An employer may even commit unintentional gender discrimination. Regardless of being intentional or not, discrimination can lead qualified people to unjustly miss out on jobs, promotions, and equal pay. Unfortunately, some have no idea it’s even happening.
Thankfully, arming yourself with knowledge concerning California gender discrimination laws can protect you from unlawful and unethical exclusion. Let an experienced team of gender discrimination lawyers shed some light on this often complex subject.
What Constitutes Gender Discrimination?
Gender discrimination occurs when someone receives unfair treatment based on their gender. Additionally, this form of discrimination can happen based on a person’s gender identity. It may also involve preconceived gender-based notions. An example could be a false belief that females are best suited to assisting roles or that males are better suited for high-conflict roles.Gender discrimination in the workplace is often confused with sex-based discrimination. Sex-based discrimination concerns biological differences between male and female individuals.
For further clarification, here is a list of what would constitute gender discrimination:
- Promotion Bias: A hiring manager gives a male employee a promotion while looking over more qualified female and non-binary candidates, believing men are more fit to lead a company.
- Misgendering: An employee intentionally refers to someone with he/him pronouns as she/her.
- Unequal Pay: A company has three marketing executives performing identical duties. However, it pays the female executive more than the two employees in similar positions.
- Unfair Treatment: Gender discrimination lawyers often assist employees who receive unfair treatment. Such behavior could include workers of one gender excluding other genders from work-related discussions.
- Pregnancy Discrimination: A woman discloses to her manager that she’s pregnant. A few weeks later, she is terminated with little warning and no discernable reason.
Gender Discrimination Laws Protecting Employees
Now that you know what gender discrimination in the workplace is, it’s time to learn about laws that safeguard you against such behavior. Fortunately, workers have protections. Here’s more information about national and state-level discrimination laws.
Federal Laws Safeguarding Against Gender Discrimination
Perhaps the most crucial anti-discriminatory law is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This often referred to law protects potential and current workers from discrimination based on many factors, including:- Race
- Religious beliefs
- Gender
- Sex
Another crucial law offering a safeguard to expectant workers is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, which prohibits employers from discriminating against pregnant employees. This act protects “women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.”
Additionally, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 offers further protection against gender discrimination in the workplace, involving fair compensation. To put it another way, this act makes it illegal for companies to pay a worker more or less than someone else explicitly based on sex or gender.
Specific California Gender Discrimination Laws
The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is a California-specific law that provides legal safeguards to people seeking housing and employment. Looking specifically at the employment aspects of this act, it prohibits companies from discriminating against anyone based on their gender or gender identity.FEHA covers all aspects of potential and current employer-employee relationships, including hiring, demotions, and terminations. Additional protections offered by FEHA include sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and other unethical practices.
What to Do If You Experience Gender Discrimination in the Workplace
Don’t let prejudice go unanswered. Did you receive unfair treatment? Here’s what to do next.
Collect Evidence
Officially reporting gender discrimination in the workplace involves submitting reports and complaints. Because of that, you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle now by making evidence gathering your first step.What constitutes evidence will vary on a per-incident basis. In your case, it’s anything that helps document gender discrimination, which may include:
- Emails
- Text messages
- Work-based chats (Slack, Teams, etc)
- Letters or notes
- Performance reviews
- Witness statements
- Photos or videos, if available
If unsure about your case’s evidence, consider contacting a gender discrimination lawyer.
Report What Happened
Next, report your details of gender discrimination in the workplace to your employer’s human resources (HR) department. If no such department exists, report it to your supervisor.Completing a workplace report officially documents your incident. This goes beyond verbal accusations that could be easy to deny or disprove.
Additionally, reporting what happened may notify an employer about previously unknown discrimination before moving forward with an official state-based complaint. We’ll cover that in the next step.
Submit a Complaint
Hopefully, the company you work for resolves your incident. However, that doesn’t always happen. It could be time to contact the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). This state-wide department exists to help California residents who are the targets of gender discrimination in the workplace and other discriminatory matters.You'll first file your official complaint. This complaint will be similar to the workplace report you file with your employer. So, having your evidence handy for this step is helpful. Then, after submitting your claim, the CRD may conduct an official investigation.
Contact a Gender Discrimination Lawyer
Considering the importance of such matters, situations involving gender discrimination in the workplace often require reliable and established law firms. A lawyer can help with your case's discussions, paperwork, and other aspects.Due to our extensive history practicing law in the Golden State, Melmed Law maintains an in-depth understanding of California gender discrimination laws. Additionally, our team of seasoned California gender discrimination lawyers has successfully recovered over $250 million for this state’s wronged residents.
Melmed Law isn’t afraid to stand up to employers of any size. Our team also helps with negotiations, ensuring you leave nothing on the table. We can also assist should your employer decide to retaliate against you.
We wish gender discrimination were a long-forgotten social injustice of the past. Unfortunately, it can rear its ugly head in any industry or company. Do you suspect you or someone you know endured gender discrimination in the workplace? To schedule a free consultation, contact us today.