SEX/GENDER DISCRIMINATION
Despite movements towards gender equality, workplace discrimination based on gender endures. Sexism continues to ruin the careers of both women and men - employees are not hired, lose their job, or are overlooked on a promotion on the basis of their gender. To this day, discrepancies in pay between women and men persist despite awareness of the wrongness and illegality of unequal financial compensation. Though the laws concerning discrimination on the basis of oneβs sex are common knowledge, discrimination and hostility continue. Fortunately, if you are subject to discrimination on the basis of your gender, there is something you can do.
Terms and Conditions of Employment
It is illegal for employers to make employment decisions based on sex/gender that affect the terms and conditions of employment, including the application process, job assignments/classifications, job titles, hours, vacation, promotions, etc.
TYPES OF SEX/GENDER DISCRIMINATION
Disparate Treatment
-The employee is directly discriminated against because of their sex/gender. A man or woman is treated less fairly in their employment because of their gender.
Disparate Impact
-The employee is indirectly discriminated against (because of their sex/gender) by a company policy.
-A common example of disparate impact based on sex/gender discrimination is when an employer has some sort of weight lifting requirement. Fire and Police departments have been forced to change some of their weight lifting requirements not because women were not able to meet the set standards, but because it was found that the lift requirements were too high to begin with.
Stereotypes
-It is illegal for an employer to make an employment decision based on a sex/gender stereotype. For example, an employer cannot decide to not hire a woman because she is too “masculine” or a man because he is too “feminine.”
Fetal Protection
-In the past, employers would restrict jobs from women because they believed aspects of the job could be dangerous to an existing or future fetus. These policies are now considered illegal except for a few specific cases.
Male Sex Discrimination
-After the due changes to the workplace, women have supervisor and policy-decision roles in companies. This has led to an increase in the amount of discrimination charges being brought forward by men.
Equal Pay for Equal Work
-The federal Equal Pay Act (EPA) and the Minnesota Equal Pay for Equal Work (MEPEW) law prohibit employers from granting different pay wages to employees of the opposite sex for equal work (same responsibilities, skills, and work conditions).
-It is also illegal for employers to retaliate against employees who file or testify in suits regarding the EPA and MEPEW.