Gender Disparities between Men and Women - Essay Example

Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Feminist economists have established a lot of inequalities between men and women. Differences arise out of gender differences between the two sexes and are social, economic and political in nature. Male dominance and superiority over women is the cause of inequalities. The cultural constructs structure social and political institutions under which men and women operate. Most of these inequalities occur when women are constrained from enjoying economic and social rights by lack of capabilities. Sen (2003) emphasizes the importance of capabilities in achieving social and economic justice. Feminist economists do not approve methods used by neo-liberal economists in handling macroeconomic issues as they end up widening gender inequalities. Although humans are entitled to equal rights under universal declaration of human rights and states obligated to fulfil those rights, neo-liberal economic policies create a disabling environment for women’s enjoyment of human rights (Elson. 2002). On the other hand, ideas from gender theories can give a better understanding of gender inequalities as they try to give explanations or assumptions regarding the differences that exist between the two sexes. Gender Inequalities as Perceived by Feminist Economists Women are given unequal treatment from men in work places. They are paid low wages even if they perform similar tasks to their male counterparts as they are considered secondary wage earners and men as the bread winners as a result of normative assumption about their roles (Razavi & Hassim, 2006). Employed women still perform their house hold chores after work and hence are overburdened and have no time to relax while men have freedom to manage their time as they don’t engage in caring roles (Epstein, 2006). This contributes to inequalities between men and women. This can be explained by Bem’s approach whereby children learn through socialization or androgyny (Adrameg, 2010). Men are considered superior than women and male experience is the normative standard. According to Bem, boys and girls are treated differently and different opportunities hence learn about gender through repetitive actions. Judith Butler’s performativity theory also present gender as kind of doing which is repetitive ( 2004). Men hence don’t perform women’s household work as they are not used to doing. Women are rarely involved in decision making especially in state matters. They have the knowledge and skills but are perceived to be irrational and not authoritative or powerful. Feud’s psychoanalytic theory tries to explain why men are superior (Adrameg, 2010). He asserts that boys and girls discover gender identity through genitals. Boys tend to be attached to the mothers but the penis makes them to socialize with father and learn male roles for fear of the father. Girls also realise they don’t have penis hence socialize with the mother and consider boys as superior and themselves as inferior. Men therefore become powerful and decision makers due to superiority. For Foucault, power is exercised with intension and knowledge is gained through observation and translated into power (Macey, 2004). Power is considered to be everywhere and beliefs define authority figures hence the belief that men are superior gives them power to make decisions on behalf of women hence oppressing them and women are defiant and form feminist lobbies but they are not strong enough to overcome men (Razavi & Hasim, 2006). Women do not have access to land or property ownership and do not inherit property although it’s their right and entitlement (Balakrishnan & Elson, 2008). Women take care of the family yet they do not own land. They depend on the land for subsistence agriculture for household consumption while the men are involved in paid work yet women are not given right to land. The entitlements enable women to take care of family welfare for reproduction of labour force and improved standard of living. Men control the resources as they are the heads. This is because men exercise power over women because power is everywhere. Women do not have equal opportunities as men. Men are usually given first priority in all aspects; education, job opportunities and economic policies usually protect men. The division between paid and unpaid work and domestic work is structured by gender and also divides paid labour into higher pay for male and lower pay for female (Fraser, 1997). Women are employed in manufacturing and service sectors where they are lowly paid or domestic work which is not valued hence low pay. Girls are also underprivileged when it comes to education as they just undergo free primary education and fail to study further and gain skills needed to reduce inequalities and have a good live. The economic policies are directed towards service sector which is dominated by women hence they lose their jobs. This is the social constructionist approach where boys and girls are given different opportunities for development at early childhood. They thus develop different skills which make women less marketable in the job market. Judith Butler’s theory which perceives gender as performative and developed as a result of repetitive doing can then show how women engagement in social work is as a result of repetitive behaviour and hence women’s are used to performing it. Women are often oppressed by the males and their rights violated due to the masculinity for men. Lack of resources and their feminine nature makes them prone to harassment. Women are considered inferior and less powerful than men and the authoritative norms privilege traits such as masculinity. According to Fraser (1997), women appear lesser hence abused through sexual assault, exploitation, and domestic violence even without intention of discrimination. As per the power theory, the men gain knowledge by observing behaviour of other men or peers and get power which they exercise on the helpless women. According to Foucault, power makes people behave in other ways that they would not have behaved. Freud psychoanalytic theory can also explain the behaviour of men and women which lead to women being abused. Boys feel superior while girls feel inferior and develop jealousy for their fathers and other attributes associated with women which make them weaker sex. Women’s economic disadvantage restricts women’s voice and hence hinders their participation (Fraser, 1997). This is due to lack of resources or capabilities for development due to defective policies and social constructs that deny a woman right to resources. Furthermore, it’s aggravated by income inequalities between men and women. Women depend on agriculture for sustaining their families and lowly paid jobs in the export-led manufacturing industries. Most women lack education especially the rural people as boys are given first priority and language is an important tool in discussing power hence they are disadvantaged. According to Sen (2003), intellectual freedom is the principle means of gaining freedom to lead valuable life. Poverty reduction strategies are not efficient in empowering women. Deflationary policies to stabilize prices reinforce male bias in public expenditure and trade deregulation affects agriculture (Staveren, 2008). The power theory asserts that knowledge is power and hence if women were offered education at early age they would be able to voice their concerns and participate fully. Conclusion There are various gender disparities between men and women which are social, economic and political. They emanate from violation of social and economic rights and social problems such as women not owning property or inheriting. The disparities are explained better by use of gender theories which try to relate human behaviour and inequalities. These include theories such as Foucault power theory which states that knowledge is power gained from observation; psychoanalytic theory by Freud which is based on genitals; Butlers performative theory which regards gender as kind of repetitive doing; Bems social construction approach among others. References Adrameg. (2010) Gender Issues in Mental Health. Encyclopaedia of Mental Disorders. 21 May, 2010. Balakrishnan, R. and Elson, D. (2008) Auditing Economic Policy in the Light of Obligations on Economic and Social Rights”. Human Rights Review, 5(1): 1-19. Butler, J. (2004) Undoing Gender. New York: Routledge. Elson, D. (2002) Gender Justice, Human Rights and Neo-Liberal Policies, in M. Molyneux and S. Razavi, Gender Justice, Development and Rights, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Epstein, C. (2006) ‘Border Crossings: The Constraints of Time Norms in Transgressions of Gender and Professional Roles’, in Epstein, C and Kalleberg, A. (eds), Fighting for Time. Shifting boundaries of work and social Life, New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Fraser, N. (1997) Justice Interruptus: Critical Reflections on the "Postsocialist" Condition. London: Routledge. Macey, D. (2004) Michel Foucault. London: Reaktion Books ltd. Sen, A. (2003) “Continuing the Conversation”. Feminist Economics, 9(2– 3): 319 – 332. Staveren, van I. (2008) “The Gender Bias of The Poverty Reduction Strategy Framework”. Review of International Political Economy, 15 (2): 289-313. .Razavi, S and Hassim, S. (2006) Gender and Social Policy in a Global Context: Uncovering the Gendered Structure of “the Social”. Basinstoke: Palgrave/ UNRISD. Read More