Sexism in the Workplace
The one thing that never changes is that things will always be changing. If all things are relative, then there are no absolutes. However, if there are no absolutes, then not all things are relative. Since change is a very real part of life, learning how to make adjustments to it is very important.
What is really going on in the workplace around America? Who is really in charge? Who decides and establishes the standards that must be followed in the workplace?
These are very real questions, and there are no absolute answers. What role does human rights play in the workplace?
In the workplace, someone decides who gets hired and who gets fired. There are standards for how employees are supposed to dress. There are even some requirements set out by the employer regarding behavior outside of the workplace. There is a determination as to how much employees get paid. There are also some regulations regarding how people talk, and even what they can talk about.
Not all working environment have the same standards on these and many other issues. There are one or two variables that do seem to be woven throughout most working environments, and these have been present for decades, and maybe even centuries.
One of those variables is “sexism.” Over the past many years, men have been in control of this issue. At times it was very quiet, and hidden. In other times, it has been addressed across the world. It is webbed in controversy. It has caused protests and strikes in the workplace. It has resulted in job terminations and law suits.
When one explores this issue, it is usually done with some level of bias already established in their mind. It is an issue that is energized by many emotions and prejudices. What does sexism look like in the work place?
What is sexism?
It is “prejudice or discrimination based on sex; especially: discrimination against women”. It involves “behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex.” (Gender)
While the term is relatively new, the concept has been around for a very long time. The “First Known Use [of the term]: 1968”
Before looking at sexism in the workplace, it is important to take a look at how it is played out in the world of entertainment and advertising, and in general behavior outside of the workplace.
In the world of jokes:
Dirty jokes spoken by men about sexual issues clearly boast of sexism. Dirty jokes by women also spit on gender issues. It does happen on both sides of the gender coin. In recent years it has added a third gender category of two, one of which is “other”. This would include all the GLTB (gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual) groups.
You will hear these jokes on the bus, in night clubs, on the streets, in the shopping malls, and anywhere where people gather.
In the world of TV and movies:
Women are seen as possessions in many of the TV shows. Men are laughed at and portrayed as stupid, and clueless with regard to family issues. Women are placed on a pedestal, but then they are portrayed as making men their slaves. Men have always put women on the slave block in the movies and all entertainment. Women are spoken of as if they are objects in songs, especially country songs. All of this comes back into the workplace in conversations and even in meetings and training programs. It is in the workplace where what is produced by the media gets glorified the most.
In the workplace:
These things have been going on for a long time and there is very little outcry about it until recent years. People just want to laugh, and it is painting a sad moral picture of humanity. The workplace promotes this downfall. Too often managers are not willing to put a stop to sexist talk because they think it is not politically correct to do so. Women are being abused and overlooked often because it is tradition. Men are being charged with sexual harassment more than ever before. Sadly, sexual harassment charges are not always about wanting to make the workplace better, but rather about political correctness.
Skimpy dress used to be only in the movies, and in private clubs. Now we see it in the workplace, malls and even in churches. Dirty sexist jokes used to be done over in the corner by the coffee pot, now it is even found in employee workshops, and on the mouths of public speakers at formal functions. In training and seminars for employees dress code is sliding down a sad slope, and sexist jokes are the norm. Sexism is mostly all about differences in men and women as related to sexual behavior, intelligence, or behavior in general. In any case, these days sexism is in the spotlight.
Sexism is clearly a problem with regard the differences in salaries of women and women. Clearly men have dominated and held women down in this area. Women only hold about 4% of the following of S&P 500’s CEOs. Men make about 18% more than women, right out of college.
Sexism is displayed when it comes time for promotions or pay raises. Women draw the short stick too often. They hold only about 10% of big company chief officer positions. And these statistics are not currently changing at a noticeable pace.
Food for thought: Sexism is getting worse, not because it is funny, or because it makes money, but many would say it is a moral issue and moral standards are falling rapidly. This part of the controversy can be held for another article.
