Formal Equality of Opportunity

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The black manager’s encounter with a dressed white man in the lobby one day at work strongly violates equality of opportunity. The black manager had felt a strange feeling that someone was spying on him as he was heading towards the elevator and a white man stopped him asking for credentials. The white man was not even a security guard and stopped the black manager because of his appearance and skin color. Formal equality of opportunity is violated as the black manager was questioned due to his appearance at a workplace, while the white man did not even consider asking any white people for their credential. The black manager felt alienated and was prejudiced against.

Allison Schieffelin’s case that she and fellow female workers were denied equitable pay and promotions working under Morgan Stanley is an example that equality of opportunity was significantly violated. Formal equality of opportunity was violated by Morgan Stanley as even though she had better merits than other less-deserving men, those men had been promoted instead of Schieffelin. The EEOC found evidence of the discrimination as the men were promoted instead of the female, Schieffelin, even though she had a better profile and resume.

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Gender discrimination of Schieffelin by Morgan Stanley and other similar encounters is a major issue that should be amended. Even with the introduction of the Equal Pay Act of 1975, gender discrimination in the workplace is still prevalent in America today. Studies and facts have shown that men are dominant against women when it comes to pay and other benefits in the workplace. In 2015, women in full-time work earned 18% than men in the same roles (http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/achieve-gender-equality-workplace/). Women being paid less than men for similar roles due to their sex is unfair. Schieffelin was unfairly treated as men less qualified than her were promoted and given better benefits.

I believe actions and policies should be enforced to promote gender equality. First and foremost, men and women must be paid equally for the same role; employers should understand the importance of equality and avoid any gender inequality. People should be assigned roles or jobs based on his/her abilities and merits, gender should not be considered. This can be done by providing training on gender equality to management. With people at the top who promote gender equality, the workplace including the workers themselves will have a positive outlook as well. Publicizing efforts to promote gender equality on the company website, workplace, etc. will spread the word to vendors and other companies. A policy should be set that strictly prohibits any form of sexual harassment in or out of the workplace by any company employees or employers. The acknowledgement of successes in the company by both men and women, regardless of their position, and noting achievements of all staff members is a good idea to endorse the message of gender equality.