Previously, JobsNHire reported on the Pay Inequality that is happening in the United States. When figureheads in the Hollywood industry like Jennifer Lawrence decided to take a stand, that means the industry needs to revisit the quality of fairness in the workplace. However, according to The Atlantic, fairness takes work and doesn't happen overnight.
Equality needs to be built from the ground-up. A while back, Google employees received an email saying "I wanted to update everyone on our efforts to encourage women to self-nominate for promotion... We know that small biases-about ourselves and others-add up over time and overcoming them takes a conscious effort."
The conditions in a workplace need to promote this kind of growth and nurture the equality needed. Gender bias, culture and diversity issues are real. Which is why employers need to understand that women do not prefer saying less: They anticipate the treatment they will receive when they say more.
The first step to overcoming obstacles would be to have a venue of communication and negotiation. For example, Andreas Leibbrand of Monash University and John List of the University of Chicago, economists, noted that women were more likely to respond to a job advertisement for an administrative assistant position when the ad made it clear that wages were negotiable. Moving to an equal platform as the men's is just the beginning. Income inequality is real and removing uncertainty from situations like this can help women's compensation catch up to men's.
By measuring and compensating appropriately, companies can become transparent and bring value. The article ends with saying that not one person is immune from stereotyping and self-stereotyping. As long as people see more women in care-giving and more men in bread-winning roles, they are more likely to associate care with women and work with men. Women shouldn't be reluctant to speak up and companies should encourage open conversations.
