CHAPTER SEVEN

Gender Discrimination

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Gender Myths1. Women are better suited to

repetitive, fine motor skill tasks

2. Women are too unstable to handle jobs with a great deal of responsibility or high pressure

3. Men are better in the workplace because they are more aggressive

4. Men do not do well at jobs requiring nurturing skills

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5. When women marry they will get pregnant and leave their jobs

6. When women are criticized at work, they will become angry and cry

7. A married woman’s income is only extra family income

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Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment against any individual based on his or her sex

Equal Pay Act prohibits discrimination in pay for equal work unless based on a seniority system, a merit system, quantity or quality of production, or any other factor other than gender

Statutory Basis

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Pregnancy Discrimination Act states gender discrimination includes actions based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions and prohibits discrimination in fringe benefits for pregnant employees

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Gender discrimination can be difficult to recognize

Although gender discrimination covers both males and females, most claims are filed by women

Gender discrimination is found in many organizations and in many types of claims

Many women report job discrimination as their biggest problem

Does It Really Exist?

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Segregation by gender widespread among executives and management

Civil Rights Act of 1991 established Glass Ceiling Commission

Workplace decisions must be based on ability to perform, not on gender

Gender discrimination is bad business

Employers should be aware of both subtle and overt discrimination

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Laws cover full scope of employment process, unless there is a BFOQ– Advertising for available positions– Asking gender specific questions on

applications or interviews– Requiring one gender to work different

hours or positions– Disciplining one gender but not the

other for the same act– Not providing training for one gender

Gender Discriminationin General

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– Establishing different seniority systems– Paying different wages – Providing different benefits – Providing differing terms or conditions

of employment– Terminating employment for different

reasons Decisions are made on a case-by-

case basis

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Employers should first look for obviously discriminatory policies

Other cases may be more difficult to recognize– For example, height and weight

requirements may exclude women

Recognizing GenderDiscrimination

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Employment discrimination based on gender and some other factor such as marital status, pregnancy, children or age

Policies like these obviously do not apply to men

While BFOQs are permitted, the courts construe them very narrowly

“Gender-Plus” Discrimination

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Gender stereotyping – workplace decisions based on ideas of how a certain gender should act

Grooming codes can be discriminatory if they hold different genders to different standards

Customer or employee preferences are not legitimate reasons to treat employees differently

Gender Issues

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Logistical considerations cannot be used to forgo hiring a certain gender unless unreasonable financial burden can be shown

Equal pay and comparable worth– Equal pay for equal worth required

under the Equal Pay Act– Comparable worth is addressed under

Title VII

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Gender as a BFOQ

BFOQ is a bona fide occupational qualification

Title VII permits gender to be used as a BFOQ

Most attempts to use gender as a BFOQ have failed in the courts

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Pregnancy Discrimination

Supreme Court determined that pregnancy discrimination was not gender discrimination under Title VII

Pregnancy Discrimination Act amended Title VII to include pregnancy discrimination– Includes pregnancy, childbirth, or

related medical conditions

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Covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act

Requires eligible employees to receive up to 12 weeks unpaid leave during a 12 month period for the birth of a child, adoption of a child, to care for a spouse, child, or parent who is seriously ill, or because of the serious illness of the employee

Parental Leave Policies

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Purpose is to protect the fetus or the reproductive capacity of employees

Prohibits employees from performing certain jobs because of potential harm to employees or their fetuses

Only excludes female employees Excluded jobs tend to pay more or

have more promotion potential

Fetal Protection Policies

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Do not tolerate gender bias Back up policies with enforcement Take claims of gender discrimination

seriously Promptly and thoroughly investigate

all complaints Conduct periodic training and audits Review policies to make sure they

do not contain hidden biases

ManagementConsiderations