Devising Methods to Combat Gender Inequality in the Workplace Student

23rd Annual Session of the Seoul Model United Nations

Forum: Human Rights Council (HRC) Question of: Devising methods to combat gender inequality in the workplace Student Officer: Emily Sung, Deputy Assistant President

Introduction

In 1963, the Kennedy administration ratified the Equal Pay Act1, abolishing wage disparity based on gender in the United States. A year from then, the United States Supreme Court passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which included Title VII, an act that outlawed all forms of discrimination in the workplace2. Nearly sixty years have passed, but the gender pay gap is still an ongoing issue: a woman still earns 81 cents for every dollar earned by a man, and an average man working for a lifetime in the same workplace would receive about $900,000 more than an average woman3. This disparity extends to other areas over the globe, including Spain, in which half of the working female population disagreed to the question asking if wages were paid regardless of their gender4, Japan, where a woman earns 73% of a man’s regular wage, and Denmark, with a 15% wage gap5.

It is, however, not only in wage where discrimination exists, but rather in the workplace as a whole where women are degraded solely due to their gender. Men are significantly more likely to climb up the career ladder and end up with an executive role such as directors or managers than women are: in 2015, only 27 women were promoted for every 100 men, a statistic that remained nearly unchanged since then6. This opportunity gap is also visible in the gender composition of certain occupations with drastically different amounts of pay— higher paying jobs including financial managers or lawyers are nearly always filled with male employees, whereas lower paying jobs such as childcare workers or dishwashers are nearly always female7.

1 “The Equal Pay Act of 1963.” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, www.eeoc.gov/statutes/equal-pay-act-1963. 2 “Title VII,Civil Rights Act of 1964, as Amended.” U.S. Department of Labor Seal, www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/centers-offices/civil-rights-center/statutes/title-vii-civil-rights-act-of-1964. 3 “Gender Pay Gap Statistics for 2020.” PayScale, www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap. 4 Ibid. 5 Kliff, Sarah. “A Stunning Chart Shows the True Cause of the Gender Wage Gap.” Vox, Vox, 19 Feb. 2018, www.vox.com/2018/2/19/17018380/gender-wage-gap-childcare-penalty. 6 Fuhrmans, Vanessa. “Where Women Fall Behind at Work: The First Step Into Management.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 15 Oct. 2019, www.wsj.com/articles/where-women-fall-behind-at-work-the-first-step-into-management-11571112361. 7 “Fact Sheet: Occupational Segregation in the United States.” Equitable Growth, 23 Apr. 2019, equitablegrowth.org/fact-sheet-occupational-segregation-in-the-united-states/.

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Other prominent types of discrimination range from being treated as incompetent solely due to one’s gender to being held to different standards depending on gender and more, all of which are commonly experienced by female employees. According to the Pew Research Center, twice as many women than men responded that they have faced the aforementioned types of discrimination in their workplace8.

The long history of workplace sexism traces back to the mid-twentieth century when women first started to take on jobs outside of their domestic, household chores9. Continuously mistreated and deprioritized, women were held to much higher standards and given significantly lesser pay. This led to the passing of the aforementioned Equal Pay Act of 1963 which includes giving wages based on skill and effort, along with protection for workers to complain or sue their employers to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission10, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 containing Title VII which prohibits discrimination as a whole in the workplace, and can result in a maxium of a $300,000 fine if violated11.

