Introduction
In Economics, there is a term 'glass ceiling' that refers to an unbreakable, invisible impediment restraining women and the minorities from going up to the high rank of the corporate ladder, regardless of education and accomplishments. A glance into how women are discriminated in terms of wage, recruitment, and promotion in the workplace reveals that a glass ceiling exists in every form possible. In the USA, a hundred years of fight have earned women their civil rights, but now at the crossroad of the 21st century when it is believed that women have acquired a comfortable status in the society in terms of accomplishment, an array of discriminatory practices as regards pregnancy and sexual harassment shake our belief in the system and force us to rethink. Even upon acquiring their rights decades back, women in the present era still encounter umpteen struggles issuing out of various discriminatory practices, such as wage gap, pregnancy related discrimination, and sexual harassment, in the workplace.
Discrimination in Wage
Workplace discrimination exists in the form of a huge gap between the earnings of men and women. In 2010, the annual earnings of a female worker were $34,000 as opposed to $42,000 for men. A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor reveals that on an average, women earn only 80% of what men earn (IWPR 2014). Another study conducted on sex and race discrimination by IWPR shows that there is outright discrimination between men and women in terms of pay, hiring, and promotion. There is a staggering wage gap of 22% existing in the USA. In 2013, the women full-time workers earned only 78 cents for every dollar made by their men (IWPR 2014). A woman with a higher degree of qualification should earn more money than men lower in qualification, but that is now how it works in the USA. Research study shows that women with higher degrees earn less than man few notches down in qualification and experience.
Discrimination against the Pregnant Women
Pregnancy discrimination refers to the unfavorable treatment female employees endure owing to pregnancy, childbirth and other pre-natal and post-natal complications. Though the Pregnancy Discrimination Act is in place to protect women from discriminatory practices as regards hiring, assignment, promotion, wage, layoff, health insurance benefits, and leaves, women frequently experience pregnancy related discriminations (Vielmetti 2013). Over the last 10 years, the pregnancy discrimination incidence has increased by 35%. Mallory Baker, who worked as a part time teacher at the University School of Milwaukee, got fired when she informed her supervisor about her pregnancy. In 2012, the EEOC filed a lawsuit on her behalf for the violation of the PDA, making the school pay $37,500 as settlement money (Vielmetti 2013).
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of sexual discrimination practiced in the workplace. According to the findings of ABC News/Washington Post, sexual harassment incidents are pretty common in the USA with one out of four female employees reporting of workplace sexual harassment. Two types of sexual harassment are there - quid pro quo and hostile environment (USCA 1994).
Quid pro quo refers to the practice of trading a job with sexual favors. Quid pro quo harassment occurs when an influential high-ranking man forces a woman subordinate to give in to his sexual fancies on the threat of loss of job or the loss of job opportunities. A female employee's career graph and performance appraisals may get hugely affected under the quid pro quo if she refuses to comply with her boss' sexual demands. Nichols vs. Frank case is the ideal example of quid pro quo harassment. Terri Nichols, who was a deaf and mute employee at the postal facility of Salem, Oregon, was sexually abused by her supervisor for 6 months on a regular basis, but Nichols put up with it all out of the fear of losing her job. She suffered tremendous post-traumatic distress for two years due to which she was unable to work during this period and received disability benefits (USCA 1994).
Hostile environment includes verbal misconduct, inappropriate touching, crude sexual jokes, suggestive gestures, and posting sexually explicit pictures or calendars. The sexual harassment case against the Mitsubishi Manufacturing plant in Illinois, in which women employees were regularly subjected to physical sexual harassment, catcalls, crude jokes, whistles, and sexually suggestive graffiti, is the classic example of hostile environment (Millman 1997).
Conclusion
Though women have travelled a long way from what their condition was before they earned their civil rights, the situation of women, however, is not completely equal to men. In fact, they are regularly subjected to a variety of discriminatory practices in the workplace. Despite being highly qualified and skilled, they earn fewer wages than their male counterparts. They also face discrimination in terms of promotion and assignment when they become pregnant. They also encounter sexual harassment in the form of quid pro quo or hostile environment the workplace. Taking the various incidents of discriminatory practices into account, it seems that women still have many miles to go before they become completely immune to discrimination and earn equal status with men in every aspect.
Work Cited
Millman, Nancy. Mitsubishi Case Details Emerge. The Chicago Tribune. 16 Sept 1997. Web. 18 Nov 2014 <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-09-16/news/9709160173_1_mitsubishi-motor-manufacturing-sexual-harassment-harassment-case>
United States Court of Appeals (USCA). "Terri L. Nichols vs. Anthony M. Frank." 1994. Web. 18 Nov 2014 <http://nalcbranch908.com/NicholsvFrank.pdf>
Vielmetti, Bruce. "University School pays $37,500 in pregnancy discrimination case." JS Online. 14 Mar 2013. Web. 18 Nov 2014 <http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/198208091.html>
