What Is The Social Construction Of Gender Inequality

Critically Analyse the ways gender difference is a basis for inequality in contemporary society? Gender refers to the socially constructed categories of feminine and masculine. It is one of the major factors in social difference and inequality in today’s society. Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender. It arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles. Using a paragraph based approach I intend to individually analyse various aspects of gender differences referencing to the theory of socialisation and also making links to the works of Marx, Durkham and Goffman. My essay will cover different aspects of gender inequalities still present in today’s contemporary society.

The way society is taught to be socialized is salient and goes unnoticed, therefore it is valid to claim that gender is socially constructed through our everyday practices, whether we are aware of the construction or not. With socialization beginning the instant a child is born, the process is continuous through out adolescence and varies dramatically across the two genders. With guidance from institutions and arenas such as education, sports, music and the mass media gender seems to be coerced, as it comes with a scripted set of behaviors and attitudes. This essay argues that gender is socially constructed on an everyday basis. To further explain this thesis the essay will draw on early childhood socialization of masculinity and femininity,

Three forms of gender inequality are those that occur in the workplace in relation to pay, roles that are played, and in education. The textbook states that “women who work full time average only 72 percent of what men are paid” (Henslin, 2014, p. 310). While this could be related to factors such as education level or the inability of women to negotiate as well as men; outside of the actual job, those in similar positions (regardless of negotiating skills) should make a similar wage. I can understand an individual who has less education than another being paid less initially, but once they can prove they are just as effective as someone else (regardless of gender) they should make the same amount. In regard to roles, there is the perception that men should take on roles that require more physical strength or strength (as in the case of CEO who needs to be strong and lead the masses). With roles that are played, it has been typical that the woman are more fragile, nurturing, and emotional so it is not thought that they would be in positions that required someone to be strong (such as in manual labor positions or those that required making tough decisions). With education, the thought was the men would be the ones that go to college as they were considered the primary breadwinners. Women, if they did anything at all, would take clerical and supporting roles. When I was in high school I was an honor role student and not one teacher or counselor attempted to have a

Inequality is the lack of equality to certain people based on numerous things (Sternheimer 136). In this paper, I intend to discuss inequality and how it affects gender, race, disabilities, and social classes. Many people in the United States struggle with inequality on a daily basis, whether it be not being able to find a job due to skin color or socioeconomic status or not given the same opportunity as others due to a disability. A perfect example of inequality is portrayed in the medical drama “The Good Doctor” in the drama we see a surgeon with autism who struggles to get a residence as a surgeon in a hospital because of his mental disability. They label his disability as a liability and all except one of the hospital board members do not want to give him a job.

Throughout this course, we have discussed how the differences in the social construction of gender, race, class, and sexuality have led to discrimination and inequality of those classified under a variety of these categories. Through understanding the significance of these social constructs on society it becomes apparent the intersectionality they have when it comes to understanding why certain groups may face discrimination or inequality. This paper examines gender inequality and how the social construction of gender makes it difficult for the pursuit of equality amongst genders.

Introduction: Gender has and continues to be a contentious issue within the legal profession. Despite Anti-Discrimination legislation and diversification of the supply side, women still account for only one-fifth of Partner positions. So whilst the glass ceiling may have been shattered to an extent, the “pipeline to power remains elusive for most women”. Engagement with gender can assist in explaining this paradox. When coupled with consideration of other social classifications such as race and class, a clearer picture emerges of a legal profession in need of reform. This essay will primarily focus on commercial solicitors as gender inequality is most evident in this area. I sat down with corporate city lawyer, Amy Fenny, to help reframe the existing dialogue on gender equality by assessing gender bias and its impact on those who seek and attain positions of power within the legal profession.

In the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman highlights the issues that come with sexism as well as the issues in healthcare at the time by writing the story of a mentally ill woman’s experience with the rest cure. She is able to effectively shed light on these topics through the clever use of the first person perspective in order to give the reader a better grasp of the narrator’s experience, the storyline progression as the narrator responds to her difficult position, and the masterful use diction to evoke imagery that supports a greater understanding of the narrator’s feelings.

Gender inequality has become a more pronounced global dispute among the media in 2016. We can trace the inequality of genders back to the beginning of time, but one major aspect that was discussed in class is coverture. Coverture was a legal doctrine in the early 19th century United States that essentially defined wives to be the legal property of her husband. Women restricted by coverture has no existence outside of their marriage. They had no right to vote, could not own property, or do any business under their own name. Coverture did not come to an end until the mid 20th century, which was a long and torturous fight for women. The Women’s Suffrage movement in the 1920s could be cause for the extinction of coverture altogether.

The word gender can be described as the state of being male or female and is typically used to describe cultural differences as opposed to biological ones. Additionally, the definition of gender has continuously been a controversial issue due to its lack of clarity in regards to battling complicated social injustices. Furthermore, the construction of gender as a social category has recently been criticized for the lack of inclusiveness to women of color and the consistent habit to view both gender and race as restrictive divisions of experience and reasoning. Seeing those criticisms has led to the development of the term intersectionality which deals with various layers of subjection that women live with and addresses more than just the

I was born in a family where I never had to worry about my race or ethnicity. Both of the terms are “social construction” which means that “society has created this category” and “it has more meaning socially than biologically” (Race and Ethnicity for OLS Prezi). Race is how we look, or “a social definition based on shared lineage and a real or presumed, biological characteristic,” while ethnicity is a social definition of groups that are “typically defined on the basis of some cultural characteristic such as language, religion, traditions, and cultural practices” (Ritzer, 223). The whole nature of racism boils down to having a dominant group who believes that they are superior, such as more civilized or physically more evolved than the minority

A Sociological Look into My Life In the world, there is inequality in everything. But there is a ton of inequality in the work force. The tension that this inequality causes is brought home to the family. The resentment that is felt toward male workers is brought into the house and causes unnecessary arguments among married couples. Now if there is inequality in the home as well as at work, the probability for fighting is more likely to increase. These fights maybe just verbal fights, but it may lead to physical violence. I’m going to use my personal experience to explain inequality and marriage.

Outline and asses the feminist explanations of gender inequalities (40) Feminists believe that women are unequal to men, and the different groups think it is down to different reasons. Liberal feminists think it is because it is down to gender role socialisation. Marxist feminists believe it is down to capitalism. Radical feminists think women are not equal to men because of relationships within the home, and black feminist think they are unequal not just because they are women, but also because of their skin colour. All groups of feminists also believe that women are subordinated due to patriarchy, (the idea that males are dominant).

To understand gender as a social construction, one must know the meaning of some terms; 1) gender is a social concept, 2) sex is a biological concept, and 3) gender roles ascribes to a society’s expectations of peoples actions and perspectives depending on whether they are male or female. Furthermore,

Gender inequality plays a critical role when it comes to social progress. As a woman,

As we are all birth equally throughout the world, there is still contingency that causes a barrier between human kinds. What barriers are we talking about that can’t be changed through our DNA? That is our gender. When each of us are born into the world, we are labeled as male or female due to our genetical DNA and different types of organs (WHO). Yet, society still isn’t as balance enough and there are still so much discrimination in gender in even today’s society.