Workplace sexism still persists, and although the direct cause is questionable, many factors certainly play a role in the mistreatment of female employees. The first and most obvious one would be the unconscious internal discrimination hardwired into the employers’ minds12. Stereotypes exist regarding the jobs that women are more suited for versus the jobs women are less talented at, which commonly includes CEOs or directors13. Thus, claims are made that women are unknowingly discriminated against in white collar workplaces due to the internal bias. Another potential cause is the motherhood, or the childbearing penalty14. People believe that even after taking maternity leave, women tend to lean more towards nurturing their child and

8 Parker, Kim, and Cary Funk. “42% Of US Working Women Have Faced Gender Discrimination on the Job.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 30 May 2020, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/12/14/gender-discrimination-comes-in-many-forms-for-todays-working-wom en/. 9 Kranzberg, Melvin, and Michael T. Hannan. “Women in the Workforce.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2 June 2017, www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-work-organization-648000/Women-in-the-workforce. 10 History.com Editors. “Equal Pay Act.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 30 Nov. 2017, www.history.com/topics/womens-rights/equal-pay-act. 11 Shrm. “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” SHRM, SHRM, 19 May 2017, www.shrm.org/hr-today/public-policy/hr-public-policy-issues/pages/titleviiofthecivilrightsactof1964.aspx. 12 Pavlou, Christina. “Gender Inequality in the Workplace: A Lack of Women in Leadership: Workable.” Recruiting Resources: How to Recruit and Hire Better, 27 Feb. 2020, resources.workable.com/stories-and-insights/gender-inequality-in-the-workplace. 13 Gillett, Rachel. “Gender Bias Could Make It Harder for Women to Become CEO, According to a Recent Study.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 17 Apr. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/why-women-almost-never-become-ceo-2016-9. 14 Correll, Shelley J., et al. “Getting a Job: Is There a Motherhood Penalty?” American Journal of Sociology, vol. 112, no. 5, 2007, pp. 1297–1338. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/511799. Accessed 10 July 2020.

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23rd Annual Session of the Seoul Model United Nations become physically incapable to maintain a stable career15. Discrimination based on pregnancy is illegal after the passing of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 197816, but according to a study done in 2018, nearly half of the employed American population believe that working moms are less devoted to their job, and more than one third dislike them for wanting a more flexible working schedule17. Therefore, employers purposefully avoid treating female employees better in the first place as they are viewed as a non-permanent workforce.

Workplace discrimination is a blatant violation of human rights, the most basic being the right to equality, as it refuses to take into account skill levels or effort but instead judges a person based on their unchangeable demographics. Other rights that are violated when workplace discrimination occurs include the right to work regardless of pregnancy, the right to equal opportunities for hiring and promotions, the right to work in a safe environment, and much more 18. This also leaves a considerable effect on a woman’s psychological and emotional health, as it results in low self-esteem, isolation, and feelings of discomfort or fear around the perpetrators of discrimination19.

Advancing equality in the workplace is not only a moral benefit, but it also helps profit the world as a whole. According to a study done in 2015, if women take up an identical part of the workforce as that of men, also called the “full potential” scenario, $28 million could potentially be added to global annual GDP by 202520. This is generally because more qualified women are being declined and cut solely due to gender, thus making companies unable to bring up their productivity to their fullest extent.

Especially in a decade of innovation, technology is developing daily with more workers being on the verge of being replaced and women, who are the most vulnerable, must be protected. With collective efforts to combat gender inequality in the workplace, women would finally be able to contribute to their fullest potential.

15 Kliff, “A Stunning Chart Shows the True Cause of the Gender Wage Gap”. 16 “Pregnancy Discrimination.” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, www.eeoc.gov/pregnancy-discrimination. 17 “MODERN FAMILY INDEX 2018.” Bright Horizons, 2018. 18 “How Gender Discrimination Affects Women In The Workplace.” Florin Roebig // Trial Attorneys, 5 July 2020, florinroebig.com/workplace-discrimination-women/. 19 Ibid. 20 Woetzel, Jonathan, et al. “How Advancing Women's Equality Can Add $12 Trillion to Global Growth.” McKinsey & Company, 1 Sept. 2015, www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/employment-and-growth/how-advancing-womens-equality-can-add-12-trillio n-to-global-growth.

