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What Corporations Don’t Tell You

By: Jhanavi Ravi



We have often been told that if people acknowledge the fact that women are not inferior to men, gender inequality will no longer prevail. This idea suggests that discrimination against women is an issue caused by individuals, but should not gender inequality be considered as more of a systemic issue?


Large corporations constantly preach that if women start to be more assertive and demanding in their workplaces, and if men start to be more respectful towards women, gender inequality would taper extensively. Meanwhile, these companies fail to hold themselves accountable for being the root of inequality in these aforementioned workplaces.


Case Study 1: Silicon Valley Technology Company


After very detailed interviews with over 37 executives of the company, it was discovered that in order to reach senior leadership positions, women needed to think the same way as men did, rather than bringing something different to the table. Workers in the company generally believed that men were more capable of working in the technology industry than women. The company seemed to acknowledge the insufficiency of women in this industry but failed to see it as something that they were responsible for. They consideed themselves as ‘no different from any other company’.


Case Study 2: Women in the Workplace


Numerous interviews and research from over 279 companies employing more than 13 million people demonstrate that women have a much lower chance of getting hired for entry-level jobs, albeit earning more bachelor degrees than men. Furthermore, it was revealed that on average, men hold 62% of the manager positions, while women only hold 38%. This discovery suggests the evident gap between men and women, not because of their credibilities, but because of their sex. The report for the year 2018 disclosed that ‘for almost two-thirds of the women, microaggressions were a workplace reality’. The impact microaggressions have are constantly disregarded, despite the harmful stigma around women that it encourages. Large companies continue to favor men over women for higher positions and continue to ignore cases of sexual harassment in their workplaces.


The actions of an individual should not be ignored, and what we say and do can in fact truly help change the world for the better. However, the impact of the changes to inequality that these companies have the potential to bring is substantial. These firms need to start paying women the same salaries as men before holding us individuals liable for the injustices towards women. These establishments need to start caring about equality in actuality before just outwardly preaching about it to put themselves in a good light.




Citations


Krivkovich, Alexis, et al. “Women in the Workplace 2018.” McKinsey & Company, McKinsey & Company, www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/gender-equality/women-in-the-workplace-2018.

Wynn, Alison. “Why Tech's Approach to Fixing Its Gender Inequality Isn't Working.” Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review, 11 Oct. 2019, hbr.org/2019/10/why-techs-approach-to-fixing-its-gender-inequality-isnt-working.


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