(Relevant for Sociology Syllabus: Paper 1- Stratification and Mobility & Paper 2- Systems of Kinship in India.)
(Relevant for GS Syllabus: Paper1- Social empowerment.)
Gender inequality in the workplace is an evil seen in organizational processes, practices, and structures. It is present in different forms.
Generally, it is seen that an applicant or an employee is treated less favourably than others because of their gender or sex. Some of the most prominent inequality examples are being discriminated against during training, promotions, pay scales, and hiring processes.
This discrimination is extensive regarding women, and also regarding men in certain situations. In many such cases, women experience sexual harassment, getting objectified at work, which leads to their work not being valued or respected.
This problem has been persisted for a long time, and almost every country and the firm have their laws and policies regarding such a scenario. They are making laws regarding gender discrimination or any discrimination, for that matter, illegal.
Equality and freedom of speech are fundamental rights. Retaliation is also imposed as unlawful, i.e., if someone reports any discrimination or harassment, then retaliation against such practices is a punishable offence.
The corporate firms have started providing extensive training from their end, of nearly three months long, regarding discrimination or harassment activities. This is done so that any such intentional and non-intentional practices can be avoided in the future.
In the above examples, as we can see, the restrictions approach is being followed. And because this problem is persisting, we need to change our perspective. People are a bit resistant regarding gender equality because they are not aware of the perks of a gender-neutral environment. It is observed that the restriction is often perceived as overly restrictive, and hence, we are likely to respond with defiance or by undermining the regulations.
Here we should work on the information and persuasion strategy to make people aware of the pros of gender equality. This new strategy is being followed in a few corporate structures where new employees are given the harassment policies’ training.
Every individual must be aware of the repercussions of their intentional and unintentional behaviour. One such practice that can be followed is that companies with lower male to female ratios should be shown the data about the performance of companies with better gender ratio, or their company data, of a different department, to change the mindset that having women in a team would hamper the efficiency in any way.
Nudge practices such as advertising, disclosures, and promotion material should be followed to make a safe environment. These practices should be introduced in the colleges too, just like doctors are taught to serve the needful without any personal gains. These practices have been quite successful in other areas like medicine and defence.
While presenting the advertisement or promotion material of gender equality, it should be of utmost importance that the message is loud and clear. It shouldn’t conflict with other media outlets or influencers. If the problem is too complex to process for an ordinary individual, then the nudge tools like simplifications and salience come into the picture.
The practices followed should be feasible and cost-effective when it comes to implementing it. The viewer or the employee shouldn’t feel that the instructions are being imposed on them because it is their freedom of choice at the end of the day, whether they want to implement that knowledge in their lives.
The practice is for the people. This should lead to gender equality at the workplace, so it is the policymaker’s responsibility to record the responses they receive regarding a particular activity.
The information and persuasion strategy is best employed in the areas combined with other policies, such as trainee programs or as a pre-stage in the restriction strategy. The working environment should be more focussed on learning and improving decision-making skills.
Young people nowadays are having a new perspective regarding careers and goals. They seek equality in professional and private lives. The challenge is to play our cards right and address all sectors, education, business, politics, together. Only then will we be capable of a bright future- regardless of gender differences.