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Definition of Key Terms

Workplace Discrimination Workplace discrimination covers all forms of mistreament and unfair disadvantages an individual is subject to due to attributes such as gender, race, or sexual orientation. Examples include being denied a promotion or a job despite having all the necessary qualifications, being dismissed without a valid reason, being paid less even after putting in the same effort, and more. Although outlawed by a number of acts, the workplace still continues to be one of the largest areas of discrimination in the status quo.

Wage Gap One of the most prominent examples of workplace discrimination is the wage gap, which is a term specifically concerning workplace sexism, as it is also referred to as the gender pay gap. The wage gap is divided into two categories: the controlled and uncontrolled pay gap. The controlled, or adjusted pay gap is the difference between a man and a woman employee with the same competence21; for instance, as mentioned above, a woman earns 81 cents for every dollar earned by a man even with similar qualifications. The uncontrolled or unadjusted pay gap, however, examines the difference between the median pay for both men and women, disregarding their position or experience22; for example, also mentioned above, an average man working for a lifetime would receive about $900,000 more than an average woman. Both cases clearly show the disparity in remuneration between genders.

Implicit Bias Implicit bias is the reason why workplace discrimination persists even after its illegalization. Unconsciously, employers and directors harbor the belief and stereotype that women are naturally less competent than men when it comes to whihte collar businesses, which leads to contrasting treatment. This inner bias leads to unintentional, unacknowledged discrimination when making decisions that gender does not necessarily have to be taken into account. Even if gender discrimination is outlawed on the surface level, it cannot be entirely uprooted until implicit bias is tackled.

Opportunity Gap The opportunity gap is also one of the most blatant displays of workplace discrimination, which signifies the disparity between men and women when achieving higher positions in the workplace. When considering suitable candidates for employment and promotions, women tend

21 “THE STATE OF THE GENDER PAY GAP 2018.” PayScale, 2018, www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap/methodology. 22 Ibid.

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23rd Annual Session of the Seoul Model United Nations to be deprioritized solely due to stereotypes that they are less capable, resulting in more men being hired or promoted even if the women candidates were more qualified. Statistically, significantly more men work as managers, directors, etc, than women, and more than half of the employers take gender into account when deciding employment.23The continuing cycle of men selecting men has ultimately resulted in the opportunity gap, the imbalance between those who are fully considered for all opportunities and achievements.

Motherhood (Childbearing) Penalty The motherhood, or childbearing, penalty is one of the justifications used by higher officials to explicitly discriminate against female employees24. Stereotypically, women must go through pregnancy and dedicate the rest of their lives to raising their children instead of working, whereas men are usually seen as the breadwinners of the family. Even for women who come back to work after a few months, the few months taken off for maternity leave is what holds them back. Thus, women are viewed as a temporary workforce, compared to men who are more trusted to stay as employees for much longer. Although this belief is valid to some extent, the shifting trend in the status quo has led to more women becoming breadwinners along with their husbands. The motherhood penalty, however, continues to act as an obstacle that hinders women from achieving their fullest potential, as they are placed under a blanket stereotype of future mothers, not future workers.

Glass Ceiling A glass ceiling is a commonly used metaphor to refer to an invisible barrier that blocks minorities from accomplishing higher achievements. In the context of the workplace discrimination, this term refers to the implicit bias that prevents women from advancing professions instead of legitimate corporate policies25. Stereotypes that women are less capable without taking their qualifications into account, which is unconsciously hardwired into the minds of the majority, strengthen the glass ceiling and the belief that this glass ceiling is nearly unbreakable deters women from trying in the first place.

23 “Have These Biases Been Entirely Rendered Moot? Are Companies Still (Consciously or Otherwise) Exhibiting Gender Favoritism during the Recruiting Process?” Monster Career Advice, www.monster.ca/career-advice/article/gender-role-during-a-job-interview-ca. 24 Feloni, Richard. “The 7 Worst Stereotypes Professional Women Face.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 21 Mar. 2014, www.businessinsider.com/worst-stereotypes-of-professional-women-2014-3. 25 Kagan, Julia. “Glass Ceiling.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 29 Jan. 2020, www.investopedia.com/terms/g/glass-ceiling.asp.

