Gender and Inequality - Essay Example

Gender Inequality Name Class Affiliation Instructor Date Introduction Feminism is an element that is popping up in almost each and every corner of the society because the elements of gender inequality are still rampant in the modern day society. Since back then when women were only confined to the household roles and kitchen duties while the men were charged with the sole responsibility of providing for the family the issues of gender inequality have steadily come to light ((Longwe 1998, p. 19). Empowering women is one discussion that is inevitable considering how critical they are to the society not only in the household but also beyond the household. While some refuse to acknowledge this fact the few women who have managed to empower themselves or have been empowered by their societies have gone ahead to show that they are far much better at what they do (Eduards 1992, p.90). Is gender inequality derived from a division of labour? Gender inequalities generally revolve around the need for equal sharing and allocation of the socially valuable resources of the society to both the men and the women and it is the shift away from this that forms the basis for what is regarded are gender inequality (Strathern 1982, p. 307). At a glance it seems that the women are the most aggrieved party with regard to this due to the rigid traditional structures that oppressed them, although the glaring truth is this has spilled over to the modern society to a larger extent. The gender inequality vice is reflected in the restrictions which are socially generated that disadvantage one sex from being able to access or enjoy certain good and services offered by the society, in the society or to the society (Villareal 1990, p. 45). As such limitations prevent one from fully being able to exploit the opportunities and resources of the society to reach their goals and desires which in the short or long run puts them at a disadvantage. Division of labour in the household is one key area from which gender inequality is propagated and later spread to the workplace and other areas as observed by Kabeer (2000) in his study of Bangladesh. In his study, he notes that the roles of men and women in the household vary greatly, but what alarming is the amount of responsibility that is heaped on the women in the house. The extent of accountability heaped on the women in the household by far supersedes what is expected of the men in the household. Take for instance the case of responsibility of children in the household, which is entirely the woman’s affair across the different continents of the world. This is one of the traditional responsibilities that has stuck and survived all the attempts to rebuff it through the years. Gates (2002) in his study of the women of the northern Mexico border also notes that the amount of work and responsibility of the woman on a daily basis is the highest in the household compared to any other member of the household. As such the role of the woman and her appearance in the public is limited and restricted to the fringe roles and the low positions of the work place as the assumption is when trusted with the bigger responsibilities balancing is a challenge or rather the performance and results of the performance is compromised. This is where the element of patriarchy comes in where the women are discriminated upon on a daily basis and this is almost normal since no one is able to notice because the women are almost comfortable being relegated to the fringe roles of the society especially in the public life. The division of labour has seen women’s roles restricted to an extent that even when they try to get out of it, they are frustrated in their attempts (Gates 2002, p. 507). When the women find alternative jobs in the public domain their husband back home are not supportive and they find ways to talk them out of their jobs. In some household the women are left to be the bread winners once they are in the public working while the men divert their resources to leisurely social lifestyles such as smoking, drinking or having fun with friends at the expense of taking care of their families ((Godelier 1986, p. 12). Such frustrations see some women quit while others opt out of their marriages since they are unable to balance between the two. It mostly comes down to the fact that this hurts social values such as family which societies insist on. Sexual division of labour is frustrates all efforts made towards eradicating gender inequality. The idea that certain special roles are reserved for a certain sex while some roles are strictly restricted to a specific sex (Li 1998, p. 675). This denies a particular sex the ability to exploit their talents because they fear the backlash of the society due to the stigma that comes with the same. Ideally some roles reserved for certain sex are best performed by the opposite sex, let say for instance, it is said that men are the best cooks, although traditional society reserved this roles and all other kitchen roles especially for the women of the household. So the business and economic environment misses out on the best talents in societies where this backdated way of thinking is still the illest thing that is embraced by society (Strathern 1985, p. 191). Education has been one of the worst hit sectors with the division of labour. Since it is appreciated that only men are meant for the public jobs it is only them that are receiving an education while the woman reserved for the kitchen jobs is seen as an object to maintain the household. This denies the girl child the fundamental basic right of each and every child to a decent education. When the social injustice in the form of gender inequality starts right at the start of an individual’s life, it becomes virtually impossible to fight the problem in adult life. This highlights why it is important to start this fight as early as possible with the education of children ((Longwe 1998, p. 21). How do cultural models of gender reinforce relations of