Despite being separated by an ocean, a literal or a physical border, women from different countries often face similar issues when it comes to workplace equality.
On International Women’s Day, media outlets cited lower wages, maternity leave, sexual harassment and job security among the most common issues females experience.
Women across the United States joined in “A Day Without a Woman” protests in order to raise awareness for gender equality. Females participated either by working from home or taking the day off to demonstrate the vital role they have on the job.
EHS Today has compiled a list of stories which highlight the employment issues women are struggling to overcome around the globe.
Australia
An Australian employment lawyer is calling on country legislators to tighten its Fair Work Act which guarantees a woman’s job while on maternity leave.
While widespread advancements have been made, employers still are finding ways to discriminate, Emma Starkey says.
Starkey refers to a 2014 Australian Human Rights Commission's report which found that one-in-five women are placed in “redundant” positions after they return to work from parental leave, and half of all women experience some form of pregnancy-related discrimination.
The solution, she says, is to simplify the laws and get rid of the “disincentives” for taking action which cause women to be discriminated against if they complain.
China
Zhaopin Limited, a recruiting company, has released its annual analysis on Chinese women in the workplace.
Its “2017 Report on the Current Situation of Chinese Women in the Workplace” examined how and why the country’s women are experiencing discrimination.
According to the document, 22 percent of women experienced severe or very severe discrimination when seeking employment, or 8 percent higher than men. In addition, the more skill and education a woman had, the more likely she was to be discriminated against in the job search process.
About 72 percent of women survey takers said they had men as their direct managers, while only 28 percent had women as supervisors.
Lastly, Zhaopin’s survey found that women’s biggest challenges in the workplace were an unclear career path and lack of professional guidance, while men saw career transition as their biggest challenge.
India
A survey released by the Indian Bar Association indicates 70 percent of working women did not report sexual harassment complaints.
The Hindustan Times detailed an account of a young woman who left a fellowship position after encountering a superior who allegedly had inappropriate contact with her. According to the woman, the employer did not have a strict sexual harassment policy, and the manager was not reprimanded.
The publication’s article stated that while the country’s Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013 requires employers to have a committee in place to handle sexual harassment complaints, 36 percent of Indian companies and 25 percent of multinational companies fail to follow the act.