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is an independent institution created in 1965 mainly for the prohibition of dircrimination in the workplace, including “hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits26.” It also helps with complaints filed against employers for unequal treatment and backlash against those opposing discriminatory practices, addressing them with administrative and judicial enforcement of civil right legislations along with education, technical aid27. Working in conjunction with the US government and its official anti-discrimination laws, the EEOC provides guidance for equal opportunity programs in businesses, and gives consequences to businesses that do not comply with their guidelines28.

Full Potential Scenario A “full potential” scenario is when women and men play an identical role in the labor force. Currently, women are not able to contribute to their fullest potential because of the countless obstacles that hinder them from doing so. As mentioned above, in a full potential scenario, $28 million could theoretically be added to global annual GDP by 2025. This shows that eliminating gender discrimination in the workplace does not only have a moral benefit, but it also significantly boosts the economy.

Timeline of Key Events

1834 - Lowell Mills Girls Strike The Lowell Mills was one of the first workplaces that saw the emergence of female laborers. Founded in the early nineteenth century, the Mills helped some women break the stereotype of women only being able to perform household chores and domestic work, letting women contribute to the workforce and be productive for the first time in history29. Due to the considerable amount of workers in the Mills, the Lowell Mills Girls had to face harsh working conditions and low wages, especially because they were women and officials believed that mistreatment towards female employees was justifiable. Therefore, the Girls went on strike in 1834, protesting for proper wages30. This was the first time that women spoke up about their

26 “Overview.” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, www.eeoc.gov/overview. 27 “Equal Employment Opportunity.” U.S. Department of Labor Seal, www.dol.gov/general/topic/discrimination. 28 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Overview. 29 “Lowell Mill Girls and the Factory System, 1840.” Lowell Mill Girls and the Factory System, 1840 | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, Gilder Lehrman, www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/lowell-mill-girls-and-factory-system-1840. 30 “Lowell Mill Women Create the First Union of Working Women.” AFL-CIO, aflcio.org/about/history/labor-history-events/lowell-mill-women-form-union.

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23rd Annual Session of the Seoul Model United Nations workforce rights, which was quite obviously ignored because women’s opinions were not respected at that time. Despite this, the Girls went on strike again two years later and formed official labor organizations, which showed a huge step forward for females in the workforce.

1872 - Equal Pay Legislation The Equal Pay Legislation of 1872 was the first law that ever attempted to combat the gender pay gap. This act, however, only targeted female employees in the federal government and not any other workplaces, which was why it did not have much of a great impact on the workforce as a whole.

June 5, 1920 - Creation of Women’s Bureau (WB) in US Department of Labor After many years of the US Department of Labor mainly dealing with cases related to male workers instead of focusing on both genders, it deemed that a department specifically for women was necessary after events such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire— which resulted in 104 deaths— alerted the public that measures needed to be put in place for the severe working conditions for females31. On June 5th of 1920, public law established the formal creation of the Women’s Bureau, which was given the power to “formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment32.” To this day, the WB remains the only organization for the protection and representation of working women specifically.

September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945 - World War II After the start of the second world war, men faced the military draft and had to mandatorily be enlisted. Thus, workplaces were all empty and needed replacement workers that could temporarily work until the war came to an end. Millions of women flooded the workplaces and substantially increased the number of women who were contributing to the nation’s workforce productivity. However, after the war ended, many women had to return to their traditional domestic roles. Although temporarily, this was the first time in history that the number of women who were employed was this high, and women started to be recognized as somewhat capable and were treated as members of the workforce to a certain extent.

