Essay on Gender Inequality in the Workplace

We live in a society where men and women are not see the same nor are treated equally. Gender inequalities have always been an issue in our society. Women have always gain less respect than men based on their sex. The society has developed certain images and roles for males and females. Men are seen to have masculine traits such stability, independence, and confidence; whereas, women have more feminine traits such as nurturing, affection, and patience. As well, the society has developed the division of occupations for genders. Females are expected to work in caring professions such as: a nurse, sectary, or teacher. While men are expected to be: doctors, lawyers, and construction workers. These stereotypes of gender should not state what a woman can do. A woman should have the same opportunities as men when is come to issues such as paying rate and job positions. This paper will address gender inequalities that women face in their occupations.

In this society, men have more privileges than women in the workplace. It is true the world we live in today has many opportunities for women. Women can vote, have their own property, have jobs like men, etc. However, there is not much equality between men and women working. Women are often worse paid than men with few rights, which is one of many examples of gender bias. Gender bias is the unequal treatment between men and women in the employment area, based on their gender expectations. It turns out gender bias exists especially in the workplace. According to TechRepublic, unequal pay, diminished responsibilities, and positional bias are emphasized for women working.1 These examples of gender bias go back all the way to before when women’s rights were fought for. Women then had a basic education, they were generally married off by their parents, they had to take care of their children and the house, which their husbands owned, and they were not acknowledged of their hard work. That all began to change when the 1848 Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention triggered the beginning of the Women’s Rights Movement in the United States. Individualists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony have been devoted to the fight for women’s rights.2 Changing the unjust and unequal society was their purpose. Through petitions, meetings, and public speaking, they were able to achieve their purpose. Margaret Mead, an anthropologist said, “Never doubt that a small group of

“Frailty, thy name is woman.”(Hamlet) is a statement that Shakespeare must have made in a weak moment. However, since Shakespeare’s times, people have slowly begun to understand the importance of the role of women in society. During World War I, women entered the work force due to the shortage of men. Ever since this phenomenon, there has been a significant change in the number of women in the work force. However, this does not discount the fact that women are still subject to gender discrimination, lower salaries, and lack of respect in the professional industry. Improvements to the equality system have been made, but the problem is far from being fixed. Though the number of women joining the work force is increasing, the level equality between the two genders in the workplace seems to be far from perfect in many different ways. There are many different reasons as to why inequality exists in spite of an equal ratio of women to men in today’s work force,

For many years in the United States, women have been faced with equality issues. Men were regarded as superior, which made women feel inferior and insignificant. One place this has occurred is the workplace. This type of inequality dates backs centuries and comes from the common belief that since men were the breadwinners, women should take care of the home and children. As a result, men were believed to be more efficient in their careers. This is also known as systemic discrimination (Kennedy et al., 2008). When women were given the right to vote, they began to progress and take their place in the workforce. As they increased in numbers, there became a need to for fair

The movement of promoting gender equality is exponentially growing every year; however, gender inequality is still a persistent problem in today’s workforce. Each year, gender inequality, especially employment equity, the distinct barrier between genders in the workforce, has become a topic of contention as its affecting working individuals worldwide, especially women. Before examining this problem, we must further understand what gender inequality is in the workplace. Gender inequality is an ascriptive factor, in which limits individuals to reach their full potential in their area of expertise by discriminating based on gender (module …). Both genders can have the same qualifications for an occupation, but a specific gender, mainly men, are seen to be more qualified than their female counterparts are. This can result in the refusal to allow the individual to take on leadership roles due to socially constructed views on gender. In addition, they may receive unequal wages compared to the opposing gender due to statistical discrimination which is the idea hiring or promoting individuals based on the average characteristics of their gender group rather than solely focusing on the individual( Textbook, 169). As we strive towards the goal of gender inequality, we must understand it in order to construct a proper solution.

