Women make on average 73% of what a man makes in a like industry which sounds awful but it is even worse that as women age we make increasingly less than men our age. A man with a high school diploma at 45 will make more money on average than a woman with a Bachelors degree at the same age.
Things are changing but they are changing slowly. Diligence is the key to closing that gap in pay and in making it through the glass ceiling. As a gender women have made huge strides in equal pay for equal work but they are still not treated the same.
There are plenty of horror stories that still circulate among women that have been denied jobs and how HR departments have come up with unusual ways to deny women positions that they are well qualified for.
The Laws
There are laws in place that can be enforced if you feel that an HR department is discriminating against you because you are a woman.
Many HR departments of some major corporations have lost battles in the courts because they used some tricky tactics to disqualify women because they were parents!
Coming forward if you think something is fishy is very important not only for your career but for other women as well. A strong message has got to be sent that it is not okay to discriminate against someone because of their gender.
The laws cannot be enforced unless the culprits are turned in.
EEO
The Equal Employment Opportunity office is the place that you need to report your situation. An investigation will commence to determine if you were in fact passed over for that promotion based on your gender.
Gather as much information as you can before you file the complaint. Knowing other women that are in a similar situation as you can help you prove your case. Knowing male to female management ratios will also help.
Any company memo’s that have been circulated regarding the matter can also be helpful. Be prepared to dig in and fight. It will not be easy to prove your case but if you know for sure that you have been discriminated against you should fight!
Avoiding the Sneaky Questions
An HR person that happened to be a woman announced on a popular news magazine show that when she worked in HR for a specific company it was known that women with children were a last option.
She used to keep a picture of two kids on her desk as a way to see if a woman that was being interviewed was a parent (it is against the law for any interviewer to ask you about your family commitments).
She said most women that had children would mention it casually during the interview when they noticed the pictures. The worst part?
She did not even have any kids. It was all a ploy to get information without asking for it to skirt the law. The moral of the story keep your answers on point and simple. No chit chat during the interview about your personal life!