Women Discrimination And United Kingdom Law

Women Discrimination and United Kingdom Law.

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Introduction

In the United Kingdom, women excel at the workplace despite the enormous challenges that face

them such as having higher rates of unemployment. This is because of differences in employer

preferences leading to a larger number of men in the workplace than women. Similarly, the

recruitment and retention levels of women in blue-collar jobs differ due to economic reasons

such as increased costs on human capital. Legal guidelines such as The Equality Act 2010, and

the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002, guards against discrimination of women

at the workplace. Due to factors such as career gaps and medical holidays for expectant women,

some companies that value employee flexibility shuns large domination of women as personnel.

Furthermore, challenges of further training affect hiring levels as men more than females are

more likely to finish college across all cultures globally. This means that men adapt more easily

than women do at the workplace. Women meet various challenges at the place of work due to

various reasons such as lack of adherence to legal statutes of Race Relations Act 1976, and

Disability Discrimination Act 1995 that regulate working environments for vulnerable groups.

This essay provides various arguments and explanations of challenges that women face at the

workplace and the legal statutes and guidelines that regulate the labor sector in the United

Kingdom.

Pay inequalities.

There exists a gender disparity in the manner of salaries and wages in most sectors of the United

Kingdom economy (Barreto, Ryan, & Schmitt, 2009). Studies show that there is a gap of 5% in

pay discrepancies between men and women in the year 2010, contrary to The Equality Act 2010.

This is in the age group of 16-19 years, during which period that most individuals seek

employment opportunities. As men and women progress through the years, the pay discrepancy

increases with the women earning 80% of men’s salaries and wages. To put this into perspective,

men get paid more than women do. This translates to women being underpaid leading to fewer

incomes for savings and investments. What follows is economic stagnation making women less

likely to improve their economic mobility. Pay discrepancies make men outperform women in

the workplace. This is particularly between the age group of 35-44 (Bingham, 2011). The pay

discrepancy, however, does not imply differences in productivity. The output of women is at par

with that of women in sectors that rely on human capital such as media and advertisements.

National Health and Safety Executive report that pay inequalities affect the motivation

and level of job commitment of women. Dalrymple, & Burke, (2006), posit that women are

earning less lead to having fewer incomes to support families. With the prevalence of single

mother, parenting obligations reduce the available earnings. What follows is that women tend to

seek additional job opportunities. Thus, women tend to be overworked and with minimal time to

further personal projects. Compared to men at the same age group, having a bigger pay enables

people to cater for their families comfortably. Furthermore, family obligations of married men

are less regarding finances since they share family expenses with their wives. Pay inequality to

some women is a method of job discrimination. This might be the case to frustrate women past

certain age groups to leave work opportunities.

Law and women discrimination.

Within the United Kingdom and the European Court of Justice Jurisdiction, the precedent in the

case Coleman v Attridge Law dictates that a person could highlight discrimination in the

workplace. Corporate Evolutions such as changes in technology require employees to refresh

their understanding of working procedures. As such, legal guidelines such Equality Act 2010

section 26 limits harassment at the workplace, such as sexual exploitation by superiors. Equality

Act 2010 section 27 prohibits victimization of an employee after reporting cases of harassment

and discrimination at the workplace. This is detrimental to women since family obligations

constitute most of their time after work. Women, in turn, prefer to seek opportunities and remain

in jobs that do not impose on them newer requirements. Studies find that 23% of women have no

capability or prefer not to acquire new techniques to 34% of men in the same category (Eekelaar,

2017). Furthermore, the retention levels of jobs vary among men and women. Job insecurities

arising from economic insecurities prevent women from improving their economic mobility. The

Clymo v Wandsworth London Borough Council creates a precedent, limiting stagnation at

current jobs due to industry discrimination that makes it hard to find new opportunities that

improve their financial status. Distribution of employment according to gender in the United

Kingdom has women with 46.6% of job opportunities. This means that women might have job

opportunities but conditions at work make them unable to secure their future at work due to work

insecurities. In fields of engineering and research, time and effort are important in the

implementation of projects. Important to consider in these areas is the personal commitment and

the need to keep up with evolving working environments. Due to such conditions, lack of

flexibility makes women unsuitable in certain roles thus employers shun women.

Gender-related vulnerabilities.