production? The cultural models in the society have been seen as the propagators of gender inequality, although on a positive note they have achieved more positive things as well. As such, they have significantly improved the efficiency and effectiveness of the production processes of the society; although not many have noticed his perhaps because this is obscured by the damage it is doing in terms of gender inequality. It is admirable how efficient the cultural models of gender have accelerated upwards the performance of different production units although few notice this. Making such models work is based on the way they are designed by the different societies, especially in consideration of the conditions and challenges facing them (Villareal 1990, p. 48). Although the cultural models of gender did not appeal to all people because of the weaknesses it had, it is important to also point out that it had strong points. Not all appreciated, but its role in moral streamlining and the upholding of morals and principles of the society could not be disputed. The discipline element that the cultural models introduced were also responsible for the quality in the production and efficiency of implementation of responsibilities and jobs assigned to the different members of the society. Getting the job done was an almost sure guarantee because of the societal way of doing things and this was best ensured by the cultural models of gender than reinforced among other things the production of the different goods and services of the society (Gates 2002, p. 511). Introduction of the element of division of labour in the society allowed for the different groups of the society to specialize in their roles. Specialization allowed for perfection in terms of the quality of the products and services that were produced. People in their different groups, specialized in performing certain specific tasks which allowed them familiarize with the challenges that they encountered and as such they were able to come up with the best solutions towards the challenges facing their areas of specialization. Communities were able to produce good products because their production was about division of labour, which encouraged specialization and enhanced quality in terms of production (Kabeer 2000, p. 28). The allocation of certain tasks to specific groups has allowed for collective effort the carrying out of such tasks. Classes of specific people have allowed them to be able to perfect their art or better still join hands in carrying out tasks or finding alternative easier ways of doing the same (Strathern 1985, p. 197). However the cultural models such as gender based allocation of tasks have seen most of the hard tasks befall the men who are perceived as strong and more masculine while the women who are weaker or rather considered weaker have the easier tasks. As such the amount of work is simplified through the allocation of the job to the different groups who are allocated work based on their performance level and ability to perform. Cultural models of gender have been done in such a way that the bulk of the provision for the family is heaped on the male members of the house. This has propelled most of the meant that most of the men learn how to earn a living and how to fend for themselves and their families (Li 1998, p. 680). In an effort to embrace this most of the people are out to look for jobs and this increases the workforce out in the public domain which allows for the economy of the country not improve since production is maximized. This although locks out other members of the society such as the children and the women who have been restricted to other responsibilities by the society. Unlike the idea of many that the cultural models were detrimental to the development of the societies the models were very instrumental in the development of the society especially on the economic front (Longwe 1998, p. 23). Perhaps due to the discriminatory nature of the allocation of the responsibilities the models may be defaulted as wrong, but on the basis of the results they achieved the models were more than welcome to the society. Results were not only achieved but also consistent due to the discipline with which the responsibilities were being implemented. Gates (2002) notes that the assigning of the responsibilities in Mexico on the basis of the physical strength, for instance, was only a pointer to the fact that the people were sensitive to the way the other group would perform or the pressure that came with a particular job. However, feminists may argue that this may not be entirely true considering that some of the responsibilities could as well be performed better by the so called weaker sex. As a matter of fact the women, despite the fact that they are a weaker sex and go ahead to claim that they can perform better the responsibilities the men claim they can do best. Is there a convergence between Marxist and Feminist ideas about the economy? Marxist arguments were based on the fact that the society is divided into several major groups which are related in a certain hierarchy. This hierarchical relationship is the basis for discriminatory sharing and allocation of resources in the society so that the groups high up in the hierarchy enjoy the lion's share of the best resources while the minor groups down the hierarchical ladder scramble for the small resources which are compromised in terms of their quality. On the other hand the feminist ideologies revolve around the women’s position in the society with regards to access to resources and their social standing as seen in the society. These two aspects are deeply intertwined since they are developed from the same premise and almost deduce the same finding and conclusions (Li 1998, p. 83). Karl Marx notes that the society is a division into classes which are developed based on the differences in terms of access to resources. From a feminist theory perspective the women of the society have been placed in a class of their own and since back in time