplace and how it primarily has been proven to affect woman when it comes to leadership

positions and wages. This paper will further discuss this issue and show how the ethical

perspectives of consequentialism, deontology, and virtue also support these arguments.

Consequentialist Perspective

Beginning with the ethical theory of consequentialism, an individual who abides by this

theory is called a consequentialist. This theory can be defined as, judging an action as right or

wrong based on its consequences (Sinnott-Armstrong, 2019). When gender inequality is

committed in the workplace a consequentialist would see this as a negative manner as the

consequences to this type of action causes woman to feel invalidated and a lesser asset than their
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male colleagues. As this perspective solely basis their judgment off what the consequence of an

action is, a consequentialist would not support gender inequality. As discussed earlier on in this

paper, some examples of repercussions that follow gender inequality in the workplace towards

woman could be feelings of judgement, under appreciation, lower pay, and sexual harassment.

Adding to these repercussions, these things also lead to lowering the morality of a workplace for

those being treated differently. This also leads to more animosity development, which eventually

will cause women anxiety and fear when coming into work, which is a major consequence in this

ethical perspective’s eyes. Overall, there is no good that comes from mistreatment towards one

gender in the workplace. If equality is not being demonstrated in this type of environment it will

ultimately result in negative manners such as a lower retention rate for the female gender, a

decrease in mental health, and an unhealthy and unsafe work environment for those being

mistreated.

Deontological Perspective

Moving onto the next ethical theory, deontology, this can be defined as an ethical theory

that focuses on following a set of rules to do the right thing (Deontology, 2021). Therefore, a

deontologist would naturally be against gender inequality as it goes against Title VII of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964, which states that, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against you

based on your sex, race, color, religion, or national origin. As all workplaces should follow this

set of rules, it would be seen as unlawful in the eyes of a deontologist if an employer would

condone or allow their employees to conduct such actions and behavior. Adding to this, these set

of rules were designed to advocate for employees to be treated fairly no matter their gender and

to hold employers accountable for creating a safe environment that provides work opportunities

with no discrimination. Along with this, Title VII also stands against any type of retaliation that
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is associated with the reporting of gender discrimination. This means that it would be against the

law for an employer to punish one of their employees if they chose to report any type of gender

discrimination. More specifically, an employer cannot sue or terminate an employee for doing

such a thing, as employees are protected by this civil law (Gender discrimination at work, 2021).

Along with this comes the duty to have each employee be paid equally no matter what gender

they identify with. If an employer or company were to pay two employees different due to their

gender, this would also be against the Title VII civil law, therefore also against a deontologist’s

perspective. With that being said, this shows how deontology supports the argument against

gender inequality in the workplace.

Virtue Perspective

Finally, discussing the ethical theory of virtue, this can be defined as determining if an

action is right or wrong based on the moral intentions of an individual that is committing the

action (Hursthouse & Pettigrove, 2016). With this ethical perspective, gender inequality in the

workplace would be seen as unwarranted as there are negative intentions surrounding this type of

behavior. If a company or employer were to intentionally treat a woman differently than a man,

this would be a wrong action for them to take as it being done with the intention of hurting that

opposite gender. On the other hand, if gender equality were to be promoted amongst a company,

this would be seen as a virtuous thing. Following this perspective, if a male employer were to

treat his female employees with disrespect and belittling behavior, opposed to his fellow same

sex colleagues with respect, this would make them be seen as a bad person as their actions are

showing negative behaviors. This ethical theory also supports the argument against gender

inequality in the workplace as it also would view wage gaps due to gender differences as unjust
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as these types of actions are done with intentions of causing the opposite gender a decrease in

pay and a difference in treatment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, with the information mentioned and discussed in this paper, there is a lot

of research and studies done that continue to prove that gender inequality is and has been an

ongoing issue for years now. Gender issues in the workplace can mean so many different things

as there are many different ways inequality has been demonstrated in the workforce amongst

many different companies worldwide. Whether it be inappropriate behavior towards the female

gender, to wage gaps between genders, to sexual harassment, climbing the career ladder, or

underrepresentation of women in leadership positions, it is safe to say this is an issue that

continues to need work and progression. Along with this, it is important to recognize how

consequentialism, deontology, and virtue perspectives also support this argument.

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References

Bleiweis, R. (2022, January 19). Quick facts about the gender wage gap. Center for American

Progress. Retrieved February 27, 2022, from

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/quick-facts-gender-wage-gap/

Gender discrimination at work. Equal Rights Advocates. (2021, June 15). Retrieved February

27, 2022, from

https://www.equalrights.org/issue/economic-workplace-equality/discrimination-at-work/

#:~:text=Title%20VII%20of%20the%20Civil,gender%20identity%20and%20sexual

%20orientation.

Hursthouse, R., & Pettigrove, G. (2016, December 8). Virtue ethics. Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-

virtue/

Schilt, K., & Wiswall, M. (2008, September 11). Before and after: Gender Transitions, human

capital, and workplace experiences. De Gruyter. Retrieved February 27, 2022, from

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.2202/1935-1682.1862/html

Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (2019, June 3). Consequentialism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Retrieved February 27, 2022, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/

Why men still get more promotions than women. Harvard Business Review. (2017, September 7).

Retrieved February 27, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2010/09/why-men-still-get-more-

promotions-than-women