Suzanne Lucas, Evil HR Lady reported a job description post for a hospitalist from Ascend Medical that said, “women don’t do well here.” The posting was taken down once it was brought to Ascend Medical’s attention, but it does beg the question how something like that was allowed to get through two organizations. First, Ascend Medical didn’t proofread what was posted; then, ZipRecruiter’s algorithms didn’t catch the obvious gender discrimination.
Gender discrimination in job descriptions is against the law.
One hundred years ago, Congress ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, giving women the right to vote. Federal law addressed gender discrimination in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For 56 years, it’s been illegal to discriminate against women in employment.
It’s difficult to imagine anyone of any generation currently in the workplace who doesn’t understand gender discrimination. Unfortunately, discrimination still exists in the workplace. The Ascend Medical posting might have been a fluke, but Pew Research estimates that over 40% of women experience discrimination in the workplace based on gender.
Pew Research reports that women get passed over for important assignments, based on gender. Many women earn less than the man doing the same job. Women believe that they get less support from senior leaders because of gender. Women are three times more likely than men to experience sexual harassment on the job.
How can gender equality in the workplace be improved?
Hiring managers have to do better when it comes to writing job descriptions. Workers need to talk about gender inequality and address it with HR or other managers. Evaluate the jobs in your business and look for gender bias. Do you expect the women in your office to answer the phones and plan the parties? When you promote, are you looking at the strengths of your workers, not their gender? Are you offering training and mentoring to all of your employees?
The gender gap has been a thing for decades. I’d like to think that many businesses are doing better. But as the Ascend Medical job posting demonstrates, we still have a ways to go.
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