Rivers 1

Paige Rivers
Amy Gulick
ENC2135
10 April, 2021
Final Draft, 1537 words
Men over Women:

Unspoken Employment Discrimination Against Women in Business

Did you know that men earn better jobs and higher salaries than women just because of

their gender? Ever since the late 1960s, women face employment mistreatment like lower

salaries, fewer promotional offers, and lower chances of getting a high employment status

against male competitors, despite having equal qualifications, education level, and experience.

Today in the United States, 42% of working women publicly claim they suffered job

discrimination at least once simply because of their gender (Parker and Funk, “Gender

Discrimination Comes in Many Forms.”). Regardless of the high percentage of employment

discrimination, many business corporations, and even working women, place this injustice aside

because they do not find fighting worth their time. In order to provide an equal, stable working

environment where everyone of all genders has equal opportunity to seek the same jobs with

equal pay, those high enough in power must begin to implement policy and actively promote

gender employment equality.

This persuasive campaign seeks to expose the rising trend in gender discrimination

businesswomen face, specifically regarding employment opportunities and salary differences.

From this exposure, the campaign will sway working men and women to stand against the

maltreatment by promoting national organizations, such as the National Commission for the

Promotion of Equality(NCPE), to represent their voice. The first genre will exhibit an

infographic that raises gender inequality awareness by statistically and graphically exposing the
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unfairness women face in the work field. The graphics and overall text will spark emotion and

inspire viewers to help expose and defeat the unspoken male privilege. Regarding the audience,

this genre will target unethical business corporations, women who withstand salary and

employment discrimination, and other educated men and women who want to raise awareness

and promote organizations that will represent their voice and legitimate concerns. Furthermore,

the second genre will be a researched argument that uses statistics and credible research as

evidence to reveal the reality of women experiencing work disadvantages to incorporate logos

and ethos, which will enhance the strength of the campaign. This genre will speak to women who

endured injustice, those not publicly made, and also ignorant men who believe work

discrimination is a false idea.

Lastly, the third genre, an online video published on YouTube, will elevate the

significance of women’s disadvantages in workplace settings through documented personal

experiences. The video will record women’s past experiences with workplace mistreatment,

targeting businesswomen who share similar stories, other men and women who feel the issue

needs more attention, and industries that wish to advocate for permanent, legal change in

eliminating all types of employment injustice. Other audience members include men who think

unequal salaries and employment opportunities are imaginary and other businesswomen who

may not have heard of this prevalent issue. Moreover, the campaign will expose employee

discrimination from a public, factual, and personal standpoint, motivating others to attack

prejudice, promote change and advocate for organizations to represent their voice.

Genre 1: Infographic
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Analysis:
The infographic above emphasizes the reality of employment discrimination. The context

lists eye-opening statistics and disadvantages working women face in the business industry. Also,

the composition includes the statistics produced by Pew Research, a renowned research

organization that produces peer-reviewed, approved statistics and data. By incorporating small,

simple, yet important facts throughout the poster, audience members can quickly read and easily

comprehend. To further focus on these aspects, the creator uses bold font to grab viewers’

attention while using a pink color to represent females. The poster includes two images of

women trying to fight for equal pay and representing victims of such prejudice. Despite the

injustices, many large corporations want to help legally eliminate the malpractice, like the

National Commission for the Promotion of Equality. This government-oriented organization

desires and works towards creating a society “which is equal and free from discrimination

whereby everyone, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, age, religion or belief, can

achieve their full potential”(National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE),
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“Mission Statement.”). The poster highlights the group because many men and women who want

to fight the discrimination do not know how to or are not educated enough. In the middle, a

picture of the NCPE creates a focal point, offering a positive solution to the harmful problem.

The text also prints “for you” in all capital letters to symbolize their mission in representing

audience members and their voice. Overall, the infographic highlights the main problems

concerning what women commonly face in the work environment, the reality of the situation

through credible statistics, and who is willing to help.

Genre 2: Researched Argument

Employment discrimination describes the active prevention of earning a professional

position based on race, sex, religion, age, etc. Throughout the corporate industries, many women

and minority workers experience maltreatment in the forms of sexual harassment, reduced

promotions, inferior positions, smaller salaries, and lower job opportunities against white male

employees. Throughout history, government institutions enacted laws to prevent such

discrimination, like the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and the Age

Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. These early laws seek to prevent the violation of

and protect individual’s rights, prohibit employers and unions from sex-discriminated wages, and

ensure employers cannot discriminate against employees based on age (Cornell Law School,

“Employment Discrimination”). Despite these legal measures, companies continue to unfairly

discriminate against employees without any detection. In 2017, 1,889,631 discrimination

complaints were filed to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission(EEOC), 49% filed

under “retaliation”, 34% under “race”, 32% under “disability”, and over 30% under “sex”

(Paychex, “Employment and Discrimination). Although many complaints were refused and
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rejected due to lack of communication or withdrawal requests, hundreds of thousands of

employees faced injustice simply because of their skin color, age, gender, and physical

disabilities.

