Why Women Are Treated Unequally Than Men Despite of Having A Good Academic Background?

There was a time when Women were dominated by men in all respect of the society. They were devoid of any rights to take decision, to vote, to take education and even to employment. They were restricted to play the role of a keeper of hearth and home, giving birth and take care of their off springs. Men were considered as the proprietor of their spouses and dictate their livelihood. There was discrepancy in the rights for men and women for ages. But as time passed, women started realizing that they need to fight for their rights and their existence. And after a long struggle for Right to Equality, the beginning of the 20^th century brings a revolutionary change in the society allowing women the right to vote, education and better job opportunities.

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Earlier women were considered inferior to men in every aspect especially in intelligence levels. After getting the right to education women proved that they are equal or even better than men in academics. A research shows that proportions of women attaining higher education are increasing year by year. Women of this century surpassed men by a high percentage in Master’s degree and PhD.

Now the question is does the women’s achievement in academics led them to a greater success in the professional world?

Though women won the right to education and job opportunities as equal to men and proved themselves in education but the discrimination still remains in the professional field. Many parts of the world are still stubborn with sexism in the workplace. Studies have shown that women are offered less salary compared to men with identical backgrounds. Women face more criticism and less praise in their workplace than that of men.  In today’s professional world people are not judged by meritocracy. They hire and promote based on personality than that of formal qualifications. As Whitney Johnson and Tara Mohr wrote in an article posted on the Harvard Business Review’s Web site, “The very skills that propel women to the top of the class in school are earning us middle-of the-pack marks in the workplace.”

In the professional world women has to face ‘glass ceiling’ in the executive suite. It cannot be denied that women are constrained from the opportunity to move to the upper level of management. A recent study shows that 51.4% of women account for middle-managers and only 4.2% of Fortune 500 CEO’s.

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Despite this fact there are many organizations that are changing and developing their work culture in a positive way.

" While I have always considered myself sensitive to and effective on gender issues in the workplace," writes Cisco CEO John Chambers in a leaked email, "my eyes were opened in new ways and I feel a renewed sense of urgency to make the progress we haven't made in the last decade."

Education is no panacea in workplace if a woman does not possess the leadership skills. So, to acquire the top most position in the workplace women still need to upgrade their skills and establish their credentials.