The concept of equality between men and women has been heavily deliberated for the past few decades, but as we discussed in class throughout the week, it’s become increasingly clear that people have drastically different ideas on what constitutes equality. Originally, when posed the question, I brought up the more prominent issues facing women in our society, politically, socially, and economically. Politically, I believe that for men and women to be equal, women need to be proportionately represented in government, from local offices to the oval office. I personally discovered the importance of this issue when I realized that women make up less than 20% of Congress, thus making men the primary deciders of women’s issues. This is a …show more content…
My classmate, Elise Favvia, added to this by dictating how, as a STEM major, she often sees women underrepresented in the field as well as noting that many other western nations allow women paid maternity leave, while the United States has yet to. Overall, these were my initial ideas on the conditions for equality of men and women in our society. However, through my small group discussion and class discussion, I realized that I focused on the surface issues but I overlooked the deeper underlying issues that should be addressed. For instance, Kexin Li brought up the idea intersectionality. She explained how it was necessary to recognize that women are not a single, homogenous group, but rather a diverse group with sub-sections that each have their own issues. This led her to discussing the difference between equity and equality, as equity implies noting people’s differences and reaching equality through helping each group with their distinct needs, while equality implies treating everyone equally, which, now knowing the concept of intersectionality, might not actually create equality of the sexes. I deeply resonated with these ideas, as I had heard of intersectionality before, but I had never thought of it as a “condition for equality”, however, Kexin Li’s explanation convinced me otherwise. An idea from the class discussion that resonated with me was Alexis Availes’ idea of “leadership rhetoric”, specifically in public documents. She
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.
Equality between men and women has grown stronger, but in many ways, it is the same. We still live in a society where women are paid significantly less than men, women have less job opportunities,
Despite how far our society has come in treating women as equals to men, we still have many more mountains to climb before both genders are completely equal. Since the dawn of time, women have been treated as less than men and in
As long as an American woman is putting in the same amount of hours with the same qualifications and experience in the same occupation as an American male, and yet taking home a wage that is any lower, she is not being treated fairly as an equal. Contrary to many arguments, it’s undeniable that a wage gap exists, and while there are various ideas as to the most probable cause, there is no reason why this gap should continue to go uncorrected or unchanged. Our government should take concrete steps to close the gender wage gap because it violates women’s rights and equality.
The desire for equality is one everpresent in American society. We see this intention presented throughout our history, branching all the way back to our country’s founders. The intent for equality is clear, however, we continue to come short of this goal after years and years as a country. The battles toward ultimate equality are never ceasing despite our obvious objective, as we have created gender specific stereotypes that prevent us from achieving this aim. The ideals shared by Americans for equality are not able to surpass the constant struggles of our society. After 241 years as a country, we have only just had the first female presidential candidate win the popular vote in an election. One may argue that this is evidence of progression in American politics as women are being better represented, however, this is a slow improvement and one held back by the gender stereotypes which Americans hold.
Gender Equality is a big issue throughout the world, but what exactly is it? Well to answer that, it is the view that everyone should receive equal treatment and not be discriminated against based on gender. Today, most women are getting treated differently compared to men. Whether it is based on pay gap, power, or strength the problem comes up. Men think they are stronger and better than women and this upsets women because it makes them feel like they don’t have a place in this world. This is where feminism comes into place. I chose this topic because I can relate to it more than the racial option, although now it could be about the same.
are women. However, women have come very far in heightening their status in society. An example of this is how many women can be seen in public office and how modern cities have a general lack of gendered spaces. Although there is still room for improvement, in regard to gender issues. For example, women “have had limited success in putting on the political agenda the key issues that challenge male dominance” (312). Despite this, I believe men and women both have fair opportunities to succeed. In today’s age more women are going to college and participating in the work force than ever
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.
Equality, gender roles, and restrictions are important topics that many activists, leaders, and speakers have worked towards in order to provide to the world. The society we have now has been created in part by the determination and perseverance of their actions, speeches, and rallies. The world was a different place about 10 years ago, 20 years ago, and even more than 50 years ago. Associating women with household work and children, and men with difficult jobs and hard work, were can be observed throughout time that were previously set in past centuries. Both women and men have changed in associations, as we can currently observe in today’s society. Gender roles have switched, and new decrees have enabled individuals to have their equality
Gender inequality has been a dominant and consistent struggle of human culture since its existence. To this day, women constantly face oppression, unjust treatment, and less opportunities. For centuries, women have played inferior roles compared to men, especially in marriage. When a man and a woman would wed, it was understood that the woman would serve her husband’s needs and demands. Over the centuries of human existence, however, many feminists and progressive revolutionaries demanded change in the treatment of females.
In today’s society, many people in the US believe that women and men are completely equal. This is a common thought because people think that if both sexes can vote, both are equal everywhere else. Of course, this is not true. Many of the issues referred to in this essay are hidden from the public eye. For example, sexual harassment is something that you know exists, but you never see it happen. Noticing the pay gap, and getting promoted is also something hidden unless you are a worker. Women may have gained their “equality” when they earned the right to vote, but today’s women still push for total equality. In the US, men and women are not treated equally because women are paid less than men, women are sexually harassed more than men, and
“The day may be approaching when the whole world will recognize a woman as the equal of man.” This quote by the late Susan B Anthony speaks great volumes in regards to one of the raging issues of today. The question that has been lingering around is, have women reached that place of being equal to men? Unfortunately, the answer to the question is no. In the United States for example, the topic of women not being treated equally in terms of respect in high positioned jobs is a huge problem in today’s society. However, it is pushed under the rug. A reason why one can say this topic is not addressed is because Americans feel as though the fight for women’s freedom is one that has been dealt with already. Others also sometimes see it as redundant to hammer on gender equality. The idea that much of the sex composition in the work environment can influence the opposite sex gender is evident. A scientific study on demographic composition that was conducted concluded that sex composition played major roles in sex discrimination in the work environment. A couple ways that sex demographic in the work field has influenced work discrimination are the increase in the sense of threat and competition between the sexes, and the increase of work place abuse towards the minority sex. Today women all over the world are still fighting for the right to be treated as equal to men in various terms such as the equal respect and recognition,
In the 1800’s a women was suppose to have four things Piety, Purity, submissiveness, and domesticity. These principles shaped the “Cult of True Womanhood” an idea that women were to be seen but not heard. Women had no say when it came to politics, they couldn’t own property, they were not allowed to do many jobs, and they couldn’t even speak in front of men. They had the duty to be a mother and raise their children but even thought they had this responsibility it was the husband who had the complete control and guardianship of the children. Because of these ideas it was very difficult for change to happen. When women started to receive more education they began to ask questions about why they were being denied these rights, which began the
The progression America has made for gender equality is conspicuous. A women’s life in 2017 is completely different than what it was like in the 1950’s. However, most people know or should realize men and women are inherently equal, especially because of our shared humanity. Other than a few biological difference and functions, men and women are the same. Though, our patriarchal society has put a lower status on women when compared to men. Because of our shared humanity, the prevalent disparities in our current society are unacceptable. Therefore,
Today we live in a world that continually stresses to us that, "All men are created equal." While this sounds great at face value, further inspection tells us that this is far from realistic and sadly may never be. One can examine any aspect of society whether it be race, religion, language, level of education, sexual orientation or economic status and notice that there are numerous characteristics and factors of identity that enable others to treat others differently. This truth may not be pleasant or make one feel all warm and fuzzy inside, however it is our society’s reality, however dismal it may be. Even if the statement above as to the equality of all men were true, how about women? Clearly women have made tremendous strides towards