The Role of Gender Inequality All parents care about equality. Not only for all races, but for all genders as well. Equality is, and will always be the basic foundation of humanity. However, we still see gender inequality on a daily basis negatively affecting not only women, but young girls as well. This is because society uses women to appeal to an audience, and portrays them as being objects. If gender inequality stays a prominent part of the American culture, equality will never be reached. In order to change the stigma of gender inequality, we as parents have to teach our daughters that gender inequality is a reality, is very dangerous, and can be changed with their help. In this essay, I will explain how gender inequality is a real issue, how it has negative effects on young girls, and how it can be reversed by educating our daughters on the subject. Firstly, in order to explain how gender inequality is harmful to women and young girls, I must explain what it is, and show how it exists in society. Gender inequality is the unequal treatment or perception of someone based on whether they’re a boy or girl. The people who do not agree with gender inequality are known as feminists, however, feminism often gets a bad reputation. Many people believe that feminism portrays man-hating and pro-women prejudices. This is not the case at all. Actual feminists strive for equality of both genders. Gender equality is the belief that all genders deserve equal opportunities and
Society’s understanding of gender roles debate about gender equity and have always been connected to the social roles that men and women we assigned to shape Americans views of education for girls and boys. What has also been affected is race and social class between females and males who attend schools. Ideas of what women and men are suppose to be and do have cut across different classifications. Ending unfairness in schools has rested on change to gender roles mainly women.
When you send your children off in the morning to go to school, no matter what grade they are in whither it be elementary, junior high, or senior high, you expect that they will receive the best education that they can get. They should be asked challenging questions, encouraged and called upon to participate in class, they should also be given as much help as they need to secede by the teacher. However, this is most commonly not the case. Parents and the children themselves are unaware of what is going on because gender bias is not a noisy problem. Most people are unaware of the secret sexist lessons that occur every day in classrooms across the country. In this essay I will use two essay's from the reader:
“It is early indeed that children show an awareness of the message that… females are generally less interesting and important than males are… The (often inadvertent) bearers of this message include parents, peers, and teachers.” (Lips, 1979, p. 128.) The absence of gender equity can be damaging to both males and females. Surprisingly most of the teachers and administrators are unaware of this problem. Organizations such as the American Association of University Women (“Gender equity,” 2003.) strive to create programs that will improve equality within schools. The purpose of this research paper is to identify gender equity issues in the classroom and explore strategies for teachers to incorporate equitable
Ever since the beginning of history, women have been discriminated because of their gender. They were not allowed to attend school much of the time, couldn 't vote, couldn 't possess anything and couldn’t even work for themselves. Such denial of freedom has made females seem weak and unequipped for making their own decisions. Kids start to take in their sex roles at an extremely young age. Boys must identify what men do, what they like, and even how they think and feel. The girls do the same as they take in the parts for the women.
From the moment the first American settlers stepped off their musty ship and laid foot on the fertile soil which makes up our great nation, women in America have almost always been seen as inferior when compared to their male counterparts. What’s more, Americans have a rich history in oppressing those we deem to be “lesser.” In terms of women, this oppression has taken on many forms throughout the years. From not being able to go to school to receive a proper education, to being denied suffrage, to being criticized for how they look or what they wear, women have encountered obstacles that men can sometimes only imagine. We as a nation have a defining past in which women were, and sometimes still are, expected to look or act in a manner defined as appropriate by men and even by each other. Nowadays, it seems as though we are attempting to compensate for the years of mistreatment by sending positive messages of acceptance to young girls and women alike. However, while one-half of the population is being praised for their uniqueness, there is still another half who are being left to fend for themselves in the shadows. Men and boys, though always perceived as the strong and indestructible members of society, are not given the same encouraging spotlight as women and girls. We live in a world where problems related to self-image and self-worth are gender-neutral; they do not merely seek to harm a single sex. Why then, does society typically only remind women how truly special they
There is change concerning perspective on gender inequalities in schools. I In and article written by Diane Reay, called “Nice Girls” “Girlies,” and “Tomboys”: Gender Discourses, Girls’ Cultures and Femininities in the Primary Classroom, explains that contemporary gender power relations within an elementary classroom, is more complicated than “girls versus boys”. Reay found that girls were split into identifiable groups, each group defining how feminine they were or weren’t. She concluded that gender either operates as oppositions or hierarchy or most commonly both at the same time. These studies can lead us into why later on in life, during the time we are looking for jobs and professional work, men and women are seen on different playing fields. When you think of a CEO of a company or of world political leaders, does a male or female come to mind? Many, if not most of us, see these positions as being held by men. Even though we are approaching the twenty-first century, women in our society are still not equal to men when it comes down to the professional world. This discrimination in the workplace results in women not receiving the same benefits that men do. In certain cases women do the same job, for the same amount of hours, and still do not receive the same pay for their work. The average women’s paycheck is usually less than the average man, consistent with any field of work. Is there a
Gender inequality imposes a disproportionate burden on women in America, and has led women to experience disparities in health, finance, education, occupation, and other arenas. Many factors contribute to the persistent inequality and combine to put women at a disadvantage. Furthermore, persistent gender inequality has threatened economic growth and/or social progress in America as it carries a high price. Studying these gender inequalities will help people better understand the influence of gender in shaping our lives, our attitudes, our behavior and our society as a
In today’s society, there are many common stereotypes inflicted upon women. The gender roles that we often face should be taken more seriously. The way that women are obliged to dress, act, and their expected appearance are all concerns that shouldn’t be taken lightly. We are taught growing up not to be exclusive or close-minded to people and their ideas. Why is that the subject of feminism and gender equality isn’t talked about frequently? We should teach young children the same thing we value in others, the belief in equal rights for all.
