Although companies are more aware of gender discrimination in the workplace and have established policies to thwart such problems, claims of gender bias are as numerous now as the have been in the past.
Some of the reasons offered for this are that workers are more aware of the issue than in the past, there are more legal guidelines on the issue, and there are more women in the workplace.
Statistics show that the total number of claims with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the percentage of claims connected to gender discrimination have remained generally constant.
Claims related to gender discrimination made up almost 30 percent of all the charges filed with the Commission since 2010, according to the EEOC. The percentage of gender discrimination claims has remained steady at about 30 percent since 2000.
Analysts point to some basic trends to account for the constant numbers. First, there are more women working now than 25 or even 15 years ago, and more women are in jobs that have traditionally been occupied by men. Moreover, people are more inclined to seek legal recourse than in the past. Even though employers are doing more to get rid of the causes of gender discrimination, people are more likely to sue than they were in the past.
There are specific steps that companies can take to prevent gender discrimination or to handle such charges after they have surfaced.
The first thing to do is make sure that the company has a clear policy that deals with the issue in simple and direct terms. The company can also conduct seminars and other training to deal with problems related to gender stereotyping, to help employees recognize when they are resorting to such stereotypes, such as naturally assuming that a man is the breadwinner of the family. These sessions should be held at least once a year.
There also needs to be a clear procedure that employees can follow to register complaints about gender discrimination. And the procedure should be widely publicized. Employees need to know that they can use the procedure without concern about any reprisals. Once a charge has been made, managers need to take quick action to correct the problem.
Companies also should audit employee salary schedules to find and handle any unexplained differences in pay.
Businesses need to make conscious and continuing efforts to diversify their workforce, which really just makes good business sense in general.
Arrow Staffing Services can help Inland Empire-area companies identify and source high-caliber employees for temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire positions. We look forward to hearing from you!