Gender Inequality Affects the Health of Women

Although the issue of women’s rights has attracted international recognition and support, women still face many inequalities and barriers. Gender-based violence and economic discrimination are problems in many parts of the world.

Social inequalities are subjective and relative to those around us. Individuals compare themselves to those they see which in turn may alter their expectations of equality in terms of such things as wealth, education and gender equality for themselves. General needs and expectations differ depending on where in the world you are. In most western countries we have come to expect certain levels of gender equality for instance. This essay will look into social inequality, particularly in the form of gender inequality.

In this chapter there are certain key points that can be distinguishable between gender and race in terms of health inequalities. This chapter has lots of comparisons made regarding gender between male and female, and race including aboriginals. The book demonstrated that research has shown that male and female differ in factors of health and their life expectancies. These studies indicate that men and woman go through different health illness and health risks. The same thing applies for aboriginals in Canada, but it is slightly lower due to their living conditions in poverty. The chapter also mentions socio-economic statues, which is basically the concept of the social class, it is mentioned

Gender inequality imposes a disproportionate burden on women in America, and has led women to experience disparities in health, finance, education, occupation, and other arenas. Many factors contribute to the persistent inequality and combine to put women at a disadvantage. Furthermore, persistent gender inequality has threatened economic growth and/or social progress in America as it carries a high price. Studying these gender inequalities will help people better understand the influence of gender in shaping our lives, our attitudes, our behavior and our society as a

I have seen the struggles for equality to men in many aspects. Regardless of the great strides that women have achieved today, it is still hard to find equal opportunity and to be fairly recognized. Some of the areas where gender inequality is very prevalent are in areas such as, equal pay in the workplace, professional & education careers, household work, sexism and discrimination just to name a few. Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender.[1] In this passage I will briefly elaborate on the areas outlined earlier to show the various degree of inequality and explore the path that women have taken to achieve equality. Additionally I will focus on the economic growth as a dependent variable and stereotype as the independent variable.

The debate for gender inequality has been going on for decades. In the 21st century, this debate has been on its pinnacle with feminists demanding equal rights in all areas of life. The increased pressure by the feminists has caused small and large firms, organizations, non-profits, and governments all over the world to change their policies to accommodate or make up for the gender inequality that exists in work place and homes. Women are half of the workforce. They are the equivalent, if not fundamental, breadwinner in four out of ten families. They get more college and graduate degrees than men. Yet, on average, women continue to win considerably not as much as men. In 2014, female full-time workers made only 79 cents

Gender relations and inequality is experienced through lack of educational matters and unfair treatment of women and children, thus in many cases forcing women to run households, while the men are away at work in various seasonal migration jobs at unviable wages. As defined in a classic article, income inequality is “the distribution of total income amongst the represented population” (Gehring13). In outlined studies; evidence can conclude that poor gender relations in fact can be convoluted into other issues such as overpopulation, child malnourishment, low levels of GDP, and GNI. This in fact sounds to be true for what India is experiencing today. The predominant issue of gender inequality has led many down the pathway to poverty

In Canada, women face similar challenges to their political participation. In fact, Canada ranked 50th among its peers in promoting women’s political participation (Anderssen, 2015). In 2011, Canada’s share of female MPs increased by one-percent, bringing the share of females in the Canadian Parliament to a mere 26%—a reflection of the dismal outlook on women’s political mobility in Canada (Anderssen, 2015). In 1993, Kim Campbell became Canada's first female prime minister as Brian Mulroney's Conservative party lost confidence in his leadership. However, Kim Campbell's political career as a prime minister was short-lived as she was overpowered by the Liberal party's opposition leader, Bill Vander Zalm several months later. Furthermore, the marginalized position of women in the Canadian legislature reinforces existing gender disparities: the less women elected to higher office, the less likely it is that Canadian policymakers will “[develop] workable, sustainable, dynamic strategies to increase women’s participation in the political process” (Driedger,

Health care providers need to be concerned about gender in relation to health. The vast amount of obstacles in healthcare such as access to medical treatment, money for healthcare, and focus on reducing harmful behaviors are all beneficial but do not often address the gender disparities that exist globally (Ostlin, Eckermann, Mishra, Nkowane, & Wallstam, 2006). Women in developing countries often face gender violence, cultural beliefs that do not allow them to receive proper health care, poor nutrition and do not have much choice over the decisions for their bodies (Teweldeberhan, 2016). Along with socioeconomic and cultural background, gender can determine a person’s health beginning from their birth throughout their life.

It is often challenging to have health care services that meet the needs of Canada’s diverse population and the needs of both men and women. Gender influences access to care and women in particular are at risk for face difficulties to care (Ontario Women`s Health Equity Report, 2010 p.1). Women are more likely to be poor and have greater caregiver responsibilities in contrast to men. These both factors are barriers to accessing health services. The way the health care system is organized creates barriers to accessing effective care for women because it has failed to take into account that men and women use the health care system very differently. Canada’s health care system reinforces gender inequity rather than eliminating

Gender inequality is a social problem that is widespread in society. It is referred to as the unfair treatment of individuals based on one 's gender. Historically, laws have opposed women to go to school, access certain jobs, and purchase property. Gender inequality has been experience through culture – honor-killing, sex-selective abortion, and society – occupation, gender roles, and education. The social expectations of men and women differ between cultures that are constructed socially and culturally. These expectations are displayed in roles, and behavior believed both by men and women and their interdependent relationships. Gender inequality can be further understood through the structure of sexism. Discrimination takes place in gender inequality for the reason that men and women are treated on the basis of gender alone (Amjad, R., Ashfaq, M., Kousar, R., Saghir, A., 2010).

Social status and structures have definitely shaped the construction and experience of gender inequality. Men and women are constantly analyzed, compared, and grouped together in society. The result of this yields discrepancies in how sexes are viewed by society. Throughout my examination and explanation of gender inequality, I concluded both men and women are victims to gender inequality.

Although they have been given more rights and equality, women still lack fairness in areas such as education, domestic abuse, crime, and lower class value. Cassandra Clifford states in her article “Are Girls still marginalized? Discrimination and Gender Inequality in Today’s Society”, “Woman and girls are abused by their husbands and fathers, young girls are exploited by sex tourism and trafficking, girls in many countries are forced into arranged marriages at early ages. Twice as many women are illiterate as men, due to the large gap in education, and girls are still less likely to get jobs and excel in the work place than boys.” She describes some of the issues that women face today around the world. These issues are what keep society from coming together to form a better world.

Throughout the past few decades, the gender inequality discourse have became a dominant feature of international, national and local policy debate on the subject of economic development. This policy concern has emerged as an area of scholarly research which seeks to show that improving gender equity leads to economic growth.

“Gender inequality exists to some extent, in most areas of society, in all countries of the world”. Geographically examine this statement.