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Gender Discrimination Going on Today

Prompt: The article, "Sexism in the Workplace: No Escape" states, "Women

are greatly penalized for exhibiting behavior that is seen as angry,
aggressive or assertive while their male counterparts get rewarded for the
same behavior". Is this reason based solely on gender? Looks? Or something
else. Discuss what some causes of this may be.

Michaela Manuel
Garcia and Russell
26 October 2014

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"One data point everyone agrees on is that women and men face huge
disparities at the office" (Waber). It is not uncommon for women to be paid
less than their male colleague. According to The Equal Pact Act of 1963, it
was illegal for an employer to pay a woman a lower wage than a man simply
because of her gender (The History of Gender Discrimination). Although this
act was passed, to this day one can still see the differences women and men
face in the workplace. There are multiple ways women are discriminated
against in the workplace ranging from unequal pay, sexual harassment,
being seen as incapable of doing the same jobs as men and being considered
and chosen for jobs based on features they acquire.

Although there was supposed to be an act passed on eliminating the

marginalization of women and give them fair pay, as time has evolved it is
still seen that women are still paid unequal compared to their male
colleagues and witness being excluded from their male employees as well.
Many statistics have been taken to determine the gap between men and
women when it comes to their paycheck, it was determines that, "in the U.S.
female workers are still paid only 77 cents for every dollar their male
colleagues make" (Weber). Women are making significantly less than their
male coworkers for the same type of work and same amount of hours
worked. Women are capable of doing the same work men do and do the job
just as well as men do, however, women are seen as less superior than men.
Women are said to only be good at "feminine jobs" such as nursing and

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teaching, even though men and women both apply for both careers. Men and
women should not be seen as different, let alone as unequal. Going into the
army is seen as a mans job and would typically not be recommended for a
women, however, there are plenty on women who join the army and keep up
with their male counterparts, complete tasks just as difficult and finally, gain
the same metals and rewards as men do. According to the article Todays
Workplace, "some experts feel that since the marginalization of women in
the workplace is easier to get away with than sexual harassment, men wield
their dominance in the work environment by silencing and ignoring women,
reducing women's power and effectively shutting them out of decision
making." Discrimination does not stop at unequal pay for women, since
women are seen as less superior to men, they are not included in any
decision making and are ignored when trying to express ideas in the
workplace. Ignoring somebody when they are trying to get an idea or point
across, especially a women being ignored by a man is not only hurtful and
disrespectful but is degrading to a women. If a woman if part of a company
and attends a meeting, she along with any other female counterparts is
entitled to express and idea or opinion when asked or simply because she
feels as though she should. There are some cases when marginalization goes
beyond excluding women and their thoughts from conversations, "some
statistics estimate that about 72% of women workers have experienced
sexist bullying at work while 85% of women workers believe that there is a
bias towards males in the workplace" (ibid). Gender discrimination in the

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workplace goes past subtle comments and actions and unequal pay, and
goes as far as getting sexual harassment and inappropriate comments. It is
clearly not an uncommon thing for men to say offensive comments to their
women colleagues if a large percent of women have said they have
experienced these sexist comments and remarks in their workplace. A work
environment should be made safe to men and women, though men are not
being harassed or treated unequal. Employees who work at these companies
and witness this kind of behavior should speak up and/or report it, women
should feel comfortable at their job as well as being treated equal and given
equal rights as men are.

Women are very often categorized or put into a certain group based on
their looks, how they dress and how they act, if a women dresses more
revealing they can be seen as trashy or having more sex appeal resulting in
sometimes, being seen as sex objects by men. Because some women dress
more revealing, "a common stereotype is that women are sexual objects"
(Today's Workplace). Men viewing women as objects makes it easier for them
to not respect them and only see them as sex objects. The style of clothing
as time is evolving is becoming more revealing and although some women
do dress in revealing clothing, as a whole, the female population should not
be grouped into a specific negative category. Women should not be judged,
discriminated or be put in a specific "category" based on the clothes they
wear or the features they acquire. Women are judges and penalized based

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on what they do and what they wear, while men are in a way, allowed to say,
do and wear whatever he feels and get no criticism for it solely because the
clothes they wear are not made the same as womens. Criticizing a women
based on her actions and clothing is not only offensive but is said to have
further effects on them "sexual promiscuity has always been an issue that
concerns reputation and self-esteem for women" (Why Are Girls Called
Sluts?). Women being seen in this way has been an issue for a while and not
only creates a view of women but also affects their self-esteem. Being
categorized as easy or a slut goes passed having society view the female
population in a certain way, but also affects women and how they feel about
their own selves. Low self-esteem can cause many other problems in a
womans life such as feeling like they are not good enough and not being
comfortable in their own body and all of these consequences could
ultimately lead to anxiety or even depression. If this is made a custom and
made to be an okay thing to do and assume of women, men will think it is
okay to talk about women in this way. According to the article Todays
Workplace, "a common stereotype is that women are sexual objects and
types of harassment include offensive sexual innuendos, misogynist humor,
physical encounters, and even rape." Sexual harassment can range from a
smart remark or offensive humor to physical encounters. Men have many
different ways of being sexually inappropriate towards women they work
with, like offensive sexual remarks, comments or jokes towards women that
they find funny. Sexist jokes and comments have become a very common

