Gender Inequality In The Whale Rider

Witi Ihimaria's novel, The Whale Rider is a novel around Maori family with traditional customs. It is set in a whangara and focuses on gender stereotypes that begin after a baby girl is born in the family , aggravating his grand-granddad in light of the fact that the introduction of a girl breaks the ancestry.

The meaning of sexism in the oxford dictionary is ‘Prejudice, stereotyping or discrimination on the basis of sex’ (Oxford Dictionaries). Being a teenager from a liberal society, I think of sexism as when either of the sex is being considered inferior to the other and is not given equal opportunities to earn a place in society. A few decades ago such discrimination was experienced by women when they had no rights to pursue their passions or create their own identity in society. In India, parts of East Asia as well as in New Zealand women were even not allowed to decide on own marriage, which was a monumental event in their lives. In my view, their lives at that time had no difference from the lives of a servant. When they came to their husband’s

Reasons as to why gender wage gap exist so heavily, slightly differs from country to country but the overall effect from the wage disparity is wholly evident. Few agreeable reasons as to why the gap continues, expressed by the European Commission, are either by traditions and stereotypes, “glass ceiling” direct discrimination, and the undervaluing of women’s work ("What Are

Most people think that gender equality is now common place in Western societies, but research shows that gender equality, which gained momentum in the 1970s, has since stalled, particularly when we look at class issues. Some issues have been hit head on, issues relating to sexist job ads and some sexist behavior at work…but we still have a long way to go. The wage gap between men and women is especially concerning.

Did you know that the wage gap is affected by more than just wages? Until the Enlightenment of Europe in the 1400s, women were viewed as less than men. They were not expected to work or be in any leadership positions. Now, the modern feminist movement is gaining momentum in raising the equality of women by increasing access to information about inequalities women face and hosting protests. Despite their success, women still face inequalities, especially in the work force. Women’s lack of access to equal employment opportunities leads to a wage disparity, for which political solutions have been implemented without success.

From the beginning of time there has been a distinction between the accepted roles of males and females. For ages men have been viewed as the family provider and women as the family caretaker. Although new roles developed with different eras, the same ideals have held for centuries now. Since the late 1800’s, the idea of “feminism,” or the social, political, and economic equality for females, has begun to shake the foundations of gender roles. It is 2015, and women have made tremendous strides to establish equality for themselves in a world dominated by male leaders. However, women have not been able to conquer the wage gap. The gender wage gap refers to women being paid on average 78% of what men do. Although the gap is closing, it is still

Many believe they are living in a country that helps the deprived succeed, but in one specific area the underprivileged are the ones oppressed. Much is unknown about how wages are distributed between coworkers. In the land of the free, one should be able to question their employer and not be at risk of getting fired from their job or reaping retributions from asking questions about pay. When women are forced to think of asking such questions, it denies the equality that women have tried for generations to achieve. At odds with what the United States preaches about “equality” in today’s modern society, men are still receiving higher pay than their women colleagues for the same work produced at the same job place.

Gender inequality was a major issue a long time ago, and still is today. This issue is very apparent in the book Antigone and the movie Whale Rider. Antigone is about an audacious young woman who goes against the law and buries her brother because she believes it is the right thing to do. Her uncle Creon, the king of Thebes, realizes that the whole city agrees with Antigone. He still punishes her because he doesn’t want to seem weak, especially against a woman. Whale Rider is about a girl whose twin brother died during labor, leaving her to be chief of the Maori people. Her grandfather doesn’t want her to be chief, however, because she is a girl. Both Antigone and Whale Rider show that women have to fight harder for their beliefs than men because males want power to themselves, have a lot of pride, and lack confidence in women.

