How do you ensure equal opportunities in your team?
It will sound like something from prehistoric times, 😀 but in my country, the vast majority of employers give women lower salaries than men. Fortunately, I don't feel it that much because I work with foreign clients, but I don't think it's fair.
(But we probably all know why this is the case – less is invested in women, because it is expected that they will go on maternity leave one day and therefore have no prospect of staying in the job longer compared to men, where the continuity of work is higher)
This article gives me another example of injustice.
TL;DR: DJT is warning big companies and not wanting them to hire Indian workers.
I am curious: how do you make sure no one is disadvantaged in your workplace due to race, gender, religion, origin, or other personal factors?
And what do you do when a "higher instance" wants you to stick to some kind of inequality?
Replies
I'm from Asia, and interestingly, in the tech industry here, I've noticed that women who are proactive and hardworking often advance faster and earn more than men.
Later, I realized this is partly because the tech field here is still male dominated. Since women are the minority, those who do enter the field often stand out, and their communication skills and emotional intelligence can give them a strong advantage in a traditionally male environment.
That said, many women in my country still prefer focusing on family and caring for their children rather than striving to become high achieving career professionals. So while the opportunity is there, the path isn't always chosen.
@hwiidg What country do you live in?
@busmark_w_nika I'm from Vietnam
As founder, I've had the privilege of not facing pressure to hire or reject someone based on anything but their skill. I see this not as a reason to be complacent, but as a responsibility to build our company on a core principle from day one. Talent is the only thing that matters, and bias is the single biggest barrier to finding it. Any practice that filters candidates based on gender, origin, or anything other than merit is not just unfair, it's a competitive disadvantage. Ultimately, you can't claim to be a meritocracy if you're not actively dismantling the barriers that prevent the best talent from working with you.
@dmytrotomniuk Unfortunately, many founders (at least at my country) do not have this mindset, but at the same time, many people (employees) don't see many opportunities in their physical environment to change the job that would be different in that. One of the possibilities is to leave the country (what many young people do atm).
For me, it's quite simple. You only hire people who suit you. If they suit you, you have no right to discriminate. But if you have something against men/women, you simply hire from one gender and not the other. There's no need to hire someone just to put them in unequal conditions.
The topic is very delicate and, for me, difficult to resolve. Back when I worked at a real estate agency, I was the only one sent on business trips. My female colleagues always stayed in the office. I was sent to other offices for 3–4 days each month, sometimes on short notice. And even so, it didn’t bring me any extra money. But I didn’t have the luxury to refuse. Similarly, when the women were on their period, they were allowed to stay home and not work. I personally believe that this is an extremely difficult time of the month for a woman, and in no way do I want to judge them for it. It’s just very easy to say, “Oh, pay him more / don’t pay them as much as a man.” I believe there are arguments on both sides, and I refuse to take a stance. In the same way, people who smoked would work at least 30 minutes less per day because they’d go out several times to smoke and take breaks.
So, there are a million reasons for discrimination.
@byalexai I am so glad you mentioned those smoking breaks because these happened to me. :D and annoyed me so much. I worked longer just because I didn't smoke but couldn't go for a short walk to "come up with some ideas". Their smoking sessions were taken like "brainstormings" :DDD
Yesss. Every hour it was a ten-minute cigarette break. But it would be discrimination if we actually banned them from smoking in the office or during work hours.
@byalexai 10 minutes cumulatively = 2 hours from a work day :D
Dereference
Great question! Have you come across any specific policies or tools that have successfully reduced pay gaps or bias in teams? I’m curious if you think structural changes like transparent salary bands or bias training are more effective than cultural shifts driven by leadership.
@adi_singh5 I really liked the approach that folk app has :) they seemed to me quite transparent – here https://work.folk.app/whats-your-salary-approach
I am currently employed at an organization. In India, salary details are generally considered confidential, and employees typically do not discuss them openly with one another. Personally, I have never encountered a situation where a woman explicitly mentioned being paid less than her male counterparts, though I acknowledge that such disparities can exist. In my view, when individuals, regardless of gender, perform at the same level, they are usually compensated fairly. That is my perspective based on my experience.
@nitin_joshi How is that fairness determined? Is it possible that when he/she (employer) doesn't discuss the salary that something is not correct in the reward?
@busmark_w_nika In general, salary is not openly discussed here, but you might come to know about it if the person is a friend or teammate. In some cases, there are actually more women in higher positions than men. While some smaller organizations may still engage in discriminatory practices, I personally haven’t encountered this myself. In fact, women often show more stability within an organization, whereas men tend to change jobs more frequently. Because of this, I’ve seen companies prefer hiring women in certain roles.
@nitin_joshi Okay, this changes the perspective a little bit, because I didn't know that mostly women are in the management. This aspect is still missing in Slovakia, the country I am from.
I do try to make sure no one is treated unfairly.
but to be honest, I’ve never really felt that kind of discrimination at any of the companies I’ve worked at.
@bunzeewithai In such case, you were at right places ;)