For example, what is being taught who teaches us, and how they teach us? Schools are like old factories that distribute gendered individuals, which imply that women and men are different and unequal (205). A great example of how gender inequality is perpetuated through the education system can even be rooted by how the classroom is designed. Areas are sex segregated by invisible but real boundaries; everything is divided to where girls should play and where boys should play. The way boys are girls are treated by their teachers displays the inequality, boys receive more attention from their teachers just because they are more impulsive, reckless, and loud, and how they don’t challenge girls as much as boys (Kimmel 208). Also, how boys are still imposed to act more like girls in the classroom, they have to stay calm, raise their hands; classrooms are more feminize (Kimmel 213). At the same time, something that is very much active is how when boys put girls down as they often do at that age, teachers ( females usually) often ignore the situation and do nothing about it. Teachers also urge boys to try harder, by constantly encouraging positive support. Overall, the traditional gender stereotypes that girls are good and boys are bad still exist today (Kimmel
Many women come across sexism in their every day lives often. It greets them in the morning when they have to wear high heels to work because of a mandatory dress code. It slides up to them in a meeting when their idea is dismissed, but a male coworker who presents the same idea gets praised. And it barrels down at them through advertising when society expects women to go to work and yet still have time to bake brownies for their child’s bake sale - shame on you if you don’t. Sexism is rampant, and it’s not acceptable. What has surprised everyone recently, however, is how young girls are when they experience it.
Parents have goals and standards for their children. They have high standards and dreams that they desire for their children to accomplish by the time they reach old age. However, do parents have different hopes and standards for their sons than daughters? Males and females are different, but equal. Therefore, parents should treat all their children the same way and base goals and standards off of their children as they grow with new interests. More than a decade into the 21st century, parents across the globe have similar standards and similar goals for their sons and daughters, but American parents are far more likely to want differently, act differently, and treat their children different based on gender. Parents have different hopes and standards for their sons than for their daughters sexually, academically, and socially; all having different effects on each gender.
One wonders, however, how much influence a child's peers have on their understanding of, and adherence to, gender roles. It's certainly important for parents to challenge gender stereotypes, but unless the rest of the world joins in, children are going to be faced with, say, classmates who pull a truck from a girl's hands and yell, "This is a boy's toy!" or science and math teachers who overlook a girl's contributions to the class, or fail to encourage her to participate, due to an ingrained belief that women do not excel in these fields. Perhaps the best anyone can do, as Eliot notes, is to just try to provide kids with as equal a playing ground as possible: ""I don't want to be accused of saying it's all environment and it's all parents,
After colonization and gender inequality began to exist, there were causes and there were effects of gender inequality in Nigeria and these effects were:
Although they have been given more rights and equality, women still lack fairness in areas such as education, domestic abuse, crime, and lower class value. Cassandra Clifford states in her article “Are Girls still marginalized? Discrimination and Gender Inequality in Today’s Society”, “Woman and girls are abused by their husbands and fathers, young girls are exploited by sex tourism and trafficking, girls in many countries are forced into arranged marriages at early ages. Twice as many women are illiterate as men, due to the large gap in education, and girls are still less likely to get jobs and excel in the work place than boys.” She describes some of the issues that women face today around the world. These issues are what keep society from coming together to form a better world.
Whether a person looks at achievement scores, curriculum design, or even the most basic of all, teacher and student interactions, it is clear that gender makes a tremendous difference in the nations public elementary and secondary schools. Our schools have a responsibility to prepare both boys and girls for full and active roles in the family, the community and the work force. Whether we look at these issues from a political, economical or social perspective, it is essential to remembers that girls are one half of our future. As educators, it is critical to move our daughters and sisters from the back of the classroom, to the center and front. We must give them the knowledge and courage to fly. To fly meaning, the self-esteem and encouragement and also the curriculum that does not reinforce the message: A womans place is in the kitchen. We must give our daughters the power to break racial and gender barriers and capability in educating ones self in a