Women discriminated against at work

Despite strict anti-discrimination legislation 38% of women say they have suffered sex-discrimination in the workplace according to a survey by Talent2, Australia?s leading human resources and recruitment firm.

In a sign that no one is safe from discrimination, the survey of 1,960 respondents also shows that 10% of male have also felt the sting of sexual discrimination.

Those in the legal sector are the most likely to deal with sexual discrimination, with those in HR, surprisingly also reporting high levels of discrimination. Those in engineering and construction are the least likely to have to deal with unwanted advances or jibes.

Geoff Whytcross of Talent2 says that those industries with a higher female to male ratio appear to have a higher prevalence of sex discrimination.

"Sex discrimination can come in many forms and can range from blatant unwanted sexual advances through to unequal pay for the same job because of gender. In the case of indirect sex discrimination it is often hard to prove, but this survey shows that it is certainly still occurring at work."

"If an employee reports sex discrimination at work to management, they have a legal responsibility to carry out an investigation and action any findings appropriately, the problem begins when it is a manager that carries out the discrimination. Avenues such as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission exist for situations such as this, though."

"Adopting an anti-sexual discrimination policy is vital for all employers. Discrimination at work is illegal in almost all employment situations and relationships. Employers should clearly define for their workers exactly what sex discrimination is, and implement education on what it is, how to avoid doing it inadvertently and what to do if it happens to you."