Gender Inequality

In the United States we see less instances and news of gender inequality than there is in other countries. U.S. citizens whether you are male or female have the right to vote, attend school to achieve a higher education, and to find career jobs. We have seen however cases where gender inequality took place in the work force. I do believe we as country are trying to rise against the stereotypes of men being the only ones who are the bosses and the ones making the most money. Nowadays it is common to see women in the top executive positions making just as much money as their other male coworkers. In contrast, women in other parts of the world do not have the equal opportunities as the men do.

The article “Rights: Women More Educated, Not More Equal” uses the countries Brazil, Philippines, South Africa, and Chile as their prime examples where gender inequality is much more common. The article states that girls in these countries have outnumbered and outperformed boys in school, yet still are facing inequality in employment, politics, and social relations. In Brazil 60 percent of those who graduate from college are women but are still underrepresented in the Brazilian Congress as well as earning thirty percent less than men for doing the same exact work. In the Philippines, South Africa, and Chile women represent the vast majority of those who have a higher education and are still not making the same amount of money as men.

Some claim that the reasons that women are seen less in the workforce has to do with raising and taking care of the children. In these countries child care is not offered for all families which means that the women have to stay at home and take care of them. In Brazil child care is only for half the day making it much harder for women to work at a full time job. Another reason for this the author claims is that even though women are getting their educations, the society as a whole and their attitudes and viewpoint about women and equality need to change. This starts with educating the public about gender inequality as well as stopping the stereotypes that devalue women and believe that they are only capable of having low income paying jobs.

There also have been cases for example in Mexico where they strived to create a gender balance in the work place and in post graduate training and tried to eliminate the gender stereotypes. In 2000 this fight for gender equality all changed when the National Action Party under Vicente Fox and now under the leader Felipe Calderon resorted back to the old stereotypes and ways of women being inferior.

Gender inequality is a very big issue that we need to stop. It discriminates women from having the same equal opportunity as their male counterparts not only in the workplace but also in life itself. The stereotypes stop women from achieving any high standards no matter if they have a college degree or not. In my opinion everyone deserves to live an equal life where there are equal opportunities for everyone, male or female. Gender inequality reminds me of slavery that took place in our country where we didn’t allow slaves to have the same rights as the white man. It is obvious that in different parts of the world gender inequality is more severe than in others. The only way to stop this is to educate people of the wrong of gender inequality. In our class we have read about all different stereotypes and discrimination and I think this topic ties in very nicely with it. Gender inequality is a global issue that needs to be destroyed once and for all.

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