EEOC

System

We Hired a new General Manager last July and since then these have been the changes.
Out of a team 7 we had only two female Senior Mgrs. One was laid off for budgetary reasons. They moved me into her position ( I am female)but I stayed non-exempt. My official title is HR Representative.
Since then they have hired 8 white male department mgrs. We have 2 female dept. mgr. who were here when the GM came. He did hire one African American male as a mgr.
Out of 17 senior Managent and department management we have:
6 white male snr. mgrs.
1 white female snr mgr
1 white female dept. mgr
1 hispanic female dept mgr.
7 white male dept mgrs.
1 A.A. male
The females are beginning to grumble about how white and masculine the place is looking. I have felt that I wasn't being taken seriously by management in the past but I thought that they just did'nt realise the value of HR, but now some of the other females are coming to me with this complaint.
Should I be worried

PAhr

This post may be long but bare with me. First the ratio of men to women is a little uneven but that in itself is not illegal. Employers must hire the most qualified for the job. If it just so happens that the most qualified for the positions were male, there is nothing illegal about that either. The "masculine environment" is not an issue either unless this environment is one where women are belittled, harassed, subjected to sexist remarks, printed material which is offensive towards women, refused jobs in favor of a less qualified male applicant or are in some other way treated less favorably than males. The list of less favorable treatment is far to long and usually is one person's (or the groups') perception but some examples could be males are given first priority in vacation time, famales are given less favorable tasks even though males with the same job description are never asked to perform these duties or males are given more leeway when it comes to reporting to work late or leaving work early. The best way to see favorable treatment is to look at it from the females point of view to see what they may perceive as unfair. Based on the statistical information alone I don't see a problem but if you are hearing complaints, there may be a deeper problem that has not surfaced yet.

If you are concerned about a possible complaint being filed (and you are the one held to the task of dealing with such issues) is to either have a one on one meeting with each female or have a group meeting. Explain that you have been hearing comments around the office and would like to know about any problems they are having, no matter how insignificant. Tell them that the discussion is confidential, no comments made are to leave the room and that you are only concerned about making it a more pleasant environment for all employees to work in. What the hell, take them all out to a fancy lunch (a la company checkbook) for a more relaxed environment where they may feel more comfortable about clearing the air. Look at the $100.00 bill as preventive maintanance. Then you need to take that information and use it. Even out whatever unbalance there may be. If it simply a matter of there being more men than women, you should explain that they are the most qualified for the positions. When the EEOC comes knocking you can say you made an honest effort to even the playing field and fix any discrimination that may be occuring. A little bit of effort goes a long way.

HRPeg

I agree with the beginning part of PAhr's comments. I would be cautious about taking them women out or meeting with them to hear complaints or concerns about the company. Regardless of your personal feelings, you work for the company in an HR capacity, so my first stop would be to senior management with what you already know or have heard. This way you will have the backing of the company to put anything in place. I am afraid that if you just open up a meeting with the females,without any senior management prior knowledge, it may look like a witch hunt. I formerly worked for an organization in which I was one of only a handful of women at my level. While it was noticeable, it was not illegal and I was not treated any differently.

System

WSell they just laid off the only female Senior Manager left. I am absolutely sure there is some kind of discrimination here. I'm also scared.