Gender Inequality Essay

On February 3, 1870, the United States added the 15th Amendment to the constitution. This amendment stated that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude” (Web Guides). Surely the 15th Amendment was a great success for America, but note that women were not included anywhere in the amendment. It was not until the 90’s that women’s rights started to be acknowledged. In marriage, women did not fight against their husband’s wishes, and the men made all decisions for the

The 15th Amendment to the Constitution granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."(The library of congress).The 15th amendment touched upon topics such as race and color but it had not touched on gender equality. It denied women certain rights, such as the right to vote. The constitution did not secure women’s rights to vote! How truly unfair this was! The constitution clarified that males had more power over women. Men were allowed to vote, and had many advantages over women. This made many women outraged. The accentuation on voting during the 1860s drove ladies' rights activists to concentrate on lady suffrage. The two sides built up two opponent national associations that intended to win ladies the vote.

In the 1860’s tensions were running high. Slavery was finally abolished, and one very important amendment passed in favor of African American men across America. The 15th amendment passed and many African American men were thrilled by the new freedom they had; the right to vote. However, many women were perturbed by the decision congress made on February 26, 1869. Which divulged, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude --” (US Const., amend. XV). Thus, no matter what race, any man can vote in any election they want. Unfortunately, it would be another fifty – one years until women would be granted to vote alongside their male counterparts. Therefore, the National Woman Suffrage Association found itself on the wrong side of the fifteenth amendment, while the American Woman Suffrage Association was on the appropriate side of history.

For centuries and even today, gender inequality and racial prejudice continue to exist. Throughout time these concepts have overlapped and intertwined, each other creating complex interactions and a negative influence upon society. In the 1980s, Kimberle Williams Crenshaw through her article, named Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color, introduced the term “Intersectionality.” Intersectionality, is the theory of how different types of discriminations interact thus, goes hand in hand with Judith Butler, in her article titled “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory” which expresses the term “gender acts” and helps decipher a probable cause of the many discriminations faced in contemporary society. Since both gender inequality and racial inequality share a common thread, I believe that what intersectionality represents will help understand Judith Butler’s view on gender classification and the dynamic it’s caused on our social and political formation.

Gender inequality has engulfed the United States and placed copious varying roles onto the male and female sexes. According to Leila Aboulela, Minaret, “All through life there were distinctions - toilets for men, toilets for women; clothes for men, clothes for women - then, at the end, the graves are identical.” Discrimination places women into different roles and takes away numerous privileges. However in America today after more than a century of struggles by dedicated activists who fought to alter these ideals and gain further rights, the perception of women in society and their contributions to society have been greatly transformed.

Women had attempted to call attention to the issue of woman’s suffrage for hundreds of years. Until August 18th, 1920 women had no right to vote for the politicians that governed them. Many women wondered why they had not been given suffrage, but African American men were given the right to vote nearly 50 years earlier. The fifteenth amendment states that citizens “shall not be denied the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude”. Why couldn’t gender have been included in the amendment? Many claimed that was not fair to the women who had helped Americans in the most crucial of times. During previous wars women were left to take care of the household while men were at war. They also worked

Freedom and equality are ideas this country has had for centuries that have evolved over time. In 1776, what Thomas Jefferson meant by “all men are created equal”, is that white males are dominant in society. Women are treated worse than men and slaves treated worse than women. People that weren’t of the “superior” race/gender of a white male were typically treated as if they were less. Women and African-Americans aren’t being treated as bad today, but they’re still being treated worse than the white males of society. Even today, when white males are typically the leaders of society, it’s not always race and gender that creates inequality; sometimes it’s money that creates the issue. Not just from past evidence, but from present

Modern feminism can be traced back to the 19th century, when the suffragists–women who fought for the equality of men’s and women’s rights–achieved their first victory; in 1869, in Wyoming, women were given a right to vote during elections–or, women rather struggled and won to gain this right. In the 1890s, women won the right to vote in several other states. After decades of intense struggle, the Nineteenth Amendment to the American Constitution was adopted; this Amendment is also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. It became a law in August, 1920; it states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote

In recent times, it has become much more common and socially acceptable for parents to raise their children in gender neutral ways. As queer rights, feminist movements, and gender equality take on a greater social relevance, many caregivers no longer expect their children to behave stereotypically “masculine” or “feminine;” children may even be praised for going beyond their gendered expectations (e.g., boys who can cook well or girls who are fit and athletic). Raising your kids without expecting them to conform to gender norms may allow them to develop a broad potential in many areas, rather than only allowing them to explore activities that are appropriate for their traditional gender roles. For example, if you are raising a girl, she may have the potential to become both a great mechanic and a talented dancer if you do not narrow her choices down to only those that are gender conforming. However, this choice in parenting may come with some unexpected issues and consequences -- ones that are as of yet unforeseen.

Recent studies have shown that overcoming gender inequality could take up to 83 years (at the pace America’s going). But is there a way to speed this up? Gender inequality is simply when one gender is not treated as equally as the other. In fact, it has been around for a long time, and is still around today. It is mostly a problem with women because they are not given the same rights as men, though men can experience the same events. Gender inequality is still a problem in America, but there are ways to fight against it

In the 21st century, many people believe that we have overcome the obstacle of gender inequality and evolved into a society of fairness and righteousness. As many know, females can be just as proficient and qualified as males at any task. Though some efforts to off-set this gender imbalance is in place, it is still commonly acknowledged that many careers are stated to be a male job such as lawyers, and female jobs such as secretaries. Gender inequality is a visible fact in our society and in this essay, I hypothesize that gender inequality still exists as a result of factors such as post-secondary education differences of the two genders, role of females in families, female objectification, career choice differences of the two genders, and

Gender inequality has been an issue since long before the 1840s, when feminists finally brought the problem to light. Most ancient cultures were societies based on gender inequality, skewed towards male-dominance. Most societies are still mostly patriarchal, in fact. Patriarchy is the root of discrimination between sexes and genders and has been for a very long time.

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.

It is only recently that sociology has begun to explore the topic of gender. Before this, inequalities within society were based primarily on factors such as social class and status. This paper will discuss gender itself: what makes us who we are and how we are represented. It will also explore discrimination towards women throughout history, focusing mainly on women and the right to vote, inequalities between males and females in the work place and how gender is represented in the media.

for different social classes or statuses for various individuals within a group or society. It usually refers to people of distinct genders, ages