Is gender equality a reality in the workplace, or do

inequalities persist?

Gender inequality is the unequal treatment of individuals based on their gender, while the gender pay
gap is the difference in average earnings between men and women. Diversity and inclusion in the
workplace are crucial elements for promoting gender equality as they ensure that individuals from all
genders are treated fairly and provided equal opportunities for growth and advancement. Companies
today are beginning to implement policies and practices to improve the conditions of women in
workplaces, but is it a reality, or do inequalities persist? (brightr.com, 2024)

Causes
 Uneven access to education
In many places around the world, women continue to have lesser access to education than
men. Around 58% of people that do not complete basic education are women between the
ages of 15-24 who do not finish primary school. When girls are not educated on the same
level as boys are, it has a huge effect on the kind of opportunities they get.

 Lack of rights
Only six countries in the world give women the same legal work rights as men, in fact, most
economies give women only ¾ the rights of men.

 Job segregation
One of the causes of gender inequality within employment is the division of jobs. Most
societies have an inherent belief that men are better equipped to manage certain jobs; the ones
that usually pay higher. This increases gender inequality in workplaces.

 Societal mindsets
Although societal mindsets are not as valid as the previous points, the overall mindset of
people has a significant impact on gender inequality. How society perceives and determines
the differences between men and women, no matter the context, always plays a starring role.

(humanrightscareers.com, 2020)

Consequences
 Economic effects
 Gender inequality may halt economic growth. Women who receive lower pay and job
opportunities than men do in work earn way lesser making it harder for them to support their
families and raise their living standards.

 Lower productivity and innovation

It isn’t only men that have ideas, but women too. When women are overlooked in workplaces
it can slow down the productivity levels and limit endless possibilities. When women are left
out of decision-making roles or leadership roles it isn’t only them but the whole
company/business that suffers.

 Reduced health and well-being

Gender inequality can harm the mental health and well-being of women. They could
experience higher stress levels due to the unequal treatment; this involves worrying about
their families, constant anxiety, or even depression. It can increase the psychological
problems faced by them.

 Human rights violations

Gender inequality may be seen as a norm, but it is a violation of human rights. It denies
women the right to be treated fairly and take advantage of the same opportunities as men. If
this continues to be left unchecked, it can lead to violence and harassment in the workplace as
well.

(recruitee.com, 2023)

Global Perspective
Half of the world's population is comprised up of women and girls, who also account for half of its
future potential. In addition to being a basic human right, gender equality is necessary for a peaceful
society, the realization of all people's potential, and sustainable development. Furthermore, research
has demonstrated that empowering women increases economic growth and productivity.
UN Women regrettably emphasizes that there is still more work to be done before men and women
have equitable distribution of rights and opportunities. Thus, it is critical to put an end to the many
manifestations of gender-based violence and ensure that men, women, and girls have equal access to
high-quality healthcare, education, and economic resources as well as political involvement.
Achieving equitable chances in terms of employment, leadership, and decision-making roles at all
levels is also crucial.
The UN Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres has stated that achieving gender equality and
empowering women and girls is the unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human rights
challenge in our world. Inequality continues to persist in workplaces; however, companies are doing their
best to overcome it. (un.org, 2023)

National Perspective
Some Indian women are global leaders and powerful voices in diverse fields but most women and
girls in India do not fully enjoy many of their rights due to deeply entrenched patriarchal views,
norms, traditions, and structures. India will not fully develop unless both girls and boys are equally
supported to reach their full potential. There are risks, violations and vulnerabilities girls face just
because they are girls. Most of these risks are directly linked to the economic, political, social, and
cultural disadvantages girls deal with in their daily lives. This becomes acute during crisis and
disasters. With the prevalence of gender discrimination, and social norms and practices, girls become
exposed to the possibility of child marriage, teenage pregnancy, child domestic work, poor education
and health, sexual abuse, exploitation, and violence. Many of these manifestations will not change
unless girls are valued more. (unicef.org, 2020)

Personal Perspective
We find that if gender inequality is completely removed, aggregate income will be about 6.6% and
14.5% higher than the benchmark economy after one and two generations, respectively, while
corresponding per capita income will be higher by 30.6% and 71.1% in the hypothetical gender-
equality economy. Basically, if women are given more representation in society, they can raise their
own standards of living while simultaneously contributing to the economy, thereby making the world
a much better place!

