Did you know, Stamarski and Son Hing argues that gender bias is so prevalent that HR practices are often created favorably of men compared to women. In fact, HR-related decision making, i.e., pays and promotion, are mostly given high to men employees in a shorter period of time than that of women who suffer longer and undesirable set-up when confronted with changes in the workplace.
Moreover, Gerdeman of Harvard Business School wrote an article saying that almost 60% of women with advanced degrees still receive lesser pay than men.
Today, we would discuss the probability that your workplace might have been exhibiting gender-bias, and how to call out for inclusivity. This article would focus on the Philippines setup.
1. Starting salary for women is lower than that of men
In the Philippines, the minimum wage is P15,000 pesos which should be applied without discrimination, [regardless of gender] to everyone. According to Investment in Women (IW), women earned less P5,000 compared to men who earn P5,000 more, which means that if a man earns the minimum (P15,000), women are rated P5000 lesser (P10,000).
2. Discriminative HR Interviews
To add to that, IW Philippines expounds on discrimination in familial responsibilities. Women concur longer interviews having to be asked if they would start a family and pregnant. It may mean that HR wanted to reduce salary costs because women who would start a family and/or is pregnant would mean longer maternity leave with pay.
3. Lower Quality Employment
It is also worth noting that Asian Development Bank's studies revealed that there is at least a 26.2% employment gap in the Philippines between men and women [22.850 million men employed vs. 14.757 million women employed]. ADB also noticed that 5.551 million women are working at vulnerable employment that is working unpaid as of that of familial responsibility [as a mother/daughter].
4. Promotion Disparity
Moreover, Business World published an article reiterating points on promotion disparity; 79% of women in the Philippines feel that gender bias is still prevalent in the office, highlighting that 39% of them were passed over for promotion or were not promoted to supervisory positions.
5. Gender-related Harassment
Lastly, Jessica Udani, Founder of End RAPE Culture PH, shared her stand that harassment and inappropriate remarks against female colleagues through her own experience are still on the men's line of dominancy. For this reason actually that she founded this group (End Rape Culture PH).
To give light on what should be done against these 5 indicators of gender bias at work, the gist would be respect, inclusivity, and equality towards women and their rights. We have to go beyond wife-husband roles, mother-father roles. Men-women dominance by providing platforms for women to assess and promote their skills with proper pay and promotion. Women should also be seen as a figure not of biological responsibility but also to their social role in nationhood. With opportunities to create a better nation, women should not be forgotten, harassed, and neglected to be in a better and inclusive environment at work [or at home]. Many studies suggest that women's empowerment results in an increased market share of responsible companies that employ, pay, and train women and men equally.
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