This past week, a news story appeared in New Jersey that caught my eye. It was the story of an eighth grade female basketball player at St. Theresa’s school in Union County. Admittedly, the story initially piqued my interest because it was set at was my childhood parish, with the accompanying warm memories of playing basketball in the parish hall gym.
But after reading the story, it was a great illustration of how to handle opportunities in the workplace that, for one reason or another, are not available to all genders. St. Theresa’s had previously made a decision to cut the girls eighth grade basketball team due to low enrollment. However, the boys’ eighth grade program was left intact. Thereafter, the girl sought to play on the boys team but was rebuffed by the archdiocese.
In fairness to the archdiocese, it offered her the opportunity to play on the girls basketball team at a neighboring parish. Her family declined the offer and brought suit. This week, the court dismissed the case as a matter of law, saying that there was no implicit right to play on a team of the other gender.
While your company likely does not have single-gender sports teams, there are undoubtedly company activities that intentionally or unintentionally segregate by gender or another identifier. We discourage such practices. Even if separate activities are provided to both genders, there runs the risk that one activity will be seen as more desirable than the other.
To the extent that you must segregate workplace activities by gender, make sure the terms and conditions (time, place, budget) are the same for both. Also, ensure that decision makers and senior employees attend both events, regardless of their gender.