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Solutions
Committing to flexible working;
Producing a narrative report;
Making promotions and pay rises transparence;
Encouraging salary negotiations.

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gender /ˈdʒɛndə/

noun

1. either of the two sexes (male and female), especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones. The term is also used more broadly to denote a range of identities that do not correspond to established ideas of male and female. "a condition that affects people of both genders"

2. GRAMMAR
(in languages such as Latin, French, and German) each of the classes (typically masculine, feminine, common, neuter) of nouns and pronouns distinguished by the different inflections which they have and which they require in words syntactically associated with them. Grammatical gender is only very loosely associated with natural distinctions of sex.

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Sexism happens in daily life. It is everywhere: in classrooms and offices, on football pitches and magazine covers. But it is sometimes hard to pinpoint what it does, exactly, and we often tend to minimise sexist acts as harmless or not so important. However, all the incidents of sexism that accumulate over days and years create a climate that makes violence and discrimination – mostly against women but also against men.

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Soroptimist projects from SI of Europe tackling Violence Against Women and Girls - Soroptimist International

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"Why is there a gender pay gap UK?
"The clearest finding from the data is that women are overwhelmingly likely to work for an employer where, overall, men are paid more, and that the main explanation for the gap is the presence of more senior men than women."

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“Being a feminist means that you fight for the equality of all people. It's important that your feminism is intersectional; it should not exclude people based on their gender, race, socioeconomic status, ability, or sexual orientation. Feminism allows people to look at the world not as it is, but how it could be."

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-Hyperfemininity is the exaggeration of stereotyped behavior that’s believed to be feminine. Hyperfeminine folks exaggerate the qualities they believe to be feminine. This may include being passive, naive, sexually inexperienced, soft, flirtatious, graceful, nurturing, and accepting.

-Hypermasculinity is the exaggeration of stereotyped behavior that’s believed to be masculine. Hypermasculine folks exaggerate the qualities they believe to be masculine. They believe they’re supposed to compete with other men and dominate feminine folks by being aggressive, worldly, sexually experienced, insensitive, physically imposing, ambitious, and demanding.

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Even today there are many third world countries where women continue to suffer. They struggle to live and survive in undeveloped countries and unfavorable conditions. Women are deemed unimportant and considered inferior.

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Despite being a legal requirement since the introduction of the Equal Pay Act in 1970, discrimination in the workplace remains prevalent. Men are still paid more than women for doing work rated as of equal value.

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Several women working at the BBC are preparing to take the broadcaster to employment tribunals over equal pay, following the recent equal pay case win by Samira Ahmed.

Ahmed claimed £700,000 for lost earnings after discovering that she was paid around 600% less than her colleague, Jeremy Vine. Inevitably, her success will lead to an influx of equal pay cases being brought to the employment tribunals by other aggrieved female employees.

Currently, the average pay gap between full-time male and female workers is around 13% and studies show the average woman will earn around £260,000 less than their male equivalent throughout their careers. It is therefore essential that businesses monitor diversity in the workplace.

Senior staff have the greatest influence over promotions and pay rises, so businesses should begin by considering the male-to-female ratio in senior management positions. Having a clear and robust equal opportunities policy is also a good start. However, it is important employers do not simply pay lip service to their policies but take positive steps to address the gender pay gap.

Despite being a legal requirement since the introduction of the Equal Pay Act in 1970, discrimination in the workplace remains prevalent. Men are still paid more than women for doing work rated as of equal value.

Since April 2017, companies with more than 250 employees are legally required to report their gender pay gap figures by the end of the financial year. Although not required by law, smaller businesses should also report this as a matter of course if they want to attract and retain quality staff.

Businesses need to do more than simply comply with the statutory minimum. Employers should invest time to analyse their gender pay gap figures and address the root cause for any disparities.

At the current rate of progress, the gap won't be closed for at least another 60 years, which according to the Fawcett Society is 'dismally slow'. The strategies businesses can implement to address the gender pay gap include:

Committing to flexible working

Allowing employees to work flexibly to fit around family arrangements is simple, and it is also a positive step to help reduce the gap. It is not uncommon for women to work reduced hours to allow them to manage family commitments, which unavoidably reduces their income. Flexible working would allow women to commit to full-time work without jeopardising important family time. Both the House of Commons and the Women and Equalities Committee have acknowledged flexible working for all 'lies at the heart of addressing the gender pay gap'. As a result, companies should seek to implement flexible working practices, by having a flexible working policy (and associated application process).

Producing a narrative report

In addition to the mandatory gender pay gap report required by law, businesses should consider publishing an accompanying narrative report which offers a detailed analysis of employee salaries, including a breakdown of the roles, hours and promotion statistics for each sex. In preparing a report of this kind, businesses can identify their shortcomings and provide a time-bound and target-driven action plan to close any identifiable gap. Being proactive and acknowledging a gap exists (if applicable) should demonstrate a commitment to equality. The report may even highlight legitimate economic and social factors for the gap. But a company simply will not know this until it has made a bona fide attempt to get to the root of the gap.

