Gender Inequality Essay

362). An area that this theory may be placed emphatically is on the issue of gender inequality in the post-secondary educational system. Throughout Canadian history, females have been marginalized in the educational system. For example, before Confederation, young girls attended school with boys, but were often pulled out of school in order to fulfill familial duties (Tepperman & Curtis, 2011, p. 351). When these young women did attend school and show an interest in post-secondary education, they were guided into fields such as nursing and education (Tepperman & Curtis, 2011, p. 351 & Macneill, 2011). At one point in history, women were completely banned form attending medical school (a typically male-dominated field) (Tepperman & Curtis, 2011, p. 351). Additionally, many of the most highly ‘skilled’ and well-paid jobs such as doctor and lawyer are still predominately held by males (Fausto-Sterling, 1992, p. 5 & MacNeill, 2011).

Canada is generally perceived as a country of freedom and equity in all aspects around the world. But in fact, gender equality has not yet been reached in our society. According to statistics, Canada was only ranked 35th on World Economic Forum gender gap list (“Global Gender Gap List Puts Canada at 35th”). Throughout history, activists have variously prioritized identities rooted in class, race, sexuality, age, gender and ability, but changes will need to continue in our current society and in the future. The women’s movement was ultimately one of the most significant event in Canadian history, as it challenged the patriarchal society and set the basis of gender equality, which has become an important element of Canadian identity today.

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.

This woman was Grace Lockhart, who graduated from Mount Allison University in New Brunswick and proved that women were capable of post-secondary education. Her achievement led to the increased introduction of females pursuing higher qualifications; studies (Statistics Canada, [SC], 2006) have indicated that now 60% of university graduates in Canada are female. Grace Lockhart, though only a single person, triggered the ripple through Canada’s young women and their pursuit for knowledge. Prior to Lockhart’s tremendous accomplishment, many equivalently intelligent women were rejected the opportunity to enter

Statistics Canada shows that women make up of 50.4% (2010) of Canada’s collective population, however, only 25.3 % of those women are situated in the House of Commons (Women, 2015). Why would this be the case? Canadian women have suffered for a long time now regarding the concern that not only dictated history but has also harshly influenced today’s society, which is the social gap between men and women. It is arguable that this gap has prevented women from the ability to seek their highest potential due to the lack of recognition they would receive, mainly because of their gender. Women have been stigmatized in society as being inferior to men in many aspects of life, such as, “not being as intelligent or as strong as men” even if they are.

Socialization is the unequal distribution of power, wealth, income and social status between individuals and groups. This distribution is not random, it is patterned and structured. Three important axes of global inequality are gender, race and ethnicity, and class. These inequalities are on a global scale and are found in virtually all societies. It wasn't until relatively recently, however, that a caste system developed to include race and ethnicity among class and gender. Since imperialism and the conquest of the America's, a number of social changes have occurred, and, as a result, the dominant groups today are not only higher in the social order, in terms of rank, but they are considered better as well.

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

True equality means holding everyone accountable in the same way, regardless of race, gender, faith, ethnicity - or political ideology (Crowley, 2015). “Women from different classes, from different racial and cultural groups, from different regions, and different ages or abilities often face different barriers and frequently have different work experience ( Armstrong, 1978). Race, gender and class are the main factors that intersect and determine how a person is segregated in the labour market. For many decades, women have been devalued for the work that they do in the labour market and work done at home.

In the 1800’s a women was suppose to have four things Piety, Purity, submissiveness, and domesticity. These principles shaped the “Cult of True Womanhood” an idea that women were to be seen but not heard. Women had no say when it came to politics, they couldn’t own property, they were not allowed to do many jobs, and they couldn’t even speak in front of men. They had the duty to be a mother and raise their children but even thought they had this responsibility it was the husband who had the complete control and guardianship of the children. Because of these ideas it was very difficult for change to happen. When women started to receive more education they began to ask questions about why they were being denied these rights, which began the

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

Equality between Women and Men, or Gender Equality, means equality of rights and freedoms. For equal opportunities for participation, recognition and appreciation of women and men, In all areas of society, political, economic, labor, personal and family.