Did you know that the rate of employment of men has gone
down, while the rate of employment of women has increased since 2008? While this
is an excellent achievement, the workplace is still lackluster environment
compared to what it could be for women. Women have gained many rights in the
workplace over the years, but this kind of gender-based imbalance still plagues
female laborers. In addition to the lack of equality concerning pay, women are
much less likely to be promoted to positions of power and are more likely to be
harassed at work. It is these kinds of things that we need to keep in mind when
discussing feminism’s role in the workforce. Although women’s workplace rights
have improved drastically, factors such as equal wages, equal opportunities for
advancement, and the freedom from workplace harassment still require a vast
amount of change in order to achieve true gender equality.
Women make, on average, $163 less per week compared to their
male counterparts [x]. This imbalance
in pay makes it hard for women to become as independently wealthy and successful
as men. When a person is made unable to become independently successful, they
must rely on others to help them to thrive. This, for women, usually comes in
the form of a husband. But why are we holding our women back from being wealthy
and successful without needing anyone’s
help? These are the questions we must ask ourselves in order to fully
understand the oppression caused by unequal pay.
Another problem facing women in the workforce today is the
lack of advancement. Only 18 out of 500 top businesses are run by women [x].
This means that only 3.6% of businesses have placed women in a position of
authority. Why, in the 21st century, are we still so dead set on
living up to the saying “it’s a man’s world”? By advancing equally deserving
women to positions of power, we could easily solve a large problem with gender
inequality in the workplace.
The last problem working women must deal with is fear of harassment
in the workplace. While it is true that both genders face workplace harassment
and the men suffering from this injustice should not be overlooked, women are
far more likely to be harassed. Laws have been put in place over the years to
protect workers from harassment, but often times laws go ignored by those in
high positions of authority, particularly men. 64% of Americans see sexual
harassment of women in the workplace as a prevalent issue in the US [x]
Because of this, women feel unsafe and unvalued at work and their personal
health as well as their job performance suffers. Ideally, all people should be
able to go to work feeling safe and able to do their job without fear of
harassment. Sadly, this is not always the case.
Feminism in the workplace is very important because it
ensures that everyone, no matter their gender, is treated fairly and equally
and is able to become the best that they can be. The fight for equal pay is
there to try to ensure that women can be independent and equal to men. The
promotion of women into positions of power makes sure that men are not over
represented in the workplace and that female employee’s interests are properly
considered. The freedom from harassment simply exercises the basic human right
to feel safe and comfortable in one’s place of work. Thanks to feminism in the
workplace, the fight for equality grows stronger every day.