Making promotions and pay rises transparent

It is essential businesses have a transparent process for promotions, pay rises and reward and ensure all employees have equal opportunities to progress. Adhering to structured and strictly skill-based interviews for recruitment and promotions will reduce unconscious gender bias. The Fawcett Society also encourages openness about salary, even though this is currently seen as taboo. Campaigners are calling for a change to the law allowing women to request salary details of male comparators if they suspect pay discrimination. While employees do not have the automatic right to know what someone else earns, they do have the right to know how salary increase calculations are made. So it is essential employers have a clear criteria in place and keep accurate records of deciding factors when decisions are made.

Encouraging salary negotiations

Studies suggest men and women approach salary negotiations differently, which has been cited as a potential reason for the gender pay gap. Women are reportedly much less likely to negotiate their salary than men, leaving them on lower salaries. To rectify this, employers should seek to encourage all employees to negotiate their salary during reviews and advertise internal posts with a salary range. This will empower all colleagues to challenge the salary on offer and provide them with a realistic expectation of the salary available for a certain role.
Ian Dawson is head of employment at Shulmans

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Four strategies for tackling the gender pay gap

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Several women working at the BBC are preparing to take the broadcaster to employment tribunals over equal pay, following the recent equal pay case win by Samira Ahmed. Ahmed claimed £700,000 for lost earnings after discovering that she was paid around 600% less than her colleague, Jeremy Vine.

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News Employers urged to ensure clear reward practices following ‘damning’ BBC equal pay ruling

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News Employers urged to ensure clear reward practices following ‘damning’ BBC equal pay ruling

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Ahmed took the BBC to an employment tribunal last year, claiming she had faced gender pay discrimination in her role presenting audience feedback show Newswatch. She claimed she was owed £700,000 in back pay because she carried out a similar role to Vine in his capacity as presenter of Points of View.

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Employers must ensure they have clear and transparent processes for setting rates of pay, experts have warned following presenter Samira Ahmed's successful equal pay claim against the BBC.

The London Central Employment Tribunal ruled on Friday 10 January that Ahmed's role was similar to or the same as fellow BBC presenter Jeremy Vine's, and the BBC had failed to "rebut the presumption of sex discrimination that arose" because of this.

The tribunal said the BBC found defending its position difficult because "it did not (and to some extent still does not) have a transparent and consistent process for evaluating and determining pay for its on-air talent".
UK slips further down global gender equality ranking Women should be able to find out male colleagues' salaries, says charity Gender pay gap hits older women hardest, data shows
"It [the BBC] has no records (or if it has them it has not produced them) of how the pay levels for the claimant and Jeremy Vine were determined," the ruling stated.

Rebecca Berry, senior associate at law firm Stevens & Bolton, said the case showed employers needed to adopt clear processes for determining pay, and ensure all decisions were recorded "to reduce the risk of following in the BBC's footsteps".

Carolyn Brown, employment lawyer and head of client legal services at RSM, echoed Berry's warning. "Businesses in sectors with wide gender pay gaps should already be auditing their salary structures on a role-by-role basis to ensure they have sufficient transparency," she said.
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The success of a high-profile case such as this might encourage other employees to take such issues to tribunal, experts warned. Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said the ruling "sends a clear message to every woman out there who has the courage to challenge discrimination. If you fight, you can win." She added it was a "damning judgment for the BBC".

"Across the country there are probably thousands of women who are not being paid the same as men for the same work or work of equal value," said Wanda Wyporska, executive director of the Equality Trust. "[This is] because of discrimination, but also because of inherently unfair pay structures that import 'market rates', which may already be discriminatory."

However, although more employees might be willing to take legal action, Charlie Thompson, senior associate in the employment team at Harbottle & Lewis, emphasised this ruling did not reflect a change in the law. "It remains difficult to show that a disparity in pay amounts to discrimination," he said.

Ahmed took the BBC to an employment tribunal last year, claiming she had faced gender pay discrimination in her role presenting audience feedback show Newswatch. She claimed she was owed £700,000 in back pay because she carried out a similar role to Vine in his capacity as presenter of Points of View.

Vine was paid £3,000 per episode of Points of View, which he presented between 2008 and 2018. Ahmed, meanwhile, was paid £440 per episode of Newswatch, which she began presenting in 2012.

The BBC argued the discrepancy in pay was down to Points of View and Newswatch being "very different" programmes, the former being entertainment while the latter strictly current affairs. They also said "specific market pressures" necessitated Vine's higher salary.

While both shows were 15 minutes long and featured audience feedback and a presenter reading from an autocue, the BBC argued Vine's role as presenter of a factual entertainment programme, which included humour, required a "glint in the eye", for which extra skill and experience was necessary.

However, the tribunal rejected this defence, ruling the roles were in fact "virtually the same" and rejecting the claim that presenting Points of View required extra skill. The judgment noted that "the attempts at humour came from the script. Jeremy Vine read the script from the autocue. He read it in the tone in which it was written. If it told him to roll his eyes he did. It did not require any particular skill or experience to do that."

