Gender equality
Name
Institution
Gender Equality
Gender inequality is the existence of differences among people based on their femininity or gender rather than on factors such as skills and features. Gender inequality is experienced in different ways such as not receiving equal pay for a common task done or not getting equal opportunities in life. Despite there being a law in the US against any form of discrimination based on sex, men continually receive a higher pay for any task than women and have better opportunities in life. Women are also in many situations the victims of circumstances. They are victims of organizational categories in the society such that men have better access to wealth and success than women do (Ukhova, 2015).
Gender inequality is more of a society disorder and not a federal law challenge. It is a matter of social justice and human justice. In many developing countries, women face more discrimination than those from developed countries. They are treated as second-class citizens and hence do not receive equal services to men. Many theories and perspective try to explain the reason behind existence of gender inequality. Below are two theories on gender inequality.
Structural functionalism theory. This theory states that gender roles and responsibilities arise from the desire to create a division of labor and specialization that will facilitate smooth family operations and result in a stable society. In this perspective, girls and boys are taught different ways of approaching life. Boys training focuses on goals such they grow up being task- oriented. They are also taught to rise concern for the family relationships to the set societal structures (Rendall, 2013).
Girls on the other hand are taught on emotions and expression. They are to express their feelings and desires to men and await for them to provide. They are also to respond to the emotions of other restoring peace in the community. This, therefore, brings about gender inequality where men are supposed to provide to their women while women are supposed to sit and wait for provision. Women are limited to household chores and woman hood as men go out to look for jobs and get money to sustain the family.
Conflict theory. This theory suggest that men, who are the dominant gender, lessen the value of women in order to restore and maintain power and authority in the community. Social challenges occur when men, the dominant group, mistreat women in order to be more powerful. Men fight to maintain their wealth, power and authority in the society.
According to this theory, the society is under a struggle between the powerful and less powerful groups as they fight to acquire the scarce resources. Although there are suitable gender role such as farming and cooking for women and hunting for men, the theory urges that this roles exist as a way of the dominant group maintain their power. If men were to start farming and cooking then it means that they lose their power. In this regard, women will always do chores limited to the household and will never go to look for better opportunities so that they do not overthrow the men in their power and authority (Dutta, Madden, & Mishra, 2013).
Most people feel that gender inequality is important for social roles to be maintained. This is because men are meant to be the head of the family and the women are to take of family household chores. I however disagree with this notion since it limits the development of women. Women should be allowed to invest and grow in different ways such that they can sustain the family. This in tur will increase the amount of wealth a family has rather than leaving all the financial roles to men.
There are different factors that lead to gender inequality.
Low levels of education. Women most receive low levels of education mainly because they choose to leave and start families. Most of them reach high school but do not go to institutions of higher education. This translates to them having less knowledge in life than men. This limits their marketability and access to opportunities resulting in gender inequality.
Limited economic opportunities. Women mainly prefer having families, taking care of their children and doing household chores. This limits their access to economic opportunities mainly because they do not have time to participate in other activities apart from home duties.
Women insecurity. Women are generally fearful and they view men as their source of security. They prefer to leave men to do the hard tasks and protect them. They therefore choose to stay at home, as the men go looking for opportunities. This therefore brings out gender inequality since women will not access equal opportunities as men.
Male dominant on decisions. Men are generally sought to be the head of the family. This means that major family decisions are left for men, in this regard, women do not have power in the family to make important decisions and this makes them inferior leading to inequality.
Society attitudes. There are attitudes set by the society that encourage male dominance and female subordinate. Some of these attitudes include seeing men as superior and powerful. Making women submit to their men even when they know they are on the wrong makes, men become more powerful than women do. There are several examples of gender inequality across the world (Beneria & Permanyer, 2010).
Limit to movement. Most countries do not allow women to move across the country or even outside the country. In some communities it is as serious as denying women the right to drive. Women do not learn how to drive and cannot own cars. This forces them to depend on their men when to drive them around which limits their movement.
