Gender inequality is defined as disproportionate dealing or assessments of individuals based on their gender. According to Sylvia Walby (2017), gender inequality is defined as a system of social structure and pattern in which men dominate, oppress, and exploit women. In the era of globalization, gender inequality is still an ongoing issue in the workplace. Why gender inequality issue exists in the workplace? Why do employers choose to hire men rather than women? Pregnancy discrimination is one of the reasons causes employers,flavorr men. Employers tend to be stereotyped by assuming that women cannot perform well during their pregnancy and they tend to have 90 days of maternity leave which might affect their work performance. According to Independent News, men are having higher pay than women in 7795 out of 10016 companies despite having the same experience (Agerholm, 2018). Indeed, it clearly shows gender discrimination in the workplace. According to an article by Sangeeta Badal (2014) entitled ‘The Business Benefits of Gender Diversity’ gender diversity is vital in the workplace because men and women have different viewpoints, ideas, and market insights which enable them to achieve better for the company’s financial performance. In this critical response, I will state my agreement with the article by focusing on two points: ability and communication styles.
Ability can be categorized into 2 types which are physical ability and workability. Men and women have a different biological system which causes the difference in physical ability. Some of the jobs such as police and firefighter require muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, and movement quality. Basically, men usually hold these positions as the employers tend to have a perspective that men have a stronger body strength than women. Employers should focus on those who have physical ability instead of gender. Workability depends on men and women handle the task and how they manage to work to achieve the workplace goals. Reducing the gender gap and increasing the participation of women in the workforce will create a positive impact on economic growth. Gender diversity in the workplace will have various viewpoints, skills, analyzing strategy, and strengths withing higher productivity and efficiency. According to Anu Madgavkar, Kweilin Ellingrud, and Mekala Krishnan (2016) state that the participation of women in the economy will able to increase the annual global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) up to 26% or $28 trillion in 2025. GDP is the measurement for economic growth and living standard in a country. According to News Straits Times, the president of Singapore, Madam Halimah practices the concept of gender equality and lets women have the opportunity to become leaders. The citizens of Singapore apply this concept and it makes the business profitability to a higher level (Ting, 2019).
Communication skill is very vital in the workplace. Communication is the process of meaningful interaction among Homo sapiens. Communication is to help people to understand and clarify information and thoughts. Men and women have different communication and interaction with people. Women appear to be more facial expressions, gestures, intensity of eye contact, and body movement. Men speak with purpose and direction to the topic related. Women appear to be more emotional by expressing their feelings through the conversation. Women display more animated behavior than men. Men tend to be more dramatic verbally and appear more likely to tell anecdotes and jokes (Lieberman, 2016). Female managers are better communicators than male managers because female managers pay more attention to subordinates and more open to new ideas from workers. Leaders should listen to ideas from employees and figure out the best solution for the task. However, women may repeat the instructions to clarify and remind the workers while men feel very annoyed to repeat the instructions (Meier, 2018). Women tend to process and think of options out loud when making decisions whereas men process immediately when they come up with solutions. Communication helps to build up a good relationship between the employers and employees. Good communication skills can lead the team to achieve better performance and maintain a strong relationship at all levels of the organization. Poor communication skills will lead to unmotivated workers. Staff will start to judge and doubt the colleagues’ ability and slow down or worsen the work performance.
In a nutshell, gender discrimination in the workplace is somewhat false. Different gender has different ability and communication skill which they need to work together as a team to improve the company’s financial performance. However, due to gender discrimination, there exists gender inequality in the workplace. It is hoped more studies can be done to expel gender discrimination in the workplace. Employers should know the importance of gender diversity is vital in the workplace and believe that the participation of women will create a positive impact on the company’s financial performance.
