Sexism in the workplace has been an issue for far too long and our fingers tend to point in all different directions for who or what could solve the problem, but we forget to point the fingers back at ourselves in the process– the change starts with you.
“You’re not in charge of me.” “You’re not allowed to tell me what to do.” “Are you sure you can handle this?” “Are you sure you can lift that?” “I’m tired of the girls getting all the tips when they do half as much of the work.”
I have worked in the food industry for five years now and these are only a few of the statements I’ve had male coworkers say to me. Most of these were when I was scheduled to be the shift lead or working as a bar back.
Forbes wrote an article titled “Why Getting Rid Of Sexism In The Workplace Is So Challenging?” The article talks about where sexism stems from, how it manifests in the workplace, and then gives solutions.
Sexism can stem from a multitude of different places, but one of the most common is from home. Children notice and pick up on a lot more than we think they do so they notice when “…Dad is dismissive of Mom’s work, feelings or ideas, if he neglects or devalues chores our society views as ‘women’s work,’ kids will pick up on this even if nothing is [ever] explicitly said.” I think this is an important point because as we learned from the psychodynamic theories our first relationships influence how we are as a person.
Another great point made in the article is that “‘what men overlearn with regard to their interpersonal relationships with women will become the toolkit they carry into positions of power in larger society,’ including home, politics, government and workplaces.” This is an important statement because if men grow up with mothers who do everything for them then they are going to treat their wives that way as well as the women they work with.
The last main topic in the article is direct quotes from almost 1,000 women and sexist statements they’ve had coworkers say to them. Most of these are based on pay, promotions and policies in the workplace. No matter whether men pick up on sexism at home or from society it has created toxic work environments for women– I do want to put out there the same can happen to men– to the point where even other women will patronize their coworkers who get excited about a promotion or raise.
Here are just a few examples of the quotes in the article:
“I was working on equalizing salaries among three employees, one of whom was a female. In consulting with the Human Resources office, the female with whom I discussed the matter explained that the two men were at a higher salary because they had been around longer. I pointed out the education and professional experience of the female was higher, and, according to the institution’s published salary assignment policies, these should outweigh tenure at the institution. The HR professional explained to me that this was a battle I wouldn’t win and that my female employee was getting a great salary anyway and shouldn’t worry about how it correlates with her male counterparts.”
“For a few years I was stuck with a manager who micromanaged all the women in the office, but the men were free to do as they pleased. The same manager promoted a man below me for a position that I was up for even though I had nearly a decade of experience and the man that received the promotion had none.“
“A male co-worker said, ‘Women are paid less because of the choices they make with regards to work-life balance.’”
These quotes belittle women in the workplace and discourage them from striving for higher positions that they deserve. The last quote not only diminishes women at work, but also for having a family and not being able to put all their attention into their job.
The solutions that are provided at the end of the article are:
- Educate all employees regarding sexism and discrimination.
- Create supportive opportunities for employees to understand and discuss their experiences.
- Initiate a thorough inventory of sexism (and other types of -isms) and use it as a blueprint for change.
These are all good solutions as long as they are established as soon as the company is started and every new employee has to go through the same training as well as having a refresher for everyone every couple years. Another standard that would have to be implemented would be actual consequences for people who break these policies and if they continue they should be fired and not just “moved to a different department.”
This article covers a lot of great points when it comes to sexism in the workplace, but I think the real question is “What can we as individuals do to stop sexism in the workplace?”