Gender Discrimination
Gender discrimination, also known as xual discrimination, is the practice of letting a person's x unfairly become a factor when deciding who receives a job, promotion, or other employment benefit. It most often affects women who feel they have been unfairly discriminated against in favor of a man. But there have also been cas where males have claimed that rever discrimination has occurred—that is, the woman received unfairly favorable treatment at the expen of the man.
Court rulings handed down through the years have determined that a company's responsibility not to discriminate bad on x begins even before an individual is hired. Companies can be held liable if pre-employment screening or testing is determined to be discriminatory, if applications ask unacceptable questions designed to screen for x, or if the overall lection process is deemed to be unfair. One of the main indicators that gender discrimination has occurred in the hiring process involves the qualifications of the job applicants. While a slight difference in qualifications between a female and a male candidat
e does not automatically indicate gender bias (if a lesr qualified male candidate is hired instead of a female candidate, that is), a drastic difference in qualifications has almost always been upheld by the courts as a sure sign of gender discrimination. For example, if a male who dropped out of high school without receiving a diploma is hired in an administrative position over a female who had obtained her master's degree, then it is likely bias was a factor.
In addition to gender discrimination in hiring and other circumstances, there is a particular form of xual discrimination called xual harassment. This form of discrimination involves inappropriate words or actions of a xual nature directed at an employee by employees of the opposite x. To meet the criteria for harassment, the behavior in question must be both unwanted and xual in nature. The U.S. legal system has determined that there are two main types of xual harassment. "Quid pro quo," or "this for that," occurs when one employee offers another employee a job or benefit, or threatens to deny that job or benefit, unless xual favors are granted. A "hostile work environment" occurs when an employee, or a group of employees, repeatedly make lewd
comments or suggestive nois, make unwanted xual advances, or otherwi u x to such a degree that the behavior interferes with another employee's ability to perform her job, or she feels intimidated or threatened on the job.
Federal Laws Strongly Prohibit Gender Discrimination
Since the social unrest of the 1960s, the federal government has been actively involved in preventing gender discrimination in the workplace. The most important law covering gender discrimination on the job is the Civil Rights Act of 1964—specifically, Title VII of that act, which strictly prohibits all forms of discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, x, or national origin in all aspects of employment. Written during a tumultuous period in American history when many people expected the federal government to right social wrongs, the law was a monumental piece of legislation that changed the American employment landscape.
The law was pasd after heated debate in both the Senate and the Hou of Reprentatives. It stated that it was unlawful for an employer to "fail or refu to hire or t
o discharge any individual, or otherwi discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges or employment, becau of such individual's race, color, religion, x, or national origin." The law covers hiring, dismissals, compensation, and all other aspects of employment, while also covering actual employment opportunities that are available. Examples of gender discrimination or xual harassment that would fall under the scope of the act include:
1.An employee who alleges that his or her manager only promotes male employees and keeps females in entry-level positions.
2.An employee who alleges that a manager or other person in power tells jokes or makes statements that are demeaning, insulting, or offensive to women.
3.A manager who makes it clear, either through his actions or words, that he wants to have xual relations with a female employee.
4.A manager who asks inappropriate and unnecessary questions about a female employee's x life.
5.A manager who touches his female employees in inappropriate ways without connt.
The law covers business with 15 or more employees, and applies to all private, federal, state, and local employers. In many states, business with fewer than 15 employees face the same rules thanks to local or state statutes. In addition to the hiring provisions, the law dictates that employers cannot limit or gregate employees bad on x in any way that would adverly affect their chances at promotions. It does allow for two narrow exceptions to the law—business may u a "bona fide" niority or merit system and measure performance and earnings bad on a quantity or quality measuring system, and employers may u ability tests to determine the most qualified candidates for a job as long as the test does not discriminate by gender in any way.
The Civil Rights Act was originally intended to address only racial discrimination. Just as the law was about to be pasd, however, Reprentative Howard Smith of Virginia added the word "x" to one of the opening ntences, meaning the law would also prevent xual discrimination. This was a controversial action, as many people actually s
aw it as an attempt to kill the bill. The argument made by critics was that Smith added x to the law knowing that many people would oppo the addition and the bill would be defeated, thus preventing racial protection from occurring as well. Smith denied this accusation and swore he had added the provision after working with the National Women's Party. Whatever his motivation, thanks to the efforts of Reprentative Martha Griffiths and others, the revid bill was pasd into law.
