Structural Social Inequalities between Men and Women - Essay Example

According to Hartmann (2003), there still exist income disparities between men and women; hence, women are still poor as compared to men. According to the 2001 survey in the United States, women earned approximately 78 percent of what men earned since women are still at the bottom of the labor market (Hartmann, 2003). However, this trend is changing due to the enactment of internal labor rules and procedures which require that employees should be treated equally. Income determines the quality of education and healthcare of an individual.

There exist a strong relationship between economic status and health (Neckerman, 2004). Income can improve the health status of a population by promoting better living conditions, access to better medical care and protection from environmental hazards (Neckerman, 2004). Though women have a higher life expectancy rate than men, their access to healthcare is still low as compared to the male due to low income (Albrecht, 2003). In most cases, women are more dependent on social security for their subsistence than men (Albrecht, 2003).

According to Neckerman (2004), there has been a major presence of women in the paid labor force. However, they are generally concentrated in a narrow range of industries which creates a gap between the average wages of women and men. In most cases, compensations are still related to the gender of workers than to factors such as education and experiences (Neckerman, 2004)Average levels of education for women in most countries are lower than their male counterparts. In the United States, however; there have been great achievements for women in the education sector, due to a rise in educational value (Levinson, 2002).

Research has shown that more women obtain schooling than their male counterparts in the United States and other developed nations. However, most educational institutions are still male-dominated (Levinson, 2002).ReferenceAlbrecht Gary L, Et al (2003). Handbook of social studies in health and medicine. SAGE PublishersLevinson David, et al (2002). Education and sociology: an encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis PublisherNeckerman, Kathryn M (2004). Social Inequality. Russell Sage Foundation Publishers.

The Multinational Monitor (May 2003).Closing the Gap amidst Ongoing Discrimination, Women and Economic Disparities. (An interview with Heidi Hartmann). Vol. 24. No: 5. Retrieved on June 30, 2009