gender inequality Essay Examples

Gender Disparity Essay Example

Introduction

One of the oldest types of social injustices in the world is gender inequality. This is something that has been happening for a long time. Since time immemorial, men or the male gender was viewed as being superior in most societies. However, this did not stop there. Over time, there followed a systematic and open manifestation of this act. It continued until a time came when calls for gender equality increased. The girl child was considered an endangered species. Different movements thus came about in an attempt at bridging the gap between the two genders. However, with time, the tables have turned. While more focus has been directed towards the girl child, the boy child has gradually been neglected. Gender related matters have gained worldwide attention and need to be dealt with to foster equality which will bring about peace and harmony. Gender inequality is where people are treated unequally because of their gender. Usually, gender inequality stems up from the diverse gender roles in our social setups. Gender inequality occurs as a result of distinctions that are either empirically or socially constructed. Numerous organizations concentrate on the institutions that allocate men and women's different roles, positions, and behaviors. Not only does gender inequality hinder growth and development, but it also leads to low literacy levels and poverty among women. Moreover, it leads to unequal opportunities at work and low women representation in various fields like politics and economics. When you look at Hollywood, you might think that gender inequality doesn't happen there. The truth of the matter is, it exists. You might think that the movie stars enjoy the perks of being in Hollywood, but in real sense, actresses face the same gender disparity issues that ordinary women face. Research conducted in 2015 revealed that there are a few movies that focus on a female protagonist and furthermore fewer have female directors and producers in the frontline. Also, many actresses have been paid less than their male counterparts. Recently, a number of actresses have come out to air their views about gender inequality in Hollywood. Some have mentioned the fact that women were being paid less than the men while doing the same jobs. Others have highlighted the fact that actors and actresses are treated differently when it comes to age. They stated that most had been rejected for a role because of their ‘advanced' age, and the roles are given out to younger actresses.

Causes of Gender Disparity

According to the materialistic theory, gender disparity arises from the various ways in which men and women are associated with the society’s economic organization (Giddens et al. 2016). This theory argues that the allocation and control of the crucial resources in the community is a critical factor in setting up stratification. The role of a woman is just being a wife and a mother, and hence is diminished and cannot fully access the society’s valuable resources. The conviction is that gender stratification only works best when the man is out there toiling while the woman is confined to the family, something which is wrong. Thus, women end up joining the job market later in their lives and then have to drop out to take up responsibilities like taking care of the kids. History additionally reveals that men have had the highest education levels as compared to women (although this is changing in the present day world).The division of public and household work favors only men and not both.

Since domestic responsibilities are not associated with men, they have the advantage of taking part in numerous economic activities within the community. As a result of this, they can have access to and control the most valuable resources of the society, thus giving rise to male privilege. As indicated by Giddens et al. (2016), segregation based on occupation is also a source of gender inequality whereby individuals are assigned occupations based on the attributed features that are, gender. Gender disparity in the work environment is prevalent, and women representation in careers or senior positions is low. The inequalities are clear for everyone to see in the medical field whereby the number of male professionals has surpassed their female counterparts.

Ways of Eliminating Gender Disparity

Various techniques of doing away with gender impartiality are highly recommended that interviewers need to quit asking the question ‘what do you expect as your salary’ since women tend to ask for less pay. Rather, the interviewer should provide a transparent and reasonable salary range and request the interviewee to position themselves in the salary range provided. On its part, the government ought to make sure that gender parity becomes part and parcel of education and training so that people have the freedom to select the jobs of their choice regardless of gender. The society should also embrace women, and every organization should strive to employ, support and promote women. According to Jacobs (2016), salaries and promotions should be monitored frequently and effectively to enhance equal treatment and create enough opportunities that will increase a woman’s confidence and further advance her career. Gender disparity can also be dealt with through providing high education and involving women in various social activities and politics. Furthermore, the government should make it easy for girls to access scholarships, increase their employment and also create social protection programs for women. On the other hand, NGOs should endeavor to educate the general public on the effects of gender disparity and how to eradicate it (Jayachandran, 2015). At the moment, the youth have a different view regarding careers and what they mean. Some of them demand equality in all aspects of their lives whether professional or personal. They also believe that healthy work life is critical to achieving happiness. The primary objective is to address gender parity in all spheres, for example, business, politics and also education since it’s the only means of shaping the next generation and guarantee success irrespective of someone's gender. Nowadays it is about women in the society. Even though it is a good thing, it clearly portrays how the gender disparity gaffe occurred initially. There was excessive focus and a lot of chauvinism directed at one gender that it led to people overlooking the other. Later on, all the awareness efforts will most likely change again towards the male gender until everything balances (with regards to gender equality).

Conclusion

The ideal approach to restoring equality in the society is through the struggle for gender parity. Various societies might have different cultures. However, one major thing is that there will always be a bargaining ground for all things (the community set up itself included). Gender disparity, having existed since time immemorial, has managed to gain all this attention due to the vested interests and the imbalanced attention depicted by the various social and gender activists. One major thing to take note of is that there have been massive gains made by all the crucial stakeholders to make sure that the gap between the two genders has been reduced. However, more has to be done particularly within societal setups to continue with the attempts to ensure gender parity. This can only be achieved through more goodwill from all the key players.