Women are becoming more independent and seeking careers so they do not have to rely on anyone, but themselves. Although women are stepping out of the unjust expectation of being housewives they unconsciously step right back in it. Due to American culture’s beliefs for the female role, women typically outnumber men in careers such as educator, health and child care, and social worker. It is less likely for a woman to be hired in male-dominated industries that have to do with construction, management, and engineering. For years’ women have been fighting to gain equality in the world of careers and even though there are women CEOs and managers, they still do not get paid equally to men. American women who work full-time, year-round are only paid 78 cents for every dollar that is being paid to a male. For fifty years women have been trying to break free from the social rules society has on them and when women finally break free from the housewife role they still are not seen as equal to men in the career

Each day, it is becoming harder to find employment that guarantees a financially secure life. There is more demand for jobs which respectively means more competition. With more competition, means more requirements and better credentials to have a good chance of achieving employment. Imagine having this entire burden plus being a woman. For women, there is a clear decreased sense of job security in the workforce. Society’s concept of gender can be dated back to the beginning of the history of the United States. Women have always been depicted as inferior to men. I will explain why it is essential for this concept to evolve in today’s economy.

In most societies, women have typically taken job roles involving housework, childcare, and lower level positions.  Being primarily in these low level public sectors and private sectors, women have become less valued compared to men in most careers. As a result, large amounts of gender inequality in the workplace in terms of advancement, sexism, and income has been observed. Recently, however, women have made great strides towards equality, and accounted for about half of the work force in 2014. (Introduction to Sociology, pg 288). Although great improvement is evident, even today, gender inequality is seen.

Throughout the last forty years, American society and history has improved with the advancement of technology and education practices. Because of these increasing advances, there has been an increase in the work opportunities for both men and women. However, previous studies have shown that one gender has had better opportunities than the other. Throughout time, women have slowly worked towards independence and have gained some access to what men have been doing, however, women have not been able to gain full equality in the workforce and in society itself. Many stereotypes and discriminatory practices act as barriers to women because who try to advance themselves in the workforce. The way people like to justify the unfairness is the fact that

-The stereotypical woman’s place is working at home, doing domestic tasks, and having lower statuses in their occupation

The presense of women in the workforce has been growing steadily and now more than ever women are accompling things that were not even to be thought of in the 1800s/ early 1900s. Women can be felt in alsmost every aspect of the workplace; however American women, unlike their male counter parts still deal with workplace barriers that affect their progression into the upper levels of a corporation or company. People can argue that in the workplace women have the same opportunities as men

Sexism in the Workplace The workplace is the area in which sexism is most commonly found. Sexism is in evidence in unfair recruitment practices, unequal pay, and intimidating behavior towards colleagues. Legislation is now in place in many countries that prohibits unfair treatment of staff on the grounds of their sex. The problem with this legislation is that they are often difficult to apply.

Sexism is still an issue in modern day America, but people are beginning to take a stand against issues such as this. My first experience with sexism in the workplace was at a young before I even had the chance to start a career. From the time I was a young girl I was determined to be a veterinarian and proudly told people that whenever I was asked. Then one day a male family member told me something that struck a nerve. I was told to change what I want to do because I was a female and my job would be to stay at home and raise a family and my husband would work or that I should find something more suitable for a woman. Little did I know that comments and actions such as this would not stop there and for many women it continues when they officially enter the workforce.

Even today’s society, gender inequality remains a very controversial topic. One especially debated area is whether or not sexism exists in the workplace. Some argue that sexism is a major deterrent in the careers of women, and is the main reason women are not as prominent in positions of power and thus in our society. Others believe that women choose not to pursue such positions, because of their roles as mothers. However, it is views like this that prevent women from being taken seriously as workers. Upon closer insight into our society, it is evident that sexism is the true hindrance in female careers. Factors such as sexism in employment, pay inequality, and a lack of feelings of confidence and safety prevent women from advancing in

Women, today, have a lot more influence than in the past, particularly in the workplace. There have been enormous strides taken to ensure women are treated fairly and no longer discriminated against. While there are still many differences between men and women’s role in the