Gender Discrimination Essay

An unfair or unequal treatment which is directed at a person based on his or her sex or gender is defined as gender discrimination. Most typically it resulted from the stereotypical association of certain character traits with women as well as men, the identification of feminine character traits as less desirable and the disadvantage s that result. 3 Most often the victims of gender discrimination are women, however, in principle it can also be directed to men. Discrimination can either be direct or indirect, deliberate or accidental. There are two kinds of gender discrimination which includes: 1) Disparate treatment is a direct treatment wherein an employee for instance is treated differently because of his or her gender; and 2) Disparate Impact on the other hand, is complex which happens when a company policy for instance, excludes certain people from the jobs or promotions. Although company policy is not designed to exclude these result becomes unfair. 4 This research aims to answer the question of what is gender discrimination, the disadvantage that women faced due to gender discrimination, gender discrimination not only in women but also in men and its occurrences in different settings, the laws that prohibits gender discrimination as well as statistical evidence of charges based on gender discrimination. Disadvantages faced by Women Most women around the world experienced lower pay for work of equal value, illiteracy rates are high and in addition to that, access to health care are poor. Recent report of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) have shown that in many of the main indicators that measure progress towards gender equality and women empowerment, women fall short. Worldwide rate of literacy for women is 71. 4 percent, while men on the other hand, is 83. 7 percent. Research showed that out of 960 million illiterate adults, two-thirds of them are women. With women employed in industry and services, gender gap in earning persists earning 78 percent of what men earn in the same sector is typical. The share of women in decision making positions, have reached 30 % in only 28 countries in the 1990s. In addition to that, out of 1. 3 billion people living in poverty, 70 % are women. 1 Gender Discrimination Occur in Different Settings In many different settings gender discrimination can take place which include the following: 1) Employment setting includes claims in which employers asked discriminatory questions based on gender during the process of an interview; that employer failed to hire and promote, or wrongfully terminated an employee on the basis of his or her gender; unequal pay claims; as well as claims for employee’s sexual harassment; 2) Education setting wherein claims for exclusion from educational programs or the opportunities based on gender and claims for sexual harassment of students are included; 3) Housing Setting includes claims for refusal to negotiate with a person who wants to seek housing, claims for imposition of different lease or contract terms as well as claims for refusal to extend a loan on the basis of gender of the applicant, tenant, or buyer; and 4) Borrowing or credit setting wherein it claims that there is a refusal to extend credits, imposition of unequal loan terms and i mproper inquiries during the credit or loan process of approval, based on the gender of the applicant. 3 Laws Prohibiting Gender Discrimination Most laws were originated at the Federal level, through federal legislation such as the Equal Pay Act which guarantees and regulates civil rights including the law relating to gender discrimination. Through federal court decisions such as those which are handed down by the supreme court of the U. S. , civil rights have been defined and interpreted. Usually very similar to those at the federal level, the States have also pass their own civil rights law, even municipalities like cities as well as counties can enact ordinances and laws which are related to civil rights and gender discrimination. 3 Title VII Civil Right Act of 1964 In order to protect individuals against employment discrimination on the basis of sex, race color, nation origin as well as religion the Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964 was enacted. This applies to those employers with 15 or more employees, which includes the state as well as the local governments. Moreover it is also applied to employment agencies, labor organizations and the federal government. Civil Right Act of 1964 states that, to discriminate against employee or applicant for employment because of his or her sex with regards to hiring, termination, promotion, compensation, job training, or any other term, condition or privilege of employment is unlawful. Employment decisions based on stereotypes and assumptions about abilities, traits, or the performance of the individuals on the basis of sex are prohibited by the Title VII. In addition to that, intentional discrimination and neutral job policies which disproportionately exclude individuals on the basis of sex and that are not job related is also prohibited. Prohibitions of Title VII against sex-based discrimination also includes: 1) Sexual harassment which includes practices ranging from direct requests for sexual favors to workplace conditions which create a hostile environment for persons of either gender, including harassment with the same sex; and 2) Pregnancy based discrimination (Pregnancy Discrimination Act) which prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, child birth as well as related medical conditions. 