12 | Bod Magazine
Women in the workplace by Madison Dean & Rebecca Lewis
T
he incorporation of diversity and inclusion in the workplace has been a constant battle for women. Important factors such as inequality through gender roles, respect, and basic common courtesy have been aspects that play a hindering role in limiting true diversity and inclusion in the workforce for women. “The element of diversity and inclusion is important for everyone to understand,” said Graciela Berumen, first generation recruitment and retention specialist at Washburn University. “Educating individuals about diversity, inclusion and social justice is important so that we can all move forward and
understand that everything around us involves diversity and inclusion.”
Berumen strongly believes that when individuals do not work together to obtain a clear understanding of the importance of diversity and inclusion, it negatively impacts everyone. A survey conducted by “News in The Numbers” showed that 40% of people believe that both men and women will hire men over women. This is supported by another study that shows that men are 30% more likely to be promoted to a managerial position than women. “For a long while, women have been able to prove how
capable they are in many leadership roles,” Berumen said. “Though it seems that they continue to be questioned when attempting to enter more powerful positions.” According to a 2017 study by the Harvard Business Review, the difference in the promotion and hiring rates between men and women was due not to behavior, but strictly to how each gender was treated. This study suggests that gender inequality in the workplace was based on bias and not differences in behavior. Although no perceptible differences were observed in the behavior of men and women in the workforce, on many occasions women have failed to advance as well as men. “Knowing that there are instances that an employer has or will overlook me because of my gender fuels my desire to
