Gender Equality Awareness at Workplace

The term ‘gender equality’ has been heard in our everyday usage. Usually, when we come across the term, it means having a mix of genders and sexual orientation in a setting wherein there is no discrimination based on these traits. In recent years, organizations in all sectors have been aggressively working towards the concept of gender equality at the workplace. Gender equality at workplace means that the employer is actively pursuing what can be called non-discrimination of potential recruits and employees on the basis of gender and sexual orientation.

This means that the employer or the organization adopts a policy wherein they do not differentiate between applicants and employees on the grounds listed above and merit is the sole criterion when deciding the suitability of a potential recruit or promotion.  In many parts of the world, gender equality is not practiced in society and let alone organizations, which make a feeble attempt to enforce the rules. The reason for this is the prevailing cultural attitudes against certain sections of society, which makes it impossible for a corporate to embrace gender equality since they risk the wrath of the dominant gender and societal groups.

The point here is that when the entire society discriminates against say, homosexuals or lesbians, it is indeed difficult for even the best meaning of corporate leaders to buck this trend. Hence, it needs to be remembered that gender equality at the workplace is not only about a certain organization’s policies but also reflects the broader societal consensus on this issue. When compared to other issues in managing gender equality, gender sensitization is the most pressing issue because of the preponderance of women in the workforce as well as recent trends that point to the emergence of this single issue as the dominant issue that is taking the mind space of managers.

The worrying aspect about this issue is that despite policies and rules governing gender specific issues in most organizations, there is little evidence to show that they are being followed. Hence, what is needed is a mindset change rather than more policies and this can only be done if the workforce is sensitized to the needs of women and differently oriented people. The corporate world now has accepted lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the workplace, increasing gender diversity in the workplace. However, a research conducted found that 23 percent of gay employees have been harassed at work, 12 percent have been denied promotions, and 9 percent were fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.