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thing lately making it seem as though it is okay to make comments towards
women such as thats what she said. Although some comments are not to
be taken as offensive and are only said as jokes, it is still offensive and
putting a label on women and making them seen a specific way.

For many generations, women are told that they are less than a man
and that men are the main provider and women were to stay at home with
no education. Women's promotions and advancements in the workplace are
in jeopardy due to the stereotype in the workplace being that they cannot do
it, a recent study shows that one of the reasons that women do not get
promoted to such powerful professional positions is because stereotypes in
the workplace pose serious challenges or women's career advancement'"
(Gender Inequality and Women in the Workplace). It has been told to women
for hundreds of years now that we are less than a man and that we are good
for house chores as they go out and work, and although as a nation we have
come a very long way from that, it is still seen today that women are lacking
in the workplace when compared to their male counterparts. Women are said
to have a threat on a company, and like they are ignored when trying to
express ideas, they are not given promotions when it comes between oneself
and her male counterpart. Women put as much time and effort into their jobs
as men do which means women should be offered and given a fair chance at
receiving a promotion as do her male colleagues. It is widely known and
common to todays work environment that women are discriminated against

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and marginalized when coming to decisions made in a company, "gender
discrimination has many severe consequences ranging from unequal pay for
women for equal work, to the lack of promotions, to sexual harassment"
(Sexual Harassment). Although we are no longer living in the 1700s and
women are given the opportunity to receive an education and women do
have jobs now a days, women are still seen as less than even when its been
proven we have all caught up in education areas, "women have caught up
with men in terms of education. In fact, in the United States and a number of
other countries, women now actually surpass men in educational
achievement" (Today's Workplace). It has been proven and there is evidence
that women have passed men on the "smart scale" yet, are still being seen
as incapable of completing the same jobs as men. Not that being smarter
than on another has anything to do with truly showing how well a man or a
women can complete a job, though, for people who believe women are not
smart enough to do so, proven facts have been found to disagree. Not
everything companies do is subliminal and most times, managers make it
known that they are discriminating by only hiring certain groups of people or
promoting their products by having the model look a certain way.

Companies want their employers to look good so customers want to

wear their clothes, although that is a smart and common strategy, it is one
thing to want your employers to look good and another to only hire specific
people for that job. Abercrombie is no stranger to stating that they want a

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specific look to advertise their clothing, "Abercrombie's aggressive approach
to building a pretty and handsome sales force, an effort that company
officials proudly acknowledge, is a leading example of what many industry
experts and sociologists describe as a steadily growing trend in American
retailing" (Greenhouse). Abercrombie wants to only have specific people
working at their stores and with those specific people comes discrimination
against the majority they do not want. Girls who have walked into an
Abercrombie store have been offered a job on the spot based on their looks,
saying they have the "classic American look". There are so many reasons
why this tactic is wrong. It is against the law to hire specific people based on
their looks, it is discrimination. The CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch stores Mike
Jeffries states, "In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then
there are the not-so-cool kids," candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go
after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends.
A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes], and they can't belong (Quotes
from Mike Jeffries). Many could argue that this quote is not discrimination.
Although owners of stores do have the right to choose who they want to hire,
they cannot hire and not hire somebody based on their looks. This quote
could very strongly be argued that it is discrimination based on the fact that
Jeffries says cool kids and not cool kids and puts them both into different
categories. Although this is a very subtle comment, it is still stated that these
stores look for a specific look which limits the amount of people who can
apply for this job. According to Greenhouse, "some chains, most notably the

