Overcoming Gender Gap & Age Discrimination

Pardon my aggression in advance.

If an organization discriminates, offers you less compensation, or treats you poorly because you're too young, too old, too fat, not the perceived 'correct' race or orientation or religious or political affiliation—or maybe you're just 'not like them' — then that’s an environment that you shouldn't want to work in anyway.

Bully companies and the leaders that enable them will falter with shortsightedness in 2019.

You have value.

You deserve to do fulfilling work that aligns with your lifestyle—where you're excited to wake up in the morning—where you can provide for your family and actually get to spend time with them too.

Balance.

Business is about a collection of people working together to solve problems.

Diversity—of experience, age, ethnicity, gender, etc. when properly organized and empowered, will change the world.

We have to remember that job seeking and hiring is a two-way street.

Too often job seekers feel like they are the ones trying to be accepted—to fit in. Looking for some sort of validation or acceptance from their employer. A molded identity.

Employers need to be desirable as well.

When you're assessing your next position, you need to identify an employer and team environment that meets your needs too. Especially if you're going to spend 40-60 hours a week working with them.

Hell, they're asking you to spend more time thinking about them than your own family. They owe it to you to be decent and civil about it.

Do you work with a team of elite chauvinists that don't value the opinion of women? Or perhaps a team that gaslights minorities by asking for coffee runs or menial busy work?

Screw that.

They don't deserve you—and you deserve better.

We've worked with hundreds of women and minorities in managerial and leadership roles. Exceptional talent—and executives working with brands that we all use everyday. And all fighting to overcome prejudice from ill informed perception.

Many suffer from imposter syndrome—others are frustrated from the way things are—and the discrimination they have experienced.

There are frightening stories.

Women leaders burned by standing up for themselves and their team—simply by walking the double-edge sword of being a strong female.

Bright professionals where English was their second language and it wasn't as natural to articulate their brilliance.

Others that couldn't pass automated recruiting software (ATS) because they weren't trained in keyword optimization and SEO. Algorithms threw them in the trash before a hiring manager ever had a chance to speak with them.

Why does a robot get to determine your worth?

I get that we're all busy, but dehumanizing recruiting and hiring isn't the answer—especially when it comes to diversity and discrimination.

This is a problem we solve as people. It's not the time to be lazy and silent about it.

We need to get together with more human to human contact. We need to look one another in the eye, shake hands, and have conversations as equals.

If we continue to work hard to make the gender gap and disadvantages experienced everyday from far too many job seekers—a thing of the past—then I say we’re working toward a satisfying purpose in 2019.

It starts with being more mindful of each other. More empathetic.

The unique and diverse. The goofy and quirky. The introverts and extroverts. The leaders and followers. The foreign and familiar. The family firsts and the lone wolves.

You have value.

About The Author 

Jacob is the CEO of Discover Podium—a career services company that helps professionals accelerate their career.

He is passionate about helping people market themselves and navigate modern job search challenges to find their most fulfilling career.