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Introduction
Gender inequality is increasingly becoming a global issue with heated debates from across the board. Initially, only church groups, NGO’s and women rights activists were concerned with issues of gender inequality. In recent years, the United Nations has been making efforts to include gender issues in its activities. This topic is critical since gender issues impact societies resulting to other related social issues, such as domestic violence, suicides and divorce among others.
Gender inequality is among the issues that restrict American life. Gender inequality in the US determines who is to be in the kitchen and who is to sit in the White House. The US is far down the list of nations that elect women. In fact, study indicates that it splits gender roles compared to average democracies. This is evident considering that African-American men were given the right to vote fifty years before women of any race. Women were denied the right to mark a ballot for centuries.
Organizations and women rights activists have been making effort to ensure that gender equality not only favors the economic welfare of women, but also extends to social stereotypes that regard women as inferior to men. This study seeks to explore issues related to gender inequality to demystify how the existing policies impact the welfare of women in terms of economic opportunities and social stereotyping.
Hypothesis:
Women and girls continue to experience discrimination in employment opportunities, earnings and educational attainment despite decades of trying to close the gender inequality gap.
Research question:
Does gender inequality have financial implications on the welfare of women and the economy in general?
Literature review
In his research, Ryan Barclays (2010) indicates that gender inequality is an essential issue in development and gender mainstreaming. Previously, gender inequality was a concern for human rights. Currently, it is a major alarm of economic necessity. The author examines the straight impact that gender inequality has on social and economic growth. Barclays states that gender inequality can facilitate development through establishment of investment incentives (Barclays 2010:20).
The exclusion of women from lucrative employment opportunities, the undesirable human capital and productivity of economies apply universally. Conversely, gender inequality is detrimental to the long-term economic growth (Taylor 2014:1). Women without the opportunity to contribute to economic growth due to gender inequality depend on working males to cater for their financial welfare.
A study conducted by Moreno Minguez (2012:49) indicates that during the last three decades, substantial modifications have transpired in the social and financial positions of women. The author states that these transformations have assisted in the reduction of gender disparities.
Such transformations in women’s lives are connected to social changes that are generated by economic development, which, however, does not essentially decrease in gender disparities in incomes. Additionally, the developments do not improve women’s financial independence. Fundamentally, these changes in terms of economic growth and structural transformation enhance and strengthen gender disparities in social circles (Minguez 2012:49).
In developing countries, gender and family relations are perfect indicators of the transformations occurring on functional social level in financial, cultural and political circles. Among the outstanding illustrations of these transformations is the perception and objectification of ‘child care’ as a form of paid employment.
Despite care being perceived as a form of paid work, it is women who essentially engage in it. Traditionally, men do not get involved in child care. This has resulted in developed and even developing states adopting diverse social policies in the effort to reduce gender disparities, particularly due to the interaction of state, families and the employment market in the process of democratizing citizen rights.
These policies seek to defuse gender disparities. They are meant to favor complete democratization of women citizenship in diverse social fields. This required the transformation of the common notion that regarded unpaid family roles as those that are exclusive to the family private sphere of females. In essence, ‘care work’ is typically viewed as undervalued occupation. It is categorized as belonging to the casual economy. There is no possibility of getting promoted since it is executed by women.
It has been argued that even in developed countries, social policies were designed by policymakers based on rationality of the productivist ideal of globalized economy (Razavi and Hassim 2006:21).
According to Minguez (2012:279) the idea of productivist welfare country that are the basis of social policy in developed countries were consequently crafted to favor gender equality, however, virtually on economic terms only. These include increase of salaries to same level irrespective of the gender of the employee, labor amalgamation, and monetary assistance among others.
Few countries have designed policies that are aimed at the reduction of social stereotype that results in gender disparities. “The gender wage gap in the United States is lower than in many other countries. But what is troubling is that the gap has barely narrowed since the mid-1990s.” (Briton 2014:1).
The hindrances that face women are a major basis of inequality. Frequently, females are victimized in financial wellbeing, schooling, and employment. Discrimination results in destructive repercussions that impact their freedoms. Apparently, gender inequality differs greatly across different global locations.
There is loss of economic and social achievement arising from gender discrimination. A report by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) indicates that nations with unequal sharing of human economic growth also experience great disparity between males and females. Consequently, nations with great gender disparities also undergo unequal sharing of human economic development.
