Gender Inequality In The United States

Inequality between different groups of people within the United States is concerning for many sociologists and society in general. One of the main inequalities throughout the United States is gender inequality. Gender inequity is found in all past and present societies. It takes the form of patriarchy. From the patriarchal point of view, gender inequality can be traced back to biological differences in early societies (“Steven Goldberg on Patriarchy” 2006). This inequality is present in society through many different forms, including job segregation, the gender pay gap, and a great difference in women’s political representation (Joan Acker, 1989).

Women have made significant strides in society, proving themselves to be as capable as men in the workforce. However, while women are making equal contributions, men and women are not earning equal wages. Even though the Equal Pay Act was established in 1963, women continue to earn lower wages than men over half a century later. This inequality not only affects women as individuals but has a detrimental effect on the national economy. The gender wage gap in the United States should end because it is unjust; correcting it would have social and economic benefits for the U.S.

For the first time in history women had surpassed men in the paid labor force. Yet, instead of provoking an equality among the sexes, the figures play no statistical significance, as women still try to bridge the gap between their inequality among their male counterparts. One apparent setback for women in the workplace is their unequal payment, “Women workers are still paid less than men, currently about-three quarters of mens income if they work full time and year round”(Institute for Womens’s Policy Research, 2010). Although there women are beginning to integrate into vastly male populated jobs throughout the labor force “… women in America today earn 78 cents to a man’s dollar, according to the U.S Census Bureau, and have struggled for decades to achieve pay for equal work” (Riley 2). Not only has this pay gap significantly effected the nature of women throughout the county, it has also violated the bill that Congress passed called the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The Equal Pay Act was signed in order to establish a more sound and equal treatment among the sexes. It noted that an employer was unable to discriminate employees on grounds of gender, yet as figures denote today, this bill seems to not possess enough jurisdiction over the wage gap. The wage gap has contributed to various problems within the United States, especially among single mothers who do not have a supporting male figure within their household.

One of the beginning issues of women being oppressed starts with the wage gap between working women and men. This wage gap is often one of the most direct roots to the overwhelming amount of women living in poverty. Despite many women working, or looking for work in the U.S, they have been continually paid less than their male counterparts. For years, women, especially those who are working class’ equal rights have been pushed aside and causes an endless cycle of oppression for many women. The inequalities working-class women face such as the wage gap causes economical issues such as poverty, that affects the economy as a whole. In efforts to close the wage gap, the United States needs to raise the federal minimum wage, ensure family and medical leave, and encourage everyone to speak out about gender equality.

Since the late 19th century, women have been struggling with the issue of not receiving the same amount of pay as men. The gender wage gap was not seen as a major issue until the 1960s, however, and unfortunately, it is still a major issue in our world today. (cite source). In the early 1900’s, World War I caused many men to leave their families behind to fight for their country. As a result of this, women had to take the responsibility of the male roles in the workforce. Women were expected to do the same jobs as men did before they were deployed, but were paid less to do so (cite source). This problem still exists in our world today. In 2011, it was proven that the weekly earnings for a female full-time worker is $684, compared

One key issue that is covered by the Women’s Rights movement is shrinking the pay gap. Currently in the U.S. women earn roughly eighty cents to every full dollar earned by a man ("Pay Equity"). This accounts for the fact that the average American male

In 2015, Hispanic women earned fifty-four percent and African-American women earned sixty-three percent of the white men’s annual average salary, and those are the biggest pay gaps to exist. The annual average income for full-time Hispanic women in 2015 was $31,247 a year– that falls below the United States poverty line. There is a much smaller pay gap between the sexes in African-Americans and Hispanics because their men are paid significantly less than white men. During 2015, Asian women earned seventy-eight percent of the Asian men’s income and eighty-five percent of the white men’s income. This ratio is smaller because this particular ethnicity has the highest average income due to having the highest amount of educational acquirement. Race and ethnicity has a powerful impact on how a woman is affected by the pay gap.

