Women’s growing contribution to society has extended to the labor force. The past years has shown a rising number of women in the marketplace. Women as breadwinners or active members of the work force are no longer surprising notions. This has become a pulsating reality. This was not the case decades ago where most believed that women’s place in society is at home, do the household and raise children.

Women being viewed as the weaker sex were expected to assume the role of nurturer. For a long time, women have played support roles to men. One can trace this idea to as far back as ancient civilization. Women’s role was always secondary to men. But as the years progressed, women want a more active role in the society especially in the marketplace. They demand to be treated equally with men (Anonymous, 2004).

Shunning the notion that their rightful place is at home, they strived to have their voices heard in the place largely dominated by men. They brought their cause to the marketplace. Women want to become financially independent. They need to have careers and prove their capacity to work, run organizations and take care of business. In short, do men’s job.

Women though were not welcome to the workforce as eagerly as they thought. Some traditional thinkers accused women who want to work as selfish for choosing to put their own needs ahead of the family.

Women have achieved great strides in penetrating the workplace particularly in the past decades. But still, the struggle for equality with men continues. They have successfully penetrated the marketplace. The larger question though is how they are treated there. And what opportunities are open to them due to their gender.

Women faced a number of issues when they first come to the marketplace. Foremost of which is the fact that most women did not have the necessary educational background to be able to tackle the job well. Women are also relegated to jobs with lower positions than men.

Their job options were limited compared to men as some jobs were off-limits to women then. Also, women are found to be paid less than the men for doing the same amount of work. For a long time, women have struggled against these biases.

Women have successfully broken from the mold with which society contained them not so long ago. Through their efforts, discrimination in the workplace was recognized and addressed by enactment of laws. These laws address gender discrimination and discrimination due to martial status, pregnancy, race, disabilities, sexual preference, and age.

In our recent years, we have seen the rise of number of women entering the workforce. They are taking more active step in shaping their roles in society. And demand that they be treated equally with men.

Consider these figures from US Census Board (2000):

Jobs

61% of women age 16 and over in the civilian labor force in March 2000. The percentage for men was 74 percent.

57% of the 70 million women age 15 and over who worked at some point in 1999 that were full-time year-round workers.

72% of women age 16 and over in 2000 who worked in one of four occupational groups: administrative support, including clerical (24 percent); professional specialty (18 percent); service workers, except private household (16 percent); and executive, administrative and managerial positions (14 percent).

Issues Confronting Women in the Workplace

Women working for corporations in America still experience discrimination particularly in getting equal pay for equal jobs. Despite the women’s growing competencies, earnings and job distribution seem to put women in disfavor.

Equal pay law came about in 1963. Yet, despite this fact, it is still apparent today that women are still paid less than men.

In a report made by AFL-CIO Organization, it was found out that in 2000 women got a pay of only 73 cents for every dollar a men earns. Another more startling revelation is the fact that these figures are even lower when it comes to African American women who only earn 67 cents for every dollar that a man earns (Anonymous, 2004).

Institute for Women’s Policy Research found in their study that the workplace pay gap between men and women are getting worse. US Census Bureau revealed that women make only 75.5 cents for every dollar that men earn. Between 2002 and 2003, average annual earnings for full-time year-round women workers reduced by 0.6 percent, to $30,724, while men’s earnings remained unchanged, pegged at $40,668. The 1.4 percent decrease in the gender wage ratio is the largest backslide in 12 years (since 1991). The

2003 Census data also reflect the first decline in women’s real earnings since 1995 (Longley, 2004).

At this point, it is easy to see how disheartening it feels for women to work as hard and not get equal pay. Even though they reached the top rung, still, their pay is lower compared to their male counterparts.

Another issue facing women at the workplace is the gender discrimination. This can be done directly or indirectly. Women are indirectly discriminated when they are made to feel inferior due to their gender such as being not considered for promotion. Direct discrimination happens when a woman is discharged from work due to pregnancy.

Sexual harassment in the workplace is another huge issue women need to contend with. Often those at the bottom rung experience this kind of shabby treatment from male co-workers. Sexual harassment can be done directly or indirectly too. Indirect ways of sexually harassing a person would come through jokes or stories with sexual undertones. Directly, if women experience actual harassment such as being touched in private parts or offered a promotion if woman agrees to spend a night with the boss (Anonymous, 2004).

Sexual harassment may not necessarily be limited to sexual innuendos alone. Sexual harassment could also take the form of men trying to control women. Sexual discrimination withdraws or limits opportunities of advancement for women making them more vulnerable for sexual harassment (Anonymous, 2004).

What to Do

To address these issues surrounding women in the workplace, employers must acknowledge the fact that pay gap that still exists between men and women doing similar work. Managers, at all levels, must commit to paying people, regardless of gender, the same amount of money for doing same jobs.

Several companies though have implemented a number of policies to address these rising and disturbing issues that affect women. One such way is conducting a series of corporate trainings to educate people and to create awareness about the matters pertaining to women’s work life. It may take a while before these efforts bear fruits but it is a good start. Another possible solution to women’s dilemma is to recognize differing attitudinal patterns between men and women. Take for instance a simple nod could indicate agreement for the men. In women, though this could mean a number of things like they understood what you are saying but does not necessarily agree with you. Sometimes these differences in attitudes between men and women could pose problems at the workplace that is why education and training in gender differences is vital (Koch, 2005).

The government is another body that could effectively address issues surrounding women in the workplace. It is also doing its share of addressing these unfair treatments of women by supporting federal legislations and enactment of acts and laws that promote equal pay for equal work. The equal pay law came about in 1963.

Women have a say in the matter since it concerns them. They need to empower themselves and stay in touch with their own workplace. If a woman knows she is making

less money than a man, and all other considerations seem to be equal, she owes it to herself to forward her case to her boss and to Human Resources. This way, she helps in promoting gender-friendly workplace and upholds her own worth.

Employers need to pay more attention to the Equal Employment Opportunity guidelines. They exist to create equity and too many employers are still working them as if they are a numbers game because of tracking and reporting requirements.

As recommended by the Women Employed Institute, women should exert extra efforts to be more aware of careers that offer higher pay opportunities. The sad case these days is that most women’s jobs are group in what is know as “female” occupations that pay poorly. Government and social institutions can help promote gender equality by promoting and educating women about opportunities that exist. This way, women can pursue opportunities for education in these higher paying jobs. Catalyst, which monitors the progress of women in the workplace, revealed in their report that as of 1998, women only comprise 2.7% of the highest-paid officers at Fortune 500 companies. Most women are found doing work in the bottom rung of the ladder. Their opportunities seem limited since they content themselves to doing lower paying domestic, clerical support, and administrative-type occupations (Heathfield, 2003)

Women’s rightful place at work is gaining wide acceptance these days. Despite the discrimination women experience, the marketplace still offers a number of opportunities for women. Changes are slowly being incorporated in the workplace. As attitudes change so do the situation for the women. These perceived differences of men and women all boils down to attitude.