When it comes to re-imagining gender equality in the workplace, where does the onus lie?
Women have been making gains in education for years – more women than men currently enroll in college and university, and a higher percentage of these women leave with a diploma or degree (Statistics Canada, 2012). While the playing field has been levelled for quite some time in the world of higher ed, the situation is not quite the same in the world of work, with women’s employment earnings being on average still lower than men’s (with education level being accounted for). According to a recent article in The Atlantic, just one year after graduating, women end up being paid an average of 7 percent less than men (with both their college major and professional field being controlled for).
So what accounts for this shift? Some recent articles that I’ve come across argue that the solution to such gender inequalities is for women to take more chances, be more ambitious, and more aggressively negotiate their salaries (for example, women are much less likely to negotiate their first salary – while 57% of men report doing this, only 7% of women do). A recent article in the Harvard Business Review argued that women need to be more disruptive – for example, by challenging and influencing authority, improvising, and practicing more self-promotion.
A problem with this approach is that it suggests women are to blame, and places the onus on them to change. However, structural and cultural factors play a significant role in gender inequalities in the workplace. Studies have shown that sexism is still a prominent factor in many workplaces, women get more criticism and less praise than men, and are offered lower starting salaries. Instead of telling women they need to be more aggressive or take more risks, we should be looking at these larger cultural and structural factors that continue to act as real barriers to women falling behind as soon as they leave post-secondary. Many colleges and universities have taken steps to level the playing field and ensure women are able to realize their potential – for example, by mandating gender equality, having transparent success criteria, and rewarding based on merit. It seems a natural step to integrate such strategies into the workplace as well.