This topic is a controversy because women are not treated fairly in all aspects of the workplace, yet some people still deny that this problem exists. Inequalities against women in the workplace include pay, hiring, and acquisition of higher positions. Women are not given equal pay to men, even for equal work. They are often discriminated against and not hired although they may be more qualified than their male competitors. The number of women in high level positions at many companies is nowhere near the amount of men in these positions. Writer for The Atlantic, Liza Mundy mentions how in the Silicon Valley, conditions are so bad women “leave tech at more than twice the rate men do” due to “workplace conditions, a lack of access to key creative roles, and a sense of feeling stalled in one’s career” …show more content…
The awful working conditions in the Silicon Valley empower women to take a stance and rally against gender inequality in the workplace. In the Silicon Valley, people value equality and justice for women. Authors of the book, The Glass Ceiling in the 21st Century: Understanding Barriers to Gender Equality, Manuela Barreto, Michelle K. Ryan, and Michael T. Schmitt provide personal examples of gender discrimination in the workplace to add credibility to the issue and prove that it does exist. They include the case of a woman who works in the Silicon Valley, “as Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard complained: ‘In the chat rooms around Silicon Valley…I was routinely referred to as either a ‘bimbo’ or a ‘bitch’—too soft or too hard and presumptuous, besides’” (Barreto, Ryan, and Schmitt 27). Her leadership-like qualities caused others to make fun of her or resent her. Women cannot seem to catch a break when it comes to management. The purpose of including this is to portray gender discrimination on a smaller scale, so the audience is more likely to