Women in the workplace and the unfinished fight for equality

Watch the CBS Reports documentary “Women in the workplace: the unending struggle for equality“in the video player above.

Women have long struggled with barriers in the workforce as they fought for equality with their male counterparts. These struggles continue as women demand equal pay and representation at the highest levels.

“The Me Too movement and the Time’s Up movement have been really at the forefront of discovering and exposing the biases and inequalities that women have experienced,” said Dr. Tsedale Melaku, a sociologist and author.

But the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed women toward traditional gender roles, Melaku said. The COVID-19 recession was the first where more women lost their jobs than men.

“The year 2020 in particular has seen women retreat to these gender roles and narratives around their family life,” Melaku said. “By being relegated to pre-determined caregiver status, nutrition status also reinforces those old traditional stereotypes that women were already struggling to enter the public sphere, to access organizations and in these roles. leadership. “

Tina Tchen, president and CEO of Time’s Up Now, said: “In a single year, we have eliminated three or four decades of progress in which women entered the workforce and were able to make a living for themselves. themselves and their families and be able to pursue a career and a dream. “

CBS News spoke with women about the difficulties they have faced in advancing their careers.

Cate Luzio, CEO: “I realized that women were at a disadvantage for me”

“Women have a different path ahead, no matter how good they are. It’s just social norms and human nature,” said Cate Luzio, founder and CEO of Luminary, a member-based growth and career accelerator focused on helping women. to move forward. their careers.

Prior to starting his own business in 2018, Luzio held executive positions at multinational banks such as HSBC and JP Morgan. As she progressed in her career, she said she felt that being a woman put her at a disadvantage.

“The first half of my career was just doing it right, doing it better and being super competitive with my teammates, who were mostly men, because I wanted to have that leg up front. I wanted to be better and I wanted to be better. because I wanted to aspire to be a leader, “he said. “I aspired to be a coach when I got to the second half of my career. That’s when I realized that women were at a disadvantage for me.”

Luzio also suggested that there was a double standard on how women are perceived in the workplace compared to their male colleagues. She was described as “emotional”, “aggressive”, “tough” and “cold”, which she said could have helped her to be ignored for promotions.

“Never, as a manager, did I give any such comments to men. So why did I get it? I think there were several times when I felt that others were being promoted when I wasn’t, mostly in “Because of these tags. And I just can’t stand it. I’ve always been a dissident. How, how can you tell me that? How, what do you mean? they bit me in the back, “he said.

According to a study by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org, for every 100 men promoted to a managerial position in 2019, 85 women were promoted. In 2020, women held 38% of managerial positions while men held 62%.

“We are raising our hands in our companies and saying, ‘Give me more responsibility. Help me get up. Teach me.’ And the reality is that for most women, the excuse they get when they ‘sit in the room with his head is,’ You’re not ready yet. You don’t have all that … “Okay. Show me,” she said.

Mita Mallick, leader in diversity, equity and inclusion: “I don’t have enough fingers to count … how many times I’ve been taken or stolen credit”

“I don’t have enough fingers to count … how many times I’ve been robbed or robbed of credit. I’m sure a lot of women of color can relate. it’s not the one that presents or gets credit, ”said Mita Mallick, diversity, inclusion and equity executive.

Mallick, whose full name is Madhumita Mallick, said she has quit her job because of “excessive school bullying.” When he entered the corporate world, he went by his first name instead of his nickname, Mita. She said she was despised by her boss, who refused to learn how to pronounce her name and would not call her by her nickname. Instead, he called her Muhammad.

“And so he said, ‘Muhammad, are we ready for the 4 o’clock call? Muhammad, are you ready to deliver the sale samples tomorrow? Muhammad, are you ready for lunch?’ “And this happened in private and in public. And I share this story because it’s important to share it, but it’s painful to think that I responded to a name that wasn’t mine for many months until I finally left this company.” to say.

A study by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org found that women of color were a small percentage of women in leadership positions in 2019.

To help black women climb the ladder, Mallick said the support of someone at least two levels above the hierarchy of an organization is needed.

“This individual will use his political capital, his social capital. He will have skin in the game and help me advance in my career,” he said. “We need more women of color to be sponsored so they can enter Suite C and the boardrooms.”

Farida Mercedes, mother at home: “There is sacrifice”

“She raised me as an independent woman. You go to school, you get a job, you make a career. Then you get married, you have children, but you always stay independent, never dependent on anyone. Now I quit my job and I should depend. of my husband and I questioned it every day, “said Farida Mercedes, who left her career at L’Oreal after 17 years to be a stay-at-home mom during the pandemic.

Mercedes’ last role in the company was as Vice President of Human Resources. When the pandemic broke out, she and her husband, a correctional officer, decided that she would stay away from home until “they became what the virus was, because there is no such thing as social distancing in prison.”

He worked from home with two young children who were learning at a distance.

“I clearly remember the day I made the decision in my heart, that I just had to give something. That night I talked to my husband and I said, ‘I think I have to leave L’Oreal.’ “My husband and I talked about the decision of someone to leave, it wasn’t about who that person would be. dit.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in March, there were nearly 1.5 million fewer school-age mothers in the workforce compared to February 2020. Some women chose to quit their jobs, but many others were fired.

“People have said to me,‘ You’re so lucky you can leave. You have a husband who supports you. “But there is sacrifice. There is sacrifice in the sense that I do not necessarily feel the same accomplishment I had before. Right now there is a gap in my career. And you will understand an organization why I took this decision? ” said Mercedes.

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