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BarJournal LABOR & EMPLOYMENT

JULY/AUGUST 2015
feAtUre Bridging the gender Divide

and supporting Women

in the Workplace

BY NATALIE M. STEVENS & ANDREW HARING

s employment attorneys, we Despite the increased attention on this subject, What can eMpLoyers do to
assist employers in drafting a recent report by McKinsey & Co. suggests that ensUre that More than jUst
policies and developing practices progress has stalled, finding that: Lip service is paid to bridging
designed to ensure compliance 1. The underrepresentation of women in senior the gender divide?
A with workplace laws and to management cannot be explained by attrition; Several things, some focused on the entire
better the work environment. One area that has 2. Men are more likely to be hired into manager- workforce, others focused on family friendly
garnered significant attention in recent years is level jobs, and they are also more likely to be policies, and others focused primarily on women.
that of bridging the gender divide and supporting promoted into them;
women in the workplace. This is not surprising 3. Most women face microaggressions and The Entire Workforce
given that women now make up 47% of the these encounters add up over the course of Employers should ensure that they have
workforce in the United States though remain a career; and clear equal employment opportunity, non-
largely underrepresented in senior management 4. Women who are the only female at their discrimination, anti-harassment, and no
roles. Additionally, the #MeToo movement and management level are having a significantly retaliation policies in place, and that all
the push for paid family leave laws have also worse experience than women who work with employees are aware of them and how to
resulted in increased attention on this subject. more women. report any concerns of any alleged violations.
If concerns of alleged violations are reported,
they should be investigated and, if substantiated,
appropriate action taken.
Employers should also consider providing
training on their equal employment opportunity,
non-discrimination, anti-harassment, and no
retaliation policies, as well as training on other
topics such as diversity and inclusion, implicit
bias, and/or microaggressions. Implicit bias
refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect
our understanding, actions, and decisions in an
unconscious matter. Microaggressions are subtle
but offensive comments or actions directed at a
minority or other non-dominant group that are
often unintentional or unconsciously reinforce a
stereotype. For example, having one’s judgment
questioned in the individual’s area of expertise,
needing to provide more evidence of one’s
competence than others do, being addressed
in a less than professional way, having one’s work
contributions ignored, and describing the same
behavior in males positively, but negatively in
women (e.g., he is aggressive, she is pushy; he is
not afraid to exercise authority, she is tyrannical;
he is firm, she is stubborn). Providing training
on how to recognize and address these behaviors
is critical to curbing them.
30 | Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal clemetrobar.org