As You Suggest - Report Example

43355 The report is based on advocating for the labor policy of the United s of America which aims at increasing the education, training and skills of the women so that they can participate more in the labor departments, increase their equality with the men and have more visibility in the workplaces through moving from the lower job positions to the higher ones. There is enough evidence of the gender inequality still in existence in the work places in relation to pay, promotion opportunities and rights of women as one of the minorities. The liberal feminist theory which aims at making the women much more pronounced in the public sphere and promoting gender equality in this area as well is used as a theoretical framework and to further emphasize the need for the labor policy. Social Problem Women’s trend in the working world has been changing for the better in the last couple of years as they start integrating in the job market. Their numbers in these jobs still remain lower compared to that of men and they still hold the majority shares in the less prestigious jobs as well as in the low paying jobs. This is associated with their lack of enough training, education and even the necessary skills required for advancing to better positions. They have lacked the opportunity to do so as well as having to handle the hurdles of patriarchy which is still largely in existence in the society (Nebraska Department of Labor, 2015). The labor policy in discussion is meant to increase the labor force participation rate of women. This labor policy is meant to solve this problem for women once and for all making it easier for women to advance to better job positions. It will provide the opportunity to enable them get training, education as well as increase their skills required in the job markets. This will eliminate the social and cultural barriers as well as make the women avoid the negative effects of patriarchy which subordinates them in relation to the men. Women’s integration into the job market in the low positions with men still on top of them career-wise and in power made their subordination and discrimination problems much worse as they still had no say. The education, training as well as the skills which will be provided according to the labor policy will provide the women with incentives to raise themselves from their minority position to that of superiority. They will also be able to raise their voices and be heard by the men in the society which will lead to their concerns about their rights being raised again and supported by them. Once the women stop lagging behind, raising their voices as well as eliminating discrimination and subordination, the rest of women will have a reason to want the same as well. The labor policy will therefore lead to the women who have been hiding behind home chores, low paying jobs and having lower status in their work places to raise above all these and get a reason to uplift their lives and want to become inspirations and role models to the younger women and girls. This labor policy will set precedence to the complete metamorphosis of women in this era with raised voiced and having complete equality with the men. When an individual has equality with another brought about by education and training as well as acquisition of skills relevant in the job market, they tend to feel empowered and with it comes courage. This is the feeling the women will be experiencing once the policy is passed. They will no longer have to deal with the negatives the partrichal system has been showcasing and subjecting them to. Women will be able to have the capacity and power to make their own decisions and handle challenges better that they were doing prior to the labor policy. The issues feminists have been advocating for since the so called emancipation of women will finally have been fulfilled. The other best thing about the policy is that with the equality status it bestows upon the women similar to the men, men will be forced to listen to what the women are saying, take into account their issues and suggestions as well as involve them in decision making and implementation of strategic plans in future. Theoretical framework The best theoretical model is the liberal feminism theory which explains the issues of gender inequality in the public sphere such as in the work places, education, or even political arena among other public areas. This theory explains how even though women became emancipated and gained recognition as well as were removed from the private sphere of their reproductive roles at home and brought into the public sphere, they are still experiencing inequalities which still make them unequal to the men and hence still on the subordinate position. This means that they still are a few steps behind the men and hence they need to do something about it if equality is to be attained and those to be empowered (Jacobs, 2010). With this labor policy, the women will have more education, training and improve their skills even further and put them at par with the men. They will have more opportunities open up for them in the job market and in the higher positions as well where the men have been dominating. This will empower them to have authority as well as power to change their discrimination and subordination problem and finally be able to attain gender equality which they have always been seeking. The liberal feminist theory will enable the women have courage to advocate for their rights which have always been neglected or failed to be fully addressed by the men. The labor policy will play a huge role in leading the women to gain negotiation skills as well as communication that would enable them communicate more articulately about their issues and lead to them advocating for better treatment and handling of their problems. The issues in discussion include child bearing, involvement of men in home chores such