Survey finds one in three female workers experience gender-based discrimination 

Just under 20% of women surveyed were subject to sexual harassment in the workplace 

When asked what their biggest challenge was in the workplace, pay inequality, sexism, childcare, and bullying & discrimination were among the common replies.

A poll of women in Irish workplaces revealed that one in three have experienced gender-based discrimination. 

Surveying 500 women, consultancy firm, HR Buddy reported that 19% of women were subject to sexual harassment in the workplace, with seven in ten saying that women were more likely to be overlooked for promotional opportunities with pay, sexism, childcare & family status blamed as the most common barriers to equality.

When asked if workplaces provide equal opportunities to men and women, only four in ten answered yes. Similarly, 40% of women also said they faced unequal treatment due to their gender.

When asked what their biggest challenge was in the workplace, pay inequality, sexism, childcare, and bullying & discrimination were among the common replies.

It was also revealed at half of the women surveyed believed they were not given equal opportunities in the workplace, with a quarter saying they were unsure. 

Respondents were also asked if they thought women were more likely to be subject to unfair criticism than their male colleagues, with 75% responding “Yes.” Two-thirds also believed that women were more likely to receive less-desirable tasks than their male counterparts.

Over 60% believed that women in the workplace were more likely to experience micro-aggression than a male colleague, with only 13% replying “No” to this question and the remaining being “Unsure”.

90% of those surveyed also believed that organisations should take more action to support women in the workplace and nearly three-quarters of respondents said that their workplace had not invested in training and education in preventing gender-based discrimination.

Speaking on the survey results, founder & CEO of HR Buddy, Damien McCarthy, said, "The survey follows on from research conducted in 2022 that revealed that 58% of women have experienced harassment in the workplace. 

"Twelve months on, our research has found that three-quarters of women are saying that their workplace is not investing in training and education in the prevention of gender-based discrimination.

"The feedback from women in the workplace today continues to go beyond unequal-pay as a form of discrimination with sexism, family status, childcare and negative impacts on promotion and career progression opportunities being highlighted as some of the other main reasons why women feel they are being continually discriminated against."