Gender Equality in the Workplace

In Massachusetts, gender equality in the workplace is a right. An employer cannot discriminate against you because of gender when hiring to fill a position, when firing, or when determining your pay or the conditions or privileges of your employment.

Gender discrimination in the workplace is not allowed by law. A company cannot discriminate against a person because of their gender. While this law is most often seen to be for the benefit of women, there are also situations where gender bias is used to discriminate against men. Issues covered by this area of the law include employment decisions based on gender stereotypes, dress, grooming issues and marital status.

You have the right to equal pay for equal work. By equal work, it means that if a job requires the same skill level, the same effort, the same responsibility and is performed under similar conditions, then those jobs are generally the same and should be compensated equally regardless of gender. What constitutes “equal” or “the same” requires an analysis of the facts related to the work and does not by definition mean identical.