Women in the Workplace

In a recent nationwide poll conducted by Career Builder, researcher found that seventeen percent of women have endured sexual harassment in the workplace, and about twenty- five percent have been subjected to some level of mistreatment by their supervisors and coworkers. The survey continues to show that of most of the women who came forward and reported their experiences, in many cases the perpetuators were not held accountable for their actions.

The study mentioned above is called “Diversity in the Workplace,” and it is meant to comprehend the reoccurrence and seriousness of these incidents, as well as the effect diversity has on hiring trends.

Although working practices and procedures have constituently improved in the past decades in order to accommodate the rising numbers of women in the work place, nearly one third of women report unfair treatment and discrimination due to their gender, on a weekly basis.  Rosemary Haefner is the vice president of HR at CareerBuilder.com, and she believes that these statistics are a clear indication of the need for reform and improvement as well as the long road ahead to achieving fair working conditions for all.

One of the most distinct areas in which women feel that they are being discriminated against is in the field of pay and career advancement within their organizations. About 27% of women feel that they are being paid less than their male counterparts, who have the same experiences and credentials; five percent have reported that they are getting more and about 49 percent believe that they are being compensated the same. These numbers are relatively the same in regards to women advancing in their careers.

In many cases, the intolerance against women in the workplace goes unnoticed and unreported. Even those who do report these instances believe that nothing concrete transpires from talks with management. In fact, “Diversity in the Workplace” study found that thirty four percent of women they were afraid to come forward in fear of losing their positions.

Corporate culture has come a long way in the past decade in embracing and welcoming women to the workforce. However, the statistics mentioned above show that there is plenty of room for improvement in creating fair environments that aren’t only acceptable of diversity, but can also embrace change.

For a deeper insight of this issue, please take a look at this very insightful key note speech given by Brian Duperreault at the Bermuda  Captive Conference.