Conclusion

While there may be differences between genders, you should make sure not to stereotype. Not all females are weak and unable to do jobs that require heavy-lifting, and not all males are completely assertive when communicating. Like I said in a previous post, everyone expresses themselves in a different way, and gender has nothing to do with their behaviour.

Problems, such as gender discrimination, still exist in today's society, and as an employee, or an employer, you should address and deal with these problems.

Thank you for reading!

Why do women earn less than men?

In an earlier blog post, I mentioned how men seem to earn more than women.
According to Warren Farrel, the author of many books including, Why Men Earn More, the reason women earn less than men is not because of gender discrimination, but due to a women's own individual choices and actions. Apparently more women tend to work in areas which earn less pay, so even if men and women have the same educational background, their choices of work is what causes the difference in their pay.

There are also many instances where women earn more than men. Apparently females who have never married earn 17 percent more than men who've never married, and that female sales engineers earn more than men because they're better at communicating.

The video shown below further talks about why women earn less than men:

Personally, I'd like to hope these are the real reasons why women earn less than men, rather than because of more gender discrimination.

Citations:

1. News, CBC. "Why Do Women Earn Less than Men?" CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 27 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.

What can an employer do to prevent gender discrimination?

I found a video which talks about the steps an employer can take to prevent gender discrimination.

As an employee, how do you deal with gender discrimination at work?

What do you do if you are faced with gender discrimination or gender bias at work?

In a Human Resource Management course I took, I remember learning "Silence equals permission".If you remain quiet about this discrimination, you're basically giving the person discriminating against you permission to continue.
If you're already employed, and a fellow co-worker is showing discrimination against you, you should tell them to stop.  If they continue to do so, you should file a complaint to your supervisor, or to your human resources department.
You should also make sure to note down all the details of the time you were shown gender discrimination, such as the date, time, location, any witnesses who saw the incident, etc.
If your complaint goes unnoticed, you should consider filing a complaint with a government agency.

If you need help, you should discuss the issue with someone you trust, and don't ever keep such incidents to your self.

Gender Discrimination

Discrimination due to one's gender is still really common in the workplace today.


There are several ways gender discrimination can take place:

1. Direct discrimination: This is when it is quite obvious that gender discrimination is occurring. I may into further detail about this example in the future, but one example of direct discrimination is how in some situations men earn more than women.
2. Indirect discrimination: This is when a company makes certain rules that imply that people of a certain gender cannot quality for whatever the company if offering.
3. Harassment: Sexual and verbal harassment due to one's gender. Harassment includes making sexual jokes, making unnecessary physical contact, repeatedly asking for dates and refusing to take "no" for an answer, calling people sex-specific derogatory names, etc. You can read more about harassment at the workplace over here. 
4. Victimization: This is unfair treatment due to one's gender.

Now here's the thing: Anyone can be subjected to gender discrimination. Not just women, which I'm sure many people seem to think. I found an article, which you can read right here, which talks about the discrimination against men.

I found this part of the article very interesting:

"Sexual discrimination is rife in certain professions but it affects men as well as women, according to research which challenges the traditional notion that women are the only victims of sexism in job applications.

Researchers found significant evidence of a bias against men in jobs for chartered accountants and computer analysts, which are already considered more gender neutral than some. While women are being passed over for engineering jobs because of their gender, men are even more likely to be turned away from secretarial posts. The study blames embedded ideas about what jobs men and women should do, or "occupational segregation"."

The "occupational segregation" mentioned above can be seen in my previous post. 

Have you ever been subjected to gender discrimination?

Sources:

1. Curtis, Polly. "Sex Discrimination at Work Hits Men Too." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 24 Feb. 2006. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006/feb/25/discriminationatwork.workandcareers1

1. Manohar, Uttara. "Gender Discrimination at Workplace." Buzzle. Buzzle.com, 06 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/gender-discrimination-at-workplace.html

So the other day, I read an anonymous comment on the Internet stating that women did not take occupations that involve heavy-lifting (such as construction) as seriously as men did. They gave an example of a female bus driver who required help from male students to help her change a flat tire, due to the inability of being able to life the spare herself. It is a fact that men are physically stronger than women, and while I do believe this, I don’t think that females are incapable of doing physical work. In my opinion, it all comes down to the individual their self, and how much hard work they put into their job. Just because one female driver is incapable of changing a flat tire, doesn't mean all women are.

Anyways, reading about this situation got me thinking. If people believe that women do not take certain jobs seriously and that’s why they shouldn't take up certain occupations, what other reasons are there?I found a chart depicting other factors which “hinder a women’s professional development”.

Source: Focus Bari, 2010

*click to view full-size image

Now, if we view this same chart, but divide the reasons up by gender:

Source: Focus Bari, 2010

*click to view full-size image

What's your opinion on this?

Sources:

1. "Stereotypes about Gender and Work." Stereotypes about Gender and Work. N.p., 23 June 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/2010/03/GR1003019I.htm

Gender Stereotypes in the Workplace

While many people believe that gender stereotypes aren't true, many people still make assumptions based on one's gender.

I found an article about gender stereotypes in the workplace that I thought was really interesting. You can read the full article right here.

YouGov is a global internet marketing research company. A YouGov survey found that many people still believe that there are certain jobs that men are more suitable for men, and many jobs that are considered more suitable for women. The results of the survey are pictured in the graph below.

*click to view full-size

What do you think of the survey results? Do you agree that there are some jobs more suitable for men, and vice versa? Or do you agree with the survey results?

I also found another article that state the top 10 most female occupations and the top 10 most male occupations i.e. jobs whose highest percentage of workers are female, and jobs whose highest percentage of workers are male.

The 10 Most Female Occupations:

1. Dental hygienists
2. Preschool and kindergarten teachers
3. Secretaries and administrative assistants
4. Dental assistants
5. Speech-language pathologists
6. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
7. Child care workers
8. Hairdressers, hair stylists and cosmetologists
9. Receptionists and information clerks
10. Payroll and timekeeping clerks

The 10 Most Male Occupations:

1. Logging workers
2. Automotive body and related repairers
3. Cement masons, concrete finishers and terrazzo workers
4. Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists
5. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
6. Tool and die makers
7. Roofers
8. Heavy vehicle/mobile equipment service technicians and mechanics
9. Home appliance repairers
10. Crane and tower operators

Citations:

1. "Traditional Jobs For Men And Women And The Gender Divide." The Digerati Life RSS.  29 May 2007. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/index.php/2007/05/29/traditional-jobs-for-men-and-women-the-gender-divide/
2. Palmer, Kate. "Lasting Gender Stereotypes in the Workplace." Lasting Gender Stereotypes in the Workplace. N.p., 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. http://today.yougov.com/news/2012/08/09/lasting-gender-roles-workplace/