June 10, 1963 - Inclusion of Equal Pay Act into Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

31 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “United States Women's Bureau.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 25 Mar. 2011, www.britannica.com/topic/United-States-Womens-Bureau. 32 “About Us.” U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau, www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/about.

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Enacted in 1963 by the Kennedy administration, the Equal Pay Act outlawed the gender pay gap and required that the same amount of work must be compensated with the same pay for both genders in all workplaces, not just the federal government unlike the Equal Pay Legislation of 1872. This act was an amendment that was later included into the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which originally did not cover the wage gap. It recognized that sex discrimination results in lesser productivity for the economy, unfair competition, and the inability to utilize the workforce to its maximum potential33. If violated, the company can be reported directly to the court or to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which was created two years later.

June 2, 1964 - Ratification of Civil Rights Act of 1964 Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, all forms of discrimination based on race, gender, age, religion, and etc are prohibited when “recruiting, hiring, promoting, transferring, training, disciplining, discharging, assigning work, measuring performance, or providing benefits34.” Once a claim is made against the employer, they have no right to retaliate and have to be open to investigation by the EEOC35. Title VII also included the necessity of a federal organization that closely monitors and regulates companies that ensure equality of opportunity, which opens doors for the EEOC one year from the ratification of this act.

July 2, 1965 - Creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission As mentioned above, the EEOC was created after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlawed discriminatory practices, as an institution needed to be created to deal with all the claims filed. After the claim is taken into examination, the EEOC conducts a thorough investigation process and attempts negotiation between the two parties. If this is impossible, this case is brought to court as a suit against the company36. Now, the EEOC is the most renowned organization that helps with discrimination and deals with more than 80,000 claims each year, helping employees that are being unfairly mistreated in the status quo.

1978 - Inclusion of Pregnancy Discrimination Act into Civil Rights Act of 1964 In the case General Electric Company v. Gilbert, a group of female workers sued their company for discrmination based on pregnancy. However, the Supreme Court ruled that pregnancy discrimination was not included in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and thus the

33 The Equal Pay Act of 1963, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 34 “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.” Justia, 19 Mar. 2019, www.justia.com/employment/employment-discrimination/title-vii/. 35 Ibid. 36 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 30 Oct. 2006, www.britannica.com/topic/Equal-Employment-Opportunity-Commission.

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23rd Annual Session of the Seoul Model United Nations company was not at fault37. Following this decision and many afterwards that did not recognize discrmination based on pregnancy as an official crime, the US government passed the Pregnancy Discrmination Act to ensure protection for employees that are receiving unfair treatment due to pregnancy or childbirth.

1998 - Publication of Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work The International Labor Organization issued a universal statement regarding the rules businesses and employees must follow. If member nations did not ratify this statement, they would have to issue an annual report on their company’s efforts towards making a healthier environment. It included four areas, one of them being the “elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation38,” which encompasses gender inequality and any form of mistreatment due to gender.

Position of Key Member Nations and Other Bodies

United States The United States has made efforts to outlaw gender discrmination in the workplace including the acts mentioned above, and have multiple organizations dealing with workplace inequality. However, there has not been much attention on this issue as needed, shown by the continuation of workplace discrimination after its illegalization. Women are still receiving only 82% of a man’s wage on average, and the gender pay gap exists in all fifty states39. Despite this being such an important issue, not as much effort as needed has been given to tackling workplace discrimination in the modern era. The most modern act that was established to combat this issue was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 under the Obama administration, which simply strengthened the preexisting acts for the gender pay gap.

Yemen Statistically, Yemen is proved to be the worst country in terms of gender inequality in the workplace, proven by being ranked last on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap index for thirteen years consecutively. In the workplace setting, women not only are paid significantly less than all men, but they are also discouraged to participate in the workforce in the

37 Grossman, Joanna, and Deborah Brake. “Forceps Delivery: The Supreme Court Narrowly Saves the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in Young v. UPS.” Verdict Comments, Justia, 1 Apr. 2015, verdict.justia.com/2015/03/31/forceps-delivery-the-supreme-court-narrowly-saves-the-pregnancy-discrimination-act -in-young-v-ups. 38 “ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (DECLARATION).” Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (DECLARATION), www.ilo.org/declaration/lang--en/index.htm. 39 “Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2016.” U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, Aug. 2017.