The gender wage gap is a prominent issue which is fought for in feminism today. In the past, this standard has been justified due to the fact that women were more likely to be stay-at-home moms, and were less likely to have jobs or college degrees. Today, women are getting comparable education to men, and working comparable jobs, yet the issue remains. The gender wage gap is a women’s rights issue based on the old-fashioned role of women in society which needs to be fought against and decreased in the United States during this current political and social climate.

The United States exhibits the trend of the “feminization of poverty”, a powerful phrase coined by Diana Pierce to exhibit the increasing number of women and children in poverty. Among the causes of this problem is a “dual labor market that actively discriminates against female workers” (Leventman 1988: 197). The average American woman is only paid 77 cents to every working man’s dollar (Alter 2014). Men today make more than women, despite women having the same amount of educational achievement. In fact, in 2011, men with only a bachelor’s degree made more than women with graduate degrees (Alter 2014). In 2013, full-time working men made $50,033 compared to just $39,157 for full-time working women (Cook 2014). In America today, the problem of poverty in the lives of women and children is attributed to different aspects of gender stratification as well as gender inequality. Poverty will continue until women are equal to men in terms of power, wealth, and other

As Quindlen states, "As Americans read..." that tells us right there that she is trying to reach all Americans. As for her purpose, with her references to the treatment of Afghanistan women I am lead to believe that she is trying to bring light to an existence of an example of women inequality in America. Looking at when it was published, only a couple of months after September 11th, it was perfect timing to throw in on this topic. The possibility of a draft was a reality or at the very least many believe it was a possibility. I would have to agree with her thesis, women should also be required to register for the military draft. I have come to stand against any type of inequality, whether it be (to name a few) race, gender, age, religious

With the state of today’s economy and the disorganization of our government, many of our American values are being tested. Many people suffer from the effects of these hard times such as losing their jobs and not being able to support themselves or their families. Some also feel that they are not treated fairly, or believe that have no say in what affects their lives. One example of this is found in equality issues for women. Throughout our history women have struggled to maintain equality whether it is in the workplace or school. They have a harder time finding jobs than men and when they do, women do not receive the same benefits as their male counterparts. An article written by Jessica Valenti and

As time has progressed and colonization has evolved, gender in the United States has been constructed in a manner that is unknown in other countries. Our society has made different stereotypes for certain sexes. It is socially impossible to not make a collation between sex and gender in the United States. Women are viewed the same in the professional world and in the home life perspective. All roles played by women are considered to be inadequate or insignificant compared to men. Gender characteristics, such as masculinity and femininity, has become a cultural construct. Gender is a social construct that was designed to confine people to a certain title and cultural agenda.

Gender Inequality is when one is perceived or treated differently because of their identified gender. Gender identity is combination of our biological characteristics and social factors. Biological characteristics that symbolize a men is his masculinity, this causes people to think that men are stronger than women and this leads the society to perceive women as being physically weak. The difference in perception and treatment for comparable work is what serves as the basics for gender inequality. Gender Inequality is all around us such as in sports, politics, and the workforce; all members of society have felt the presence of gender inequality in one way or another.

To think sociologically is to think about the whole not just one of the parts, a society being the whole and an individual a part. Sociology believes that the individual doesn’t exist outside of his/her society, there is no ‘human nature’ but that every person is merely a reflection of the society to which they belong. Their morals, values, customs, and prejudices reflect what their society believes in and considers important. For example, when looking at an individual’s success of failure at school or work some disciplines would look at the person to learn how/why that happened, sociology however would look at the society of that person for the reason. It would look at the person’s race, gender, socioeconomic status, and other factors that a person has no control over but is simply born into, sociology would then look at how that society views someone in that place in their society for the explanation of why the person succeeded of failed.

Gender inequalities, which have become more and more dominant in societies, have affected women all across the world. In relation to Middle Eastern countries, there have been rules that women must oblige by constituted along with their religion. Whereas in the United States religion isn’t as dominant, but rather the thoughts and gender microaggressions when compared to male counter-parts are more significant. The misogyny in both regions consists of the deprivation of gender rights that are given by their government, such as the Women’s Suffrage movement in the U.S. Middle Eastern countries have a similarity in which the Quran acts as the law towards Muslim women. Even though there have been acts like the Equal Pay Act created in the U.S, the