A new Coqual analysis looks at gender equity in the workplace in eight countries: South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, the UK, and the US.
The study examines how race, class, caste, sexuality, and other identifying factors affect how gender is viewed, experienced, and understood in the workplace through an intersectional perspective.
This survey also emphasises the unique experiences of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) workers and reveals a significant generational shift in how respondents view gender identity and expression.
According to the organisation, the study employed Coqual’s rigorous mixed methodology with survey results from 5,481 full-time employed professionals who were at least 21-years-old, as well as focus groups.
“All around the world, professionals from historically marginalised gender identity groups are still required to navigate exclusionary, inequitable, and hostile workplace environments that make it difficult to achieve their full potential,” says the chief executive of Coqual, Lanaya Irvin.
Here is what was discovered:
According to the group, in SA, TGD professionals continue to confront difficulties at work. More than half (58%) of TGD professionals have faced gender-based discrimination at work, compared to 35% of cisgender (relating to a person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex registered for them at birth; not transgender), professionals.
In the US, nearly half of TGD workers are often told that their gender non-conformity is just a phase (47%), more than half are misgendered (54%) and two in five (41%) are told that they make their colleagues uncomfortable because of their gender identity.
Furthermore, here in SA, more than a third (38%) of TGD professionals claim their gender has a negative impact on their professional experience on a regular or consistent basis, compared to 15% of cisgender professionals.
Brazil does not fare any better, as 70% say they have experienced gender-based prejudice at work. Furthermore, about one in five TGD employees say colleagues often misgender them (23%) and tell them that their gender non-conformity is just a phase (19%) or that they make their colleagues feel uncomfortable because of their gender identity (23%).
In India, the Hindu caste system continues to rule the societal structure of the Asian country. “The hierarchical structure of Indian society places heavy expectations on women to be wives and mothers. More than half of both lower caste women (65%) and upper caste women (51%) say that having children has hurt their career, compared to 30% of lower caste men and 40% of upper caste men,” said Coqual.
For Japanese TGD professionals (52%) are significantly more likely than cisgender professionals (17%) to say they have been passed over for promotions for colleagues who were less qualified.
However, there appears to be some improvement in Australia, as Coqua’s study indicates that younger professionals’ rising awareness and comprehension of gender problems may make them more sensitive to improper workplace behaviours.
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