Background
Even though the world has come of age in terms of gender relations in the workplace, it is undeniable that there still exists plenty of issues surrounding the same. In recent years, various stakeholders, including the government, organizations, and employers, have come out strongly to attempt to address these issues in the most effective manner. Although some of these efforts have yielded fruit, many of them still remain contentious in society. Central to these solutions are the attempts to treat men and women equally in the workplace. Many a time, when women find themselves on the receiving end when it comes to gender issues. In essence, they are the disadvantaged group that always tries to catch up with their male counterparts in different aspects of the workplace.
Analysts in the realm of gender relations in the workplace have often reiterated that women can handle tasks and responsibilities as well as their male counterparts. However, another group has accentuated the fact that the physical, anatomical, and emotional differences exhibited by the two groups make them unique and able to handle tasks differently. The latter group insists that it does not make sense to say that men and women can be equal in society and the workplace. Gender issues are one of the most debated topics in the modern business world, which prompts the inquiry of what could be changed to ensure a workplace is a safe place for both men and women. The following paper, therefore, discusses gender issues the including unequal pay and sexual harassment. The paper will then comprehensively discuss how human resource management can address these issues.
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Unequal Pay
The gender wage gap is a problem faced in most organizations across different industries. The second half of the 20 th century saw a paradigm shift in regard to the participation of women in the labor force. According to Kato et al., (2013) , women are making more efforts to better themselves in the working environment compared to their male counterparts. For instance, women are not only working for longer hours but are also seeking to further their education and be of better value in their work environments. Despite these efforts, statistics still show that men earn more than women in the same description. If one goes for higher education, it means they are seeking to get more qualified to either get a pay rise or a promotion ( Kato et al., 2013) . However, women have always attempted to exploit this chance but do not get the opportunity due to the existing gender discrimination in the labor force. In its most comprehensive definition, gender gap refers to the pay gap between men and women doing the same job. Experts calculate this gap in a broad array of ways. In each of these ways, the common denominator is that women continue to earn less than men in the work environment. The situation is even worse for women of color. Therefore, one can notice that the issues of gender and racism are intertwined and difficult to separate.
According to the Census Bureau, women from all races earned about 80% for every one dollar earned by their male counterparts across races. Individuals experiencing intersectional reality, including immigrant and transgender women, usually face even worse changes in regard to the gender pay gap because their earning challenges are compounded by multiple biases ( Bishu & Alkadry, 2017) . Data about these women are hardly available and is the reason they are often excluded in such conversations. Recent efforts have attempted to expose their situation, though.
There is a need to disaggregate by disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, race and ethnicity, and sex. Only then can there be concrete data on the pay gap issues across various social dimensions. Most of the data about the gender wage gap reflect the earnings for men and women across industries ( Bishu & Alkadry, 2017) . This is to say that the statistics are not reflective of the existing gender pay gap for men and women doing the same job. Calculating the statistics in this manner gives experts the opportunity to incorporate several factors in the issue of the pay gap.
One of the factors contributing to the gender pay gap is the existing differences in industries or jobs worked. Occupation segregation has always existed in the job market since antiquity ( Drolet & Mumford, 2012) . In essence, there are certain jobs that are considered for and others for women. As a result, the society has developed to include these as societal norms that are not to be broken or violated. Calculating a holistic wage gap helps experts to have a clear view of the effects of occupational segregation ( Drolet & Mumford, 2012) . Jobs that are traditionally perceived to be for women, such as home care jobs and health aides, pay significantly less than jobs that are perceived to be for men. These include building construction and other technical jobs.
The disparity highlighted in this case is true across all industries and levels. The gender wage gap is also driven by the differences in years of experience. Years of experience are one of the most potent factors when determining the expertise of a worker ( Chen & Crown, 2019) . Women usually tend to have less work experience compared to their male counterparts because society requires them to attend to unpaid obligations such as child care. Unlike men, women spend time outside the workforce whenever they give birth, which takes a substantial amount of time out of their years of experience. The desire to get back to work and earn more makes them willing to have them return to work sooner than necessary.
The difference in hours worked also contributes significantly to a widening gender pay gap. Men usually work for more hours compared to their female counterparts because of reasons that out of women’s control. For example, women have to be home early to take care of the house and children while the males continue working to earn more money. Evidently, these unpaid obligations make women vulnerable to unfair competition by their male counterparts in terms of pay ( Chen & Crown, 2019) . Besides, the fact that they are more likely to work part-time than men puts them in a disadvantaged position because they receive lower hourly wages and fewer benefits compared to the male full-time workers.
