Issues of Gender - Essay Example

? 5th April Argument Essay with Documentation – Issues of Gender The economic, political and social challenges in the last decades have resulted in the establishment of many gender based organisations that aim at providing financial assistance to men and women. However, there is a lack of assistance and confidence among the men. As stipulated by Russell Sander’s essay on power/gender roles, women help each other and do not want to undertake their duties without seeking the ideas of their colleagues. Additionally, Russell Sanders argues that women views men as selfish creatures, since they are not focused on sharing their joy and privileges with women. Women determination and strong desire to succeed are vital aspects that, according to Russell Sanders, contribute to their perception that men enjoy more privileges. For example, college women want to share the power that their fathers once had. Despite the focus of women on becoming successful, gender disparities deterred them to get higher position at working place (Connell 19). Russell Sanders argues that most of the top managers are men who are served by female secretaries and female nurses. Despite the wide range of household chores that women undertake, in the last decades high number of cases that depicted women bullying was reported in many regions globally. In 2012, women have attained political, economic, social, as well as scientific progress that has made them to achieve equal status and equal rights. Political Progress One of the major aspects that have contributed to the success of women in the current political scene is the increment on the number of female legislators in various parliaments world wide. In this way, the issues that affect women are widely discussed, thus, reducing the brutality and discrimination that hindered their development in the last century. For example, in the Nordic region women form 42 per cent of the legislators in the lower house (Fenstermaker and West 57). Other regions that have increased women representation in the law making organs of the government include America, Europe and the OECD countries. One of the major implications of increased women representational quota according to IPU survey is that they act as parliamentary propellers of gender equality and development. As a result, there is freedom as a key indicator that is used by contemporary economists to measure the development of a country. Similarly, increased women participation in debates has resulted in improvement of women rights as compared to the last centuries when women rights attracted insignificant notice. Economic Progress The extensive campaign to curb gender discrimination in the work places and the adoption of affirmative action in the developed and developing countries has resulted in the increase of the number of female employees. Globally, more than 800 million women are engaged in economic activities. Through engaging in small enterprises, manufacturing and agricultural services women have significantly enhanced the GDP of many countries. This has caused respect from men and support from government and financial institutions. Even though the lack of adequate skills and access to financial resources is a major challenge affecting women in the developing countries, international community, including the UN, has initiated many forums that seek to improve the accessibility of financial resources for women. Canada is one of the regions that has implemented economic strategies to assist women to be economically productive. Through Canada International Development Agency, women organizations, such as Pakistan Mukhtara Mau, have benefited from various training programs on human rights and women economic empowerment. The strategies adopted by USAID in training women are other significant aspects that have contributed to women economic progress. For example, USAID has initiated trainings that are focused at meeting gender based targets in countries, such as Bangladesh, Kenya and Peru. The key topics covered during the training include Small Grants Considerations, Gender-Sensitive Program Monitoring Indicators and Request for Proposals among others (Vianello 13). Through the Global Banking Alliance for Women, the participants met on March 2012 to launch the Women’s Empowerment Principles, which is a milestone in enhancing women role in global economy. Social Progress In 2012, women are enjoying international recognition, for example, various countries undertook wide range of exercises to mark the International Women’s Day that was celebrated in 2012. According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the organizer of Asia-Pacific Regional Commemoration of International Women’s Day, the theme of the celebration was to address the violence against women (Friedman and Protas 38). Other aspects that were covered during the celebration included integration of the young women in leadership positions. In their efforts to mitigate social problems encountered by women in the contemporary world, governments across the world have established ministries of gender, children and social development (L. Bullough and B. Bullough 36). This is a major achievement that will see women attain an equal position as their male counterparts in social sector. Other strategies adopted by the developed and developing countries include social protection policies that aim at enhancing the collaboration and coordination of women activities in social development. Scientific Progress The establishment of technology institutions that are focused on improving women skills is another vital progress that has improved women participation in the technology industry. In addition, renowned learning institutions have established sponsorship programs that are aimed at enhancing women role in technology development. Such programs include Taiwan PhD Scholarship, UNESCO post graduate Scholarship, Virginia’s Caring University Scholarship and Pete Wilson Scholarship among others. Similarly, ministries of education, especially in the developing countries, have undertaken extensive campaign to ensure that girl-child has a positive attitude towards science based programs. Through the support of women development programs, rural schools have benefited from establishment of science laboratories, thus, resulting in remarkable performance of girl-child in the science subjects. Conclusion Despite the economic, political and social challenges that women faced, as depicted by Russell Sanders, women have turned to be major players in the world economy and political development in 2012. Ranging from acquiring senior political positions to becoming stars in the movie industry, women have participated in shaping many social aspects in the contemporary world. In this regard, there is a need for international community to increase their participation in addressing political instability that has affected the productivity of women, especially in the African and Arab countries. Works Cited Bullough, L. and Bonnie Bullough. Crossdressing, Sex, and Gender. New York: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993. Print. Connell, Robert W. Gender and Power. Cambridge: University Press, 1987, Print. Fenstermaker, S., and C. West. Doing Gender, Doing difference: Inequality, Power, and Institutional Change. New York: Routledge, 2002, Print. Friedman, Laura, and Jennifer M. Protas. Issues of Gender. New York: Pearson Education, Incorporation, 2004, Print. Vianello, M. Gender Inequality: A Comparative Study of Discrimination and Participation. Newbury Park: SAGE Publications Ltd, 1990, Print. Read More