as cleaning and cooking, child rearing, abortion and her family planning rights and decisions as well as issues of sexual harassment which women face and especially in their lower job positions as well as in trying to advance career-wise. The education and training they will receive from this policy will enable them be in an advantageous position to help the rest of the women move from being confined in their private sphere and over dependence on men to start being independent in thinking and decision making as this is the first steps towards gaining the gender equality the theory is advocating for. With more empowerment and visibility in the public sphere, the men will no longer control the women but will be equal partners hence engaging in more economic developments for their ultimate good and that of the whole nation and world. Literature Review Statistics by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicate that pay equality for the male and female employees varies by state in the US. In states that women have become much more liberal as a result of more influence by the feminism theories such as Washington DC, women are earning almost at par with the men with only 5% difference in the wage gap for the same job positions. There is however other states such as Wyoming where the wage difference is really high with over 30% difference for the same job position (Stansbury, 2013). In these states, the feminist theories and movements have not been emphasized upon and hence the high gender inequality. These are the states that will benefit the most from the labor policy once it is implemented as will increase their skills, education and training and ultimately empower them to seek wage equality among other gender equalities that they have lacked in their state. In Australia for example, they are experiencing similar problem of gender inequality in the workplaces as a result of the lack of a labor policy in place. What they are trying to do therefore through their Workplace Gender Equality Act is to advocate for more women to be put into the managerial positions in every organization (Charlesworth & Macdonald, 2014). This will mean that they have to increase their education, training and managerial skills similarly to what the labor policy is advocating for. The managerial positions will provide more visibility of women in the public sphere, make the be in positions of power as well as decision making similarly to the men and hence attaining the much awaited for gender equality. It is through their authority and power as managers that they will encourage the rest of the women to follow in their paths pulling up more women in equality positions in the long run. The US BLS 2013 report on women’s earning revealed that despite the strides made by women in the public positions, they still remain disadvantaged compared to the men. They are still lagging behind in other areas other than the pay section. These areas include in the promotion prospects, the type of work they do despite their level of education for the few with higher level of education, their educational attainment and work-life balance among other areas. The gender gap in the employment still remains an issue 30 years after the women became emancipated. They are still trying to catch up to the men but this has proved harder than moving from the private to the public sphere. Recommendations made by the report are geared towards supporting the policy as they insist on provision of more education and training to the women as well as increase their skills. This will give them more bargaining power and voice to advocate for equality rights in the workplaces (Gregory, 2013). The inequality in pay is also insisted by the International Labor Organization which indicates that even in the recession case where men lost more jobs than women, their recovery and pay increase was faster than for the women indicating a much deeper problem of inequality in the job market place existing (ILO, 2011). Conclusion Based on the evidence presented above from the social problem of women in the workplaces to the theoretical framework of liberal feminism theory and finally the literature review, the evidence presented indicates that there is dire need to advocate and enforce the labor policy in order to attain gender equality in the workplaces and completely address the rights of women as well. References Charlesworth, S. & Macdonald, F. (2014). Australia’s gender pay equity legislation: how new, how different, what prospects? Cambridge Journal of Economics. doi: 10.1093/cje/beu044 from http://dol.nebraska.gov/center.cfm?PRICAT=3&SUBCAT=8S Gregory, R. (2013). Women and Workplace Discrimination: Overcoming Barriers to Gender Equality. New York: Rutgers University Press. ILO. (2011, November 23rd). Gender Inequality and Women in the US Labor Force. Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/washington/areas/gender-equality-in-the- workplace/WCMS_159496/lang--en/index.htm Jacobs, J. (2010). Gender inequality at work. New York: Sage Publications. Nebraska Department of Labor. (2015). Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Retrieved Stansbury, A. (2013, October 31st). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2013 report on women’s earnings. Retrieved from http://journalistsresource.org/studies/economics/inequality/u-s- bureau-labor-statistics-womens-earnings-2012 Sarfaraz, L., Faghih, N. & majd, A. (2014). The relationship between women entrepreneurship and gender equality. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 2(6). Tazan, A., et al. (2011). Gender Roles and Their Influence on Life Prospects for Women in Urban Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study. Global Health Action, 4(7448). Kabeer, N. (2010, July 1st). Gender equality and womens empowerment: A critical analysis of the third millennium development goal 1. Gender & Development, 13(1): 13-24. Read More