We like to say we are living in modern times, but if that is truly the case, why is there still so much gender discrimination going on in the workplace?
It hardly matters what statistic you are analyzing, men seem to have it better. They are harassed less, they get promoted faster, and they make more money. At what point are people going to stand up and say “enough?”
The moment may be upon us. In the waves of the #MeToo movement, we are seeing workplace discrimination issues come to light.
At JML Law, we know the difficulties faced by people who experience gender discrimination on a daily basis and we want to help. When you need the best Woodland Hills gender discrimination attorney, turn to our team so we can recover the compensation you deserve.
We want to briefly cover some of the ways women experience discrimination in the workplace:
These are just a few ways in which women experience gender discrimination in the workplace.
There is a difference between sex and gender. “Sex” refers to whether someone is born as a male or female. Gender refers to how people identify themselves as, which as we now know, can differ from their sex. Thankfully, more people are comfortable talking about these issues now, but that does not mean discrimination is gone. These issues are important to us as well, and we will be happy to discuss them with you.
Women’s rights are protected under Title IX, the Equal Pay Act, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. Under the PDA, discrimination is prohibited when it comes to a woman’s pregnancy or other related medical conditions. For example, if a company gives extra leaves of absence to employees with medical conditions then they must also extend this practice to pregnant women. Pregnancy-related benefits in the workplace cannot only be limited to married employees.
Legally speaking, you cannot be fired for reporting gender discrimination or sexual harassment. Title IX is set in place to protect against an employer retaliating in any way. It is prohibited to fire, demote, strip you of authority, or move you to a less favorable shift or position. Due to these types of actions, it is all the more important to document complaints of gender discrimination or sexual harassment in writing. JML lawyers are available if need be to discuss the situation further.
There are two ways in which to prove you were discriminated against because of your gender. The first way is through the direct evidence approach. For instance, if a supervisor were to say something along the lines of: “I am not promoting you because you are a woman,” or “I want a man for this job” this is direct evidence. The other way is to show sex discrimination through circumstantial evidence.
What this means is that you as the employee must first produce evidence that you are female; an adverse employment action was taken against you whether it be fired, demoted, not promoted, etc.; you were qualified for the job and you were replaced by or treated differently than someone outside of the protected class.
This is called a “prima facie case,” under legal terms. After the employee makes a prima facie case the burden shifts to the employer to either offer a nondiscriminatory explanation of what happened. When the employer does this, the burden shifts back to the employee to demonstrate that the reason given by the employer is not true, otherwise known as a pretext.
Men are covered by gender discrimination laws contrary to what many believe. Title IX’s prohibition of gender discrimination also applies to men. Any male employee who is fired, demoted, or denied a promotion due to gender could quite possibly have a case on their hands. This is more common with jobs that have been labeled as female jobs, like nurses or secretaries.
Employers cannot refuse to hire a male in any one of these positions because of gender. In addition, employers are not allowed to harass or discriminate against males who the boss may deem as not fitting the male stereotypes or not masculine enough. These same laws are in effect to prevent men from being sexually harassed too.
Gender-neutral policies can very well be considered unlawful. If any given employer policy that applies to everyone, should appear to cause unbalanced negative impacts on women or men and the overall policy is not job-related there is enough reason to believe the gender-neutral policy is unlawful.
If you think you have experienced discrimination in the workplace, we advise you to seek legal assistance. These cases can be hard to prove, but that does not mean the discrimination did not happen. You have options. Our experienced Woodland Hills gender discrimination attorneys will work with you throughout the whole process and get you the compensation you deserve, from lost income and punitive damages to pain and suffering damages. You can contact us by clicking here or calling us at 818-610-8800 for a free consultation.
Every case is unique and needs to be evaluated by our experienced lawyers. If you have been injured in a work-related accident,