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23rd Annual Session of the Seoul Model United Nations first place, along with facing countless unfair regulations surrounding maternity leave, age of retirement, and working conditions40. Thus, many UN organizations are attempting to elevate the status of women in the nation, by ways such as the creation of the Yemeni Women’s Pact for Peace and Security with 60 female advisors, a large step towards gender equality in Yemen41.

Australia Australia is the nation with statistically the least amount of gender inequality in the workplace. Women and men not only have the same laws regarding areas such as retirement, employment, and childcare, but also have a smaller pay gap than other nations Some policies that Australia has implemented that could be adapted in other nations start with the government being fully committed to gender equality, and working closely with female officials in the federal government for improved gender policies. However, it is still important to examine that even in the country ranking first for nearly no workplace discrimination, the gender pay gap is at a stunning 13.9%42. This shows that implicit gender bias exists regardless of the country’s status.

Chile Chile has the highest rate of workplace gender discrmination among the OECD countries despite the improving status of women in the public scope43. The level of participation of women in the economy is one of the lowest in the entirety of Latin America, and women are not even allowed to have the same jobs as men, having drastically unequal remuneration— a woman receives 65% of the wage earned by a man, which is much lower compared to the OECD average of 74%44. Chile’s government, being an OECD nation, is slowly moving towards drafting a legislation outlawing workplace discrimination as incentivizing more women to contribute to the workforce might positively affect Chile’s GDP45.

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) is the official United Nations department which strives to create a society where

40 “Women's Workplace Inequality Index- Yemen.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/legal-barriers/country-rankings/yem/. 41 “Women, Peace and Security.” OSESGY, 26 May 2020, osesgy.unmissions.org/women-peace-and-security. 42 “Australia's Gender Pay Gap Statistics.” WGEA, 20 Feb. 2020, www.wgea.gov.au/data/fact-sheets/australias-gender-pay-gap-statistics. 43 “Women's Workplace Inequality Index- Chile.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/legal-barriers/country-rankings/chl/. 44 Jenner, Frances. “Chile Has Highest Gender Pay Gap in OECD, Fingers Point at Education System.” Chile Herald, 12 Sept. 2018, chileherald.com/gender-pay-gap-chile-oecd/1433/. 45 Wu, Ruohan, and Cheng, Xueyu. “Gender Equality in the Workplace: The Effect of Gender Equality on Productivity Growth among Chilean Manufacturers.” ResearchGate, 2016.

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23rd Annual Session of the Seoul Model United Nations individuals are not treated differently due to different gender. Acting as a leading figure in female activism around the globe, this organization sees workplace inequality as a continuing challenge, and emphasizes that it is indeed an issue that requires more attention than it has currently. UN Women believes that workplace discrimination is seen in all member nations, and has advocated a countless amount of times to abide by their recommendations on how to even out the playing field for both genders. They encouraged various ministries to collaborate and follow the UN system constructed of plans by various organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and the International Labor Organization (ILO)46.

Syria Syria, along with Yemen, is recognized as the nation with the most inequality between male and female employees. Ranging from there being no policies implemented to outlaw sexual harassment in the workplace to not providing any system of maternity benefits, women are not protected or respected in any workplace setting of Syria47. Because of the domestic crises in the nation, no gender reforms have made put in place for years, and severe oppression and discrimination towards women in the workplace continues.

