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Summary
Women in the workplace often face systemic bias, including sexism, period fatigue, and sexual harassment, amongst others. To ensure workplaces are truly fair to women, organisations must eliminate unpaid labour, dismantle professional tax on women and normalise menstrual support.
A recent survey by PaidHR shows that women often experience gender inequalities in the workplace. This systemic bias includes a lack of basic amenities that factor in women’s biological reality in the office, such as the provision of menstrual products. Women also often need to invest more in make-up products due to appearance expectations. Ironically, they also often dress down in an attempt to avoid being sexually harassed by men in the workplace. Twenty-six per cent of women who participated in the research say that they would not report sexual harassment at work due to fear of backlash.
However, cultural gender role expectations sip into the workplace as 68% of the women who participated in the survey reported being assigned more administrative roles outside their job description. Following the report, PaidHR shares four tips to address workplace gender inequality, as below:
- Dismantle the “Professionalism” Tax: If an employee’s competence is judged by their work, not their wardrobe, then companies must ensure grooming expectations are fair, reasonable, and not disproportionately burdensome.
- Normalise Menstrual Health Support: Periods aren’t a personal inconvenience; they’re a biological reality. Workplaces that fail to acknowledge this, whether through flexible policies, menstrual leave, or even basic sanitary product availability, are choosing to ignore a fundamental aspect of employee well-being. It’s not a favour; it’s a necessity.
- End the Era of Unpaid Office Labour: If it’s important enough to be done, it’s important enough to be fairly assigned. Women are disproportionately expected to handle these duties, subtly steering them away from leadership opportunities. Organisations must actively dismantle these invisible barriers by ensuring task allocation is based on role, not gender.
- Fix Reporting, Not Just Policies: Having a harassment or discrimination policy is the bare minimum. The real question is: do women trust it enough to use it? If women fear retaliation or dismissal, the policy isn’t working. Companies must create a culture where reporting is met with action, not silence or career consequences.
Implementing the above tips will benefit your organisation in accomplishing its goals and ensuring that female employees live up to their highest potential without being weighed down by patriarchal norms. Naija Feminists Media offers consultancy services in training organisations to incorporate gender equality policies in their workplaces to ensure a solid institution. You can contact us via email at: mail@naijafeministsmedia.org.ng
