Gender Discrimination is Higher for Women than Men

There are numerous gains that women have made in the workplaces over the past decades. Currently, there are more women entering the labor force as compared to 20 years ago. Gender imbalance has always been there since women began working and this has continued to date. Women who work in male-dominated workplaces have reported that they experience more discrimination when compared to women who work in workplaces that are dominated by women. However, the same is not true for men. Men who work in workplaces that are dominated by women have not reported any discrimination neither have they indicated they face any discrimination in workplaces that are dominated by fellow men (Choi 352). While the discrimination in some instances is never obvious, it still does take place. Women are passed over for job promotions and their male counterparts are offered the jobs even if they are less qualified. The reasoning behind this is never clear and there are fewer managers who are willing to disclose their choice for men over women for promotions. It is well known that this is done in order to discourage and preserve the upper echelons to be men dominated and has no bearing on the performance of the company. In fact, companies that have more women in upper management positions have reported increased performance as compared to their counterparts who have male-dominated upper management.
Women have to work harder than men in order to prove their worth and they are still discriminated when it comes to work promotions. The number of women who are joining the workforce has been on the rise and women are forced to put in more effort as compared to their male colleagues (Choi 347). This pressure to perform might not be visible but it is there. It is only seen when a manager is found screaming at a female worker for making a small mistake that is normally overlooked when done by a male colleague. This subtle discrimination has a negative effect on the performance of women in the workplace, where they have to be extra careful and overly check on their work before they can submit it. Discrimination is not just done by men there are women who will discriminate against their fellow women. This mostly happens in workplaces that are dominated by men. There are women who look down upon their fellow women colleagues and they opt to side with the men in order for them to be seen as part of the team (Faniko et al. 638). This forces the women to discriminate against fellow women and with time they get used to it and they perform it out of instinct. Having been conditioned to discourage and look down on women, the women will attack other women and insult them in private.
Pay Discrepancy
Even as the number of women who are joining the workforce continues to increase, there are still huge pay discrepancies between men and women in the workplace (Miller). Job roles might be similar and the workload the same, however, men will be given higher pay and increased allowances as compared to women. Currently, women who are working full time earn 80.7 cents for every dollar that a man working full time earns (Mih?il? 263). The annual women median earnings are $9,900 less than those for men. The Institute for Women's Policy Research has made progress towards reducing this pay disparity but the organization has stated that equal par parity might not be possible until 2059. That is an honest estimate and it is based on the progress that has been made so far and the outlook that the organization has for reducing pay parity. The pay disparity is not justified in any way. There is no justification to support paying women less than what their male counterparts are earning. This is because they both possess the same education and skill level. Pay discrimination has been used to ensure that women are demotivated from work and this makes it hard for them to advance their careers. By limiting the amount of money that a woman earns, one is actually limiting the woman’s ability to advance or apply for classes that will increase their knowledge and assist in advancing her career.
Research has shown that a majority of women are not willing to negotiate for their salaries as compared to men. While men see this as an opportunity to fight for their rights, women view it as a battle that might not be helpful and might result in further discrimination. The stacks are always set up against women in the workplace, which means that even with the opportunity to negotiate for a better salary, most women will opt to maintain their current salary instead of undergoing the objectivity that comes with salary negotiations (Mih?il? 264). Most managers prefer to it when their employees justify their worth to the company and this comes with challenges especially if the manager is a man. When making job applications if salary negotiations are explicitly stated women tend to negotiate as much as men.
The pay discrepancy can be justified based on the number of hours that are worked. It has been shown that women tend to work fewer hours as compared to their male colleagues. A good example could be the study done by (Bolotnyy and Emanuel). Bolotnyy and Emanuel (1) analyzed data from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). MBTA is a union shop that offers equal hourly wages for both men and women. The union applies the same rules and the same benefits are received by men and women. Promotion is done by seniority and not based on performance. Women and men workers who have the same seniority are given the same choices for routes, scheduling, vacation, and overtime. Looking at this information one can see that the chances of favoring a man over a woman are completely eliminated. The interesting thing is that when the Bolotnyy and Emanuel (3) analyzed data from 2011 to 2017, they found that men earned more than women. How could this even be possible? The researchers found that male train and bus drivers worked about 83 percent more than overtime than their female colleagues. Men were also more likely to accept overtime shift that paid more than their women colleagues. There were other unrelated work factors that contributed to the pay discrepancy. Women who had children were more likely to take time off as compared to women who did not have children. Men who had children were more likely to want the extra cash as compared to the fatherless counterparts. It is clear that the difference in earnings at the MBTA was due to the choices that women made.
