Causes and effect of equality in the workplace and society

Causes and effect of equality in the workplace and society

Introduction

Gender equality means treating males and females as having the same value and being of equal status (Alba, B, 2018). It means not applying prejudice against a person based merely on the reason that they are male or female. It also a state where both males and females have such rights and equal access to opportunities that the end result is not affected by the fact that their gender difference.

Causes of gender equality.

The first cause of gender equality in the workplace/society is changing society’s gender attitudes and bias at the personal level (Alba, 2018). Such bias has been responsible for promoting gender stereotypes, resulting in gender discrimination. As many people are not aware of their personal bias against certain genders, this can is achieved by creating awareness of inherent societal values and behavior that ultimately affect how society views the two genders.

Another cause of gender equality is the enactment of laws by countries and their institutions where conscious efforts are made to put in place laws, policies, and accountability measures to secure and promote gender equality. To begin with, many countries have enacted statutes to ensure that both men and women have equal rights. Included in these are laws that prohibit discrimination at the workplace based on gender.

The government of Australia has been at the forefront of promoting gender equality by enacting the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012. As outlined under Section 2A of the Act, it applies to the employment sector with the primary purpose of promoting gender equality. The Act further provides for guidelines on measures and policies to be adopted by employers to realize gender equality at the workplace. For instance, it requires employers to submit yearly reports on various gender equality indicators. The Act has further established a Workplace Gender Equality Agency to oversee the implementation of the Act by employers. The data collected by this Agency assists the government is assessing and monitoring the effects and progress of gender equality measures in the country. This, as noted in the Gender Equity Insights 2018: Inside Australia’s Gender Pay Gap report has reduced the gender gap.

The third cause of gender equality is affirmative action. Raymond, J(2013) observes that this can be achieved in an organization through transparency in hiring and salaries, defining objective criteria for making certain decisions before-hand, having equal salaries for the same levels of employment, openly recognizing critical achievements by women in the workplace as well as encouraging women to be proactive in seeking better recognition of their abilities and efforts. Thus, affirmative action has the effect of reducing gender bias, thereby promoting gender equality.

An example of such affirmative action is the Collective bargaining Agreement (CBA) entered into between The Football Federation of Australia and Professional Footballers Australia in November 2019. Through this agreement, which can be enforced by law, the women’s national football team will now earn the same salary as the men’s national football team. Before this CBA, the women’s team earned around $66,000 annually, compared to the men’s team, whose annual salary was $ 100,000. This has now been equalized by the CBA. Also, the women’s team will now have equal access to the benefits and opportunities that the men’s team has been enjoying. (Lewis, S, 2019).

Effects of gender equality

The measures outlined above, which cause gender equality if adequately implemented, have certain effects on society and the workplace. One of the effects is the promotion of the best and skilled talent irrespective of gender. As observed by Raymond, J (2013, gender equality enables an organization to attract and retain the person best suited to the organization, thereby achieving the best possible results for their businesses. Thus, as observed by Woitzel, J et al. ( 2018), promoting gender equality results in better economic growth.

The second effect of gender equality is the promotion of freedom of choice of employment that women would want to get into. This stems from the fact that there are some occupations ich society considers as be male professions. Gender equality therefore eliminates the stigma associated with women in such professions, allowing more women to uplift their economic status in society. In addition, access to better facilities and more opportunities also increases freedom of choice for women in that they are able to explore their talents and skills without any judgment from society. As a result, society benefits from an increase in the workforce.

Another effect is that women will have better chances of employment regardless of the possibility of getting pregnant. Further, women will not receive unfair treatment at the workplace once recruited. They will, therefore, not be afraid to lose their jobs because of pregnancy. This, in turn, allows women to perform at their best without constantly being anxious about the security of their jobs when they get pregnant, or when they return to work from maternity leave. This will also result in men not having an advantage over women. Therefore, women will also feel an equal protection of the law, as that accorded to the male gender, thus promoting gender equality.

Thirdly gender equality will result in women feeling more valued and respected at the workplace for their skills as they will receive the same pay for the same value of work as their male counterparts. ( Lewis, S. 2019)

Fourthly, gender equality in the home results in happier and more stable families. It also enables parents to have a better balance of work and family responsibilities, the end result of which is more productivity both at home and at work (Kimmel, M. 2015). The Sidney GOAG Reform Council (2013) report also observed that gender equality results in better health for women as well as reduced incidences of work-related depression and anxiety. Thus, gender equality has the effect of having a healthier society.

Conclusion

To achieve gender equality, there is a need for positive action from authorities in all sectors of society. These actions require employers and society at large to change their biased attitude towards women and put in place measures to ensure such gender bias is reduced as much as possible. Fostering gender equality will have positive effects on the society and to the economy.