DISCRIMINATION

Discrimination levels are soaring. Young women in the workplace are now more likely than not to experience it in some form.

Young women are discriminated against for a range of reasons. These intersect, and age and gender combined with other aspects of identity leave young women exposed to unfair treatment.

Being discriminated this early in working life can have a long-lasting impact - denting young women’s confidence, harming their mental health, holding them back from promotions and even forcing them out of their jobs.

Age: Almost 3 in 10 young women (28%) have been discriminated against because of their age.
Appearance: 18% of young women have been discriminated against because of their appearance.
Sex: 16% of young women have been discriminated against because of their sex.
Ethnicity: Almost 2 in 5 (39%) young black women and over 3 in 10 (31%) of young Asian women have been discriminated against because of their ethnicity.
Gender identity: Over 3 in 10 (31%) of trans young women have been discriminated against because of their gender identity.
Mental health: Over a third (35%) of young women with a long-term mental health condition have been discriminated against because of their mental health.
Caring responsibilities: 28% of young women with sole childcare responsibilities, 21% with joint childcare responsibility and 25% of adult carers have been discriminated against for having children or other caring responsibilties.

Sexism: alive and well

Unsafe workplaces

Too many young women lack even basic safety at work. Sexual harassment is a devastatingly common part of working life for young women. Over a quarter (26%) of young women have experienced this.

There are some signs that this has declined over the last three years, though this is something that no-one should have to go through in their working life.

Challenging discrimination and inequality

The good news is that young women generally know how to recognise discrimination.

But almost a fifth (18%) don’t know their rights in relation to workplace discrimination.

Young women don’t feel as comfortable as men to challenge or report discrimination.

Similarly, almost 2 in 5 (38%) young women would not feel confident to challenge pay inequality, compared to under 3 in 10 (29%) of young men.

Clearly knowledge alone is not enough to create action against discrimination. Being in an unsupportive workplace culture, with valid reasons to fear the consequences of speaking up, and a lack of belief that anything will be done about it, all create barriers to challenging unfair treatment.

Employers should:

Put in place clear, well communicated and simple processes for reporting discrimination.
Ensure that reports of discrimination are properly investigated and that action is taken when discrimination is found to have happened.
Put in place zero tolerance policies that are demonstrated from the top down.
Foster a working environment in which it is safe for colleagues to point out actions and words which have a discriminatory impact.
Support those who go through the reporting process, ensuring that it is sensitively handled and they receive wellbeing checks throughout.
Provide additional support for those who have faced discrimination, to ensure they are protected from repercussions help them rebuild their confidence.
Listen to young women’s experiences of their workplace, and consult with them when creating anti-discrimination policies.

Government should:

Strengthen the enforcement of laws against discrimination in the workplace, including ensuring enforcement agencies are adequately resourced.
Make sure enforcement mechanisms are well-promoted and feel easy and safe for young women to access.
Provide more information for young women about their rights at work, including through the planned National Jobs and Careers Service.

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