Next year in 2018, the EEOC published a statistical report, ranking the percentage of files

reported under the following categories: color and race, sex, age, national origin, religion, and

equal pay (Paychex, “Employment and Discrimination”). The top three categories ranked color

and race, sex, then equal pay. Groups like the EEOC create and publish data analysis from the

complaint files to publicly expose constant and rising workplace discrimination. Other groups

like the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) work to represent victims

of workplace injustice. Today, the NCPE accepts filed complaints and works with the EEOC to

help end the malpractice, pushing local and federal governments to further enforce protection

and punishment for employees against unfair employers.

Analysis:

The researched argument composed above appeals to the rhetorical approach of logos and

ethos to establish awareness of the severity of employment discrimination. The composition

includes credible statistics from Cornell Law School and Paychex, a partner company with the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission(EEOC). Citing these two sources establishes trust

between the author and the readers while providing a legitimate, deeper understanding of the

immense number of employees facing injustice throughout their professional careers. The formal

tone also adds a level of seriousness regarding the topic for audience members. Regarding the

audience, those reading the work target victims of prejudice, ignorant men who disbelieve the

reality of workplace discrimination, and working men and women who want to help raise
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awareness and concern. Others include corporations that want to promote legal change and

industries that practice the malicious act. In all, the composition above highlights the severity of

employment discrimination and promotes government-oriented organizations that want to

establish a safe and equal working environment.

Genre 3: Online Video

Analysis:

The online video above portrays a woman, Sylvia Meletra, who personally experienced

workplace discrimination. As an employee at 2K Accounting Firm, she worked as a receptionist

and agent for ten years and never received any promotions, bonuses, or incentives unlike the

males in the same department. She claimed, “When anyone received a promotion, it was always

a male” (Stop Job Discrimination. “Gender Discrimination - A Story by Sylvia”). She also stated

that other female accountant agents in her department encounter similar mistreatment,

specifically sexual harassment and fewer promotional opportunities (Stop Job Discrimination.
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“Gender Discrimination - A Story by Sylvia”). The video displayed the interview questions and

important concepts in white font to contrast the dark background as a form of emphasis for

readers to quickly see and comprehend. Also, the composer muted themselves when asking the

questions to keep viewers focused on Sylvia, her experience regarding employment

discrimination, and her message in raising awareness of the severity of female mistreatment in

the corporate industry. The more filed complaints suffering employees can report, the more

public the situation will become, further persuading the government to legally eliminate all types

of employment discrimination.

Regarding the video creator, the composer represents a private group called “Stop Job

Discrimination”, which has thousands of subscribers and views per published video. Their

mission is to create a safe “place” or environment where victims of gender discrimination can

share their stories, both men and women. The organization strategically uses the rhetorical

approaches of ethos and pathos to connect with the audience members through sparking emotion

in the frustration and sad circumstances these women face, along with establishing trust by

referring to real scenarios women have faced. Sylvia Meletra demonstrates one of many featured

victims who publicly share their stories and the dangers of this malpractice.
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Works Cited:

Cornell Law School. “Employment Discrimination.” LII / Legal Information Institute, 2010,

www.law.cornell.edu/wex/employment_discrimination#:%7E:text=Employment%20Disc

rimination%20laws%20seek%20to,and%20various%20types%20of%20harassment.

National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE). “Mission Statement.”

Ncpe.Gove.Mt,

ncpe.gov.mt/en/Pages/About_Us/Mission_Statement.aspx#:%7E:text=%E2%80%8BThe

%20National%20Commission%20for,or%20belief%2C%20and%20gender%20identity%

2C. Accessed 6 Apr. 2021.

Parker, Kim, and Cary Funk. “Gender Discrimination Comes in Many Forms for Today’s

Working Women.” Pew Research Center, 14 Dec. 2017,

www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/12/14/gender-discrimination-comes-in-many-forms

-for-todays-working-women.

Paychex. “Employment and Discrimination: Exploring the Climate of Workplace Discrimination

from 1997 to 2018.” Paychex, 1 Aug. 2019,

www.paychex.com/articles/human-resources/eeoc-workplace-discrimination-enforcement

-and-litigation.

Stop Job Discrimination. “Gender Discrimination - A Story by Sylvia...” YouTube, uploaded by

Stop Job Discrimination, 15 Oct. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_jHEX5ahS8.