Gender role is an issue that has been discussed at various levels with some interventions suggested. People are uniquely different and gender is one common factor that is used to differentiate people in society. From an early age, people learn about gender roles from the caregivers through socialization both at school and home. As children grow up to be men and women, they both face pressure on how they should behave and what not to do ( Kolb et al., 2013) . Due to this, stigma has been created on a number of roles that should be done by men and others left for women to do (Parker, 2018 ) . This is extended to the workplace where there are some duties and posts that are left for women while others are done by men. Gender roles at workplace undermine women and this creates a bad reputation of an organization.
Gender role in an organization or any setting is a complex phenomenon that can be witnessed within the organizational processes, structures, and various practices undertaken. In most organizations, women are reported to be affected by gender roles where they are discriminated against in various ways. Some examples of harmful gender inequalities start from the Human Resources department within an organization ( Kolb et al., 2013). This is the department that is in charge of hiring, employing, training, and promoting employees within an organization. The policies and decisions made by the HR department do not only affect the employment of people in an organization but also payment which plays a vital role as to why people go to work (McKinsey & Company, 2020). Over the past period, it has been very hard for women to rise in the workplace and this is because of discrimination practiced at the HR departments.
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There are various barriers to women's promotion in the workplace and this is something that has not yet been fully solved in society. For instance, there is a stigma that women are not entitled to leadership positions within the organization (Parker, 2018 ) . Most employers treat women as people who are weak and cannot be able to perform well in leadership positions. However, this is wrong since some women have always proved that they can work in leadership positions and deliver ( Kolb et al., 2013) . In this manner, stigmatization against women is one of the greatest barriers to women rising.
Due to stigmatization, most women are usually underpaid compared to their male counterparts. Some organizations do not pay women the same amount of money that the male is paid for working under the same conditions (McKinsey & Company, 2020). This is one factor that has caused issues in many organizations leading to poor outcomes and bringing bad public image. At the workplace, women have also reported receiving sexual harassment from their male bosses and male counterparts ( Kolb et al., 2013). Sexual harassment is a big issue against women which has brought horrors and stress to many people.
In society, boys are taught to be aggressive and strong and not to accept “no” as an answer. On the other hand, girls are taught to be passive, nice, and pretty and not to be assertive. This creates a scenario for sexual abuse on women and it extends to the workplace (Parker, 2018 ) . In some organizations, women are not given extra training on the job or are not promoted because they refuse sexual harassment done by their seniors ( Kolb et al., 2013) . This is a practice that discourages women and creates a bad image of an organization.
In conclusion, most of the workplaces have been referred to as inhospitable for women and this is because of gender roles and discrimination against women. Stigmatization against women and discrimination negatively affects their earnings and opportunities in various organizations. The HR departments actively take part in making organizations inhospitable to most women. The gender wage gap and sexual harassment are some of the problems that women undergo at the workplace. Gender roles create a bad reputation for an organization and are also one factor that can contribute to lower women's social-economic status. In the future, we should teach the coming generation that all people are equal and what a man can do a woman can also equally do. For the people who are discriminating against and abusing women at the workplace, strong action should be taken by law to punish them.
References
Herminia Ibarra, Robin Ely and Deborah Kolb (September, 2013): Women Rising: The Concealed Barriers https://hbr.org/2013/09/women-rising-the-unseen-barriers
Kim Parker (March, 2018): Women in majority-male workplaces report higher rates of gender discrimination . https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/07/women-in-majority-male-workplaces-report-higher-rates-of-gender-discrimination/
McKinsey & Company (2020): Women in the Workplace https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace#
