Gender equality has been a topic of debate for years. Especially, equal treatment for the genders in the workplace has been of utmost importance. Gender equality at the workplace signifies equal opportunities and pay scales for both male and female workers. No discrimination or biased behaviour must be observed while dealing with employees of different genders.
According to researchers, a wide pay gap has been observed between employees at the same post because of their gender. People with orthodox beliefs claim that men are subjected to more work as compared to women employees. A woman with the same experience in the industry is paired much lower than a man who may even have a lesser experience.
Here are some ways that can be used to promote gender equality in the workspace. These small steps can bring a revolutionary change in the way superiors to deal with their employees.
Workplace flexibility and its importance.
Many young women have to turn down jobs that demand more hours as they have other responsibilities to fulfil. This makes the bosses perceive that they are willing to settle for a lesser payment amount for the same work. This mindset needs to change, and flexibility needs to be ensured in time schedules. Proper business hours need to be established according to which the employees must be paid. It is entirely dependent on the employees to decide their time slots for delivering those business hours.
Predetermined schedules.
As mentioned earlier, women have to play a lot more roles than men have to. They have to maintain their households along with working to earn money. Being called at random times to work on projects can make their schedules very hectic and overworked. Having predetermined schedules can help them prioritize tasks and equally divide their attention between their professional and personal lives.
Open salary discussions.
Transparency at businesses plays a vital role in embracing job roles irrespective of the gender of an individual. Salary discussions must be open with all the employees present in the meeting. This way, they can build their trust in the company and get relieved that they are getting equally paid.
No unfair decisions are taken regarding the pay scale of individuals at different posts. Having different salaries for two individuals at the same post is an act of gender discrimination. This has been regarded as illegal by law and could result in severe punishment and penalties.
Similar training.
Timely training is an important part of the corporate world and helping enhancing the skills of individuals. The up-gradation of skills is essential because a company needs to keep ahead of the competition. Training must be equally accessible to employees of both genders.
Also, all of them must be equally encouraged by their superiors to be a part of this training. If your managers are not encouraging you because of your gender, they may be biased towards male employees. It is also possible that their superiors poorly trained them, and this notion needs to change.
So, if you wish to be a part of a change, make sure that these small steps are taken at your company. One may argue that these steps won’t make a change at a considerable level. Changes at significant levels are concerned with the participation of a lot of people. If you are not able to encourage a lot of people, working in your position is enough. Small drops are indeed enough to make an ocean, and that is what you must believe in. One must believe in the right ideologies and apply them in their daily life.
We hope the strategies outlined above will help you achieve gender equality at your workplace and work better with all team members. Which strategy do you think will be most helpful? Let us know in the comment section below.