Table of Contents
This is the beginning
What could be the cause of the discrepancies revealed by the Drogin Report?
What Wal-Mart can do to correct these discrepancies
In closing,
This is the beginning
Case study on Wal-Mart revealed that women face discrimination in the workplace. All workers know that discrimination in the workplace, be it by employees or employers, is unethical. Discrimination is when someone has a prejudice against another person’s morality or personality. Wal-Mart has sued six women for their low pay and chance of promotion. The situation is worsening, as all the men who are promoted quickly have less experience, qualifications and performance than women.
First, we discovered women at Wal-Mart are paid less in compensation than men. Richard Drogin’s research can support this. He is a California State University statistician. He said the Wal-Mart management employees were divided into two categories, hourly and salaried. Hourly employees in 2001 could only earn $8,000. Managers of the salaried management group earn $50,000. In a case study, it was stated that district managers earn differently depending on their gender. Men can make $239,519, while women only earn $177,149.
A recent investigation revealed that women earn less money than men, compared to $5000. Second, women have fewer chances to be promoted compared to men. Richard Drogin shows the difference between women and men in terms of promotion. Women need to wait 10.12 years for promotion. Additionally, he discovered that women actually have better performances than men. In the employee’s rating of performance on a scale from 1-7, 1 indicates low performance. 7 represents high performance. In this instance, men received 3.68 and woman got 3.75. In this instance, men perform less than women. Literally stated by the company’s policy, relocation and staffing are factors that make it difficult for women to be promoted. William T. Bielby is a sociology specialist and professor of the University of California. The professor stated that the managers did not have any written guidance, despite having written guidelines on criteria for promotion. It is clear that the ‘glass-ceiling’ has an impact on women’s decisions. A store manager explained to his female assistant that retail was not suitable for women.
The compensation of male and woman employees is different. Drogin reported in 1996 that women received less than $0.35 per an hour compared to men. In 2001, the pay gap between women and men increased by $0.16 per hour. In 1996, a study found that male sales representatives earned $0.20 more an hour than female sales representatives. It is important for any company to adhere to the norms of the law, and that means all employees should receive fair compensation and benefits. Wal-Mart management is literally less female than male. Marc Bendick, an economist and labour expert, said that Wal-Mart’s female workforce included in management was only 34.5%. Wal-Mart needs another 4000 women employees. We need diversity in our workforce, which includes a variety of people. This is important because it helps companies grow. Wal-Mart’s workplace discrimination is confirmed by the statistics. Wal-Mart had implemented written anti-discrimination policies in 1990. But they were not really useful to the company. Wal-Mart has to prepare $10 billion in case of lawsuits, and 60% increase to the employee’s pay. Civil Rights Act of 1968 protects and prevents discrimination against employees based on their race, religion, or gender. What is the potential financial impact of Wal-Mart’s lawsuit?
Financial impact is the result of any bad situation, whether it be a disaster or a product failure. Wal-Mart is a company that employs workers who are not Wal-Mart employees, but they still force down their wages. The company will have to pay billions to repair all damages and make up for the money. Women have a right to win because of their employment or worker status in the company. It is important that every woman who works in a company receives the same advantages or benefits as male employees. Illegal is the discrimination of women in the workplace. It is illegal to discriminate against women workers because they are female. Equal Pay Act stipulates that male and female workers must receive equal pay. Walmart’s Company faces a problem if they are sued and have to pay for all damages caused by workers. Wal-Mart must be held accountable for all errors, even if they have to sacrifice money in the present to satisfy all victims. The company’s profits could also decrease due to higher employee turnover because they are unhappy with the management. Profits will be affected until employees or production are restored. Wal-Mart females’ moral complaints
Wal-Mart employees who sued the company for major issues including pay system, promotions, and job assignments.
The promotion of women is slower than that of men.
While women have a higher level of performance, they are paid differently based upon their gender.
Women workers at Wal-Mart have unequal training in management.
Male workers have a better chance of getting a job, and this increases their capability and ability compared to women workers despite having more experience and qualification.
I believe these complaints are valid because it’s clear that women are treated unfairly and discriminated against. Richard Drogin found in his statistical report that Wal-Mart’s employees are divided into two categories: hourly staff who work at lower levels, as well as salaried managers who work at higher levels. Wal-Mart’s hierarchical job positions can be defined with simple words. For example, the progression from upper hourly employees to management trainees, store managers or assistant managers, and eventually district, region or cooper manager. The standard of compensation for employees is increasing. Drogin’s statistics showed that hourly workers made $18,000 while salaried employees earned $50,000. He found out that 33% of managers are salaried, but 65% hourly employees are women. Both women and men earn less when it comes to hourly workers and managers.
