Workplace Diversity: Gender Identities, Gender Pay Gap, and Diverse Representation at Alberta Healthcare Services

Introduction
Workplace diversity is meant to describe the differences and similarities between the
employees in a company in terms of sex, age, cultural backgrounds, physical disabilities and abilities,
religion, sexual orientation, race and gender. Every employee is different in a workplace, not only in
their background of race, sex, religion or culture but also, have different perspectives and prejudices.
Gender identities
Diversity issue:
Gender identity is one's sense of gender which may or may not differ from the sex they were
assigned at the time of their birth. Gender categories in every society serve as the base on which an
individual's social identity is formed in relation to other members of the society. An individual's
gender can be male, female or transgender.
Challenges:
Gender identities are considered to be a significant diversity issue because, in companies
where employees come from diverse backgrounds it is normal to expect employees from all three
genders. However, transgender individuals are not always accepted in the society and that can be
reflected in the workplace if proper measures are not taken by the company to curb it down.
Policies for improvement
Alberta Health Services in Canada has a new advisory council for addressing the medical
needs of sexual and gender minorities. The advisory council includes people who come from the
province, having a proper work experience within the LGBT community with employees belonging to
these communities. The step taken by the Alberta Healthcare Services is a way to show that the
company's main concern is to provide proper medical care to everyone irrespective of their gender
diversities.

Gender pay gap
Diversity issue:
Gender pay gap has been a significant issue since the last century, even now, not all
companies have stopped having gender pay gap. Gender pay gap refers to the practice of paying
differently to different genders, for the same amount and quality of work done by the two. That is, in
such situations, male employees are paid more than female employees even when they do the same
work.
Challenges:
Gender pay gap is a social evil which discriminates against women and denies their right to
equality. For a company to develop, it is important that proper work conditions and facilities are
provided to their female employees as their empowerment will also mean the empowerment of the
company itself.
Policies and improvement:
Alberta Healthcare Services in Canada are focused on making their employees experience
gender equality. Equal pay for all genders is one of the steps taken by AHS to fight the evils of gender
pay gap as well as work on their policy of gender equality. Additionally, the company has female
employees placed at high positions in their medical facility services to portray their ideals of gender
equality. Alberta Healthcare Services aims to employ and empower more female employees in the
future.
Diverse Representation
Diversity issue:
Diverse representation in a company is meant by proper representation of employees in their
staff coming from different cultural, racial and national background.