their role has been relegated to implementing the household responsibilities. This has seen women being prevented from taking up roles in the public as pointed out by Strathern (1982) in the study of Mount Haden, perhaps because of the fact that they are seen as not good enough for this role. In the traditional society the role of the women was to take care of the children and the house while the men were the bread winners of the household. Apparently there is very little to show in the form of progress apart from the numerous legislations that have been enacted. While feminist theory focuses on age, class, race and ethnicity the core focus for the development of the Karl Marx ideology is the classes and their implication for the development of the society especially the economy. Gates (2002) highlights in the study of women at the northern border of Mexico that women of the society have been relegated to the fringe roles it is a fact that the feminist theory highlights how important the contribution of women is to the society. As such the feminism is developed with an aim to highlight the importance of the women in theory society and how their class can contribute to the well being of the society and improvement of the society's economy. Women are an important part of the societal development and the economy can best be improved through the empowerment of the women. Kabeer (2000) in the study of the women of Bangladesh notes that the idea of seeing women as objects is the reason why they are denied the opportunity to realize, discover and fully exploit their potential. As such, they are made to be inferior members of the society and made to see that they best can serve the minor roles of the society. However, empowering such women can only better the economy as they also have a lot to offer in terms of the experience and knowledge. The liberal feminist appreciates the fact that women are equal to the men and should be afforded equal opportunities to discover what they can do and also be allowed to do this to the best of their ability. The stigmatizing mentality of women being restricted to fewer minor opportunities while the best of them are preserved for the men is one thing that should be done away with. While it is also notable that the women are being empowered gradually on the work front, it is still worthwhile noting that this is still limited because they still are forced to retain their household responsibilities which prevent them from fully exploiting their abilities (Strathern 1985, p. 203). This explains why some of them often quit after a short period of time because they are unable to balance the two responsibilities. For those who retain the two they are often over-stretched and this compromises one of the roles either the family or at the work place which is where the element of domestic disagreements or loss of jobs creep in (Gates 2002, p. 526). Economic development is also compromised because of the stigmatization introduced by the societal mentality on the roles of women and the men. Due to the fact that the women are seen as household personnel, their idea to venture outside and take jobs in the public domain does not really work well with their men as well as societies (Eduards 1992, p. 99). This affects the relationship of the family and in some case often frustrates the woman into quitting. Take for instance a scenario where the man is jobless and the woman is forced between juggling between being the bread winner of the house while at the same time taking care of the household while the man does nothing. Such a scenarios point to two things which compromise the economy, namely the fact that the means are not contributing to the development of the economy while the woman is overworked to give her best either at work or at home (Strathern 1985, p. 209). Conclusion Discussion on the issues of gender inequality is long overdue as it is about time people appreciate that women can do better on some fronts than the men. Allowing women join the public work industry allow availability of a diverse labour force which not only promotes the economy of the country, but also allows the different people to express their strength and talents. Women have outdone men in some elements of society's workforce, yet only a few have been allowed to express themselves. This is only a pointer that we are missing an important component in the work force and can only do ourselves justice by encouraging the women to not only join the workforce but also compete for the opportunities available. References Godelier, M. 1986 ‘Women’s Subordinate Position’ in The Making of Great Men: Male Domination and Power Among the New Guinea Baruya (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) pp. 9-31 Li, TM. 1998 ‘Working separately but eating together: personhood, property, and power in conjugal relations’ American Ethnologist 25 (4): 675-94. Gates, LC. 2002 ‘The Strategic Uses of Gender in Household Negotiations: Women Workers on Mexico's Northern Border’ Bulletin of Latin American Research, Vol. 21, No. 4,pp. 507-526, 2002 Strathern, M. 1985 ‘Kinship and Economy: Constitutive Orders of a Provisional Kind’ American Ethnologist 12, No. 2 (May, 1985) (pp. 191-209) Strathern, A. 1982 The division of labor and processes of social change in Mount Hagen.American Ethnologist 9 (2) pp. 307-319. Eduards, M. 1992, ‘Against the Rules of the Game. On the Importance of Women’s Collective Actions’, in M. Eduards etal. (eds), Rethinking Change. Current Swedish Feminist Research, Upsala: Swedish Science Press, pp. 90 – 99. Kabeer, N. 2000, The Power to Choose: Bangladeshi Women and Labour Market Decisions in London and Dhaka, Verso, London and New York, pp. 24 - 35. Villareal, M. 1990, ‘A Struggle over Images: Issues on Power, Gender and Intervention in a Mexican Village’, PhD dissertation, University of Wangingen, Wangingen, pp. 45 - 76. Longwe, S. 1998, ‘Education for Women’s Empowerment or Schooling for Women’s Subordination?’ Gender and Development, 6:2, p 19-26. Read More