Corporate Culture
The number of women graduating from college is higher than that of men today. However, even with this increase, there are still fewer women in managerial positions as compared to men. Corporate culture has played a key role in ensuring that the number of women who are given executive and managerial positions remains lower than that for men. The belief that men make better manager than women has been shoved down people’s thoughts for too long and it has become the norm. This conditioning while based on half-truths is seen as the requirement and it has been used to discriminate against women. What most executives do is to make it hard for women to survive in the executive position. This is done by showing that the position does not allow for flexibility or spending more time with family. With this kind of discrimination, women will naturally tend to avoid these positions since they are not prepared to sacrifice their family for the job. However, this is not the case. It is possible for women to be in executive positions and be given flexible working schedules. Men do have flexible working schedules and they get them by using fancy names like a business meeting with a client out of the office or a golf round with a prospective client. There might be actual meetings taking place but the amount of business that is discussed is what is in question. A majority of times the out of office meetings are used for personal errands and they do not contribute towards the bottom line for the business.
Flexible schedules for women are clearly defined and it is for this reason that many men view them as a waste of time. However, when a comparison is made regarding the amount of work that women do and the contribution made by women within an organization, it is seen that women are more productive in a limited amount of time. Meaning that with the flexible schedule, women are able to focus fully on the job at hand and they deliver more than men who work full time. Therefore, the glass ceiling that is placed on women is actually working against the company as the company would increase its profitability if it included women at the top levels (Ezzedeen, Budworth and Baker 358). The glass ceiling has been used to discriminate against women who have risen through the ranks. The term is used to denote the fact that women can see beyond their current level but they are not able to go past their current level. While no employer would want to have it written down as a policy due to today's lawsuit driven society there are subtle ways that this ceiling is implemented. Research has shown that amongst the Fortune 1000 companies in the United States only 10% of them have women in upper management positions (Faniko et al. 641). Women have to work twice as hard as men in order for them to break the glass ceiling. Demonstrating to the executives your worth is the only way that a woman will be able to join the upper management positions. The challenges that are placed upon women are far more than those placed on men (Ezzedeen, Budworth and Baker 355). Instead of the supervisor identifying the achievements and motivation of the employees, they need to see them pushing harder than everyone else. Yet, there is a chance that the female employee will still be overlooked when a position becomes available.
Conclusion
The odds are stacked against women in the workplace. Discrimination is rampant, although it is not well pronounced. Women have to work twice as hard as men in order for them to get promotions and they are also forced to accept lower salaries for the work they perform. Companies might have anti-discrimination policies in place but there are many ways that a company can discriminate based on gender without it being too obvious. The justification for lower pay for women is based on their need flexible schedules and this is used even for women who have not been given flexible schedules. Forcing women to accept the notion that they will not rise above certain levels within the organization is unfair and can be a demotivator for women.

References
Bolotnyy, Valentin, and Natalia Emanuel. Why Do Women Earn Less Than Men? Evidence from Bus and Train Operators: Working Paper, 2018. Print.
Choi, Sungjoo. "Pay Equity in Government: Analyzing Determinants of Gender Pay Disparity in the Us Federal Government." Administration & Society 50.3 (2018): 346-71. Print.
Ezzedeen, Souha R, Marie-Hélène Budworth, and Susan D Baker. "The Glass Ceiling and Executive Careers: Still an Issue for Pre-Career Women." Journal of Career Development 42.5 (2015): 355-69. Print.
Faniko, Klea, et al. "Nothing Changes, Really: Why Women Who Break through the Glass Ceiling End up Reinforcing It." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 43.5 (2017): 638-51. Print.
Mih?il?, Ramona. "Female Labor Force Participation and Gender Wage Discrimination." Journal of Research in Gender Studies 6.1 (2016): 262-68. Print.
Miller, Claire Cain. "As Women Take over a Male-Dominated Field, the Pay Drops." New York Times 18 (2016). Print.