Gender Discrimination: Men More Likely To Feel Discriminated Against At Work

Statistics gathered by SME Loans have revealed that upwards of 8.2 Million UK employees feel they have experienced discrimination due to their gender throughout their working lives.

Of the 2000 workers polled, 26% believed that gender discrimination had cost them in some way in the workplace, with the survey surprisingly revealing that more men felt as though they were victimised than women.

Here are some overall statistics from the men and women surveyed, who believe they had been discriminated against:

• 32.4% believed that the opposing gender ‘got away with more’ at work.
• 28.7% had been – from their perspective – overlooked for promotion due to gender.
• 26.5% felt their work wasn’t taken seriously because of gender.
• 24% believe they had been turned down for jobs because they were the ‘wrong’ gender.
• 23.4% believe they were unfairly dismissed due to gender.
• 17.7% believed their redundancy was brought about because of gender.

Gender discrimination – Men compared to Women

28% of the men surveyed believed they’d experienced discrimination due to gender at work, whereas only 23% of women believed they had experienced such discrimination.

Age demographics and gender discrimination

It is noted through the results that there is significant variation between age groups and their experiences of gender-based discrimination:

18-24 year-olds 

28.2% believed they had experienced gender-based workplace discrimination.

25-34 year-olds:

38.4% believed they had experienced gender-based workplace discrimination.

35-44 year-olds:

30.4% believed they had experienced gender-based workplace discrimination.

45-54s year-olds:

17% believed they had experienced gender-based workplace discrimination.

55 year-olds and above:

7.5% believed they had experienced gender-based workplace discrimination.

As you can see, the largest group affected (with the biggest spike in figures) is 25-34 year-olds affected by gender-based issues, with the least-affected being the over 55s, with a huge drop-off in such feelings for people aged 45 or older.

Other negative workplace issues

Unfortunately, age discrimination isn’t the only issue faced by some workers. The survey identified some such areas:

• 25.4% had felt ‘shunned’ or left out by other colleagues.
• 23% had been bullied by others at work.
• 12.5% had experienced sexual harassment.
• 11% have had difficulty fitting in or making friends with co-workers.

What do I do if I feel I have been discriminated against at work?

Raise your concerns with your line manager. If your line manager or direct superior is the issue, take it to your Human Resources representative to be addressed by their internal workplace procedures. If you still appear to be getting nowhere or are unsatisfied with the way your matter has been handled, it may be time to get legal advice from a solicitor.

Further reading

ACAS – Discrimination, bullying and harassment

Stress at Work guide – Oakwood Solicitors

Workplace Bullying and Fear – Oakwood Solicitors

WHAT TO DO NEXT

If you feel that you have experienced discrimination, harassment or some other form of mistreatment at work – please feel free to contact us in confidence for a free initial consultation. Choose one of the methods on this page, or call us on 0113 200 9787 to find out how our team can help you.

Article by Stuart Jones