Gender Discrimination in the Workplace--Another one rejected by a DS CE so I'm sharing it with the world. Enjoy.

The following article is one that I wrote for DS and stood my ground with my CE because I believe it is a good article, backed by strong research. Normally I wouldn't tell the world that I had an article rejected, but this is the second one, in as many weeks, that went into Demand Studios virtual garbage can after 3-4 hours of research and reading.

I would love to hear from any of you career coaches and writers that have an opinion. I really do want to know if it's as bad as my CE said it was. Blast me if you have to, but I need to know if I'm really failing in my ability to provide clear, concise information that "reads more like opinion than fact...lacks authoritative research...does not appeal to the 20-30 year-old target...is dark and unfriendly and lacks expertise."

Gender Discrimination in the Workplace & Hiring Practices

Introduction

Gender discrimination has come a long way since the times of Florence Nightingale--the original developer of the applied statistics methodology, and Madam Marie Curie--two-time Nobel Laureate in physics and chemistry, when women many cultures were not allowed a college education and professional jobs in the workplace were completely dominated by men. This does not change the fact that gender discrimination still exists and, with the advent of role reversals in some sectors over the past several decades, extends to both men and women in both traditional and non-traditional jobs.

Gender Discrimination in Disguise

The true extent of covert discrimination (which experienced more often than overt discrimination, these days, due to the legal ramifications) is difficult to research on a statistical basis, since coworkers and supervisors often disguise discriminatory acts through innuendo. Men and women in traditional and non-traditional roles often fail to report sly comments, being passed over for promotion, and being ignored or hushed up in meetings or general conversation. These types of discrimination do exist, but anti-discrimination laws are steadily being strengthened with the passage of legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Family and Medical leave Act of 1993.

Role-Reversal

Women in engineering roles and men in nursing roles have experienced higher than normal rates of discrimination. This is partly because fields have been dominated by professionals of the opposite sex for decades. Some of these situations are difficult and cause employees to complain about everything from outright displays of disrespect to being passed over for someone of the opposite gender regardless of qualifications and experience. In both hiring practices and on the job, people in non-traditional careers can be subject to discriminatory hiring practices, or assumed to be less qualified by their peers. Someone who feels they've been discriminated against should take action and make a claim against the company or manager responsible. A good place to start is with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. They will provide guidance and assist with filing valid claims.

Pay Differences

One of the biggest discrepancies women still face in gender discrimination is the difference in pay scale. A report issued by the International Labor Organization (2011) indicates that there is still an average pay difference of 19 percent between men and women hired for the same position. They attribute this difference to the patriarchal idea that women are not as effective in traditional male job roles. The good news is that wages and salaries are slowly leveling out and the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 provides women with a remedy to unequal pay.

Hiring Practices

Selecting a candidate for a position should be as simple as choosing the one most qualified. It isn't always that simple. Hiring professionals often make choices based on personal preferences and cultural influences. While governments can institute rules and regulations and people can try to assimilate those practices, they might be influenced by personal biases. Corporate climate and environment regarding gender discrimination have come a long way in the past several decades. Many companies are instituting diversity training and best practices to follow in hiring. The best ones have made diversity and inclusion a part of their corporate culture.

Key Concepts

• gender discrimination
• workplace
• hiring practices

References

• Gender Inequality and Women in the US Labor Force [ http://www.ilo.org/washington/areas/gender-equality-in-the-workplace/WCMS_159496/lang--en/index.htm]  
• biography.com: Marie Curie [ http://www.biography.com/people/marie-curie-9263538]  
• sciencenews.org: Florence Nightingale: The passionate statistician [ http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/38937/description/Florence_Nightingale_The_passionate_statistician]  
• theguardian.co.uk: Sex discrimination at work hits men too [ http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006/feb/25/discriminationatwork.workandcareers1]  

How to Handle an Overbearing Manager

Introduction

Okay…so I don’t “really” have a manager, because I work for myself. But I do have to report to editors for some of my writing. I have been writing and getting my work published in magazines, newsletters, even contributed to how-to books. I’m considered and expert in two areas and I don’t normally have much trouble with people I report to. Editors have a job to do. They point out errors and factual mistakes. They remind you to stay on point and in focus (some of us can get a little wordy and lose track). Sometimes they even tell you that something you wrote is a piece of junk and to go back to the drawing board. What I’ve been experiencing with a content editor at Demand Studios over the past few weeks is nothing short of ridiculous.