Ahmed was one of 121 women to raise a collective equal pay grievance against the BBC, led by the NUJ. The union urged the BBC to resolve the other outstanding cases as quickly as possible. It has not yet been announced what remuneration Ahmed will receive in light of the ruling.

A BBC spokesperson said: "We have always believed that the pay of Samira and Jeremy Vine was not determined by their gender. Presenters - female as well as male - had always been paid more on Points of View than [on] Newswatch.

"We're sorry the tribunal didn't think the BBC provided enough evidence about specific decisions - we weren't able to call people who made decisions as far back as 2008 and have long since left the BBC." The corporation added it wanted to "work together with Samira to move on in a positive way".

In a statement, Ahmed said she was glad the issue had been resolved and was "looking forward to continuing to do [her] job".

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Employers urged to ensure clear reward practices following 'damning' BBC equal pay ruling

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Employers must ensure they have clear and transparent processes for setting rates of pay, experts have warned following presenter Samira Ahmed's successful equal pay claim against the BBC. The London Central Employment Tribunal ruled on Friday 10 January that Ahmed's role was similar to or the same as fellow BBC presenter Jeremy Vine's, and the BBC had failed to "rebut the presumption of sex discrimination that arose" because of this.

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The Equal Pay Act 1970 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prohibited any less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment. ... It has now been mostly superseded by Part 5, chapter 3, of the Equality Act 2010.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1970/41/enacted

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The “motherhood penalty”, another significant contributor to the pay gap, describes a well documented phenomenon: employers’ propensity to deny women pay increases, promotions and important assignments – or to single them out for cutbacks or layoffs. The fallout from the pandemic has been brutal for mothers, who have been 47% more likely to lose their jobs than fathers, according to another study by the Insititute of Fiscal Studies. Mothers also are more likely to be furloughed and their hours have been cut back 50% more.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/07/how-coronavirus-is-widening-the-uk-gender-pay-gap

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Everyday sexism comes into play at critical decision points affecting the progress and careers of women and men, influencing whom to appoint, develop, sponsor, reward or promote.

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Gender inequality in the workplace

Sexual Harassment-
38% of women experienced sexual harassment in the workplace and 81% in their lifetime. Women restaurant workers who rely on tips are twice as likely to experience sexual harassment or assault.

Unequal Pay-
On average women are more educated yet women still earn less. Some statistics show women earn 80% of what men are paid. Other newer statistics suggests the gap to be even greater.

Fear of asking to be paid what your worth-
For women negotiating pay is seen as being greedy or desperate which leads to hesitation. Women negotiate less often than men. 70% of women accepted the salary they were offered while only 52% of men did.

Women are promoted less often than men-
Women make up less than 5% of CEOs despite being more educated. A reason for this is due to the lack of female role models. Not having a visible role model can make women feel as if moving into a leadership type role is unattainable

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Gender dysphoria is a term that describes a sense of unease that a person may have because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity. This sense of unease or dissatisfaction may be so intense it can lead to depression and anxiety and have a harmful impact on daily life.

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Three times as many men as women die by suicide.²

Men aged 40-49 have the highest suicide rates in the UK³.

Men report lower levels of life satisfaction than women.

87% of rough sleepers are men.²

Men are nearly three times as likely as women to become dependent on alcohol, and three times as likely to report frequent drug use.²

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/m/men-and-mental-health

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Everyday sexism is frequently invisible and often accepted. Because it is hard to speak up when it occurs, it continues unchecked.

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Everyday sexism is frequently invisible and often accepted. Because it is hard to speak up when it occurs, it continues unchecked.

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▪️ Personality traits -Women emotional/Men self-confident.
▪️ Domestic behaviors -Women take care of children/Men take care of finance.
▪️ Occupations -Women teachers, nurse/Men pilots, engineers and doctors.

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Gender roles in society means how we’re expected to act, speak, dress, groom, and conduct ourselves based upon our assigned sex.

Girls and women are generally expected to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing.
Men are generally expected to be strong, aggressive, and bold.

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How to Handle Everyday Sexism, According to 9 Real Women

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The Vibrant, Wide-Reaching Paintings of Kudzanai-Violet Hwami

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Marsha P. Johnson - Trans activist and key figure of the Stonewall riots
Munroe Bergdorf - Model and Trans activist
Juno Birch -Drag queen and Activist

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Transgender issues and rights are increasingly becoming more of debated topic in our society. with such people as J.K Rowling spreading misinformation about the Trans community, hate crimes and online abuse are at an all time high, leading to large rates of suicide and murder. with false information everywhere it is absolutely essential that people are educated about the trans and non binary community in order to reduce the abuse the community receives. whether its the correct usage of pronouns or understanding the fact that 2 in 5 of trans and non binary have been attacked or threatened with violence in the last 5 years (FRA LGBT Survey 2012) it is a necessity that the general public are educated and that harmful myths are disregarded.