Gender Equality : Female Attrition From Private Law Practice Essay

Throughout this course, we have discussed how the differences in the social construction of gender, race, class, and sexuality have led to discrimination and inequality of those classified under a variety of these categories. Through understanding the significance of these social constructs on society it becomes apparent the intersectionality they have when it comes to understanding why certain groups may face discrimination or inequality. This paper examines gender inequality and how the social construction of gender makes it difficult for the pursuit of equality amongst genders.

Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals wholly or partly due to their gender. It arises from differences in gender roles. Gender inequality isn’t a exercise which has just recently developed instead it is a practice which has been part of our community since civilizations have begun. When one thinks of gender issues they directly connect it with females however this issue consists of both men and women which can be heavily seen in the early eras.

Over years there have been many cases and treatment that indicated to gender inequality. Gender inequality means unequal treatment and understanding based on their gender, or biological differences. The biological differences between man and women is that men born differently that women, and men have different sexual organs than women. Gender inequality includes treated women roughly, and have a picture that females are minimum that males.

The movement of promoting gender equality is exponentially growing every year; however, gender inequality is still a persistent problem in today’s workforce. Each year, gender inequality, especially employment equity, the distinct barrier between genders in the workforce, has become a topic of contention as its affecting working individuals worldwide, especially women. Before examining this problem, we must further understand what gender inequality is in the workplace. Gender inequality is an ascriptive factor, in which limits individuals to reach their full potential in their area of expertise by discriminating based on gender (module …). Both genders can have the same qualifications for an occupation, but a specific gender, mainly men, are seen to be more qualified than their female counterparts are. This can result in the refusal to allow the individual to take on leadership roles due to socially constructed views on gender. In addition, they may receive unequal wages compared to the opposing gender due to statistical discrimination which is the idea hiring or promoting individuals based on the average characteristics of their gender group rather than solely focusing on the individual( Textbook, 169). As we strive towards the goal of gender inequality, we must understand it in order to construct a proper solution.

Over the last ninety years, women have battled to become equal with men in all aspects of life and work (Parcheta, 2013). Male domination and power has become the social assumption as gendered occupations and beliefs have been projected throughout society as the status quo. Though challenging, this status quo is still present. Women have manufactured huge developments in career and education training, but equal treatment to a man, pay, and promotions in the workplace still escape them. Sociologists have documented that gender is not mainly a role or identity. It is an institutionalized system of social practices for constituting people as two different categories; male and female, and organizing relations of inequality around that difference (Ridgeway & Correll, 2000). In categorizing gender as a social construction, differentiations between males and females help to develop gender difference.

It cannot be denied that the situation has improved drastically, for instance, between 1978 and 2008 there was an increase of 332% in the number of female solicitors. However there is still a long way to go to achieve a truly diverse legal profession, for example, in 2008, a study found that out of solicitors who had entered the profession 10-19 years ago, 77% of men had reached partner whereas only 48% of women had. This is not a problem limited to England and Wales, and the President of the American Bar Association has argued that the first step towards a more diverse legal profession is to develop our understanding of the ‘roots of discrimination’.

Previously, gender inequality was like a taboo subject. Due to campaigns by women groups and activists, many governments are beginning acknowledge it as a significant problem, and several pieces of legislations have been passed in different countries to address this inequality. For example, in the UK, the Equality Act 2010 is the current legislation against sex discrimination The consensus is that a better understanding of gender inequality and the factors that have given rise to such practices may be a way forward in attempting to eliminate if from the workplace.

For several decades, gender inequality in the workplace has been a problematic topic for discussion. In terms of higher management and pay, some may agree to disagree that women are getting the shorter end of the stick. There is a significant difference in the salary and positions women are obtaining in large companies or corporations. Does that stir up the question, what is it that men are doing better than women? Or are women lacking certain qualities required to achieve these certain rights and opportunities? The preference towards a certain sex is the primary cause of gender discrimination, however, it is important that the theories of each party are understood and why it is present in the workplace today.

