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Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) comprises a series of statutes enacted over the years designed to prohibit workplace discrimination of many sorts. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, makes it illegal to discriminate in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (Perrone, 1997). Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, makes it illegal to discriminate against federal employees and applicants for employment based on disability. Federal agencies are required to make reasonable accommodations to the known physical and mental limitations of qualified employees or applicants with disabilities (Burchell & Scott, 1994). Section 501 also requires affirmative action for hiring, placement, and promotion of qualified individuals with disabilities. The Equal Pay Act, as amended (1991), prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of sex in the payment of wages where substantially equal work is performed under similar working conditions. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as amended, protects people 40 years of age and older by prohibiting age discrimination in hiring, discharge, pay, promotions, and other terms and conditions of employment. Although the guidelines of these laws are directed toward Federal Agencies, they have been expanded and are now in existence in many states, and are the law for private industry. To stay within the law regarding race, American management has had to deal with the following: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; The Civil Rights Act of 1991; The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); The Rehabilitation Act; The Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974; The Equal Pay Act of 1963 & 1991; The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA); Harassment law; the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP); State Human Rights Commission. Most observers of the American scene concur that there are, despite the numerous Federal programs in place to ensure non-discrimination in the workplace, numerous examples of inequalities in the American workplace. Evidence shows that workers are being discriminated against in the following areas: Gender Women still earn less than men for doing the same work (Blau & Beller, 1988; Holzer & Neumark, 2000) Race Minorities still earn less than Caucasians in almost all industries (Burchell & Scott, 1994) Age The difficulties of finding a job when the applicant is past 40 are well documented). Sexual Orientation Gays and Lesbians tend to suffer job discrimination more than heterosexual employees (Lorber, 1998). Education There is growing evidence that people without computer skills are being discriminated against (Scott, 1998). To give this essay sufficient focus, only one of these areas will be analyzed, that of gender equality. Of these areas of discrimination, there is more evidence concerning gender inequality that is most often found in work settings. Many forms of gender inequality exist. These include sex segregation, differences in authority, and inequities in promotions and pay. Reskin and Padavic (1994), argue that there are three dimensions involved in gender inequality: sexual division of labor, devaluation of jobs labeled as "women jobs", and social construction of gender on the job. Many factors contribute to the inequality experienced by men and women, such as sex differences in preferences and productivity, cultural beliefs, men’s efforts, and employer’s actions. In 1840, 40% of the paid work force was comprised of women and children and much of this work was home based. Both women and men performed the same tasks in order to get the work done. Labor in American society shifted from single household settings to small groups manufacturing in guilds. By the end of industrialization, when the site once again shifted from guilds to factories, only 17% of the paid work force was women. Many women worked around the house doing what was referred to as "invisible work". In 1992, women made up 46.5 %, less than half, of the paid labor force. Many corporations discriminate against their female employees through sex segregation. In the paid-work force, women are more likely to be found in secretarial jobs, rather than on an assembly line.
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