Structure and Analysis of Gender Inequality in our Society - Coursework Example

Understanding gender inequality The employment situation for women remains that, despite many advances in developing equality in the workplace, inequalities for female employees still exist. What are the instances that lead to gender inequalities? To learn why disparities exit, one should begin with theories that explain them. Gender inequality is the disparity between individuals due to gender. It refers to status, power, and prestige women and men have in groups and societies.1 WHO defines it as constructed roles, behavior, activities and attributes that a particular society considers appropriate for men and women. The distinct roles and behavior give rise to gender inequalities, i.e. differences between men and women that systematically favor one group. In turn, such divergence can lead to inequities between men and women in both health status and access to health care.2 Women’s contribution to the economy should not be ignored. In 2012, there are 72,648,000 women in the U.S workforce. This figure is expected to increase by 0.7% by 2010 to 2020, higher than the men’s labor increase of 0.6%.3 Findings and discussions .Table 1 shows uneven participation of women in the labor force that accounts to only 57.7% while men have 70.1%. Table 1. Gender pay gaps Table 2 and 3 show Wage gap between men and women is about 80.9%. Table 2. Median weekly earnings of workers 16 years of age and over in 2012 by sex and race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Sex All White Black Asian Hispanic Women $691 $710 $599 $770 $521 Men $854 $879 $665 $1055 $592 Source: US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Women’s Bureau. Table 3 shows gender gap affecting women, with Asians showing the largest gap, at 73 % of white men’s earning and blacks getting the most. Table3. Women’s to men’s earnings ratio, by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, in 2012 (based on median weekly earnings). *compared to men of the same race or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity   All White Black Asian Hispanic Ratio 80.9% 80.8% 90.1% 73% 88% Source: US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Women’s Bureau. Participation of women Table 4 shows growth on women participation from 1972 to 2012. Table 4. Segregation of work 1972 2012 Sector 42.7% 56.8% of women work in the government service 31.8% 43.6% are in the retail and wholesale trade 75.9% 76.7% Are in the education sector 32.4% 44.3% are in professional and business service 38.8% 52.0% are in leisure and hospitality service 49.4% 58.0% are in financial services 32.2% 52.7% In other services Source: US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Women’s Bureau A large percentage of women are in education service, but its number has barely increased. Construction, mining, logging, and transport have always been a man’s world because I presume, is due to physical and hard labor. Horizontal and vertical segregation Men and women in the organization are segregated horizontally and vertically4. Horizontal segregation is a workforce specifically made up of a particular group. For instance, horizontal segregation exists in construction because it is made up of men, while childcare is for women. Vertical segregation is a situation that narrows the opportunities for a particular gender that most often affects women. Patriarchy in Employment5 Patriarchy helps to enlighten gender inequality. Walby explains there are six patriarchal structures that controls women and promote male domination. These are via paid work wherein women faced the horizontal and vertical segregation that allows them to receive low wages; thru gender division of household work, a situation where women were forced to take primary responsibility in the household while holding a full-time job; cultural disadvantage wherein modern culture emphasizes the attractiveness of female; heterosexual relationship; male violence; and activities of the State that are still racist and capitalist. Patriarchy has been with our society and custom such as men having authority of positions in women and in the family; man is in control of financial responsibility, while women, although working, is in charge of the family and children. Equality Acts The Equality Act of 2010 was enacted in October 2010 providing a modern, single legal framework with clear, streamlined law to more effectively tackle disadvantage and discrimination6. The Equality Act seeks to protect people according to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Views and theories on gender equality Gender inequalities persist because of several reasons. a. The Theory of Human Capital7 is a set of marketable skills of workers wherein he/she pust a variety of skills. The theory refers to the belief that education and training raises the productivity of a person, hence his income and lifetime earnings also increase. The rationale is that human capital is valued in the market because it increases profits. This theory analyzes that businesses would pay higher wages to educated workers because they will be more useful to the firm and would likely move in its hierarchy. Wage gaps are not only due to education, but also because of the characteristics of his jobs, labor imperfections and employers’ prejudices. b. The theory of literacy on numbers is based on belief of Parsons and Bryner that weighs heavily in employment8. This study says that people with poor numeracy tend to leave full time education, and as a consequence, experience inconsistent unemployment and casual work. At age 16 to 29, they said that only 53% of women with poor literacy stays in full-time employment while the rest work part-time and in home-caring. c. The Theory of Dual Labor9 states there are two ladders for employment, one is for primary jobs and the second is for the secondary sector. Jobs in the primary sector are those rewarded with high wages, job security, substantial responsibility, and internal promotion. Jobs in the secondary level are characterized with low pay, and has a low attachment with the firm. A large manufacturing firm is an example of a primary-sector while service firms like fast food chains is a secondary. The Theory of Dual Labor is in agreement with Human Capital Theory and Literacy Theory in that those highly skilled are given more opportunities for work and pay. The inequality here is focused not on gender but is based on learning and skills d. The Segmented Labor Market is similar with the Theory of Dual Markets since it also divides the labor markets into primary and secondary.10 The primary sector, which is male dominated, provides higher status of pay and job security, while the secondary sector is characterized with jobs of low skills. Because workers find secondary unattractive, a high rate of employment turn-over prevails. e. Catherine Hakim-preference theory11 or women’s choice is based on personal preferences because of: “contraceptive and equal opportunities revolutions; expansion of white collar jobs; expansion of jobs for secondary earners; and affluence in which personal preferences about work are more important than financial necessity.” These groups of women choose a different lifestyle such as they are Adaptive women. They are attracted to flexible and part-time work. They combine paid work and family without prioritizing one over the other. Another is the work-centered women who focus on career development, and the home-centered women who prefer not to do paid work unless they need money. e. Reserve Army of Labor Reserve Army of Labor (RAL) is the segment of labor force, which is held in reserve, to be called when needed.12 Reserve army of labor is important in the economy, because they are needed for temporary or emergency projects and for new businesses. While in reserve, RAL are in welfare and doing household chores. Women, young people, and elderly are considered RAL because traditionally, they are out of work. RAL women were called to work during the war but were pushed out when men returned; they were also the first to be retrenched when recession came in. f. Lisa Adkins13 Lisa Adkins’ idea deals on gender and sexuality in late modernity, reflexivity, detraditionalization and transformations of identity. To her, Reflexivity is a relation that is constituted via mobility across and within fields of action. Adkins questions whether performances of femininity universally secure workplace benefits as she noted the increasing labor participation of women. She relates reflexivity to modernization because of detraditionalization, social rules and individualization of society. By this she means that in structural reflexivity, individuals reflect on rules and resources that shape social life. Reflexivity should also encompass the emergence of new forms of life in the society. An example given is the family ties. The new form is that family obligations are no longer fixed on blood but more on terms of negotiated commitment. Adkins argued that the traditional modes of life are being challenged by the increased role of an individual. Conclusion The views and theories gathered are enough evidences to claim gender inequalities in our society. Women are outnumbered in job; less favored in job structures, paid less and discriminated when it comes to choices of work. Family structure is partly to be blamed because it has been a tradition that man rules the house as our society is patriarchal. The Equality law did nothing to correct this patriarchal system. Several theories explain why there are inequalities and promote solutions to correct them. One that I prefer is the theory of Human Capital that values skills, training and education. Management most likely would entrust a delicate position to someone who is highly skilled and trained for the job. A woman has equal opportunity if she is armed with the requirements for the job, skills and has the ability to perform well. This, to me, would end; if not totally eradicate gender inequality in employment. BIBLIOGRAPHY Acemoglu,Daron . Lectures in Labor Economics. Read More