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Gap and Benetton, pride themselves on hiring attractive people from many
backgrounds and races. Abercrombie's ''classic American'' look, pervasive in
its stores and catalogs and on its Web site, is blond, blue-eyed and preppy.
Abercrombie finds such workers and models by concentrating its hiring on
certain colleges, fraternities and sororities." These stores only go for one look
which limits and excludes a huge part of this world. Somebody who actually
wants the job who does not meet these standards misses out on an
opportunity to somebody who these employers find from just shopping in the
store. People who are actually passionate and want to work at the store
could lose their chance of working there because they are not the "classic
American look". Abercrombie thinks they are not doing anything wrong and
state they just have a certain look they go for and have the right to pick and
choose from who they want to work for them. Although they do have the
right to choose who they want to work for them, they do not have the right
to discriminate against gender or race. Abercrombie companies assume they
do not discriminate against anybody, however, former employers have said
otherwise, "the company says it does not discriminate. But in a lawsuit filed
last month in Federal District Court in San Francisco, some Hispanic, Asian
and black job applicants maintained otherwise. Several plaintiffs said in
interviews that when they applied for jobs, store managers steered them to
the stockroom, not to the sales floor" (ibid). People of different races have
said they have been put in the back of a store and not allowed to work on
the floor and sell to people, so while Abercrombie thinks they are not doing

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anything wrong, people who have had experience with the store and
discrimination have made notice of it. Abercrombie have sent their previous
employers paychecks sort of as a way to bribe them for if there were any
reports or lawsuits about discrimination at the stores.

Gender discrimination not only falls under being ignored, having

unequal pay or harassed but also discrimination based on physical
structures. Similar to Abercrombie, American Apparel has a certain hiring job
that they do as well to choose who they want to work at their stores,
"American Apparel has a new hiring policy. For the past several months, they
say, job applicants at AA have had their photos takenphotos which are
then sent to the email address work@americanapparel.net, where they are
"approved" by a nameless person for hiring" (American Apparel). Multiple
companies are discriminatory against peoples looks and will even go as far
as capturing a photo of them and based on their looks, decided if they will be
hired. Only hiring specific people based on their style and/or based on if they
fit the classic American look is one thing, however, going as far as
capturing pictures of people who apply for the job and upload the pictures
onto the internet and have random people vote and ultimately, decide for
the companies who gets hired and who doesnt is a whole other kind of
discrimination. American Apparel does not stop at taking pictures of people
who apply for the job, but also continue to occasionally capture pictures of
current employers and do the same thing to determine their status at the job

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and to decide on promotions for them, "our source also tells us that a new
policy now says that in order for current AA employees to be approved for a
promotion or raise, they must also have their photos approved. As they put
it, "Your looks determine your position and pay rate, not how effective you
are at your job." (Ibid). These companies solely base their approval rate on
how good you look. Current employers are only promoted based on their
looks and their looks determine the position they have at the company. Being
determined and considered for a promotion and what type of status oneself
has at a company should be based on their experience, effort put into the job
and how long they have been with the company. According to the American
Apparel article, "the line between judging employees on their "personal
style" and judging them on their, you know, looks is one that exists only in
the mind of American Apparel managers. These employers looks and style
depend on their status and place in their store and although most employers
are probably not comfortable with it and do not think it is needed, their
managers and the owners of these stores believe it is needed. Working at a
job should not be decided based on the looks of an individual. If somebody is
offering to apply for a job and has the experience and qualities needed for
that specific job, they should be hired based on that. Companies are too
focused on what they specifically will look like and are too worried about
what they personally want the company and store employees to look like,
and although they believe what they are doing is effective and okay, it
makes their brand look bad and results in lawsuits and hatred for their

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companies. Clothing stores are meant to promote a good and well though
brand and include all genders, ages and body types within those companies,
however, these stores are not completing these tasks.

The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of

employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions,
layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of
employment (Sex-Based Discrimination). It is against the law to hire or not
hire a person based on their looks and/or their style for a job. Although it was
made illegal to do this many years ago and companies are supposed to be
following this law, it is still seen till this day that companies do not pay men
and women equally, women are not given equal rights to voice their opinions
and thoughts and when they do, they are ignored. Men often state sexist
comments and bullying towards women, and at specific clothing companies
have a certain look they want their future employers and current employers
to have.

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Works Cited
"American Apparel Has a 'Full Body Head to Toe' Employment Policy."
Gawker. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
Greenhouse, Steven. "Going for the Look, but Risking Discrimination." The
New York Times. The New York Times, 12 July 2003. Web. 18 Oct.
2014.
"Quotes from Mike Jeffries, CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch Stores." About. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

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"Sex-Based Discrimination." Sex-Based Discrimination. N.p., n.d. Web. 23
Oct. 2014.
"The History of Gender Discrimination in the Workplace." EHow. Demand
Media, 20 Apr. 2011. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
"Todays Workplace Gender Stereotyping in the Workplace and the
Discrimination It Creates Danica Dodds." Todays Workplace
Gender Stereotyping in the Workplace and the Discrimination It
Creates Danica Dodds. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
Waber, Ben. "What Data Analytics Says About Gender Inequality in the
Workplace." Bloomberg Business Week. Bloomberg, 30 Jan. 2014.
Web. 17 Oct. 2014.