International Labor Organization The International Labor Organization (ILO) is the official United Nations agency that sets labor standards and policies to create a safe and healthy working environment. Concerning gender discrimination in the workplace, the ILO, as mentioned before, is working in conjunction with many other groups such as the UN Women to devise methods that member nations can follow. As mentioned above, the ILO had already drafted a statement called the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in 1998, in which member nations are committed to follow. If not, the ILO strictly monitors them by requiring Annual Review Reports, Global Reports, and Technical Cooperation Projects48.

The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) CEDAW is a branch in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees specifically dedicated to combating gender inequality, consisting of 23 independent

46 Bachelet, Michelle. “Equality at Work: The Continuing Challenge.” UN Women, 10 June 2011, www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2011/6/equality-at-work-the-continuing-challenge. 47 “Women's Workplace Inequality Index- Syria.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/legal-barriers/country-rankings/syr/. 48 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, International Labor Organization.

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23rd Annual Session of the Seoul Model United Nations experts on this issue49. This unit imposes various specific policies in response to international discrimination in women, including those occurring in workplace settings. It strictly adheres to United Nations based guidelines for sexual discrimination and prioritizes monitoring and compliance by, for instance, recommending the submission of reports by member nations to update the reforms for women occurring in the respective countries50.

Suggested Solutions

Before all else, delegates must keep in mind that attempting to combat gender discrimination in any setting is not simple and straightforward, but rather is an issue that must be addressed intricately from the most fundamental level. Eliminating surface level discrimination only yields a short term effect, and hence policies must be crafted to alter the underlying, unconscious layers of gender discrimination.

First and foremost, it is crucial for employers and directors to recognize that workplace discrimination is indeed an issue in order to bring about legitimate physical change. This can be achieved by collaboration with non-governmental organizations that specialize in gender equality, such as the EEOC of the United States and the Equal Opportunities Commission of the United Kingdom, and the national government. The implementation of educational sessions for the teaching of the importance of meritocracy and equality would be one example of utilizing the aid of the aforementioned groups. Representatives of the nation’s legally registered companies would attend seminars and conferences which elaborate on discrimination laws and actions in the workplace that lawfully count as illegal discrimination, methods to reduce gender inequality, and the consequences companies would face if reported for discrimination. They would also be advised to create a thoroughly written policy that includes all rules of the company, and employees would be provided an unbiased handbook which contains a protocol on discrimination complaints, along with outlining how discrimination related issues would be resolved to ensure consistency51.

Moreover, education does not have to solely apply to the directors, but can also be extended to any woman who feels as if they are being discriminated against. Sessions would contain information regarding how to knowledgeable negotiate wages, as women are usually

49 “Women's Rights and Gender Section (WRGS).” OHCHR, www.ohchr.org/en/issues/women/wrgs/pages/wrgsindex.aspx. 50 “GENDER EQUALITY POLICY .” Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sept. 2011. 51 Boyd, Leah. “How to Prevent Workplace Discrimination.” LBMC Family of Companies, 7 July 2020, www.lbmc.com/blog/how-to-prevent-workplace-discrimination/.

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23rd Annual Session of the Seoul Model United Nations asked how much they were paid in their previous job, along with what their reasonable offer is, and women who are not as experienced call lower values, and end up receiving a salary that is much undercompensated. Negotiation workshops are already being created in Boston, where women are being trained to demand higher salaries; this will eventually be open to over 85,000 women, half of Boston’s female workers52. The curriculum would also reinforce the fact that cases of discrmination are reportable and explain the process of suing a company for discrimination, starting with NGO complaints, state labor complaints, then federal lawsuits. Women would be educated about the laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the Equal Pay Act, and be informed that what they might be experiencing by their employer might be a lawful crime.

Additionally, please note that delegates are advised to not only examine inequality in MEDCs, but to expand their scope of research towards lesser developed nations that still contain extreme sexism as well. In the case of nations that lack specific organizations for gender equality or nations that do not have adequate equal payment laws such as Chile or Yemen, cooperation between already established equality commissions of MEDCs along with UN organizations such as UN Women is instrumental.

