A recent survey by The Wall Street Journal and NBC News suggests women continue to face adversity on the job due to their gender. As women account for 46.8 percent of the labor force, HR administrations might want to take note.
The survey of 1,000 employees looked at the gender wage gap, gender discrimination and the idea of women being able to have a family while still excelling at their job. Each of these topics have been researched before, but the women polled still feel as if they are not treated as equal to their male colleagues. About a quarter of female employees reported experiencing discrimination and 84 percent said their male counterparts made more for the same amount of work.
According to the Department of Labor, the median weekly earnings of women is $669 while men in the same position make $824, or 19 percent more.
Employee benefits administrations can take a look at payroll to see if there are any discrepancies between the genders for similar work. Sometimes, women who get promoted might not receive a pay increase or men who have their workload trimmed do not get a pay reduction. Encouraging female workers to speak up if they feel they are being unfairly treated can diminish the wage gap.
