Gender in the Workplace: An Important and Expanding Conversation

Today we heard a presentation about gender in the workplace. Gender imbalances are a multifaceted issue, due to stereotypes or perceived abilities of women, education and financial gaps, as well as social responsibilities of different genders. Overall, its an important issue to discuss and actively talk about in the workplace. 
Personally, I haven't faced any gender-based discrimination in the workplace that I can recall. I have had 2 jobs in my 19 years, as well as some volunteer positions that I haven't really noticed any discrimination at. 
Outside of personal experience, I have witnessed some interesting patterns of gender in the workplace. My dad works at an Autobody shop, and I have noticed that all of the employees, except for two, are men. There are two women, both in accounting. The rest of the shop is all men, which is an interesting example of the types of jobs that are made to seem desirable to men vs women. Maybe those types of 'hands-on' jobs are painted to seem desirable for men, and not women, which causes an imbalance in the amount of women that hold that job. If you only see men in a certain job, and that job is advertised only for men, why would women want to work in that job. Women aren't outright told that they can't work on cars, those kind of spaces just seem very unwelcoming to women (in my opinion).

Also, I thought that this presentation was lacking discussion about Non-binary, gender-nonconforming and transgender people in the work place. When we talk about a topic like gender in the work place, its important to talk about women in the work place, but also other people who typically face discrimination. I am not apart of the LGBTQ community, but I am an ally of the LGBTQ community. I have friends who identify as LGBTQ, and they also deserve respect and consideration of their experiences in the workplace. 
Talking about subjects like 'gender in the workplace' can be uncomfortable for some people. But its an important conversation to have, and to discuss on a regular basis. 

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