Gender Inequality Essay PDF

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Talks about gender inequality and how it has affected the world....

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1 Cooper Larche 0860079 SOCI-1004 Professor Emma Wise Date of submission Gender Inequality Gender inequality is a major social problem that occurs throughout the world; over the past century gender inequality has declined, and people are starting to look at the opposite sex as equal. According to ‘The Oxford Dictionary,' gender inequality is defined ‘A social process by which people are treated differently and disadvantageously, under similar circumstances, on the basis of gender.' Gender constructs an identity that categorizes individuals as either heterosexual or homosexual, man or women, masculine or feminine, lesbian or gay, boy or girl; society uses these terms to divide individuals into categories that may be seen as an advantage or disadvantage. This essay will use the feminist perspective and talk about gender inequality in three major categories, the workplace, education, and sports; the primary focus on each of these categories will be inequality for women, and why men are considered hierarchical in these fields. Workplace gender discrimination has been an issue for several years, women back in the 50's were known as the homemaker. A homemaker is known as a woman staying home to take care of their kid(s), family, and to do all the house chores. Women would make sure to have supper ready for when the men get home for work and would cater to the husband's needs. Men would be the breadwinner, which means they are the ones making an income. This was a massive issue because the women would not have money of their own to do activities outside of their home. Women were innately and fundamentally having different interests and skills then men, which would decrease the likelihood of getting a job. During the time of the 60's to 70's women

2 started to protest against the stereotyping and hierarchical differences between men and women. They began to move into male generalized jobs, but the problem with this was men believe that women are not as capable as men in performing the most demanding tasks, and even some women would believe that they are incapable of doing hard labour jobs. Over time, women started to work hard labour jobs, but there was still a gender pay gap. Even if women had a better education, they would not be paid as much as a man would. Women were also stereotyped to be emotionally over sensitive, which would result in them not getting a position at a new workplace. After women asserted their dominance in male dominant jobs, they would be known to work a ‘double shift.' A double shift is when a woman would work an eight-hour shift at work, then have to come home to work another six to eight hours to provide for their family; this made it hard for women to live their own life and do things they are interested in. Now, even though women started to work in more ‘male dominant’ jobs and starting to get their way; this did not mean they were or are being treated equally at work. There is a lack of female role models in most male dominant establishments, which is called the ‘glass ceiling;' this is the invisible barrier that prevents women from taking top management positions. With men have such a hierarchical role in most establishment this makes it hard for women to get ahead in their workplace. Furthermore, gender inequality also happens in education systems and has been a massive phenomenon for several years. Gender inequality differs across nations, school systems, tribes, religion, and race. Most of the gender inequality in education happens in third world countries, for example: Pakistan or Afghanistan. The reasoning behind lower education for women in third world countries is because of religious beliefs; this also varies between urban and rural areas. In urban or rural areas there is a lot of poverty, which can lead to sexual violence or discrimination towards girls, and in some countries, a woman may be forced to marry or may

3 even be kicked out of school if they become pregnant. There is also a notion that if women are treated as equal in school systems and retrieve a high education level, there will be less fertility. Women with higher education are known to marry later on in life, and in result leads to having fewer children. In regards to students dropping out, girls are more likely to drop out then boys are. The reasoning for this is either, lack of female role models or poverty. In many third world countries women are forced to stay at home to do chores, fetch water, and caring for relatives. On the other hand, education leads to more job opportunities, increase in skills, and a higher income; which women are missing out on. Women who receive more of an education have more opportunities to improve their living conditions, social status, and can defend themselves better. Education for women also increases their likelihood of looking after their wellbeing, their family, betters their economic opportunities, provides empowerment and enables women to control their lives. Over the past few years, gender equality has grown in primary education and is continually getting better throughout the educational system. Finally, there is a significant gender gap in sports; regarding equality to women. Men are seen to be predominant in practicing or perceived to be ‘masculine;' this leads to people think that man are more forced or aggressive and should only be in sports that are rough. Women, on the other hand, are saw to be ‘feminine;' which in most cases means they should partake in ‘women sports.' Most people associate women with gentleness, passive, and elegance. A large amount of society believes that women should participate in volleyball, horseback riding, gymnastics, or skating for example. That is not the case for some women interested in sports, some would prefer to get dirty or be aggressive, and this is not saw as an ‘appropriate female behaviour.' Female sports are also not mediatized as much as male sports, this is because there are not as many women in sports as men, and footage of women's leagues are far and few in-

4 between. Female athletes are more likely to be portrayed off the court as either feminized or sexualisation in the media; rather than their athletic skill. It is not only the athletes that are being discriminated, it is also the coaches. Women coaches find it very hard to be successful, and this is partly because society believes that women should not be coaching a ‘male dominant' sport, or they do not have the skill level to be able to teach the players. Overall, this has become a societal issue and women have now started to assert their dominance in ‘male sports,' and are showing men that they can compete; some of the best athletes in the world are women. In conclusion, women are degraded and not treated fairly throughout the world. As time has pasted women are starting to form an alliance, as well, they are now standing up for how they should be treated. Women finding a stable career to pursue their dreams are becoming more likely, an education for a female is easier to find, and women have proven to the world that they are capable of competing at a high level in sports. Women are now stepping up to the top, and showing people their strength, courage, and will.

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