Discrimination Against Women in the Workforce & Workplace

According to an article by the Parliamentary Assembly, one of the basic rights of women is to "not be discriminated against in the workforce and in the workplace", and this right is "enshrined in international law"; however, despite this law, in reality European continue to be discriminated against in both the workforce and workplace.

One of the main reasons why it's also difficult for women in Europe to get a job is there's a lack of access to the labor market for women, and overall the participation rate of women in the labor force is lower than men and as a result the unemployment rate of women is higher than men.

The second and probably the most evident way in which women are discriminated in the workplace are in salaries. Women in Europe are often paid less than men for the same work or work of equal value- which on average are up to fifteen percent less.

The third problem that women face in the workplace is in raises/promotions. Women are often overlooked for promotions/raises. Even if a woman has a higher position and is more qualified than a man she is still often still unlikely to get a promotion especially if she holds a high position, and statistics show that many more men hold senior positions than women.

The graph below is from the Wall Street Journal Europe and shows how women are discriminated against in the workforce. As the graph shows (although some percentages are very close) women are overall discriminated in practically all aspects in the workforce. For example, overall most women are not at the senior management level and don’t have an equal opportunity of reaching the senior management level. However, the data which I found most depressing was the fact that women overall didn’t enjoy their jobs which is probably due to the fact that they face so much discrimination at work, and it’s difficult for them to get ahead or “grow” in their jobs.



However, according to the article what ties these problem together (the common thread) is discrimination against women. "Women are easily stereotyped against and there are many preconception of women's roles and abilities, commitment, and leadership style".

{A Video Clip of Women in Poland Fighting for Equal Rights (Particularly in the Workforce)}




This clip shows women in Poland fighting for equal rights in the workforce; however, what's also particularly interesting about this clip is the small group against feminism compare feminists to Natzi's, whores, and murderers which I thought was rather extreme and very surprising because I didn’t realize that there were people who were so against feminism. Also it wasn’t a crazy rally with lots of women shouting but a peaceful parade/demonstration with women carrying signs, and one lady over a loud speaker shouting something in Polish.

Bibliography:
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR34sgwpZxU
2) http://www.emeraldinsight.com/fig/0530180303006.png
3) http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/AdoptedText/ta05/EREC1700.htm