Sexism in the Workplace: Is this still a challenge for the workforce?

I’ve realized that people only think of sexism as a blatant display of unfairness between men and women (unfair pay, men getting better assignments or inappropriate jokes and insults, etc.) while this is true, sexism can happen in unsuspected ways. It can be subtle. Different scenarios could include how a person said something, how they interact with others, or the way someone treats another based on a biased mindset or expectations - sexism isn’t always a blatant display of disrespect.??

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Sexism can be defined as “prejudice or discrimination based on sex especially: discrimination against women: behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex.” More recently, there has been global discussion about sexism, what it means, and its impact on society and gender inequalities.??

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The Council of Europe (Europe’s leading human rights organization) “ adopted the first-ever international legal instrument to stop sexism. The council has officially recognized that sexism is “widespread and prevalent in all sectors and all societies,” in hopes of ending it internationally.???

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The council adopted a recommendation to prevent and combat sexism. A very significant part of that recommendation includes what is reportedly the first-ever internationally agreed-upon definition of the term--“Any act, gesture, visual representation, spoken or written words, practice, or behavior based upon the idea that a person or a group of persons is inferior because of their sex, which occurs in the public or private sphere, whether online or offline.” The recommendation also stressed that sexism is a manifestation of “historically unequal power relations” between men and women — which leads to discrimination and prevents the full advancement of women in society.” This further concludes that sexism is still prevalent in the workforce, and the majority of sexism leans toward discrimination against women.??

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Why does sexism take place??

Historically, the unequal treatment of men and women has been an evident problem in our society. Sexism has been an ongoing challenge for women, especially in the workplace. There seems to be an evident but hidden hierarchy in the workforce, but this is due to society’s interpretation of men.??

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“Men are the money-makers” and “women are the homemakers.” This gender stereotype has been the normal mindset for many generations of people in America. Gender stereotypes exist because society created them to control how things work. This way of thinking has been ingrained into our society- sexism is prevalent because we still haven’t left this mindset.??

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The workforce is changing, and we have seen a shift in gender inequalities, but there is more to do- From expanding job positions, fixing unequal salaries and unfair raises and promotions, to stopping inappropriate jokes and explicit behavior; More things need to be done to eradicate sexism from society. The impact of it is causing more harm than good.??

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The impact of sexism on the workforce.???

Sexism can cause long-term effects that can essentially end a business, a career, a brand reputation, a competitive edge, a company culture, etc. In the workplace, sexist behavior has the potential to affect team performance, productivity, loyalty, mental health, and most importantly, team safety. A sexist work environment is toxic and should never be normalized.??

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It’s the leadership’s responsibility to stop sexist expectations and behaviors from taking place. It’s never a small situation if sexism is present. Derogatory comments, inappropriate humor, and lack of respect for women's practices and needs is behavior that happens too often in the workplace.??

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Leadership should be vocal on their stance to end sexism- They should work hard to build connections with their team so that the team is comfortable talking about uncomfortable situations like sexist behavior. Leaders can’t show bias towards genders and should utilize training for themselves and their team to learn more about sexism, what it is, what it looks like, and how common it is in the workforce.??

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Being clear from the beginning that sexism won’t be tolerated in the office can stop it from happening in the first place. Leaders should lead by example and give real-life examples of what sexism looks like- This can prevent it from happening.?This is important because some people don’t realize what’s appropriate and what isn’t- Some people might think of something as a joke, but to another person, it isn’t; You’d think that there would be a universal understanding of what should be considered appropriate and inappropriate, but that’s not the case. Showing people what not to do can assure negativity, and inappropriate behavior doesn’t occur.???

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So is sexism still an ongoing challenge in the workforce today???

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Absolutely.??

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Are we working to change that as a society???

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Yes. But it takes consistent individual effort to create the lasting change society needs to end sexism. Leaders must take action and utilize proper methods to ensure sexism isn’t a part of their workplace.?

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Is sexism prevalent in your workplace? Here are common signs to look out for:??

• Role stereotyping: Women take notes, they can only be assistants or bookkeepers, etc.???
• Devaluing women's voices, opinions, and thoughts???
• Physical focus: Commenting on women's outfits, what they look like, or who is the best looking in the office.
• Condescending comments: Being called babe, sweetie, darling, etc.????
• Negative comments on women-related topics: Feminism, Womanhood, Motherhood, etc.??
• Sexist expectations: Women going to get men coffee, cleaning up the office, etc.??
• Objectification: Making comments about women’s bodies.???
• Sexist body language??
• Mansplaining?
• Gender pay gap???