Discrimination also fuels the gender wage gap. For a long time, gender-based pay discrimination was a common practice in many organizations. However, it was illegalized after 1963, and since then, organizations found to be in violation of such laws are liable for penalties and fines ( Chen & Crown, 2019) . Even then, several organizations still experience this type of discrimination because of the manner in which society is set up. Women of color are often the most common victims of gender-based pay discrimination. The vice can thrive in organizations that do not allow open discussions of wages and salaries. In such organizations, employees fear expressing their displeasure with some aspects of pay because of the fear of retaliation ( Chen & Crown, 2019) . When hiring, some employers insist that applicants must avail history of pay to make compensation decisions. Since women are likely to be paid less than men in the history of compensation, the discrimination perpetuates in their subsequent employment experiences. Even though discrimination is not explicit in this case, there is evidence that women are not treated fairly in comparison with their male counterparts.
Sexual Harassment
Otherwise known as sexual violence, sexual harassment can be crudely defined as an unconsented sexual advance or request for sexual favors that would offend the victim. Sexual violence is a crime that occurs in virtually every aspect of society. Over the years, sexual harassment has been a major challenge in organizations, and most victims are females ( Hersch, 2015) . Sexual harassment comes in many forms, including sexually explicit emails and text messages, sexually explicit physical contact, sexual-based insults or taunts, asking personal questions about a person's body, requests for sexual intercourse, sexually explicit posters and pictures, suggestive comments, staring, and leering, and unwelcome touching. A person is liable for prosecution if they attempt the acts mentioned above against another worker ( Hersch, 2015) . Even though everyone can be a perpetrator and victim, statistics have it that those who are in higher positions in the organizations are the most likely to be perpetrators. It is because individuals in the higher position are trying to lure the junior employees with the promise of getting them promoted or gaining some favors in the organization.
Sexual harassment has both personal and organizational impacts. Individuals who experience sexual violence have a broad range of reactions from irritation to serious debility, which comes with prolonged psychological and physical consequences ( Mainiero & Jones, 2013) . Work environments characterized by constant sexual harassment against employees are often toxic and deter one from exploiting their best potential when it comes to putting their energy into productivity. Aside from the feelings of anger and humiliation, some victims feel depressed and lose touch with peace not only at the workplace but also at home.
The statistics on sexual harassment are usually unreliable because many victims do not report the cases to authorities ( Mainiero & Jones, 2013) . As such, it is authoritative to reiterate that several cases of sexual harassment remain unreported even as various organizations come are coming out to lead the campaign against sexual harassment in the workplace. As discussed in the previous section, people of all genders undergo sexual harassment, but most victims are females. Aside from holding lower positions in the workplace, the victim mostly has to be supervised by a male worker ( Hejase, 2015) . Like in gender-based wage discrimination, most victims of sexual harassment are immigrant women. As well, statistics have revealed that the military department is the one that experiences the most cases of sexual harassment against women.
Women who work in male-dominated industries face the highest risk of sexual harassment. The same is not true for men who are in male-dominated industry men who are most at-risk are those between the ages of 25 and 44 ( Hejase, 2015) . Researchers have attempted to find out factors that contribute to the high rate of sexual violence. Two factors are prominent in this regard. The first is whether harassment reflects individual behavior, and the second is whether organizational characteristics contribute to these challenges. Statistics reveal that men who are at the same or higher position in the workplace are the most likely perpetrators of sexual harassment ( McDonald, 2012) . However, it is difficult to point out the exact perpetrators because there is little evidence of a pattern by age, occupation, and social status. Many researchers have also attempted to pore over the organizational characteristics that provide an enabling environment for sexual harassment.
The first aspect is the organizational tolerance of such conduct. An organization that does not have stringent rules guiding the conduct of workers experience more cases of sexual violence because the workers know there may not be consequences for their actions. On the contrary, organizations that are strict about the conduct of employees have reduced chances of sexual harassment because perpetrators fear harsh repercussions for their behaviors ( McDonald, 2012) . The gender composition of an organization also creates an environment that enables the prevalence of sexual harassment. For instance, a workplace that is dominated by men is likely to witness sexual harassment for women. Similarly, one that has more women than men is likely to witness sexual violence against men. The power differentials in a hierarchical organization also create a conducive environment for the thriving of sexual harassment. In this regard, male supervisors are more likely to witness female sex harassment ( McDonald, 2012) . As such, leaders in the organization need to identify these factors and take necessary steps towards thwarting sexual harassment efforts by perversions employees.
How Human Resource Managers can resolve the Gender Issues in the Workplace
The gender issues present in the workplace usually lead to low productivity. Individuals who are victims face not only emotional but also physical challenges, which prevent them from exploiting the best of their potential. As such, it is important for the human resource department to make necessary efforts to reduce such occurrences in the organization. The first step in responding to the gender pay gap issue is conducting a comprehensive pay audit ( McDonald, 2012) . Creating awareness is the first positive step towards eliminating s challenge in the workplace. The human resource manager should come out boldly to ensure everyone in the workforce is aware of the problem. The department has to conduct an analysis to find out the real gender pay gap situation in the workplace. The human resource department should also have real statistics and data of the actual pay gap existing in every department in the organization.