A lot of attention is placed on the inequity of pay for men and women. But as time passes, the focus of this issue has subdued. This situation still exists, even though more politicized issues seem to be taking precedence. The wage gap is not only an issue of men and women but also of other races and ethnicities. Why does this continue to be a problem? Do wage gaps make women dependent on men? Even in the light of statistics that shows the disparities, why do society feeling it’s a thing of the past? Will there always be a double standard that women are primarily made to be homemakers? Do we give up the fight to expect equal compensations? Will the new millennium women totally put this inequity to rest? My paper will seek why the disparities and what the future holds.

Women remain at an economic disadvantage compared to men due to the fact that some occupations still pay women less than their male counterparts. This unequal pay reinforces the thinking that it is okay for men to make more than women just because of their gender. This is an obstacle within the workplace which prevents a woman from advancing her career and allows for higher positions to continue consisting almost entirely of men. Present day in the labour market, “Canadian women earn 23% less than men regardless of their age, education or occupation” (Struman, 2015). Even though women have been quite successful in seeking employment and many possess a decent education, women continue to face a difference in pay because of their gender. In order to be seen as equals women need to be earning the same amount as their male coworkers because they possess the necessary skills needed to complete the job. Differences in pay should be based on an individual’s qualifications and job experience not their gender. The difference in pay prevents women from achieving success and reinforces the point that women remain at an economic disadvantage. Gender based pay is problematic and “[t]he Canadian gender pay gap is the fifth largest among the 34 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries… [and] the pay gap is particularly pronounced for single mothers, racialized women, First Nations women, and women with disabilities” (Struman, 2015). Gender

Women and women’s rights have come a long way in terms of equality .Over the past century women have been granted the right to vote , to divorce , to own bank accounts , join the army , stand in election and the right to work , all of which should be natural rights (allwomenstalk, Alison Bryant). Despite theses substantial advances for equality , even in 2016 there is still inequality for women in the labor market. According to Catherine Hill , in the U.S. women working a full time job were paid 79 % of what men were paid. If this hasn't cast doubt on the realities of inequality in the labor market just think ‘Why does it exist?’. How does it affect women in general ,transgender women, women of color, mothers?, Furthermore ‘How can we fix

The gender pay gap is not just a US issue, it is a concern worldwide. A United Nations report from April of 2015 found that women were paid a quarter less than men globally, and called for all governments to take action to narrow the gap. The White House Council of Economic Advisers recently called the gender pay gap a “stubborn troubling fact” despite women’s gains over the

It hurts women across the world by making their earnings lower than men and making it harder to balance work and family. Serious measures should be taken to understand the gender wage gap should and not include shifting the blame to women for not earning more. Rather, these attempts should examine where our economy provides unequal opportunities for women at their point of education, training, and career choices. There is still no definite reason for the wage gap but the ones I concluded about are the main reasons. I also found that researchers found that before and after adding statistical controls for several factors, men still earn more than women on average across five nations.(United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany) No matter being a man or a woman,everyone should be able to have the same opportunity and gain the same amount because it ends up being a win win. Women get the same advantage as men,while companies benefit and increase their economy. This urgency is at the core of a signal to action to accelerate progress towards gender equality.Furthermore, there is a fundamental moral case for empowering women: women represent half of the global population and it is clear that they must have equal access to health, education, earnings,and political

Women earn less than men. In fact, in America, a woman earns an average of 79 cents to her male coworker’s dollar. Many people see this statistic and think that 21 cents is nothing to fuss over, but the truth is that “the cumulative impact of lower wages throughout women’s careers is devastating, costing a woman working full time, year-round close to half a million dollars over the course of her career” (“New Report”). Although the inferior treatment of women in the workplace is an unfortunate reality, there are many groups and organizations working to empower women and do something about the gender pay gap.

Gender wage equality is a universal right that everyone should be entitled to because women have the same education as men. Women that are educated earn 57% of their male classmates when more women graduate from college (Adamy & Overberg). This evidence shows that gender wage equality should be a universal right because women shouldn’t be discriminated on what gender they are. If the gender wage gap continues then women might have a