The United Kingdom laws, Sections 158 and 159 Equality Act 2010, list guidelines that

eliminate exploitation of individuals with vulnerabilities that inhibit their level of output at the

workplace. Vulnerabilities at the place of work include sexual assaults. Within the United

Kingdom, 80% of sexual assaults are directed towards women. Of these sexual assaults, 23% of

them go unreported. This means that women face gender-related inequalities but do not report

them this translates to having any proper channels to report them. In the year 2009, a survey to

find the extent of discrimination in the workplace in connection with sexual favors accounts to

38% (Partington, 2016). Women have to compromise to access such career opportunities and

work-related benefits. The presence of sexual assaults in the workplace affects the self-

confidence of women. Another troubling consequence of sexual assault at the workplace is that

women have to work besides the perpetrators of the sexual misconducts (Zander, 2015). This

further affects their productivity by living in fear. Failure to report manifests lacks addressing of

sexual assault cases by management. Managers and top executives use coercive and legitimate

power in requesting of the sexual favors. Due to the subordinate nature of the women in most of

these companies and organizations, such as the case in Lewisham LBC v Malcolm and EHRC,

reporting cases of victimization leads to loss of employment.

Having no point of reference or seeking justice connotes an underlying problem in

solving or minimizing cases of sexual exploitation at work. Evidence shows that in disciplines

such as in the military, sexual assaults go unreported despite the superiors knowing them. In the

year 2010, more than 3158 cases of sexual assaults exist. The rate of reporting is rare and those

who do face victimization or unhealthy working conditions. This is in the form of deployment to

harsh regions for extended periods. Moreover, 13.5% of women within the armed forces report

cases of sexual assaults. Other cases exist of women developing work-related stresses that are a

consequence of sexual assaults. Appadurai, Reading, & Shaw, (2010), argue that psychological

repercussions of sexual assaults make women engage in harmful vices. Substance abuse and

having no self-worth is a common manifestation of gender-related stresses in the armed forces.

Illnesses and disabilities.

Because women face economic disparities compared to men, illnesses have more impact on

women compared to men. Mental illnesses affect women as much as they affect men. However,

the effect of mental illnesses is more pronounces in people of low economic status. This is the

affordability of treatment and medical attention. As such, women suffer more than men do. In

relating mental illnesses and economic status of individuals, studies find that the effect of mental

illnesses is more pronounces in black women. The majority of the black communities live below

the average wage rate meaning that access to medical care is minimal. Furthermore, African

American women have higher numbers of unemployment. This translates to having fewer

incomes for treating of common medical conditions. Due to discrimination from work, black

women tend to have fewer benefits. Combined with having larger families that are dependent on

their few available finances, Iyer, & Ryan, (2009), this translates to a bigger burden hence the

decision to forego medical attention. Furthermore, employers tend to avoid paying for medical

fees for employees in situations without work-related benefits. Employers expect employees to

cover their medical costs and in the case of women, having family obligations complicates it

further. The discrimination by potential employers against women with mental conditions or

physical disabilities is against best ethical practices. The resulting psychological and financial

stresses due to discrimination make women avoid seeking employment opportunities further

affecting their economic status. Those working find it hard to advance vertically, meaning that

majority of women with mental disabilities face stagnation in careers. Lack of legislation to

insure women from such scenarios disadvantages them making it harder for women across the

world to advance in their careers and on their economic mobility.

Conclusion.

The use of laws and statutes such as Equality Act 2010 section 27 in the United Kingdom labor

sector is important to maintain a good working environment at the workplace as this translates to

improved productivity and output. Laws including Equality Act 2010 section 27, section 26,

Sections 158, and 159 address the issues women face at the workplace, translating to improved

productivity among men and women. Solving pay inequality reduces the income differences

between men and women and in the process facilitating more incomes and resources to women.

Issues such as gender inequality in promotions and allocation of responsibilities affect the nature

of input and output. To ensure fairness, employers and organizations need to maintain fair

working conditions and awarding of career advancement opportunities based on merit.

Moreover, employees need to address cases of gender inequality and harassment for ethical

purposes. It is important to accommodate women in the workplace in a manner that allows them

to provide their best.

References.

Appadurai, A., Reading, C. and Shaw, K., 2010. Ahmed, Nafeez.“The Global Transition Tipping

Point has Arrived-Vive La Révolution.” theguardian. com. Guardian, 18 Mar. 2014. Web.

13 Sep. 2014.

Barreto, M.E., Ryan, M.K. and Schmitt, M.T., 2009. The glass ceiling in the 21st century:

Understanding barriers to gender equality. American Psychological Association.

Bingham, T., 2011. The rule of law. Penguin UK.

Dalrymple, J. and Burke, B., 2006. Anti-oppressive practice: Social care and the law. McGraw-

Hill Education (UK).

Eekelaar, J., 2017. Family law and personal life. Oxford University Press.

Iyer, A. and Ryan, M.K., 2009. Why do men and women challenge gender discrimination in the

workplace? The role of group status and in‐group identification in predicting pathways to

collective action. Journal of Social Issues, 65(4), pp.791-814.

Partington, M., 2016. Introduction to the English legal system 2016-2017. Oxford University

Press.

Zander, M., 2015. The law-making process. Bloomsbury Publishing.

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