Gender Inequality In Society

Researchers Stier and Yaish (2014) have stated, “men’s employment is more stable, their salaries are higher and they have more opportunities for advancement and access to lucrative jobs” (p. 1). Indeed, men have more advantages in the society to gain power than women. Therefore, men are still dominating over women in occupations. Furthermore, “women are denied access to good and rewarding labor market positions by employers and because of their inferior power position in society their work is devalued and they are often ‘pushed’

I have seen the struggles for equality to men in many aspects. Regardless of the great strides that women have achieved today, it is still hard to find equal opportunity and to be fairly recognized. Some of the areas where gender inequality is very prevalent are in areas such as, equal pay in the workplace, professional & education careers, household work, sexism and discrimination just to name a few. Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender.[1] In this passage I will briefly elaborate on the areas outlined earlier to show the various degree of inequality and explore the path that women have taken to achieve equality. Additionally I will focus on the economic growth as a dependent variable and stereotype as the independent variable.

After reading the chapter, the author of the textbook mentions that inequality towards women is one of the main reasons why several occupations are dominated by females because of “occupational sex segregation”, which is basically employing men and women in occupations according to their gender, in addition to separating women from manual labor and high-paid positions. This type of segregation mostly puts limits upon women on what they can and can’t do because of expectations/stereotypes being augmented towards children as they grow up, also known as gender roles. Society contributes to this by socializing children of what is expected of them according to their sex, “what is appropriate behavior for girls and boys. This includes defining appropriate occupations for women versus men” (Leon-Guerrero, 106).

In most societies, women have typically taken job roles involving housework, childcare, and lower level positions.  Being primarily in these low level public sectors and private sectors, women have become less valued compared to men in most careers. As a result, large amounts of gender inequality in the workplace in terms of advancement, sexism, and income has been observed. Recently, however, women have made great strides towards equality, and accounted for about half of the work force in 2014. (Introduction to Sociology, pg 288). Although great improvement is evident, even today, gender inequality is seen.

Today most children in the United States attend classes where gender equality exists. Students have classes in which both boys and girls are treated equally and are friends with one another and that is all that they have ever known. However, this is not always the case in every country. As of 2015, 53% of the children who are not attending school throughout the world are female ("11 Facts About..."). Gender inequality is an important issue that needs to be focused on and fixed throughout the world, especially within the education systems. Although many people are aware of this issue, most people do not see it as a priority in the world right now. The gender gap in education systems throughout the world needs to be closed because gender equality is a necessity in the world and this is where it all starts.

The social issue of gender inequality has been one that has plagued society for many years. Gender inequality is the

Gender inequality is the difference in the way someone is treated perceive depending if they are a male or female. Throughout the years, it was common to see a great inequality in the way women were treated. It is not just that males and females are biologically and anatomically different rather that society has created stereotypes as a way to assign roles for both, making a gap between them. There has been a long battle in the women’s community as a way to try to achieve equality. One of the greatest accomplishments on equality happened in 1920 with the 19th amendment. The 19th amendment is accountable of providing women with the right to vote. Even after the battles it is still common to find gender inequality in today’s society. Society has created a setting in which men uphold roles that make sure to prove their power and superiority. We can find that gender inequality still exist in settings such as families, workforce, sports or politics.

“No matter what we attain in life, we carry the label male or female” (Henslin). Depending on which side of the label a person is on, many doors are easily accessible or they are nearly closed. The stereotype that women belong in a kitchen or doing other household activities has not diminished nor evolved since the creation of its meaning. Societies of today’s world are highly patriarchal, meaning men as a group dominate women as a group. Encompassing almost every aspect of life, women are seen as the second place position and receive little credit. This issue is met in every area of the world, with many different ways of reacting to it.