Another step the human resource department needs to take is to commit to ensuring transparency around equal pay for equal work. An organization does not have to depend on legislative mandate when it comes to the existing gender pay gap. Instead, it should be the effort of a business to ensure they have raw data on the situation at hand. Some of the demographic statistics that need to be recorded include pay across parental status, race, and gender. It is even more important for an organization to encourage its partners such as suppliers to make efforts towards reducing the gender pay gap ( McDonald, 2012) . After conducting a company-wide pay audit, there is likely to be transparency around salary negotiations, salary ranges, and reward processes ( McDonald, 2012) . Today, companies that are sensitive to the gender pay gap situation are better placed because they attract a workforce that is committed to genuine performance. As such, human resource managers should struggle to reduce the gender pay gap.
Another way that human resource managers can ensure a reduced gender pay gap is by overcoming bias in the system by embracing gender-conscious hiring. Most organizations hire workers based on referrals and networks. It is also a common practice to hire a man instead of a woman, even in a situation where the woman is more qualified than the man. The human resource department should be cognizant of such biases and try to change the situation by making the hiring process more transparent ( Kato et al., 2013) . Today, technology is playing a critical role in the hiring process. For instance, working with artificial intelligence is being used by some organizations to reduce the chances of discrimination based on gender. Artificial intelligence helps to combat bias in the hiring process by diversifying the candidate pool. Involving technology in the recruitment process eliminates the chances of hiring based on connections and networks. It ensures that only qualified candidates are selected to fill various vacancies in the company.
It is also possible to eliminate sexual harassment in an organization through the efforts of the human resource department. One means of achieving this is to adopt a clear sexual harassment policy in the company ( Kato et al., 2013) . After hiring, the human resource department needs to avail employee handbooks where clear sexual harassment details are outlined. In this manner, employees will have the knowledge of how they are supposed to handle themselves to avoid situations of sexual harassment.
The policy should have critical details on sexual harassment, such as the definition of sexual harassment and making it clear that sexual harassment cannot be tolerated whatsoever. It is also critical for the department to conduct training sessions for employees regularly to ensure they are always aware of laws surrounding sexual harassment ( Kato et al., 2013) . Employee training will ensure employees are aware of what sexual harassment is as well as the consequences of the same. Supervisors and managers should be trained differently because they have a different mandate as far as sexual harassment is concerned. It is also important for human resource management to regularly monitor the workplace and take all complaints seriously.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, there exists a broad array of gender issues in the workplace. The paper has discussed two of them, including the gender pay gap and sexual harassment, all of which are some of the most widespread challenges faced in organizations today. Several factors drive unequal pay in a company. One of the factors is the existing differences in industries or jobs worked. Occupation segregation has always existed in the job market since antiquity. In essence, there are certain jobs that are considered for and others for women. Jobs that are traditionally perceived to be for women, such as home care jobs and health aides, pay significantly less than jobs that are perceived to be for men.
These include building construction and other technical jobs. The disparity highlighted in this case is true across all industries and levels. The gender wage gap is also driven by the differences in years of experience. Sexual harassment is also an issue in organizations today. It comes in many forms, including sexually explicit emails and text messages, sexually explicit physical contact, sexual-based insults or taunts, asking personal questions about a person's body, requests for sexual intercourse, sexually clear posters and pictures, suggestive comments, staring and leering, and unwelcome touching. A person is liable for prosecution if they attempt the acts mentioned above against another worker. The human resource department can respond to these challenges by training employees and establishing mechanisms to achieve equality among male and female employees.
References
Kato, T., Kawaguchi, D., & Owan, H. (2013). Dynamics of the Gender Gap in the Workplace: An econometric case study of a large Japanese firm. Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry Discussion Paper .
Bishu, S. G., & Alkadry, M. G. (2017). A systematic review of the gender pay gap and factors that predict it. Administration & Society , 49 (1), 65-104.
Drolet, M., & Mumford, K. (2012). The gender pay gap for private ‐ sector employees in Canada and Britain. British Journal of Industrial Relations , 50 (3), 529-553.
Chen, J. J., & Crown, D. (2019). The gender pay gap in academia: Evidence from the Ohio State University. American Journal of Agricultural Economics , 101 (5), 1337-1352.
Hersch, J. (2015). Sexual harassment in the workplace. IZA World of Labor .
Mainiero, L. A., & Jones, K. J. (2013). Sexual harassment versus workplace romance: Social media spillover and textual harassment in the workplace. Academy of Management Perspectives , 27 (3), 187-203.
Hejase, H. J. (2015). Sexual harassment in the workplace: An exploratory study from Lebanon. Journal of Management Research , 7 (1), 107-121.
McDonald, P. (2012). Workplace sexual harassment 30 years on: A review of the literature. International Journal of Management Reviews , 14 (1), 1-17.