Gender bias is unequal treatment in employment opportunity, such as promotion, pay, benefits, or privileges due to attitudes based on sex of an employee or group of employees. Gender bias can be a legitimate basis for a lawsuit under anti-discrimination statutes. Workplace gender bias not only attempts, but succeeds in several ways that people don't recognize for woman in male professions. Men automatically have an advantage over women when it comes to getting a certain job because several people view men as being more powerful, influential, and dominant than women in workplaces. Stereotypes have been embedded in our brains, and we tend to go along with them without even being aware of what we are doing. There's hope that citizens mindset can be changed if we take control of the normal, gender bias stereotypes before they get passed on to the next generation. Are you willing to treat everybody the same ? Every

The word “gender” refers to the roles in which society allots for those using “sex”, individuals’ physical characteristics, as a defining principle for separating roles (Gender, n.d.). The roles in which genders are assigned can come with discrimination, due to the individuals’ sex, as well as stereotypes, such as the defined traditional jobs for each sex (Sex, n.d.). Imagine being a female and subjected to gender role discrimination and stereotypical judgements regularly. Women have been attaining well positions in various industries, however, very few

As a social institution, gender is a process of creating distinguishable social statuses for the assignment of rights and responsibilities. As part of a stratification system that ranks these statuses unequally, gender is a major building block in the social structures built on these unequal statuses.

Gender is the socially- constructed role and explanation of relationships between men and women. (Sport & Dev) In my opinion, I define Gender inequality as the unfair treatment amid both sexes. According to Sage Knowledge, "Gender inequality is allowing individuals of different opportunities due to perceived differences based solely on issues of gender."

This essay will focus on commercial solicitors as gender inequality is most evident in this area. On May 25, 2016 at 12:00 pm at the Tyne Bar in Newcastle, I sat down with corporate city lawyer, Amy Fenny, to help reframe the existing discussion on gender equality by assessing gender bias and its impact on those who seek and attain positions of power within the legal profession. We conducted the interview at There are several reasons why I chose to speak to Ms. Fenny in particular, and one of which is because she has experience in a non-typically female job. Also, she is someone with understanding of sexism and gender inequality which allows her to be able to recognize and analyse her surrounding situations. Those who have not been exposed to such information are participants in the current society, and some are so engrained that it is hard for one to notice the issues at hand as they do not have the skills to recognize it.

Gender refers to being male or female. It is usually used to determine the cultural and social difference between men and women. Gender roles are expectations of how males and females should behave, what attitudes they should have, what activities they should do and etc. according to their culture (Witt, 2016). Years ago, males and females had specific roles that separated them from each other. Males were known to go hunting to provide food for the family, and females were to stay at home and take care of the kids. Nowadays, those gender roles have no function in the society anymore because of how the quality of life changed over the years. As women entered the workforce in 1960s, they equalized themselves with men economically. As they started working along with men, the gender roles no longer could be applied to them, therefore, they have no function anymore. However, still today, stereotypes exist that separates women from men, usually with the intentions of degrading either of the genders to make one gender more superior over the other. These stereotypes are mostly about degrading women. They can be seen or heard of in stories, movies, commercials, advertisings, books, videogames and etc.

The sociological definition of the word gender: The extent to which one identifies as being either masculine or feminine. In the American society more people are starting to be aware of issues perceived with gender. Combined with all the current events that we are facing today, this topic is being discussed more than ever. Currently there is a multitude of perceptions about each gender, most start with the idea of gender typing, that we are going to assume that women already have lower paying jobs, and do all the housework. This, ties in with social labels that are unfairly placed upon women. Another ideal is the glass ceiling that limits women from their full potential and the only reason that it is there is because of society, a glass ceiling that limits them from getting jobs, creates harassment in the workplace, and also encourages a hostile environment.Gender discrimination is still massively prevalent in today’s society.