Sample Essay on Human Equality: Why Someone Should Work Harder

Even in countries which do not legally discriminate against one particular group of people, it’s still possible to identify examples of inequality. In the United States, for instance, men are generally more likely to earn higher salaries than women, seemingly benefiting from their gender in the realm of career advancement. To understand why this occurs, it’s necessary to investigate the issue further.

According to a recent study, although American men and women express an equal desire to advance in the workplace, women are 15% less likely than men to get promoted. Although some people may assume that becoming a mother would reduce a woman’s desire to earn a promotion, the study found that women with children are actually more likely to work towards a promotion than women who aren’t mothers.

Other data can shed light on this discrepancy. Studies indicate that men generally feel confident in their ability to move up within a company or an organization. Women, when they have initially joined the workforce, still believe that earning a promotion to an executive role is a difficult process with many challenges along the way. This attitude, rooted in genuine concerns, may impact the degree to which a woman pursues career advancement. If a man feels confident about getting a promotion, he’ll make his desire known to upper management. A woman of equal qualifications, who believes that her gender will restrict her ability to advance, may be reluctant to pursue a new position aggressively.

A comprehensive study by Harvard Business School also helps to illustrate why women are passed over for promotions more frequently than men. Many people who thrive on their careers benefit from having a mentor who offers them advice. According to the study’s findings, however, there’s a clear difference between how mentors treat women and how they treat men.

Men typically receive a moderate amount of advice from their mentor. More importantly, with male employees, mentors are more likely to use their position to help an employee network with the right people. Women, on the other hand, receive too much advice from their mentors, possibly because they are viewed to be less qualified than their male counterparts. Unfortunately, mentors don’t usually exercise their influence to help women earn promotions. They supply an abundance of advice, but they don’t actually recommend them for any positions, depriving them of one of the key benefits a mentor can provide an employee.

In fact, many women involved in the study report that they have to challenge their mentor when trying to move up in an organization, whereas men generally don’t face this struggle. The mentor isn’t likely to accept that a woman is prepared for her new role.

Clearly, there is an equality gap, even if it isn’t legally-sanctioned. In the business world, women may have to work harder than their male counterparts to get noticed. In the meantime, it’s also important for companies and organizations to be aware of these disparities, so they can address them in the future.

References:

• Bartz, C. (2014). Why Women Should Do Less & Network More. Fortune Online
• Belanger, L. (2015). Making the Case for Women’s Career Development. Fast Company
• Brescoll, V. (2013). Study: Men Seeking Career Advancement Are Favored for Flextime. Yale Insights
• Hartmann, H. (2016). Women Need Equal Opportunities for Job Advancement. New York Times
• Ibarra, H. (2010). Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women. Harvard Business Review Online
• Lebowitz, S. (2015). A new study from Lean In and McKinsey finds exactly how much more likely men are to get promoted than women. Business Insider
• Waller, M. (2016). How Men & Women See the Workplace Differently. Wall Street Journal