Women and

Discrimination In The
Workplace
Angeleah Salo
Women in the Workforce Today
● There are 74.6 million women in the civilian labor force.
● Almost 47% of U.S. workers are women.
● More than 39% of women work in occupations where women make up at least three-quarters of the workforce.
● 70% of mothers with children under 18 are working moms, with over 75% employed full-time.
● Mothers are the primary or sole earners for 40% of households.
● More than 40 percent of women in the labor force had college degrees
● Despite all these gains, women are still much less underrepresented in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, & math)
workforce than males.
● Men Hold 62% of Manager Positions to Women’s 38%
○ In 2018, women made up 48% of entry-level employees, but only 38%
of managers, 34% of senior managers or directors, 29% of VPs. For
every 100 men promoted to senior roles, only 79 women also moved up
into similar roles.
● Women don’t meet with senior leaders at the same rate as their male
counterparts
○ The study found that 27% of men “never have a substantive interaction
with a senior leader” about their work, but 33% of women—and 41% of
black women—say the same. This might not seem like a discrepancy,
but interactions with senior leaders can make a big difference in future
roles and promotions an employee might have.
● Women Are Far More Likely to Be “Onlys” and Suffer More for it When They
Are
○ About a fifth of women reported that they’re frequently the only woman
(or one of the only women) in the groups of people they work with at the
office.
Laws Against Discrimination
● Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
○ Although not targeted to women, FLSA has done much to help women earn a living wage. The law
set the minimum wage at 25 cents (now 7.25 an hour), which affects more women than men,
particularly women who are single and head of household.
● The Equal Pay Act of 1963
○ The Equal Pay Act makes it explicitly illegal to pay women a lower wage than men simply based
on sex. Though hardly a cure-all, the law offers women the ability to either file a claim against
their employers or go directly to court…. Too bad you can’t discuss pay.
● Civil Rights Act of 1964
○ Makes it illegal for an employer, with 15 or more employees, to discriminate on the basis of sex, as
well as race, religion or national origin. It also outlaws the creation of a hostile-work environment
based on sex and sexual harassment.
● The Pregnancy Discrimination Action of 1978
○ Makes it illegal for employers to discriminate based on pregnancy or pregnancy-related
conditions.
● The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
○ Under FMLA a woman working for a company with 50 or more employers can in many instances
take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn child or newly adopted child.
The Pay Gap
In 2017, median annual earnings in the U.S. for men working full
time, year-round were $52,146, compared to just $41,977 for women,
according to the most recent census data. That means women were
paid just 80 percent of men’s earnings — a gap of 20 percent. The gap
narrowed over the past half-century, but progress has stalled in recent
years. Our federal equal pay laws need an update and agencies can do
more to ensure women bring home the pay they have rightfully
earned.
References

https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgenehuang/2017/10/12/minority-women-really-are-least-likely-to-be-promoted-in-corporate-america/#316fad833
088

https://www.sutori.com/story/history-of-women-and-minorities-in-the-workplace--o8TmCXHYCSqREgiHd1v6S4SJ

https://www.themuse.com/advice/7-striking-facts-women-in-the-workplace-2018

https://blog.dol.gov/2017/03/01/12-stats-about-working-women

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomspiggle/2019/03/13/8-laws-that-helped-women-make-history-in-the-workforce/#ceed5e717b5f