From the dawning of Neanderthal man, all the way up to the modern-day man, women have experienced gender inequality. In the past, men were considered the hunters while the women had to stay behind to reproduce and nurture the children. Today, women have come along way but still experience back lash due to sexism. The textbook definition of sexism is the subordination of one sex, usually female, based on the assumed superiority of the other sex. The major social problems America faces with gender inequality for women are significant wage gaps, sexual harassment, and character stereotypes. A lot of these problems occur in the work force. People should spread awareness, that way the work force can be a safe and more productive environment.

“Glass Ceiling” is a metaphor that describes an invisible barrier that prevents women from achieving success. This is a metaphor widely used in the 1900s and is still used today. In the past, a woman’s role was perceived to be only for reproduction. They are seen as the housewives, or the fragile, weak person. Hence, laws on equality were ratified. Even with laws created to improve gender equality, women are still suffering from the lost opportunities and disrespect of society. Politics, workforce, and childhood upbringing are elements that prove how inequality in females still exist today in the United States.

Occupational segregation and gender equality within the workforce has been extensively debated over recent decades. Gender equality within the workforce is achieved when all individuals have access and receive equal benefits, resources and opportunities regardless of their gender (WGA, 2017). This requires workplaces to; distribute equal paid work or work of comparative value, eliminate barriers that restrict full or equal employment for women, provide women with access to all industries and occupations, allow women the opportunity to hold leadership roles and eliminate gender discrimination, especially regarding care responsibilities (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2017). In doing so, these features enable women to uphold the flexibility and work opportunities that their male-counterparts enjoy. Attaining gender equality is important as it provides a foundation for society to function at its full human potential and become the most efficient and resourceful nation possible (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2017). The purpose of this essay is to analyse whether the recent increase of women entering the workforce correlates to gender inequality within the workforce. The first section of this paper will provide an understanding that despite increasing levels of women’s participation in the workforce, women continue to be underrepresented in leadership roles such as CEOs. This will further be examined through an analysis of the gender pay gap and the repercussions this

The United States is constantly facing inequality issues in gender, race, education and social class. Overall, inequality has increased substantially, with the overall level approaching the Great Depression. (Inequality). Any person with less than a college degree has a significant lower median wage than someone that has a college degree. Additionally, a female does not have as high of a wage as a male worker has. Unfortunately, in society today, these inequality problems have grown worse and worse because the use of technology. Technology is becoming more involved in a person’s life everyday. Current increased use of technology has led to more inequality among society.

Currently, 63 percent of female college students identify as feminist (Zimmerman). Despite the growing popularity of this term, society is oblivious to what feminism truly is. Many people have a negative connotation of feminists, and would never consider themselves to be one because they don’t know that feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights.  Additionally, society has become brainwashed to the sexism both men and women face on a day to day basis. Therefore, feminist beliefs should be integrated into each man and woman’s life because gender inequality negatively affects all members of society.

The mass media has been stereotyping genders and misleading the minds of children for ages. Children's books present a plethora of ideologies, beliefs, and values from the dominant culture, including gender ideologies. The social constructs that society has invented is being taught to children as they mindlessly watch a television show or read a book, not knowing the propaganda of what they are consuming. The gender inequality in children’s television shows and books teach the minds of young adolescent’s, societies impression of family gender roles, relationships and the different levels of importance with physical looks in men versus women. These reasons help highlight how children’s media is promoting gender inequality and distorting the minds of young children.

The topic of this report is gender equality which addresses both men and women’s rights and those who identify as a specific gender and how they are affected in modern day. This led to many debates on the issue of gender equality so why is gender considered an issue in today’s society? Anyone can specify themselves to a gender and within each gender there is a risen conflict such as how certain genders are treated. This issue affects everyone from the people of the United States of America (views from political areas) to the ones who passionately reveal that gender inequality is a human rights issue. The United States is a country of freedom so it is important to note that identifying this issue now could result in a change of freedoms or rights for all. We have to tackle this issue through different perspectives such as identifying yourself whether or not it is right for women to be treated differently from men. In our constitution, the 9th amendment states “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” (Staff, Lll). This shows that we can not make individual judgements based solely on the person’s gender; however, people in modern society continue to state their bias within politics.