As you advance your career, you deserve to receive opportunities based on your valuable skills and experience in your field. Discrimination based on your gender can hinder your career progress and create an unhealthy work environment for yourself and others you work with.
If you are a Pennsylvania employee, knowing the state’s gender laws can help you identify potential instances of discrimination at your place of work, so you can address these with your employer and take legal action if possible. The first step to mitigating gender discrimination is understanding how to identify it and learning about specific laws in place to protect you from facing these issues alone.
What Is Gender Discrimination?
Gender discrimination can appear in several ways and affect people of any gender. Discrimination can happen at any point in your relationship with a company, from the job interviews and hiring practices to the promotions and demotions throughout your time working for an employer. Many people may not recognize that they are inflicting or receiving discrimination based on gender, so it is important to learn how to identify, resolve and prevent these issues.
Gender inequality in the workplace can look like:
- Being asked unfair interview questions with gender-leaning themes, such as your plans for getting married or having children.
- Receiving less pay for the same job as people of other genders.
- Being fired because you are pregnant or going on parental leave.
- Being forced to take maternity leave.
- Being spoken to differently than employees of other genders are spoken to.
- Being denied promotions based on your gender.
- Only being offered certain positions based on gender stereotypes.
- Not being considered for leadership positions based on your gender.
- Enforced gender-biased dress codes.
- Any other employer actions that create a company culture where one gender identity is viewed and treated as more or less valued than others.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is another serious form of workplace gender discrimination. Many people may claim to be joking when they say or do inappropriate things pertaining to gender. Still, if you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, you may be experiencing illegal sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can be words or actions that create or contribute to a hostile work environment, including:
- Sexual or gender-based comments or jokes
- Unwanted touching
- Sexual rumors
- Requests for sexual favors
- Sexual assault, including attempts
- Unwanted staring at body parts
- Repeated instances of unwelcome advances
Sexual harassment and other forms of gender discrimination are never your fault, and you shouldn’t have to endure them anywhere, especially at your place of work. Knowing the laws in your state and seeing what an attorney can do for you can help create safer, more comfortable work environments for yourself and others.
Gender Discrimination Laws in PA
Under Federal law, most employers with at least 15 employees must uphold gender discrimination laws, while most employers in Pennsylvania with at least 4 employees are covered by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. Employees of smaller businesses also have some protections concerning the gender wage gap. Gender discrimination laws are in place to protect people of all gender identities, as anyone can give or receive unfair treatment based on gender.
Laws may not always stop people from discriminating against gender, but they can help you know your rights so you can file effective complaints if any of the above situations happen to you. Since laws vary by state, knowing the specifics of illegal practices in the state where you work ensures you have legal grounds to get the help you need.
Some of the most prominent Pennsylvania laws regarding gender discrimination protect employees from:
Unequal Pay and Benefits
The Equal Pay Law makes it illegal for any employee to be paid less than employees of other genders who work under equal conditions on jobs with the same duties and skill requirements. The gender wage gap is still a problem today, and inquiring with lawyers is a step you can take to combat this unfair treatment and receive the pay you deserve.
Sexual Harassment
Many Pennsylvania laws, such as the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, protect you from sexual harassment at work and require your workplace to investigate any harassment claims you file. Other laws specifically help enforce the safety and protect the credibility of sexual assault victims. Consulting with a lawyer can help you determine whether you have experienced an isolated incident or an overall hostile work environment, as your legal rights may differ case by case.
Wrongful Termination
If you believe you were terminated from your job because of your gender, you can look into taking legal action against your former employer. In most cases, Pennsylvania is an at-will state, which means employees can be fired or demoted for any legal reason. However, gender discrimination is illegal and unethical, and, following federal law, Pennsylvania law protects you from unfair termination for reasons such as your gender or your pregnancy or family leave status.
For instance, you cannot lose your job for becoming pregnant, for taking parental leave you’re entitled to receive or for refusing to tolerate other instances of gender discrimination in your workplace.
Pregnancy Discrimination
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act also protects pregnant people from facing workplace discrimination and gives them options for how to address their pregnancy and parental leave under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). Under this act, workplaces cannot offer pregnant employees fewer benefits than any other employees or require pregnant employees to take parental leave at a certain time for a certain amount of time.
The PDA also prohibits the unfair treatment of employees based on their ability to have children or their family status. It states that employers cannot make hiring or promotion choices that purposefully exclude people they assume will need or want to take family leave at some point during their employment.
Many Pennsylvania laws also protect you from the repercussions of speaking up against illegal gender discrimination you have faced at work. If you would like to address discrimination with your employer, you have the right to do so without risking your job.
Get a Free Consultation
If you are a Pennsylvania employee who believes you’ve been discriminated against or harassed because of your gender, we are more than willing to discuss your circumstances with you and help you determine any PA gender laws being violated in your workplace.
At Weisberg Cummings, our goal is to support you as you seek legal help. Our knowledgeable employment law attorneys will work with you to understand your case and establish a claim if there are legal grounds to do so. For more information about our services or to receive a free consultation, contact us today.
