How Gender Myths Are Hurting Our Relationships

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.

In class, the topic of gender inequality was brought up constantly. The book “ A People's History Of The United States” by Howard Zinn mentions a chapter on the Intimately Oppressed. In the chapter, there are examples of gender inequality such as the wife serving the husband, how the wife is the homemaker, women having no rights, different norms about sex, girls not allowed into schools and are not allowed to own property. Women were denied property, right to vote, wage inequality, education and careers. There are many social inequalities that occur between men and women, such as denying of education for women. Also in work areas women get paid less than man. There are many crimes against women that are not taken seriously. Men prevent women from getting higher paying jobs and keep them for themselves. In many countries women get paid less for doing the same exact job as men. Gender stratification theory of child bearing is discussed in the book as well in class. Many women are raised in other countries with the mindset to have as many babies possible and not concentrate on education. The conflict theory illustrates that men maintain position of power over women was discussed in class as well as in the book. The book highlights many different situations where women feel vulnerable because men have all the power. We also discussed about the ideology of control that women face.

Traditional gender roles (men performing instrumental tasks and women performing expressive tasks) are viewed as important not only for the individual but also for the economic and social order of society. Failure to maintain the traditional division of labor is believed to lead to destruction of family life as well as higher rates of crime, violence, and drug abuse. Human capital theorists claim that sex differences in promotion rates are due to sex differences in commitment, education, and experience; women are believed to have less to offer employers. Even if these differences exist, this position ignores the fact that women are in a system of inequality, where social expectations prevent them from having qualifications that are similar to men. The conflict perspective emphasizes men’s control over scarce resources. The gendered division of labor within families and in the workplace results from male control of and dominance over women and resources. Differentials between men and women may exist in terms of economic, political, physical, and/or interpersonal power. Men remain the head of household and control the property. Also, men gain power through their predominance in the most highly paid and prestigious occupations and the highest elected offices. Liberal/Equal Rights Feminists – seek equal access for females within the current social system; focus is on equality of opportunity (e.g., civil rights and occupational equality). Radical/Transformative Feminists –

Most people think that gender equality is now common place in Western societies, but research shows that gender equality, which gained momentum in the 1970s, has since stalled, particularly when we look at class issues. Some issues have been hit head on, issues relating to sexist job ads and some sexist behavior at work…but we still have a long way to go. The wage gap between men and women is especially concerning.

Gender and work exist sociologically as a way to maintain both authority and inequality. Women’s roles throughout history shed a light on the expectations and stereotypes that exist today; however, navigating a gendered economy and overcoming sex segregation continues to be a challenging task for most women. Wages continue to be uneven, and wives continue to bear most of the child rearing and domestic responsibilities despite increasingly working the same amount as their husbands do. Becoming educated on these inequalities and viewing them with a sociological perspective will allow people to see gender and work in an accurate light and continue to develop

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

I have seen the struggles for equality to men in many aspects. Regardless of the great strides that women have achieved today, it is still hard to find equal opportunity and to be fairly recognized. Some of the areas where gender inequality is very prevalent are in areas such as, equal pay in the workplace, professional & education careers, household work, sexism and discrimination just to name a few. Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender.[1] In this passage I will briefly elaborate on the areas outlined earlier to show the various degree of inequality and explore the path that women have taken to achieve equality. Additionally I will focus on the economic growth as a dependent variable and stereotype as the independent variable.

Gender inequality is not an outcome of actions done by one person to another but a combination of various social sources such as gender socialization (Pullman & Andres, 2015). Gender socialization refers to the process of determining the expectations and attitudes of society regarding the gender of its people. Gender socialization arises from the different roles that boys and girls have in the society. This socialization is a force behind gender inequality as these roles result in the inequality. It will, therefore, be important to address gender socialization by encouraging gender equity and gender equality among the Canadian population (Pullman & Andres,

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.

Gender inequality remains a major barrier to human development. Girls and women have made major strides since 1990, but they have not yet gained gender equity. The disadvantages facing women and girls are a major source of inequality. All too often, women and girls are discriminated against in health, education, political representation, labour market, etc — with negative repercussions for development of their capabilities and their freedom of choice (http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/gender-inequality-index-gii).

For many years, society’s view of gender was a simple matter of assigning the appropriate roles for both men and women. In this way, they are defined in an important way based on their gender. However, many studies over the last decade have altered society’s view by showing how gender is a cultural invention. These studies have also demonstrated how men and women are shaped by the culture and environment they’re born into and that what is expected of them may differ from what we deem to be appropriate in our culture. In today’s world, we still are dealing with the same problems that we were hundreds of years ago. These problems being equal rights between men and women, along with breaking away from societal norms revolving around what is expected

That image of women can be changed if affirmative action is reinforced and allowed qualified employees who have been discriminated against to get a job. Also, the gap of pay between men and women is a concrete example of inequality between them. For example, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, in 2015, women with a full time jobs made only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men. Women work as harder as men, and they should deserve to have equal pay. Women at work should be allowed to progress at the same pace as men and should also be respected. Furthermore, women are subject to domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape. In order to reduce or banned those troubles that torment women more effectively, laws should be passed. Also, equality of women within their family requires a sharing of responsibilities between members of the family. Women should not be the only one responsible for domestic chore, taking care of their children and parents. Therefore, they should get support from their

Gender inequality is a social problem that is widespread in society. It is referred to as the unfair treatment of individuals based on one 's gender. Historically, laws have opposed women to go to school, access certain jobs, and purchase property. Gender inequality has been experience through culture – honor-killing, sex-selective abortion, and society – occupation, gender roles, and education. The social expectations of men and women differ between cultures that are constructed socially and culturally. These expectations are displayed in roles, and behavior believed both by men and women and their interdependent relationships. Gender inequality can be further understood through the structure of sexism. Discrimination takes place in gender inequality for the reason that men and women are treated on the basis of gender alone (Amjad, R., Ashfaq, M., Kousar, R., Saghir, A., 2010).

In the 21st century, many people believe that we have overcome the obstacle of gender inequality and evolved into a society of fairness and righteousness. As many know, females can be just as proficient and qualified as males at any task. Though some efforts to off-set this gender imbalance is in place, it is still commonly acknowledged that many careers are stated to be a male job such as lawyers, and female jobs such as secretaries. Gender inequality is a visible fact in our society and in this essay, I hypothesize that gender inequality still exists as a result of factors such as post-secondary education differences of the two genders, role of females in families, female objectification, career choice differences of the two genders, and