5 Equal Pay Act of 1963 This Act requires that equal pay for equal work must be given to men as well as women in the same establishment. The jobs need not be identical however they must be substantially equal. Compensation discrimination based on sex is also prohibited in Title VII however, not like the Equal Pay Act, the Title VII does not require that the claimant’s job be substantially equal to that person of the opposite sex with higher payment or require the claimant to work in the same establishment. Based also on research, it also states that to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices which discriminate on the basis of sex or for filling discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under Title VII is also unlawful. 5 Equal Credit Opportunity Act It prohibits the creditors from discriminating the credit applicants based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age or for the reason that an applicant receives income coming from a public assistance program. 2 Fair Housing Act It prohibits discrimination in sale, rental, as well as financing of housing based on color, race, national origin, sex, religion, familial status, as well as disability. 2 Family and Medical Leave Act This Act gives employees the right to take time off from their work in order to take care of their newborn or recently adopted child, or to look after family member who are ill patients. 2 Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 This Education Amendments prohibits gender discrimination in programs of education which receives federal funds, to increase educational as well as athletic opportunities for females in schools and colleges nationwide. 2 U. S. Code Title 42, Chapter 21 Civil Rights This prohibits discrimination against persons on the basis of their age, gender, disability, race, national origin, and religion in a number of settings which include education, employment, access to businesses and buildings, federal services and others. In this chapter one can find a number of federal acts which are related to Civil Rights have been codified which includes the Civil Right Act of 1866, Civil Right Acts of 1964, as well as the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act. 2 Statistical Evidence of Charges Based on Gender Discrimination Based on Statistics, in Fiscal Year 2006, the EEOC have received 23,247 charges based on gender discrimination. According to study, EEOC have resolved 23,364 gender discrimination charges in FY 2006 and have recovered in monetary benefits for charging parties and other aggrieved individuals $99. 1 million. This does not include monetary benefits obtained through litigation. 5 Conclusion Gender discrimination is the unequal or unfair treatment on a person based on his or her sex or gender resulted from the stereotypical association of certain character traits with women as well as men. Most often the victims of gender discrimination are women, however, in principle it can also be directed to men. There are two kinds of gender discrimination which includes: 1) Disparate treatment is a direct treatment wherein an employee for instance is treated differently because of his or her gender; and 2) Disparate Impact on the other hand, is complex, which happens when a company policy for instance, excludes certain people from the jobs or promotions. Although company policy is not designed to exclude these result becomes unfair. Gender discrimination can take place in different settings such as employment setting, education setting, housing setting as well as borrowing and credit setting. Moreover, in order to protect individuals against discrimination there are laws that should be implemented. Most of these laws originated at the federal level through federal legislation such as Equal Pay Act which regulates and guarantees civil rights including the law relating to gender discrimination. Among the civil rights laws which prohibits gender discrimination are 1) Title VII Civil Right Act of 1964, 2) Equal Pay Act of 1963, 3) Equal Credit Opportunity Act, 4) Fair Housing Act, 5) Family and Medical Leave Act, 6) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as well as 7) U. S. Code Title 42, Chapter 21 Civil Acts. Works Cited 1â€Å"At the Crossroads of Gender and Racial Discrimination. † http://www. un. org/Wcar/e- kit/gender. htm. 2â€Å"Gender Discrimination: Applicable Laws,† FindLaw for the Public. FindLaw. 2007. 3â€Å"Gender Discrimination Basics. † FindLaw for the Public. FindLaw p. 1-2. 2007. 4â€Å"Gender Discrimination in the Workplace. † Allison and Taylor, Inc. 2007. 5â€Å"Sex-Based Discrimination. † The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commision. Modified 2 July, 2007. retrieved 9 Dec 2007 http://www. eeoc. gov/types/sex. html.