Gender Reflection Paper

Whereas in recent decades major strides toward gender equality have been made, sociologists are quick to point out that much remains to be done if inequalities in the United States are ever to be eliminated. Behind much of the inequalities seen in education, the workplace, and politics is sexism, or prejudice and discrimination because of gender. Fundamental to sexism is the assumption that men are superior to women.

Women have virtually the same rights as men. However, the fault needing to be recognized in today’s society is the way that women are treated. Even in simple areas, such as jobs, women are put on the back burner. A woman is able to become a CEO of a company, nonetheless, she will struggle twice as hard as a man would. Even as an employee, women are statistically paid less than men are.

From short stories like “The Yellow Wallpaper,” to the court cases like Ellen Pao’s Suit vs. Kleiner Perkins, and even a data book like Women in the Labor Force, it is clear to see that inequality and mistreatment of women still exists today. People often say that inequality is a thing of the past, however it has been a serious problem since the dawning of civilization itself, and it is still so today. Women are often seen as lesser beings than men, and are treated accordingly. It is getting better, and women are starting to take their rightful places as equals in the workforce, and as equals in general. However, the world still has a long way to go before the inequality and mistreatment of women comes to a complete stop.

Have you ever heard a man say “I am a victim of gender inequality” or have you heard about a campaign to help men get through inequality? Without you even telling me, I already know what your answer will be….no, you haven’t. Why? Well, it is because men face a different type of inequality I like to call silent sexism, a lot of you are probably sitting there and wondering to yourself “What is he talking about”. I am talking about those things that have been synced into our lives that we don’t even register it as being sexist.

My interviewees also daily experience inequality based on what kind of gender they are, this is called gender segregation. For example, my female interviewees explained how they try to work on the same work that a male does, but the employers don't hire them, and pay females differently. Some said that males do not always take female's opinion seriously, and ignore them. Especially, people think they are weak and don't know nothing. It is very hard to be a female, as one of interviewees explained they receive sexual harassment at work and school. In addition, one of interviewees was job hunting. She found a place where they were hiring. They ended up telling her that they only hire males and to look somewhere else. As for males they receive better jobs and incomes than females. But then again as one of my interviewees said that because he is a man, it is expected to be strong and handle everything that comes in his way. This also relates to gender discrimination and it also to class stratification. For instance, Adalberto Aguirre stated, “Males and females within an ethnic subpopulation do not receive the same levels of income. In general, women earn less than men—a fact that is accounted for by their distribution in different kinds of occupations. Men are overrepresented in higher-paying jobs, but there is considerable difference among ethnic subpopulations.” Females are just seen more inferior than males. Even if you come from an ethnic group, males will still have trouble with income, but not as much as females do. Even though the males earn more income than females, they will still struggle, financially. They are from an ethnic group, they look different, and have different skin color, therefore race really impacts someone in the

think social institutions have different influence and shape gender inequality depending on where you live and where you're from. Such as in Africa they have high discrimination in social institutions, due to how their government is run. There they believe that men have the power and women are the “weak ones” who need to stay home and cook and care for their children. Even for a women to give birth to a daughter in other countries is looked down upon they want to have a son so that he can take over the father's farm and whatnot.

During early thirties and forties which was right after the depression, government and corporate felt the necessity to revive the market. At that time, people thought women were the ones with dominating consumption powers. As Kenon Breazeale quoted in his article, “Women are indeed the shoppers of the world.” (Breazeale, 231). However, some people such as those in journalism fraternity regarded women’s buying power as “gullible vulnerability to consumerism’s trashy faddishness” (Breazeale, 232). Those people spread wide hostility toward women’s taste and argued that men should be the ones with

Society has conformed our minds to view gender based on one’s role in society. This labels the person as a man or a woman and then classifies them based on the “roles” that society has assigned for each. Gender inequality is caused by the unequal perceptions or even the way someone is treated, based on them being a man or woman. It tends to be the result of what is seen as socially constructed differences of the typical gender roles. This is a social problem I find compelling due to the impact it has on society.

Sadly, women today are still treated as inferior to men, especially in the workforce. Women are being paid less than men for the same quality of work and it is simply unacceptable. It is 2016, not the 1950’s,

Gender inequality is a battle that is still being fought today. There is need to change the way women are treated in work, at school, and across the world. When women realize - that intentionally or not - they are being treated unfairly, their confidence diminishes. Today’s society is in need of some major changes towards equal treatment.

Being a woman and working in an environment full of women, gender inequality is transparent everywhere. Gender can determine how much education one gets, how much money one earns, what jobs one is qualified for, and how one is treated in society. Men are in the dominant group of society, while women are subjected to the subordinate group. Women’s duties and appearances are under immense pressure due to western culture. Women are pressured to be sexually attractive and to serve men.

The research question purposed regarding if there are gender differences in engagement into the activity. Prior to the observation, I suspected that females would be more engaged in the television show and would show more outward signs of emotion. My group observed one couple watching television for half an hour. We developed a coding scheme in which we used to code behaviors during the observation. Our coding scheme separating the boyfriends from the girlfriends and was also divided into the following categories: talking relevant and irrelevant, texting, changing the show, getting up for yourself or your partner, interruptions by a phone call, pet or roommate, expression of emotion verbally, kissing, cuddling, holding hands and miscellaneous.

Gender Inequality is when men and women are separated by the belief that one gender is superior to the other in forms that deny full participation or restrictions to one’s ability to live an equal life. Ever since the dawn of time there has been one gender superior to the other and to this day there are still gender differences in the political, economical and physical life of a male versus a female. Charlotte Perkins Gilman is one theorist that I chose to help explain this trend of males having power over women. Gilman was an evolutionist theorist; her point of view helps me explain how gender inequality came about and how women are viewed during the late

     For many years society has embraced the idea that the difference between men and women were biologically determined. Thou through traditions, media, and peers we act accordingly to how others view us. Each individual has pressure placed upon them based on their gender. Our sex is determined by genetics while our gender is programmed by social customs. Some theories interpret that a women is tender and a loving mother while on the other hand men are aggressive hunters and are the dominant one of the family. People who support this theory seems to believe that men and women are happier when fulfilling the roles nature determined for them. Women are to be nurturing and men are to be providers by

Throughout today’s society, there are multiple views and opinions on whether or not there are more than two genders or if gender is even just a social construct. Each person has their own individual preference on how they express their gender. Therefore, we can no longer assume what someone identifies as just by looking at them. Over the years I have learned more about gender expression and gender identity as I gained friends who were homosexual as well as transgender. I feel as if I was introduced to all of these ways of life at a young age, therefore I can, in some ways, teach those who are uneducated and do not know what to think. I have personally never really thought about the different gender identities I could label myself as but as of right now I identify as a cisgender female