Gender Discrimination at Work Place
The goal of a manager or human resource staff is to ensure that all employees are treated equally, allowed to contribute fully and utilize their full potential for the benefit of the organization. Similarly, employees are entitled to equal treatment in terms of remuneration, promotion, and position. The video takes a scenario of the case of Putnam Investments. The company was sued for its firmly held culture of chauvinism. This was reflected in how it recruited its employees to various positions, promotions, demotions, and in ways used to firing its employees. The company culture made male employees adopt the culture of chauvinism and treated women as inferior compared to their male counterparts (Berdahl, & Moore, 2006). The subject was handled in a court of law where female employees filed complaints demanding their rights and remedy for the injuries suffered. The court ruled in their favor and the company was to pay for all the damages inflicted on the female employees. According to law, gender is not considered as a determining factor for the employee’s ability to perform in the workplace. The movie indicates the severe cost that employers incur as a result of discriminating staff in terms of gender (Goldman, Gutek, Stein, & Lewis, 2006).
It is always advisable for employers to be knowledgeable and conversant with civil rights acts and matters to do with gender sensitivity since ignorance of the law is not a defense in the court. The unacquainted managers with the gender discrimination Act would innocently employ male employees instead of giving equal opportunities to both genders. This is due to a common mindset that people have towards females being inferior compared to male employees. The male manager who is a male chauvinist would look at the scenario as being unfair to men. This is contrary to the female manager who feels that women are entitled to equal opportunity and treatment like their male counterparts (Berdahl, & Moore, 2006).
References
Berdahl, J. L., & Moore, C. (2006). Workplace harassment: double jeopardy for minority women. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(2), 426.
Goldman, B. M., Gutek, B. A., Stein, J. H., & Lewis, K. (2006). Employment discrimination in organizations: Antecedents and consequences. Journal of Management, 32(6), 786-830.