Gender Inequality Within The Workplace

The roles and characteristics related to males and females vary according to time and culture (Keating 2003). A concept of male breadwinner model gave important impacts on the Australian economic, politics, culture and social field in early twentieth century (Broomhill and Sharp 2005). However, in the past few decades, there has been gradual changes occurred in the Australian gender order (ibid.). Even though men are the dominant gender in the workforce, due to globalization, women gained more opportunity to have jobs in the workforce (Jones 1983). In addition, there are increasing number of women in Australian workforce after World War 2 (Broomhill and Sharp 2005). But still gender inequality has been ongoing debate in the workforce for

First of all I am going to begin with defining sex and gender. Sex in a sociological perspective is defined as the biological and physiological differences between men and women which are contrasted in terms of reproductive function(Abercrombie et al 2000 :313). On the other hand gender is sociologically conceived as the social roles allocated to men and women in society that is to say gender is learned not innate. However previously it was believed that sex determined gender thus the differences between men and

It is not the same as sex and it is not the same as women. Gender is determined by the origination of tasks, functions and roles attributed to women and men in society and in public and private life.

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.

Throughout history, gender inequality has been in the closet. The debate about inequality is a frequent topic in blogs, editorials, or when examined through scientific research. It is taboo, however, to discuss inequalities from within the closeted workplace. Open discussion is limited in a corporate culture that promotes individualism. It is not in a company's best interest to expose its own bias, especially when the bias concerns race or gender. Exposing bias is often met with employee dismissal and can escalate into corporate legal consequences. The idea of gender inequality is necessary to bring up in conversation so further research can be done on the issue and discussion can be open as to what is needed. Unfortunately, polarizing opinions can lead to workplace clashes with colleagues or managers. Gender wage disparities are complex and multi-generational. Historically, gender-based social behaviors institutionalize inequality in corporate cultures that are structured to promote individualism.

Gender diversity was not taken into consideration and most companies have very little knowledge on how to take advantage of it.

More often than not, the sex of a person, is commonly misinterpreted with gender. This is wrong. Your sex is your biological and physiological attributes that define you as male or female. Having “male parts” or “female parts”, strictly make up a person 's sex. Where gender refers to socially constructed roles, or how society defines the components that make up an acceptable male or female. Key word being acceptable. Gender is not something that can be defined solely based off of one’s anatomy.

People often believe they can replace “sex” with “gender” and it would mean the same thing. Although gender is often associated with sex, they are two different things. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, gender is “the state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones)” (“Gender”). Sex is defined as “either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and most other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions” (“Sex”). With that said, sex refers to the biological state while gender refers more to a state of being or a way of expressing one’s self. Because people often interchange these two, society creates a locked stereotype for males to be masculine and females to be feminine. This mindset can create problems for both the sexes who may not wish to conform to the gender or gender

Beginning with the oppressed women over the men, they were categorised under the man in the hierarchy. This past law was reduced to the fact of the sex and the ability to give birth, which leads to the archetypical image of a mother and housewife. This image may still exist, but the movement of feminism resist against those stereotypical images of women. In addition, feminism wants to build an equal policy and society in which woman can live free and fell decisions without considering the opinion of a superior man.

Gender is the culturally constructed part of individual sexuality. Sex is an inner feeling that you are men, women, both, neither, or somewhere in between. Perhaps the best way to comprehend gender is to comprehend it as a procedure of public presentation. Because gender positions are delineated by behavior objectives and standards, once people know those objectives and standards, the person can adopt actions that project the gender he/she wishes to represent. One can think of gender like a part in a theatrical perform - there are specific actions and standards associated with genders just like there are lines and movements associated with each character in perform. Implementing the actions and standards of a gender leads to the perception that someone belongs in that gender classification. Sex positions are, unlike sex, mutable, meaning they can modify. Sex is not, however, as simple as just choosing a part to perform but is also affected by mother and father, colleagues, lifestyle, and society.

The generation now has made it easier to equalize men and women but there is still a substantial amount of places where gender inequality is still happening in the workplace and where females still face discrimination. Women are often discriminated in the workplace and are usually not promoted as quickly as men are and they also receive less pay. History shows that women have not always been defined as property and thought of as second class citizens. But in the 21st century many have seen a drastic change in the so called “traditional” family ways where women are suppose to stay home and take care of the household chores, food, and children and men are suppose to work to support their family and provide financial stability. Many assume that in the workplace women are more vulnerable and less competent than men because women 's instincts are to put their family before work or anything else. Whereas men are the ones who will usually stay the late hours to work. People on both sides of the political spectrum and everywhere in between seem to be fearful of what is to come and more fearful of others than they are often willing to admit.

Question: What factors contribute to the persistent gender gap present in the workplace and politics in the United States? Which policy instrument(s) should be used to ameliorate the gender gap? Explain.

Women have experienced a historic situation of inequality in the social as well as professional aspects. Women were normally the ones that would take care of children, do the chores in the house, and in rural areas; they would work in the field with the rest of the family. However, today’s women have become more self-sufficient and independent from the predominant male figure within every historical family. Gender inequality in the workplace is becoming less common; yet, gender is a factor that affects men and women. Especially women have been subjected to a historical discrimination that has influenced society to decide which job is more suitable for women than men. However women have confronted and tried to break down the barriers that

The words ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ are commonly confused with each other in regular, everyday conversations when the two have very different meanings. The term ‘sex’ refers to the biological and physiological characteristics of a person, such as male or female; ‘gender’ is a social construction that refers to masculine or feminine roles in society ( Nordqvist). For

There are distinct differences between Sex and Gender. Sex is divided up into two divisions, male or female, based upon their reproductive system. Gender is the notion set by society on what social behaviours are acceptable for males and females, for example the expectation that females are more caring or nurturing than men. Gender can be further divided into two subcategorise: identity and stereotype. Gender identity is the concept that your sex and gender do not have to be the same but can different, i.e. a male at birth can identify as a female. These notions of acceptable behaviour set by society create gender stereotypes for both male and female, which can cause a person to reject their gender identity if they do not conform these gender stereotypes.