5 Strategies to Overcome Gender Barriers in the Workplace

While there has been considerable progress in recent years, gender barriers in the workplace are still prevalent, which keep women from working at their full potential, thus leading to the failure of organizations. Ranging from general stereotyping and bias to inequities in recruitment, promotion, and leadership prospects that persist, such barriers are constantly shaping the living and career paths of people, regardless of their gender.

Gender barriers incorporate all kinds of obstacles and challenges that are prevalent and created in such a way that they mostly affect women. In addition to preventing individuals from moving up, these hindrances also impact the notions of fairness, equality, and inclusivity, which are the core values for building a corporate environment that is lively and prosperous. Eliminating these barriers entails a moral imperative as well as a strategic imperative for organizations that wish to save the whole spectrum of potential and creativity among their employees.

Today’s blog explores the various aspects of gender barriers in the workplace and highlights ways to confront them. It also sheds light on how to create more gender-just and inclusive workplaces.

Continue reading to find out how to shatter stereotypes, stimulate diversity and acceptance, and be the bridge to a future where all genders are safe, steady, and progressive.

Gender Barrier at Work 

Gender bias is related to the prejudiced perception that people have regarding individuals based on their gender. A gender gap is more than a concept; it is a crucial problem that significantly changes our lives and culture. The concern in the business world is the common reflection of the problem.

In an ideal workplace setting, equal opportunities should be available, and everyone should feel equally valued and respected. Unfortunately, gender inequalities make some employees stay at their places of work while others climb the ladder of success, causing them to be unhappy and lose their motivation. In a survey by Pew Research Center, 65% of women believe there are too few women in top executive corporate roles, compared to 45% of males.

One example of gender barriers is the lack of professional development opportunities or mentorship, as well as networking events that are not accessible to women. It places barriers in the way of equality in career advancement. Moreover, there exist stereotypes that men can lead, and technical roles better fit them, while women are thought of as suitable for support and administrative roles. McKinsey & Company reports that as a result of the gender gap in early promotions, men hold 60% of manager–level jobs in a typical organization, while women hold 40%.

People could then be bullied at work even. These encounters make the serious problem of gender discrimination in the business world that must be addressed.

Gender Barriers Examples

The communal stereotypes, biases, and systemic inequalities foster gender barriers in the workplace, depriving women of professional upward mobility. Some of the most common gender barriers examples are listed below:

– Glass Ceiling: In comparison to men, even though they have qualifications, women meet systemic barriers that prevent their entry to executive roles and board offices.

– Pay Inequality: The gender pay gap remains one of the main challenges female workers have to deal with in workplaces. In general, females bring home less than men for engaging in the same jobs or jobs with equal value. Pay inequality does not only threaten the welfare of women, but it also reinforces the systemic inequalities in our society.

– Work-Life Balance: Women’s career choices versus family obligations, to some extent, is a special problem. Caregiving responsibility is imposed on women who then have to sacrifice options to advance their careers or to take part in the labor market entirely to the extent they can.

– Unconscious Bias: Women experience gender bias in recruitment, promotion, and assessment. As a result, women are underrepresented, receive discriminatory treatment, and have limited career progressions.

– Lack of Representation: Women’s underrepresentation in executive leadership, corporate boards, and STEM fields reinforces the idea that they are not capable of doing certain things.

– Maternal Penalties: Women suffer from discrimination and career disadvantages, as they are believed to have conflicting commitments between caregiving and career. This bias can lead to lower salaries, fewer promotions, and limited access to career opportunities.

– Hostile Work Environments: Women encounter gender-related humiliation, exclusion, and microaggressions in the workplace. The hostile workplace environments may become barriers for women to flourish professionally and contribute to their feelings of loneliness, stress, and burnout.

5 Ways to Overcome Gender Barriers in the Workplace

Addressing stereotypes and biases becomes the basis of the elimination of gender barriers in the workplace and setting an enabling culture of inclusivity and equity.

Here’s how organizations can break down stereotypes and biases:

1. Education and Awareness:

Programs such as workshops and training on unconscious bias help raise awareness about the damage caused by stereotypes in decision-making processes and push people to change their attitudes toward the stereotypes.

2. Promoting Positive Role Models:

By highlighting the success stories of women and other underrepresented groups of people in leadership positions and the career paths they have never been on before, organizations remove stereotypes about leadership and inspire others to pursue their professional dreams.

3. Language and Communication:

It is a good practice to promote inclusive language that does not use gendered stereotypes and gender assumptions in order to have a more respectful and inclusive workplace culture.

4. Objective Evaluation Criteria:

The use of objective evaluation criteria and performance metrics is able to correct the biases in the hiring, promotion, and performance evaluation processes.

5. Diverse Representation:

Creating a diverse representation in decision-making bodies, project teams, and leadership positions is an effective way of not just dismantling stereotypes and gender biases but challenging them even at the organizational level.

Organizations can shatter stereotypes and prejudices that prevent women from career growth by implementing these strategies and building supportive environments where individuals make progress depending on their skills, abilities, and potential rather than environments that limit their advancement because of sociocultural expectations. Embracing diversity and challenging stereotypes boosts innovation, creativity, and an organization’s growth.

Conclusion

Shattering gender barriers in the workplace should be considered a crucial step towards promoting equality, inclusion, and a prosperous working environment. The most prevailing gender barriers examples include the gender pay gap and women’s underrepresentation as leaders, unconscious bias, and maternal penalties. These barriers not only hamper employment opportunities for individuals but also, in the long run, have a negative impact on organizational performance, innovation, and sustainability. However, organizations are able to overcome gender barriers and establish a workplace where all people are given respect, appreciated, and helped to be the best they can be. Overcoming the barriers includes efforts from the promotion of gender diversity in leadership to the development of equitable policies and practices. Collective action is the key to sustaining change, upholding the values of inclusivity, and eliminating the barriers based on gender for all to develop, bring their skills, and broaden the diversity of the approaches they take.

Read More: 7 Ways to Support Women in the Workplace