Gender inequality in the workplace essay

There are laws being made and are making the situation much better but still, a lot needs to be done. (Tripathi, Tiwari, & Kamath, 2016). Women are considered as the weaker sex who cannot do work that men can and if they can, they cannot be paid the same or more than men. In other words, the gender wage gap is a huge challenge that causes gender discrimination in the workplace. Sexism can be linked with the decision making in the organization for instance on how gender harassment is handled. This has harm to women since gender discrimination within the workplace and the labor market is encouraged. Men are not affected like women because historically they have been considered to be breadwinners of the families.

The society views them ad earners and this has led to differing roles between the two genders. Measuring Gender Inequalities Two indicators can be used to measure gender inequality, Gender Development Index (GDI) and Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM). GDI is used in measuring gender gaps that are seen during human development and this is done by accounting disparities that are there between men and women (West, & Curtis, 2006). Also, good policies could potentially help an individual to balance his work as well as family responsibilities. Therefore, employers are urged to create policies that at least will be convenient, fair and help them balance their work and lives. Workplace policies are a set of principles and rules that their main purpose is to guide managers together with employees in how to conduct themselves around the workplace.

They are normally important as it will help in tackling different issues ranging from health and safety, internet use, bullying, and harassment. Also, they could help in the development and motivation of employees. They will reduce expenses among other things. On the other hand, this kind of policy is very beneficial especially to women who have small kids or those women who already have delivered. This will help them have more time with their families at the same time work. Another policy that could help in work-life balance is the employee and family assistance program. This entails helping out an employee in their life including their marital issues, parenting as well as bereavement counseling. This is because the women at the workplace have anxiety and feel detached from her kid and her productivity lowers.

Equally lowering working hours or days will also help women have more time with family as well as take other responsibilities about family. This kind of policies when taken seriously and implemented they will help in creating equality and fair completion between men and women. Work Policies in Germany The demographic development of Germany has caused the government to come up with laws that are referred to as family-friendly that helps in providing families with support. The first one is financial support for families. S When it comes to family-friendly work policies, the United States lags behind. Family-friendly policies are becoming a crucial component in the world we are living in today and countries like the U. S need to have such policies (Trask, 2017).

In the U. S the focus is more on work flexibility, paid sick days, and expansion of family leaves. In both countries, employees are entitled to have leaves which include, sick, maternity, and paternity leaves that should be observed by the companies. Leaves are payable in both countries as long as they meet the terms and conditions put in place. For instance, in both countries, if it is sick leave and an employee reports from day one and is confirmed medical practitioner, then he/she is entitled to payable sick leave. The last policy is the expansion of family leaves whether paid or unpaid. Both countries have Acts that ensure that employees have vacations and public holidays. Under the area of salaries, in both countries, it is a matter that is subject to negotiation with the country.

Working hours are also different where in Germany the average working hours per week is averagely 48 hours working for 6 days a week while in the U. S, the average working hours are 40 hours per week. It is clear that in Germany employees work more when compared to those of the U. S. The majority of them are married meaning that they not only have a job in the office to do but also a job at home. The expansion of the female labor force calls in for these policies to be implemented to help them balance family and work. It is important to understand that even the responsibilities between men and women are changing and even men are now taking care of the families.