It’s 2023, and educated people everywhere seek opportunities that offer career growth and resources for a good lifestyle. This sentiment is common across genders, and age groups.
After fighting years of patriarchy, women have finally made a place for themselves in the corporate world. But is it as rosy as it seems?
Working is not an option but necessary for both men and women to mitigate the rising costs and sustain a healthy lifestyle.
Despite the laws in place for women's safety and security at the workplace, women still face many challenges at their workplaces. Although many women face reduced consequences. This is not the case for all women.
With International Women’s Day approaching, let’s go through the challenges faced by women in the workplace to date.
Pay Disparity
Gender disparity indicates the difference in pay between men and women in the workforce.
Civilsdaily noted that India has the highest gender pay gap.
While the World Inequality Report of 2022 noted that men earn 82% of the labor income while women earn 18% of it.
This has been confirmed by the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Reports of 2022, which places India at 135 out of 146 nations in terms of gender disparity.
Sexual harassment
The #MeToo movement brought to notice the horrifying episodes of sexual violence, harassment, and abuse across professional spheres.
Harassment doesn’t always have to be purely sexual. Unwelcome remarks, comments about a person's appearance or clothing, vulgar gestures, or even incessant staring are forms of harassment, that make for a hostile or intimidating work environment.
Despite the 2013 Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act in place, a data analysis compiled by Complykaro.com, an anti-sexual harassment advisory witnessed a rise in workplace sexual harassment complaints by 27% in March 2022.
Now, despite all the laws in place, victim blaming is prevalent, where the abuser faces little to no consequences, and the victims/survivors end up with jeopardized careers.
It is because of these factors that most sexual harassment cases go unreported leading to female employees jumping organizations.
Pregnancy discrimination
Women still feel apprehensive about starting a family as it affects their careers. The Maternity Benefit Act, Sec. 5(3), states that a minimum of 14 weeks of paid leaves be provided to a new mother.
Yet women face unfair treatment at work like stereotyping, intrusive comments, and even a lack of relevant projects being handed to them.
Imposter syndrome
Let's first understand what is imposter syndrome, it is a self-doubting tendency that leads an individual to feel skeptical and underserving of their accomplishments.
A 2020 KPMG study revealed that almost 75% of female executives across industries have faced imposter syndrome. While almost 47% of female executives were in disbelief about reaching their level of success.
According to research, this is visible more among female professionals than males. This is mostly because of societal pressures, and cultural expectations amongst other gender stereotypes. Women also feel more apprehensive about applying for a job if they match most of the requirements than men.
Lack of equal opportunities
In many organizations, men still are apprehensive about having a female boss. Women are still underrepresented at every level, especially in managerial and C-suite roles.
Deloitte Global's Women in Boardroom report of 2022 stated that an average of 19.7% of board seats are held by women globally while in India, only 3.6% of women hold the boards' chairs.
Difficult to overcome Career gap/ Rejoining the workforce
Getting back on the workforce wagon can be challenging for all, the lengthier the unemployment period, the more severe the penalty becomes. Economists have termed it as 'Unemployment scarring'.
However, Payscale's research showed that the severity of the penalty is greater for women than for men.
It has been noted that even if all the factors are held equally, the controlled pay gap tends to widen based on the length of an unemployed candidate's job search period.
Ignorance and lack of sensitivity
There is so little discussed related to female health that most men in our society are unaware of the pain most women undergo during their menstrual cycle. Hence, the snide comments like, "Why are you so cranky? Is it that time of the month?" and the likes.
Many men, even today, pass such comments when their female colleagues present their opinion. Not only do such comments belittle an employee's idea but also take a dig at their confidence.
Being asked the wrong questions in interviews
Imagine walking into an interview and being asked, “Are you planning to get married?”, “Do you plan on starting a family in the next year?”, “Why are your social media handles private?”, “Would you need a long vacation anytime in the upcoming 6 months?”, etc.
If this sounds bizarre to you, you have been lucky, because this is the reality for many women jobseekers. These are some of the most inappropriate yet commonly asked questions.
These are a woman's personal choices, and discussing this with a stranger is uncomfortable and unwanted.
Conclusion
Be the change you want to see in others. It has been seen innumerable times that women face the heat for speaking up against the miscreants, but don’t step back.
It can feel intimidating once you start but be confident. Know that your decision to voice against the wrong will not just clear your conscience but also encourage other women working in your organization to come out and speak up.
Here’s wishing more power and success to the amazing ladies in the workforce!
