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Examples Of Gender Inequality In The United States

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Inequality between different groups of people within the United States is concerning for many sociologists and society in general. One of the main inequalities throughout the United States is gender inequality. Gender inequity is found in all past and present societies. It takes the form of patriarchy. From the patriarchal point of view, gender inequality can be traced back to biological differences in early societies (“Steven Goldberg on Patriarchy” 2006). This inequality is present in society through many different forms, including job segregation, the gender pay gap, and a great difference in women’s political representation (Joan Acker, 1989).
Gender inequality can be explained using the conflict theory which is a common agreement that men have been dominant throughout many societies for many years (Joan Acker, 1989). It is believed that women are weak, while men are strong. Most women have been enslaved by men throughout …show more content…

Women are sometimes more nurturing than some men when it comes to taking care of their family members or children. When a woman becomes pregnant they receive a maternity leave which also puts a hold on their income, making it easier for the man of the household to have a higher paying job (Joan Acker, 1989). Another example, when a child of a family gets sick most of the time the woman is the one to leave work early and stay home with the child. Some job sites have paid maternity leave but then many do not. Women have greater recourse to part-time work so they can combine work and family responsibilities (Joan Acker, 1989). During the older days, women were not allowed to enter professions such as medicine or law, married women had no property rights, they were not allowed to vote, married women were not even present in the eyes of the law. From then to now a lot has changed but women still are not

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