Role of politics and the economy in gender discrimination in the workplace
The issue of gender-based discrimination in the workplace is a societal issue that cannot be separated from politics and the economy. One of the underlying reasons why gender discrimination is prevalent is pregnancy and reproduction. Employers consider women in the reproductive age as a liability and a source of cost because of the costs that come with giving birth. Expectant women in the workplace need flexibility including days off to go for pre-natal clinics. Employers consider such days off as lost productivity. When a woman gives birth, they are required to go for maternity leave, necessitating the employer to look for a substitute, which is an additional cost. The need to be profitable in the hard economic times leads employers to consider male candidates because there do not have such costs like maternity leaves and maternity related packages and benefits (U.S department of Labor, ND). Some employers go to an extent of asking women whether they are pregnant by mandating pregnancy tests in a bid to evade such costs.
The issue of gender discrimination and politics cannot be separated since politicians are the lawmakers who determine employment laws and such. For instance, the Pregnancy and Discrimination Act of 1978 prohibits discrimination on grounds of pregnancy, childbearing, or associated health conditions. Because employers know about this law, some deliberately choose not to employ women in the reproductive age because they may be bound to give birth at one time or another. While the pregnancy and discrimination act serves to protect women from being punished from their natural duty of reproduction, the act has still done little to safeguard women from such discrimination by opting to employ women outright. Since there are many candidates who apply for a given position, one might not know whether she was denied employment because of qualifications or gender. There are other laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Civil Rights Act that outlaws discrimination on grounds of gender, religion, race, or national origin (U.S department of Labor, ND). The existence of these laws does not hinder discrimination against women in the workplace to occur.
The key pieces from the course that might need to be changed is having an entire module dedicated to the issue of women discrimination in the workplace, and what needs to be done to prevent such. The course should be active and not passive, such as requiring students to examine and conduct research on discrimination of women in the workplace. perhaps from the results, important insights may be gained on how to detect discrimination, especially during the first steps of hiring that are hard to detect, in spite of the numerous laws that serve to safeguard women from discrimination in employment, women continue to be disenfranchised as long as issues of employment are concerned. Trident university can get into the fore front to address the issue by conducting research or having an entire discipline dedicated to the issue of discrimination. Research findings by the school and the students alike can come in handy in bringing a new perspective on the issue such as how to detect discrimination during the initial stages of hiring, what may be done to encourage employers to look at female workers as a resource and an asset, and not a cost, and what advocacy campaigns needs to be carried out to enlighten the general public about the prevalence of the issue.
The issue of gender-based discrimination in the workplace is a societal issue that cannot be separated from politics and the economy. One of the underlying reasons why gender discrimination is prevalent is pregnancy and reproduction. Employers consider women in the reproductive age as a liability and a source of cost because of the costs that come with giving birth. Expectant women in the workplace need flexibility including days off to go for pre-natal clinics. Employers consider such days off as lost productivity. When a woman gives birth, they are required to go for maternity leave, necessitating the employer to look for a substitute, which is an additional cost. The need to be profitable in the hard economic times leads employers to consider male candidates because there do not have such costs like maternity leaves and maternity related packages and benefits (U.S department of Labor, ND). Some employers go to an extent of asking women whether they are pregnant by mandating pregnancy tests in a bid to evade such costs.
The issue of gender discrimination and politics cannot be separated since politicians are the lawmakers who determine employment laws and such. For instance, the Pregnancy and Discrimination Act of 1978 prohibits discrimination on grounds of pregnancy, childbearing, or associated health conditions. Because employers know about this law, some deliberately choose not to employ women in the reproductive age because they may be bound to give birth at one time or another. While the pregnancy and discrimination act serves to protect women from being punished from their natural duty of reproduction, the act has still done little to safeguard women from such discrimination by opting to employ women outright. Since there are many candidates who apply for a given position, one might not know whether she was denied employment because of qualifications or gender. There are other laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Civil Rights Act that outlaws discrimination on grounds of gender, religion, race, or national origin (U.S department of Labor, ND). The existence of these laws does not hinder discrimination against women in the workplace to occur.
The key pieces from the course that might need to be changed is having an entire module dedicated to the issue of women discrimination in the workplace, and what needs to be done to prevent such. The course should be active and not passive, such as requiring students to examine and conduct research on discrimination of women in the workplace. perhaps from the results, important insights may be gained on how to detect discrimination, especially during the first steps of hiring that are hard to detect, in spite of the numerous laws that serve to safeguard women from discrimination in employment, women continue to be disenfranchised as long as issues of employment are concerned. Trident university can get into the fore front to address the issue by conducting research or having an entire discipline dedicated to the issue of discrimination. Research findings by the school and the students alike can come in handy in bringing a new perspective on the issue such as how to detect discrimination during the initial stages of hiring, what may be done to encourage employers to look at female workers as a resource and an asset, and not a cost, and what advocacy campaigns needs to be carried out to enlighten the general public about the prevalence of the issue.