Discussion
In most societies, gender is always considered along the line of masculinity and femininity. Typically, at the ends of the continuum would be the alpha male. The hegemonic male is expected to be strong, brawny and rugged. The perfect female on the other hand is expected to be soft, modest and sensual. In between the hegemonic male and female is a wide continuum of gender types.
However, different schools of thought among sociologists concur that the bi-polar model is too restrictive to elucidate the wide range of sex manifestation in the society. Naturally, sex is linked to biological factors. On the other hand, gender is evidently molded by socialization processes. The result is inequality between men and women with men enjoying a huge chunk of social and economic benefits. The society outlines gender roles.
Through socialization, these factors are handed over from one generation to the next. These determinants include families, the media, religious institutions, as well as learning institutions. These factors start modeling individuals from birth. Primary socialization occurs between birth and puberty. They are influential in molding gender identities. Families play an essential role during this period.
Research into the role of families in determining and reinforcing gender stereotyping indicate that families are the main determinants of gender inequality. Females are expected to be dependent, soft, nonviolent, delicate and cautious about taking risks. On the other hand, men are expected to be tough, assertive and brave.
These socialization factors strengthen gender roles. The roles impact the choices individuals make. These life choices include the type of playthings parents buy for their children, the career the individual pursues and the kind of companies one opts to work for. The roles mold how individuals think, behave and react to different situations.
Since the 1900s, the number of women has risen in the labor market. However, traditional gender roles are prevalent in many societies. Essentially, the society expects mothers to delay their academic and occupational ambitions to look after offspring. In the meantime, men remain working.
Hypothesis supported
Gender disparity is a phenomenon that has received extensive study among many organizations and sociologists. All the studies conducted by various institutions and individuals indicate that women still have a long way to go. This is particularly in terms of income, employment and careers. In fact, gender disparity is larger than is typically believed. Females’ economic wellbeing is 61 percent lower than that of males, despite decades of females trying to close the gap.
“Women have made great strides in the workplace, but inequality persists. On average in 2010, women only made 77 cents to every dollar a man earned. There’s still a gender gap that needs to be rectified.” (Briton 2014:1)
Conclusion
Gender inequality has a long history. Since time immemorial, women have been treated as inferior to men. They are consigned to performing domestic chores such as taking care of children. The perceptions of gender inequality are designed along gender roles that are formed early in life. These perceptions are formed along social constructions. Different countries have attempted to diffuse inequality by designing different policies.
However, it has been observed that these policies are only designed along economic thinking. Consequently, they reinforce gender inequality since they only seek to equalize economic benefits between men and women, whereas reinforcing social stereotype against women. The policies are only institutionalized in workplace, but have little impact in social spheres.
Social transformations in women’s lives are connected to social changes that are generated by economic development. However, these economic developments do not essentially decrease gender disparities in incomes. Women continue to be discriminated in terms of pay they receive from employers.
Implications and limitations of research
This study is critical in examining gender inequalities among different societies and how they impact gender equality. The study has provided evidence for the major challenges faced by many societies and particularly women. Women freely provide domestic services that have for years been perceived as the role of women.
Consequently, it opens dialogue for the need to have effective family policies that will facilitate gender equality. Since most countries have implemented policies designed along economic perspective, it is equally important to have social policies that will present women with equal standing with men. The policies will facilitate the dilution of gender stereotypes.
Future research plans
Considering the many gender inequalities in many countries, there is need for further empirical research to be conducted. This will impact how societies perceive women in view of gender equality, roles, economic opportunities, femininity and motherhood.
Most of the policies, according to studies, reveal that what is in the public domain regarded as gender inequality, from a social perspective is the source of political strategies employed in most countries. It is, hence, imperative to conduct further studies on the issue of gender inequality so that policies can be developed that will not only facilitate economic wellbeing of women, but also help in ensuring equality in social spheres.
References
Barclays, Ryan. Gender Inequality and Socio-economic Development.” Business, Economics and Law 2(1): 1-154.
Briton, Mary. Gender Inequality and Women in the Workplace. Harvard Summer School, Harvard. Web.
Mínguez, Moreno. 2009. “Gender Roles, Family Policies and Dilemmas of the Work and Family Life Balance in Spain from a Comparative European Framework.” Journal of Societal & Social Policy, 1(7): 49–63.
Taylor, Howard. 2014. The Conflict Perspective. Boundless. Web.
UNDP. 2007. Human Development Report 2007/2008. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Web.
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