GENDER DIVERSITY,
a STRUGGLING or
IMPROVEMENT?
Since human beings live in the capitalist society, business has enormously powerful role in modern world. Companies rely on us to earn the profits, and people also need they to provide daily necessities. In other words, people need the products from companies, and companies need employees to producing goods as well. Human resource becomes an important issue which companies should concern about. Gender is one of topics in human resource. Nowadays, the definition of gender becomes more diversity than past, which is not just male and female. Most of socialists believed that gender is not simple two sides, gender should be like spectrum. It affects the gender diversity becomes an argument in workplace. However, it not only just a topic should be understood for business, but also connects about lot of costs on educating employers and employees, and facilities designs to create a gender friendly environment for everyone in workplace.
Why gender topic is an issue?
According to statistics, even the suicide rate is over 58,000 deaths in Europe, the rate of female is higher than male around four to five times more. (Freeman 2017). For here can be seen gender inequality is a big issue causes this result. One of reasons for gender gaps in about salary difference. Even though women have young children are in the labor force, women still have less work experience, or only have part-time jobs. Women always suffer different kinds of stress, whatever in workplace or even when the in school. This kind of stress are make women in a very hard situation in society.
Women issues: wage, promotion, opportunities inequality
Talk about gender issue, inequality must be mention here. The salaries are always different and inequality over the past two decades, especially in western countries (Blau & Kahn 2007). Governments start to build a lot of policies try to fix it. For example, Taiwanese government keep enough job opportunity to the women, which try to avoid the business only hired men in the workplace. The other significant case is in Spain. The Spanish banks whatever in 1990 or 2011, they still male-centred of employment because they trust man is more suitable than women about business
jobs (odríguez-Ruiz, Rodríguez-Duarte & Gómez-Martínez 2016).
Since now, the inequality become not so serious like past. Education is an important reason why the wage inequality will happen. As we all have experience, the wage standards are different when the two people have different certificates. For instants, they are two people, one of them have university degree, and the other one only have high school degree. Even they apply the same job positions, the salaries will still different, which of course the person who has university degree will more get more than high school, and normally women always can not get as many education opportunities as man, especially in most of eastern countries, education inequality cause the salary inequality directly. It is also very common case in my home country Taiwan. However, it has changed gradually since the growth of economic in 21th, one of reason as mention above, the definition of genders become different that past two decades. Gender become more complicate than two sides, and whatever which kinds of gender, all should be given reputation. According to odríguez-Ruiz (2016), the knowledge is a key to reverse inequality of women. Knowledge empower to women in workplace.
The most famous case is Pepsico, which is second largest food and beverage company in the world which own average 140 million net worth every year. The chairperson and chief executive officer is an India woman who name is Indra Nooyi. She also was the second most powerful women in 2016. Thinking deeply, India is a conservative country. Most of women are hard to get the opportunity of education because their family do not support them. Even they can go to school, sometime they still need to have dropping course, working for some time to earn money for tuition fee. However, go through the early life of Nooyi. It can be easily seen that she finished her course continually, and also got the chance to study Post Graduate programme (PepsiCo's 2016).
(the Pepsico CEO- Indra Nooyi, photo from: slideshare.net.)
Additional, people started to place the high value on gender issue. Why women always suffer more inequality than men? is really women not as good as men since they born? Or is there have other reason be built by society environment? Most of socialists believe that the differences of gender are built by human society. It means woman are not really have bad ability on working or more suitable stay at home for house-keeping and taking care of children as we thinking before. Women also can have good work performance in workplace. If the thinking way be changed, women can get more opportunity go out for jobs. For here, it is easily to understand how important the education and the thinking way of human to affect the gender issue.
Gender: Male, Female, or Spectrum?
In past, we trust the sex of every child should be definite by physiological characteristics. Most of societies based on this idea which is only two genders, male and female, and this idea be called “binary” (Boundless, 2015). From time to time, the socialist aim to a new idea is” gender spectrum”. According to Boundless (2015),
Gender is like linear model, everyone do not require to fit one of two sides, it is ranging from 100% man to 100% woman. In normal social image, the female should always wear in skirts or with long hair, talking should be softly, and behavior femininely, but nowadays, most of women do not like wears in skirts, cut their hair in short style, behaviors more muscularly. For this theory, gender could be calculated percentage for different people with different style. Gender diversity become a common issue in most of countries, for example, the law in Canada is starting to consider about gay and lesbian, the issue such as marriage, property and health insurance (Elizabeth 2014). They also try to put the knowledge of Gender spectrum into the education system, which expect people can respect to different group of gender people.
(The Gender Spectrum, photo from: http://slideplayer.com/slide/9397009/)
However, if people start to accept this new thinking way, it leads lot of change should beginning. For example, toilet is first thing will be mention. In our basic value, toilet always design by two different sides of gender, and we always judge ourselves before we go to the toilet. But if genders are more than two, how to make every person to fit in two sides? The new idea of toilet appears: unisex toilet. Unisex toilet means that do not need separate bathrooms for men and women (Peck 2016). Unisex toilet can definitely reduce the uncomfortable feeling to different group of LGBT people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer). On the other hand, it also reduces time and money for women and government.
The most obvious benefits for women reduces they waiting time for toilet. Normally, women always need much more time waiting for toilet than men because the physic body’s difference. If the use the unisex toilet, no one should feel embarrassed use any empty spaces. It is the best benefit for women to using toilet. Unisex toilet also good for government to reduce their cost on public toilet. To sum up, even the idea leads changes, the change is toward a positive side.
(Unisex Toilet sign, photo from: Google.)
This kind of design also gradually appears in school toilet, it not only reduces the bullying in schools, but also the way to educate the children to understand the idea of gender spectrum (Banfield 2011). It is easily to be seen how important about building the correct idea to children about genders.
On the other hand, most of business organizations also start to value the spectrum of gender. For example, in my personal experience, every time I apply the hotel jobs in five-stars hotel, the always have a column for personal identification about gender. The is not only to respect them, but also can through their identification to find the best way to how to give them the most comfortable work environment.
(Screenshot photo of Hilton website)
The future
Since the definition of gender changed, it leads to a lot of different way of thinking. Gender Spectrum affects some facilities become more useful than past for people. It also is the new idea should be educated to new generations to change the inequality situation for women and reduces the bullying in the school. Gender diversity issue also be expended to be one of the topic of corporation society responsibility (CSR) which be mentioned in most of business originations in different countries. It is actually a good way for companies to be focus on this topic because if they create more comfortable environment for women, it definitely increases much more benefits for companies they self. For government, unisex also an alternative way for them to reduce the cost on facilities and be more convenient for public as well. Gender diversity become a significate topic whatever in which areas, which everyone should be care about.