The Value of Competence

In 2015, in the U.S. women still make 80% of what men make as full-time workers.

According to Pew Research Center analysis it would take an extra 44 days of work for women to

earn what men do in the same year (Brown). Gender discrimination in the workplace still persists

today. Because presently, women are less valued in jobs based on current statistics than men, as

well historically women were meant to stay at home and care for children and now that they do

work, employers may think that at work they'll focus more on their children than their actual job,

and finally stereotypically they're the emotionally weaker sex unlike the stoic, serious men they

are valued as less competent than men in the US in the 21st century.

Presently, based on current statistics, women are less valued in jobs. The long history of

inequality among the sexes in the United States is the reason for this gender discrimination. Only

25% of women hold the position of the upperlevel managers in large corporations. Women

make 60 percent or less than men in comparable positions (Sexism in the Workplace.). Men

are 30% more likely than women to be promoted from entry level to manager according to a

survey led by consultancy McKinsey and Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg's LeanIn.org. The

same survey found that women are much more likely to be ignored at meetings, with 74% of

men "able to participate meaningfully" but only 67% of women (Borney).

Historically, women were meant to stay at home and care for children. Nowadays most

women wait until they have a stable job to support themselves before getting married and having

children. Before the 20th century, women were expected to marry early, have children, and care

for them without ever getting a job. Even though women have been securely part of the

workplace since the early 1900s there is still a lot of prejudice aimed at them from the views of

men. Back to the present day, women still might want to have children and keep their jobs. This
will cause them to take parental leave for a couple of months making them more open to the

discrimination of their coworkers due to stereotypes. When women return from caring for their

baby, they will most likely be stereotyped yet again for worrying about the baby more than their

work. This will cause their employers to give them less work or maybe fire them after childbirth.

A study by the EHRC estimates that around 54,000 women lose their jobs across Britain every

year after childbirth (Maternity leave discrimination means 54,000 women lose their jobs each

year.).

Stereotypically women are considered a weaker sex that harbour too many emotions

unlike the stoic men which made them incompetent. Women are considered to be caring, warm,

deferential, emotional, and sensitive while men are described as competent, assertive, decisive,

rational, and objective (Jaffe). The traits men are described with are better for a work setting

thus allowing them to be more competent employees in the eyes of the bosses. A survey found

that 68% of men are allowed to take on tougher tasks, compared to 62% for women. Also

women are less likely to be consulted for input on important decisions, while 63% of men were

asked to share their thoughts (Borney).

It is true that working women are highly discriminated against. This discrimination stems

from stereotyping them to be the weaker sex, their history of staying home and looking after

children, as well as their present low value status at their jobs. The thing is that the generation of

the 21st century knows that there is discrimination; thats why theyre fighting to stop it. Thats

why movies like Hidden Figures or Legally Blonde exist. This generation realizes how important

it is to show women that they can and will succeed. Thats what we as a generation have to keep

fighting for. And we will!

 Works Cited

Brown, Anna and Eileen Patten. The narrowing, but persistent, gender gap in pay. Pew

Research Center, 3 Apr. 2017, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-

tank/2017/04/03/gender-pay-gap-facts/. Accessed May 18, 2017.

Borney, Nathan. Sexism in the Workplace is Worse Than you Thought. USA Today, 27 Sept.

2016, https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/09/27/lean-in-study-women-in-the-

workplace/91157026/. Accessed May 18, 2017.

Jaffe, Eric. The New Subtle Sexism Toward Women in the Workplace. Fast Company, 2 June

2014, https://www.fastcompany.com/3031101/the-new-subtle-sexism-toward-women-

in-the-workplace. Accessed May 18, 2017.

Maternity leave discrimination means 54,000 women lose their jobs each year. TheGuardian,

24 July 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jul/24/maternity-leave-

discrimination-54000-women-lose-jobs-each-year-ehrc-report. Accessed May 18, 2017.

Scott, Sherrie. The Causes, Effects & Remedies for Gender Discrimination. Chron,

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/causes-effects-remedies-gender-discrimination-

10726.html. Accessed May 18, 2017.

Sexism in the Workplace. Cliffs Notes, https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-

guides/sociology/sex-and-gender/sexism-in-the-workplace. Accessed May 18, 2017.