Drogin said that women workers at Wal-Mart stay longer at their workplace than men, which gives them more experience on the job. Female employees have to wait for promotion 4.38 years since their first day of employment, compared to 2.86 years for men. Drogin notes that there are two factors which may affect the chances of women getting promoted. Firstly, store managers believe that managerial positions require staff to relocate geographically. They transfer this belief to women. While companies can advertise positions, the only thing they are doing is analyzing each word to determine which employees they prefer. Marc Bendick noted, as a labour-economist, that other retail companies don’t have any problems with women being promoted to top management. Wal-Mart’s company only has 34.5% employees who are women, and 56.5% managers. They also sued Wal-Mart for their hiring practices. A lot of the hiring practices are biased against women, despite their good personality and excellent experience. These statistics confirm that women face discrimination. Six women, who have filed suit against the company, provided concrete information in key elements of their lawsuit. I disagree that Wal-Mart treats each woman as an individual. Every woman’s situation differs.
Drogin estimates that Wal-Mart’s female employees earned about $5,000 less in 2001 than the male workers. Drogin also found that women sales associates in 1996 received $0.20 an hour less than male sales associates. Richard Drogin’s evidence is technically validating that Wal-Mart discriminates against female employees by not treating them equally.
What could be the cause of the discrepancies revealed by the Drogin Report? The discrepancies that were uncovered by the Drogin study may have been due to a number of factors, including a false perception of ‘higher level’ between women and men workers. The first issue is the incorrect perception of women’s higher status compared to men. Drogin discovered that 65 percent hourly workers were female, but only 33% of salaried manager were. Hourly employees are cashiers, associates in stores, stock persons, department leaders, and managers of support. Salaried managers include store manager or assistant manager. Drogin said that women might work for different reasons like raising children. It means that women were more likely to be employed in lower-level positions than men. Second, i believe that the Drogin Report’s discrepancies can be explained by subjective evaluation of job performance. Drogin report assumes that women are more likely to leave their job than men for various reasons, such as raising children or other. The women would be able to enjoy a higher rate of turnover, and the men more expertise and seniority.
Drogin discovered that Wal-Mart employees stayed on the job longer and had, on average, more experience than men. The Drogin Report also stated that women workers are not suitable for salaried managers, as they should be ready to take on more difficult tasks, such as being willing to relocate. This belief was communicated to the women. Many women do not want to leave their home. The manager was given the option to decide whether to advertise certain positions on the job market or not. Last but not least, i think that discrepancies between men and women in terms of pay and promotion may have contributed to the Drogin findings. Drogin discovered that women had higher ratings of performance than men. Drogin discovered that women who were hired in the same job as men received less pay. He discovered that girls hired for hourly work in 1996 received $0.35 less an hour than men. By 2001, there was a $1.16 wage difference between these employees. In 1996, women working as sales agents received $0.20 less an hour than their male counterparts. In 2001, this difference was $1.17 an hour. Drogin ran a variety of statistical analyses to see if women’s absence from promotions could have been the cause for the pay discrepancy.
What Wal-Mart can do to correct these discrepancies The company is discriminating. Wal-Mart should give women the opportunity to move up in the company to rectify these disparities. Women can lead and manage a business with their knowledge, abilities and talent. Women can be the best managers and hold an office with integrity. There shouldn’t pay differences between men and women, nor should it take longer for women to get promoted than male employees. Women are entitled to higher salaries than males, and they can be promoted faster if their performance is superior. Each person should know their rights. Employers, managers and supervisors should follow the Employee Act as well as the Trade Union Act for workers to have the right rights. I do not think that the company should implement an “affirmative-action” promotion program to promote female staff. Managers should promote information and fairy-supported potential. Initiating an affirmative-action program would be a form of favoritism towards girls. Men must be discriminated and then boys can start complaining if corporations show favoritism toward girls.
Conclusion In June 2001, six Wal-Mart female employees filed a suit claiming that Wal-Mart discriminated against them in terms of promotions, wages, management training, and job assignment. Wal-Mart can be sued for billions to cover back wages and punitive costs. Wal-Mart could lose billions of dollars in back pay and punitive damages if the matter goes to court. In addition, we believe that the six workers in the suit should win and benefit all of the 1.5 billion to two million female Wal-Mart employee. The reason is that each woman should be entitled to the same employee rights as their male colleagues. Discrimination against female workers is prohibited at all stages of employment. It is illegal to deny employment because of gender. She is entitled to the same benefits as men, including vacation leave, promotion and other benefits.
Equal Pay Act states that both men and women must be paid the same for work done in an organization of a comparable nature. Wal-Mart posted its anti-discrimination policies everywhere to prevent future lawsuits. Wal-Mart began a number of diversity programs in 1990s. Managers told that women should be able to “reflect their community” in their illustrations. Wal-Mart had made a lot of efforts in anti-discrimination. Women of Color magazine and PINK Magazine both named Wal-Mart among the top 40 organizations for women of color to work in 2008. Wal-Mart has announced in May 2007 it is one of Diversity-Inc magazine’s Top 50 companies for Diversity.
