Things Women Should Care About When Job-Hunting

Jobhunting, on its own, is a stressful ordeal for anyone. The market is saturated and competitive, with a limited supply of positions and a great demand for workers. With the market conditions the way it currently is, it’s difficult for anyone to land a decent job position that pays well.

If looking for work is hard for any man, consider the conditions in a woman’s shoes. To date, it’s been about a century since women were given the freedom to vote and to work in certain countries. Even though women have been a common sight in offices and other work environments, they still face several forms of inequality rampant in the workplace.

Although there are more women in the workplace now than a few decades ago, there’s no doubt workplaces still have a long way to go before they can be considered perfect. Women must equip themselves with the right knowledge regarding their rights in the workforce to provide a short-term solution to a largely biased working system.

What Should Women Consider When Jobhunting

As was mentioned, the job hunting process is highly competitive, especially for a female worker. Because they are prone to experience inequalities and bias throughout their careers more than their male coworkers, women should be aware of what they’ll need to consider before saying yes to a job position. Below are some examples of such things to watch out for.

1. Benefits

A company’s benefits package affects an employee’s decision just as much as the salary. Some companies might offer more health insurance than others, while some businesses can start a retirement savings plan for you and contribute throughout your tenure.

A competitive salary package can attract more prospects to a company. For employees, women especially, having several benefits offered for a position can significantly affect their confidence in a business. It can also motivate them to perform better and stay in the company longer.

2. Work environment and conditions

Since you’ll spend more of your time at the office, you’ll need to ensure you’re comfortable where you work. You should already have an idea of where you want to work before signing anything.

On the company’s part, work areas should be sustainable for an employee to be productive. Companies should offer spaces that allow employees to relax, recharge, and socialize with coworkers since poor working conditions can negatively impact an employee’s motivation, health, and performance.

3. Opportunities for growth

While you can’t expect to be promoted to CEO overnight, selecting positions with a clear career trajectory and ample growth opportunities is essential. It’s even more important for women since career advancement is much trickier for them than for male employees. When looking for work, you should learn how to distinguish dead-end positions from those with growth potential.

What are the Potential Challenges Women Face at Work?

Women workers face much more problems in the workplace compared to their male counterparts, and most are largely due to their gender. Even though society has grown more tolerant and accepting of different people and their cultural, gender, and ethnic backgrounds, discrimination and similar behaviors are not entirely eradicated in the workplace.

It can result in a toxic work environment that is both unmotivating and potentially unsafe to the workers in the minority, women included, if managers don’t address such behaviors.

Although not an extensive list, you can find some of the common challenges women can face in the workplace below.

1. Gender pay gap

According to a recent report from ChamberofCommerce.org, the nationwide gender pay gap is currently 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. Knowing typical salaries for your role will help you negotiate fair pay and avoid this gap.

This pay gap between male and female employees remains rampant in many industries, despite various initiatives calling to address it and provide pay parity for both genders. The World Bank has noted that less than half of the global economies mandate equal pay for equal work value.

2. Sexual harassment

Another challenge women often have to go through is harassment in the workplace. In a poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, harassment was one of the main concerns of the women surveyed.

Harassment—particularly sexual harassment—manifests itself in different ways. It can range from unwarranted sexual remarks to physical advancements, which can cause tensions between a female employee and her coworker or work environment.

Different countries worldwide have been implementing laws to combat harassment against women in the workforce, but despite such an initiative, it’s still a common occurrence for working women. In the US, about 5 million employees are sexually harassed every year. Of this sample size, 99.8% of the victims never filed formal charges.

3. Pregnancy discrimination

The competitive working scene has also created a dilemma for women deciding to start a family or continue working. One of the many challenges they can face while trying to juggle career and family is pregnancy discrimination.

Pregnancy discrimination is any unfair or biased treatment of a female employee due to her pregnancy, childbirth, or subsequent recovery after labor. Some examples relating to pregnancy discrimination in the workplace include wrongful termination, verbal or physical harassment, social isolation, and stereotyping.

What Should Female Workers Do to Land the Perfect Job?

It’s only natural for female workers to want a positive work environment and a better position to allow for their growth. Women should know how to distinguish a good job from a bad one in their effort to achieve these and understand the factors that go into landing the perfect job.

1. Have confidence in your abilities

Even though women have grown up in a society that criticizes their abilities often, this shouldn’t hinder them from trying to land roles that they feel they fill well.

If you read through a job description and recognize that you’re well-equipped to handle the role, then you should apply. In many cases, people don’t often achieve 100% of the requirements, but their transferable skills can make all the difference.

2. Research the company you’re applying for

One way to steer clear of companies with questionable cultures is to research them thoroughly first. This includes checking reviews from past employees and the company’s industry authority.

Moreover, researching and understanding what the company and your role does can greatly impress recruiters. Understanding the values and beliefs of the company can make for a meaningful interview with the employer and show your initiative and interest as an applicant.

3. Ensure the job post is clear

Blurred boundaries in a role can affect your experience within a company, and it can lead to handling more responsibilities beyond the scope of your position. Job roles should have a clear boundary of what the required duties are. If job postings are unclear and you can’t correctly tell what they are or do, it might be best to skip them and move on to other applications.

Women in the Workforce

The perception of having female coworkers has come a long way from a century ago, but even then, there’s still much left to be done. The pandemic has prompted a dip in job opportunities due to budget constraints but is now bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels.

With the job market growing again, women workers should take the time to do their due diligence and adequately research the positions they’re interested in. Remember to consider the factors mentioned above to help you in your job-hunting journey to avoid problems and help secure the future of your career.

Jeffrey Cassells

Jeffrey is a writer by profession and an artist at heart. He is currently a content strategist and consultant for Shegerian & Associates and aims to make employee rights information more accessible. When he’s not writing, Jeff can be found working on abstract pieces in his art room.