Gender Inequality - Research Paper Example

Gender Inequality Gender inequality refers to partially treating individuals based on their gender, which arises from differences in gender roles that are socially constructed as well as biologically through chromosomes, structure of the brain and hormonal differences (Roughgarden 219). Cases of gender inequality have been reported in education, parenting and marriage, employment, medicine, health and stratification of jobs, and their effects have been felt socially and economically, for instance there is a high dependence ratio in families with uneducated women who can’t access formal employment compared to families with educated women. Studying gender inequality can help eradicate poverty especially in developing economies with uneducated women since they will be a key driving force in poverty eradication due to their increased earning power, which in turn raises household income. I would therefore advocate for gender equality for economic and social development especially in developing economies where women are generally looked down upon by being regarded as family caretakers. Gender inequality in parenting and marriage is evident mostly in developing economies, no wonder it is said that many of the poorest people in these economies are women since their role is primarily taking care of the family, producing food, tilling land, grinding grain, carrying water and cooking. This means that education and formal employment is left for men, meaning there is a very high dependency ratio in families. No wonder there are high levels of poverty in these economies since the work of women is giving birth and doing house chores, and the worker has too many mouths to feed. In this case, I would assert that gender equality makes good economic sense because when women get access to education, they will participate in business and economic decision making (Wilson, Kickul and Marlimo; pg 390). They will get access to health; have jobs and financial resources, thus raising household incomes. Gender inequality is also evident in education, especially in sub-Saharan countries, where most girls are denied access to education because of cultural beliefs and norms, since most of these girls get initiated to “women roles”. Therefore, formal education is not seen as a necessity in these countries making these girls suffer exclusion in education systems throughout their lives and even their kids since uneducated women are less likely to take their kids to school. Providing girls with education is essential in breaking poverty cycles: there is less likelihood of educated women marrying earlier, dying at childbirth, giving birth to malnourished babies and ensuring less financial dependence. Educated women are likely to send their children to school, ensuring that all children get access to quality education, which is rooted in human rights, and gender equality, which will in turn change people’s minds on gender equality for generations to come. Employment is another sector that has experienced gender inequality in most parts of the world such as in India, where underemployment and unemployment rates are higher in women compared to men, even if these women are educated (Abraham 100). Even among graduates from tertiary institutions, the rate of unemployment for women was found to be 27% compared to less than 9% for men. In addition, most women workers are employed in agriculture and the informal sector whereas most men are employed in the formal sector, which has resulted into huge wage differentials between males and females. Denying women an opportunity to be employed is ensuring continuation of intergenerational poverty because of high dependency ratio. Therefore, there is need to create an enabling environment socially and economically for women empowerment and poverty alleviation. There is gender discrimination in the medical field in many parts of the world as there are more male practitioners, which translates to wage gaps among these practitioners especially in North America, where female doctors make almost $17000 less than their male counterparts do. Socially, women in this field are generally associated with the nurse role whereas men are to doctor role meaning women are incapable of being physicians. In most cases, employers fear hiring female physicians due to fear of their involvement in family roles as well as their entitlement to maternity leave. It has also been noted that generally, male doctors garner more attention from patients compared to their female counterparts in most hospitals. These inequalities in the medical field affect all parties concerned; male or female physicians, nurses and patients as they make them feel scared and vulnerable, in need of compassion and humane care. Many programs ask women to adopt more masculine style in order to succeed as it is in the case in leadership (Ely, Ibarra and Kolb 479), which explains why men hold more top positions in politics and top companies globally compared to women. Mostly this is because most women don’t ask for power since they think the manager will notice their performance and promote them accordingly, while men view this as a lack of ambition. Parental roles are also said to some of the factors hindering women from achieving their ambitions. This is a challenge that can be overcome through increasing awareness of gender corporate balance and encouraging increased corporate transparency. The field of technology is not any different in terms of sexism as shown in statistics of employees in technology companies. It is estimated that Google has 17% females as tech workers as is the case with Microsoft, Amazon and many other tech companies, which implies that most women do not like physics related courses possibly due to cultural factors, whereby men are thought to be smarter than women in physical sciences (Hughes 548). Employers should stop bias during hiring in order to curb this problem. Parents should also ensure that girls have as many opportunities as boys in computer science and engineering courses. Gender inequality is a problem that is still rampant in the contemporary society as seen in the field of education, the institution of marriage, medical and health fields, job placement, technology and leadership. However much efforts are being made to eradicate this menace, still there is more to be done. Achieving gender equality is a collective responsibility and should not be entirely left to activists, politicians and feminists as is the case in many countries, and it should actually be a social affair. Since families are primary institutions for socializing, it is important that parents give their children equal opportunities. Society needs to change its perspective on the roles of women and accept that women are capable of performing what men can perform. Affirmative action can also help deal with this issue despite a number of limitations associated with it.   Works Cited Abraham, Vinoj. “Employment Growth in rural India: Distress-Driven?” Economic and Political Weekly (2009): 100. Ely, Robin J., Herminia Ibarra, and Deborah M. Kolb. "Taking Gender into Account: Theory and Design for Womens Leadership Development Programs." Academy of Management Learning & Education 10.3 (2011): 479. Hughes, Roxanne. “Are the Predictors of Women’s Persistence in STEM Painting the full picture? A series of comparative case studies.”International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology 3.3 (2011): 548. Wilson, Fiona, Jill Kickul, and Deborah Marlino. "Gender, Entrepreneurial Self‐Efficacy, and Entrepreneurial career Intentions: Implications for Entrepreneurship Education1." Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 31.3 (2007): 390. Roughgarden, Joan. Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. University of California Press, 2009. Print. Read More