According to an analysis of data provided by the Pew Research Center, 42 percent of women who work in the U.S. say they have faced gender discrimination on the job. Pennsylvania readers may be aware of the large number of sexual misconduct allegations that arose during the latter part of 2017 in the entertainment industry, politics and other arenas. The Pew survey was conducted earlier in the year and found that women were nearly twice as likely as men to say they have experienced gender discrimination at work.
The survey covered eight specific types of gender discrimination, including income disparity, slights at work, receiving less support and being passed over for assignments. The survey was conducted between July 11 and Aug. 10 and included responses from 4,914 individuals, 4,702 of whom were employed at least part-time. Twenty-five percent of working women said they have earned less money than a male peer for performance of the same job. Only 5 percent of men said a female peer had been paid more than them for the same work.
Nearly a quarter of the women said they had been treated as incompetent at work because of gender while only 6 percent of men made the same statement. Additionally, 15 percent of women said they’d received less support from management than a male counterpart received. The data indicated differences based on ethnicity and race as well. More than half of working black women said they’d experienced gender discrimination at work. The rates for white and Hispanic women was less, at 40 percent for each group.
Individuals who believe they have experienced workplace discrimination based on gender, race or ethnicity may want to meet with an employment law attorney to see what recourse they might have. If the matter is unable to be resolved internally, the next step might be the filing of a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or applicable state agency.