Conclusion
In conclusion, inequality continues to persist in workplaces; however, global companies and businesses are
doing their best to overcome this. For example: Starbucks has policies that ensure fair and equitable
distribution of salary to both men and women working the same jobs and they have also begun running
female – led cafes. McDonalds has also put in an effort to push women forward by encouraging the
employment of women in all their outlets. Although several global companies and businesses like these are
trying to be more inclusive of women, there is still a long way to go before we reach a stage of complete
gender equality, a stage which now seems almost impossible to reach. Many people still believe in societies
norms making it so much harder to move forward and change with the times. To see the change, we must be
the change and it isn’t always easy: gender equality isn’t the kind of thing where only a single action can
make a difference, it takes two to tango. The world needs to continue evolving for gender equality to be
vanquished all together.

Course of Action
We should change the societal mindset of our communities and spread awareness and importance of
gender equality through platforms where the society is active such as social media or other areas by
creating posters and placing them in public areas. This will help people realise the consequences and
causes of this problem. That way, people will find and create new solutions to solve this problem.
Solutions will be solved such as access to education, increase quality of job segregation. With a large
group willing to make a change to this mindset, we could make a major beneficial impact on this
problem.

Source Evaluation
Brightr.com: We chose this site because the information was up to date and easily verifiable. It came
from trusted sources and the website was popular online as well.
Humanrightscareers.com: We chose this website because the points of view portrayed by the website
made sense. We looked up the website online and made sure it was trusted before trusting the
information. The website uses statistics from trusted websites like WEF (World Economic Forum)
which made us trust the site even more.
Recruitee.blog: This website was chosen by us because of its straightforward approach to the issue
and the structured answers we found. The information was also updated recently and considered many
points of view. The author of this website specializes in marketing, HR, and tech, meaning she has
firsthand experience in the world of employment.
United Nations: We chose this website because it is a trusted website (an international organization),
and it is well known. This information is easy to trust because UNICEF has firsthand experience in
the field of gender equality through the campaigns they run and sessions they conduct.
UNICEF: This website was chosen because UNICEF is a branch under the United Nations which
means it is also an international organization and therefore easy to trust. This information is also
firsthand since UNICEF, under UN also deals with the issue of gender inequality. The website is very
well known and trusted by people all around the world.

Combined Reflection
Our experience with the GP term project was mixed, we had our ups and downs but eventually got
over it. We have learned a lot in various fields, information we are glad we know. The topic we
researched was Employment under which we looked at the topic of gender inequality in workplaces.
We originally went for globalization and had a vastly different topic, but we scratched that idea due to
the lack of information available. Even though we changed the topic extremely late, we learned a lot
about gender equality and discrimination plus we leaned important skills like source evaluation,
teamwork, learned to type faster, the correct method of investigation and interviewing primary
sources of data.
The more we worked together as a team, the easier it was to finish the project. We eventually ended
up with an organized, professionally written word document where each member did their part. We all
had a wonderful experience while doing the project. All our meetings lead to a fun and productive
learning experience. For example, one of our offline meetings consisted of Aradhya, Brielle, and
Krishang which lasted 4 hours and had Puhor with us online. Our second meeting was online with
Saanvi, Brielle, Krishang, and Aradhya which lasted 3.5 hours. Our final meeting lasted almost 5
hours and we put in all the effort we could to refine and perfect our work. Each member did their part
in perfect synchronization and the equal division of work made it amazingly easy to complete the
project.

Bibliography
No Author, (2020), Gender equality at work, Brightr, https://www.brighthr.com/articles/equality-and-
discrimination/gender-equality/
No Author, (2021), 10 causes of gender inequality, Human Rights Careers,
https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/causes-gender-inequality/
Siocon, G, (2023), Gender inequality in the workplace: how to reduce it, Recruitee Blog,
https://recruitee.com/articles/gender-inequality#:~:text=Gender%20inequality%20can%20harm
%20women's,depression%2C%20and%20other%20psychological%20problems.
United Nations, (2023), Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, United
Nations, https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/

UNICEF, (2018), Gender Equality, Unicef, https://www.unicef.org/india/what-we-do/gender-

equality#:~:text=With%20the%20prevalence%20of%20gender,unless%20girls%20are%20valued
%20more.

Brielle, Saanvi, Aradhya, Krishang, Puhor

(Word count including bibliography: 1737 words)