However, it is important to consider the fact that even after education has taken place, gender discrmination cannot completely be uprooted due to unacknowledged, implicit bias— there would always be an underlying belief that men are more suited towards leadership roles and that women are a temporary workforce, unfit for important positions in management. Therefore, to somewhat forcefully uproot workplace sexism, strict guidelines must be put in place for corporations to follow. This is already being done by Australian companies since 2012, which have to submit yearly reports covering “workforce composition, equal pay, composition of boards, support for flexible work, and sex-based harassment and discrimination” to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency53. As mentioned above, Australia is the nation ranking first for the lowest gender pay gap. The specifics regarding these protocols are up to delegates, but it must be noted that they must be strict enough to significantly deter sexual discrimination. Examples include regular checkups by respective NGOs, a diversified director and/or interview panel supervised by NGOs, and strengthened punishment if reported to the NGO for discrimination. In addition, interview systems such as the blind interview, where no demographic information is revealed until the employee is hired, or structured interviews, which have the

52 Witter, Lisa, and Robyn Scott. “How We Can Actually Solve the Gender Pay Gap” InStyle, 1 May 2019, 10:00, www.instyle.com/lifestyle/gender-pay-gap-solutions. 53 Lisa Witter and Robyn Scott, “How We Can Actually Solve the Gender Pay Gap”.

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23rd Annual Session of the Seoul Model United Nations same interview questions for all candidates to avoid straying to unnecessary questions tailored to gender, would be effective methods of tackling employment discrimination.

Furthermore, another significant issue to be addressed is discrimination against pregnant employees, which also must be covered in the aforementioned education. Despite being already outlawed by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, unequal treatment persists, and measures must be taken to prevent dismissals solely due to maternity leave and pregnancy. Suggested solutions for this problem include a shared parental leave. In Sweden, accompanied parental leave has existed since 1974 and fathers normally took 25% of the parental leave54. Also, once the maternity leave term is over, mothers who want to return to their jobs must find daycares or nurseries which can be expensive. Thus, having companies subsidise childcare would grant families money to spend on care for their children while contributing to the workforce. Now, employers cannot demote, reject, or dismiss female employees using maternity leave or motherhood as a justification.

The last solution to be covered is transparency in pay and promotions, as corporations tend to operate secretly and not disclose their distribution of wages nor their selection process. The social media platform Buffer or the analytics company SumAll are outstanding examples for companies that grant complete transparency, providing online documents and pay histories, details about salary, and a salary calculator for employees to calculate their accurate remuneration55. Germany, with a large pay gap of 21%, has implemented a transparency system that permits women employees to have access to how much their male colleagues are paid56. Corporations are not required to implement a completely open system, but transparency must be granted to the level where employees can view why their wages are different from others of the same position, or why they were not able to receive the promotion. By a transparent system, employees are able to clearly understand the justification behind their loss, and the directors cannot secretly discriminate due to the fear of being reported once the information is released to the employees. Transparency thus results in a win-win situation for both the company and the employees, as companies are incentivized not to discriminate, whereas the employees are more motivated to increase effort after finding out where they lack.

54 “How to Decrease Gender Pay Gap in 7 Steps.” Market Inspector, 4 Oct. 2019, www.market-inspector.co.uk/blog/2017/06/decrease -gender-pay-gap. 55 Elsesser, Kim. “Two Solutions For The Gender Pay Gap That Can Be Implemented Today.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 19 Nov. 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2015/11/19/two-solutions-for-the-gender-pay-gap-that-can-be-implemented-toda y/. 56 Lisa Witter and Robyn Scott, “How We Can Actually Solve the Gender Pay Gap”.

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Even with all the aforementioned solutions implemented, implicit bias will still inevitably exist. However, if individuals are constantly reminded that women are as capable as men by the high quality performance of the female labor force, society may be taking tiny steps toward the uprooting of workplace stereotypes.

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