Freedom of marriage. In most communities, women are forced into marriage when they are as young as fifteen years. They are not allowed to grow into full maturity before they can decide on getting married. They are also denied the chance to choose their own spouses but marry the men that their parents select.
Divorce. Women do not have the freedom to file a divorce. When they suffer in their marriages, they are expected to survive ad press on bit not ask for divorce, when freely cheat on their wives since they know they will not ask for a divorce. A divorce only occurs when the men decide to divorce their wives.
Citizenship. Most countries in the middle east, women cannot pass their citizenship onto their children while men can freely pass their citizenship to their children and also to their concubines,
Custody. When families divorce, the law gives custody of the children to the father and leave the mother with nothing. They believe that women cannot take care of children without the aid of a man.
Education, women have less opportunities to education than men. Most women receive informal education at home where they are taught to be women and wives as the men go to school.
Unequal pay. In almost all countries, women receive less pay for the same amount of job done with men. The reason behind this is that one, women do a shoddy job and hence men will still come and clean up after them. Women also do not need a lot of money since their husbands are still providing for them.
Land ownership. Women do not own land or even inherit form their parents. They cannot even buy land for themselves and it is left for, men.
This examples and reasons for gender inequality show how women suffer under the law set by the society just to please their men and ensure they remain dominant. They end up not living out their full potential in life due to few opportunities that they can access. Below are some of the ways through which we can achieve gender equality (Rothstein, 2010).
Give a voice to women. The main reason why gender inequality is so predominant in most countries is that women do not have a voice. Most important policies should include the women’s view before they are set since they end up affecting them too.
Say no to sexual harassment and child marriages. In most countries child marriages d sexual harassment are the greatest challenges that women face. Humanitarians should rise and put a stop to the sexual harassment and child marriage.
The government should make education gender sensitive. In the recent past, more girls are receiving education but there is need for the education to be customized in a way that it will fit women. There should be proper education on the reproductive system so that women can understand how they are created. This will help them in understanding how their body operate thus, making them make better decisions in life and stop rushing into marriage before their bodies are fully developed.
Promote ambitions of girls and their parents. One of the ways in which we can change how girls and women view life is by raising female role models whom they can desire to imitate. Through having successful women in the society, it will make women feel that they are appreciated ad have the power and ability to rise to success too.
Women empowerment strategies. Women and girls should receive opportunities that work towards empowering them. Governments can set apart some girl school to ensure more girls receive education in an attempt to empower them.
Valuing the work women partake. Most employers do not value the work they assign to women. They therefore end up giving them lesser tasking jobs and underpaying them. They should understand that women could do what men can do and give them equal tasks. They should also attach enough value to women thus paying them equal wages with men.
Conclusion
Gender equality is a state where both men and women are treated equally. It is where same value and responsibility is given to both genders. In most countries, gender inequality is high to an extent women are discriminated in all aspects of their life. In an attempt to bring about gender equality, countries should embrace different tactics such as empowering women, rising female leaders and role models, giving equal employment opportunities to all and giving formal education to women.
References
Beneria, L. & Permanyer, I. (2010). The Measurement of Socio-economic Gender Inequality Revisited. Development And Change, 41(3), 375-399. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7660.2010.01648.x
Boundless. “The Conflict Perspective.” Boundless Sociology Boundless, 26 May. 2016. Retrieved 01 Mar. 2017 from https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/gender-stratification-and-inequality-11/sociological-perspectives-on-gender-stratification-87/the-conflict-perspective-504-4554/
Dutta, I., Madden, P., & Mishra, A. (2013). Group Inequality and Conflict. The Manchester School, 82(3), 257-283. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/manc.12009
Rendall, M. (2013). Structural Change in Developing Countries: Has it Decreased Gender Inequality?. World Development, 45, 1-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2012.10.005
Rothstein, B. (2010). The Reproduction of Gender Inequality in Sweden: A Causal Mechanism Approach. Gender, Work & Organization, 19(3), 324-344. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2010.00517.x
Ukhova, D. (2015). Gender inequality and inter-household economic inequality in emerging economies: exploring the relationship. Gender & Development, 23(2), 241-259. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2015.1055082