So I had to ask myself if it was me or if it was her. Was I not doing my job? Was I really not providing the right kinds of references? Was I really being gloomy, or wordy, or unclear? And the list goes on. Of course, I’m the first one to take feedback from editors and try to accommodate, but this woman is ridiculous in her comments. Her editorial comments have been two or three times as long as the article itself and completely over the top.

Mind you, I’m working as a freelancer who pulls article titles from the thousands available. I had to submit an application and work samples to get picked for the higher paying articles in the Careers Section, and was classified by the company as an expert in my field. The articles I write have a suggested work limit of 400-500 words. That’s about one typed page. Because of the extensive writers' guidelines and required references, it can sometimes take two hours to write an article that pays $25. But I’m trying to brand myself, so I’m going the extra mile, putting in 10-12 hours a week writing a few articles that are feeding some very prominent websites. It’s not about the money. It’s about the exposure.

So, on Sunday, I did some in-depth research about gender discrimination in the workplace that is supposed to be posted on The Nest Woman in the careers section. I spent way too long on the research then wrote what I thought was a great article. I proofed, edited, and edited again. I spellchecked, included my references, added some resources for extra reading, and proofed and edited again. Okay…it’s just about perfect, right?

Nope.

I got back four pages of commentary.

That was it. Whether she rejects my article, or not, I decided I wasn’t going to let her push me around like that anymore. (Not that I really have a choice in the matter, if I’m going to write for DS, I’ll probably get her as an editor again.) She pushed. I stood my ground (in the form of a page and a half of rebuttal) and refused to scrap everything I’d worked so hard on. At the time of this writing, I don’t know the outcome. It may or may not be rejected. If it is, you’ll see the whole article right here on this blog. Then you can be the judges.

The point of all this is that it made me think about situations in which people have to deal with overbearing managers in the workplace and I want to discuss how to handle those situations. So here goes.

Is it overbearing and bossy, or do you need to tighten up a bit?

We’ve all done it…left something for tomorrow the forgot about it; taken a shortcut that screwed things up; pushed a demanding customer off on the new guy so he could take the heat; spent too much time in the bathroom; missed deadlines; had bad days when we just couldn’t get it together and get our jobs done.

Let’s face it; we all have to take our fair share of the blame when something at work goes wrong. At the very least, we need to take a look at ourselves objectively and see if there is any truth to the feedback. If there is, then we need to fix it. Bottom line. We are responsible for our own actions and if there’s a problem with our actions we should “man up” and accept the criticism.

If you’re staying on top of it and getting the work done, whatever it is, it still might be your fault because you let your boss push you around and don’t stand up for yourself. Maybe you don’t want to lose your job, or maybe your just a wimp (like me) and completely avoid confrontation whenever you can. You also need to make sure you’re not just being oversensitive.

Take an inventory. Your stuff. Her stuff. His stuff. Their stuff. Fix your stuff, then wait a while and see what happens.

If you’re still being disrespected and mistreated, it’s time to take some action.

Plan the rebuttal

WARNING: Don’t do what I have a tendency to do with pushy, overbearing people: hold it all in and stew on it, until one day it all comes out of your mouth like bubbling lava. It’s not a very good idea if you want to keep your job.

If the person you have to confront about the way he or she is treating you says the same things over and over again, you have a place to start. If you’re dealing with different issues every day you still have a place to start. If your boss is a crazy person, you may want to skip your boss and go to his boss.

WARNING: Don’t backbite in the bathrooms or the cafeteria. Keep your comments to yourself and to straight to the source.

If you have a friend or family member outside the workplace to bounce ideas off of, do that. Plan you rebuttal based on fact. You’ve been doing the job so many years. You’ve received all kinds of positive feedback from customers. Your quality ratings are exceptional. Write it out. Practice it until you know you can say it without being angry and yelling and screwing up all the words. Practice it until you know you can say it calmly and firmly.

SAMPLE SCENARIO: Every day the boss insists that you do X, even though it isn’t your job. Every day you do X and that put’s you behind in your work. Then at the end of the day your boss gets upset and threatens to write you up, or worse. You’re getting tired of it and would give anything to tell him to take this job and….

