Here it is, the year 2021 and gender discrimination remains, unbelievably, an unresolved issue in far too many workplaces. Despite the fact that attention has been drawn to the issue for almost fifty years, there is still a fundamental injustice in the way women are treated in work environments that are directly dominated by male senior management or at least influenced by women. attitude, mindset and practices of traditional leadership.

Although women make up about 50% of the workforce, they still experience discrimination in several important areas. These include unequal compensation, a lack of organizational upward mobility, a lack of key decision-making power, and sexual harassment. These are deep deficiencies and injustices in the culture of work. The time has passed to eradicate these imperfections from our workplaces. Such shortcomings are not only ethically unfair, they depress the hitherto unrealized productive potential of half the workforce.

It’s not that there haven’t been attempts to remedy gender inequalities in the workplace. Many senior management teams acknowledge the historical existence of entrenched male-oriented favoritism and sexism in their workplaces and beyond. This recognition has materialized with initiatives to make their businesses and organizations fairer and more equitable. However, the problem persists. Cases of gender discrimination continue to be documented and challenged within management offices, human resources departments, and law firms, resulting in the deployment of considerable resources for seemingly endless management of the consequences of misbehavior.

Elisabeth Kelan of the University of Essex in the UK has been researching gender equity issues for over twenty years. She has determined that there is widespread agreement that gender inequality is generally prevalent, but interestingly these same people will not admit that such incidents occur in their own specific workplaces. Why is this so? Dr. Kelan sees several reasons for this. To begin with, many see discrimination as a failing of their competitors or other companies, but not of their own more virtuous workplaces. Second, there is a belief that the problem was worse in the past, but is largely being resolved, which affirms that all mitigation efforts made so far have worked to reduce it to a minor problem. Finally, there are those who don’t fully appreciate gender equity as a big deal, and if it happens, it’s not their fault.

If we accept Dr. Kelan’s findings as authentic, the question arises, “What are people thinking?” What I think they are thinking is what has always been thought. On the levels, the big and little men see themselves as better leaders, more accurate decision makers, more insightful managers, stronger negotiators, and superior competitors. And let’s face it, there are some traditionalist women who think these roles are also more masculine in nature.

Even if one looks at the data and intellectually accepts gender discrimination as a problem, it does not automatically follow that the necessary behavioral changes will occur. When I reflect on my own past, I see relevant examples. I have long believed that gender equity in the workplace was a quality worth pursuing. It’s a no-brainer. However, were there instances when I was more inclined to accept a male colleague’s opinion than a female’s during a meeting, or thought a female colleague was too sensitive and not tough enough, or paid more attention to appearance? of a woman instead of listening to her? thoughts? Shamefully, the answer is yes. It is these small but significant actions that prevent us from making progress in accepting women as full and equal partners at work.

Anti-bias training programs and the like may make some difference in altering operational behaviors, but further progress may be better if each of us takes a deeper look at how we interact with each other beyond superficial mannerisms. Clarifying the personal values ​​that motivate our behavior patterns can reveal more of us individually and strengthen needed improvements than any mission statement or management protocol. The time has come to end gender discrimination.