When it comes to our right to work, without discrimination and with equal pay, it seems women have been fighting an uphill battle since the dawn of time. Yes, we’ve had some major wins along the way, but it’s hard not to feel like howling at the moon when you hear that once again we’re seeing an uptick in gender-based discrimination in the workplace, as revealed in a new study by Young Women’s Trust.

The charity’s annual survey of 4,000 women aged 18-30 found that 50% have experienced discrimination at work, a jump from 42% last year. Worse still, 25% are suffering in silence, feeling unable to challenge the sexist comments, dismissive behaviour and salary inequality they’re facing day in, day out. 

Sarah*, a young woman from London who shared her experiences as part of the study, said that inappropriate comments made by her manager based on her gender damaged her mental health and seriously knocked her confidence. “I was told I was ‘emotional’ or ‘dramatic’ when I raised concerns about projects in meetings,” she said. “I was left off key documents on projects that I initiated, and when asked to lead meetings, I had management disrupt and take over.” 

Constantly being undermined and underestimated has a huge knock-on impact, not just on our ability to be heard and respected at work, but also on our earning power. A worrying 23% of women told the Young Women’s Trust that they are being paid less than their male peers for the same work, despite the fact that this is illegal, and almost half are worried about not having enough opportunities to progress. 

Their firsthand experiences have been backed up by feedback from HR decision-makers across the country, with more than a third admitting that they’ve seen instances of young women being discriminated against in the past year, and confirming that sexist behaviour still exists within their organisations.

In the face of these frustrating truths, it’s little wonder there’s been a rise in women re-evaluating their relationship with the traditional workplace – from ‘quiet quitting’ to an uptick in entrepreneurship – but turning our backs on a broken system shouldn’t be the only answer. It’s why the Young Women’s Trust is focusing on empowerment through education: encouraging us to know our rights at work and feel able to recognise when we’re coming up against a sexist barrier and call it out.

“We know it’s hard for young women to get the jobs that they want because of barriers such as a lack of flexible working and affordable childcare, but then when they do enter the workplace, discrimination and a lack of support to progress create this broken rung on the career ladder,” says Claire Reindorp, chief executive of Young Women’s Trust. “It’s a travesty that in 2023, young women still aren’t being given the same chances in life as young men.”

The charity is calling on the government and employers to commit to ending discrimination for good, creating better job security for young women and ensuring fair and equal pay once and for all – and we are right behind them. Here’s to a better working future for us all in 2024.

*name has been changed

Images: Getty