SAMPLE REBUTTAL:

Boss insists that you do X and you reply: Every day you ask me to ----.  It takes XX minutes to do and puts me behind on my other work. Then at the end of the day, you say I didn’t get my work done and threaten me. Since I only have so much time to get my regular work done, maybe you could assign someone else to the task, or adjust my goals for my regular duties.

The Confrontation

Humans don’t always react the way you expect. This rebuttal might get an amazing response and your boss might just back off or assign the task to someone else. On the other hand, she might fly off the handle and do something completely unexpected. You have to be prepared for either result and have a plan of action for either response.

On the lighter side, an offer of appreciation will suffice and off to work you go. If the confrontation gets ugly you may need to take your complaints to the next level up, or file a grievance.

Whatever the result is, you know you better than anyone else. If you can put up with it without going crazy and you don’t want to change jobs, then stay until you can do something better. Otherwise, you may have to find a different place to work, transfer out of the department, or any number of other options.

Remember: you have value. No matter who you are or what your background is, you have value as a person and you don’t have to be disrespected or mistreated.

Are Women Over 50 Getting Jobs?

Introduction

The Over 50 Club

Amazingly, a large number of women over 50 are getting jobs. Statistics are favorable for this labor sector and the occupational outlook continues to increase as women are becoming more accepted in the workforce.

Overall Statistics

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics most recent metrics (2012), of women aged 50-54, 74.3 percent are considered part of the civilian labor force. Of that 74.3 percent, 69.6 are employed. Those aged 55-64 that are a part of the civilian labor force (59.5 percent) 55.9 maintained their employment. These statistics show that women over 50 in U.S. labor force are getting and keeping jobs. The fact is, however, that the US has fallen far behind in efforts to make women comfortable in the work force and continues to lag behind the rest of the world in its efforts to assure equal pay for equal work.

Benefits of Being a Woman Over 50 and in the Job Market

Employers are more likely to hire a woman who has fewer children at home and more time to dedicate to the job. A woman who is technically savvy, in good health and physical shape, and who has made continued to train in her field of expertise has a better opportunity for success. While sad, it is true that anyone over 50 is going to find it more difficult to find work. However, women over 50 who have kept up with innovations in business and technology are more likely to find work than those who have failed to learn new skills. Employers know that people in this demographic are more likely to have years of experience and they will benefit by not having to spend so much time training. A woman in this age bracket will also be more likely to stay with the job for longer and be less costly to than a man in the same position. (There is still an overall average pay discrepancy of about 18% between men and women with the same skills sets and professional levels.)

Benefits of Higher Education for Women Over 50 Seeking Career Advancement

This is a good time in a woman's life to advance her education through alternative learning opportunities, such as online Master's and Doctorate programs. Many educational institutions offer flexible learning programs that allow a woman to continue her education while working full-time. Many women are in a position to spend more time on educational activities at this age and employers are more likely to hire someone who is prepared to take on the challenge of additional training in order to enhance her value to the organization.

The First Impression Always Counts

As part of the job search process, it's good to take a look at your overall personal style and presentation. Make sure your hair and fashion styles are up to date. Don't overdress for the interview. Anxiety is always a bad thing. Remember, it's likely that the person you're interviewing with doesn't like the process any more than you do. Be friendly, professional, and show the hiring manager how you will be of more value than someone with less experience.

Key Concepts

• Women over 50
• Women in Labor force
• over 50 jobs

References

• Women in the Labor Force: A Databook
  [ http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-databook-2012.pdf ]
• The US gets Left Behind When it Comes to Working Women
  [ http://www.forbes.com/sites/brycecovert/2013/01/16/the-u-s-gets-left-behind-when-it-comes-to-working-women/ ]

Resources (Further Reading)

• 10 Surprising Statistics on Women in the Workplace
  [ http://www.collegetimes.tv/10-surprising-statistics-on-women-in-the-workplace/ ]
• Statistical Overview of Women in the Workplace
  [ http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/statistical-overview-women-workplace ]
• Women in the Workforce
  [ http://www.census.gov/newsroom/pdf/women_workforce_slides.pdf ]