Research Paper On Gender Inequality

Gender roles include the attitudes and responsibilities that are expected of males and females in a given culture or society. These roles generate inequality amongst men and women. Gender inequality involves the biased treatment and judgement of individuals due to their gender. Throughout history women have had a lack of opportunities relative to men. Once upon a time women were banned from voting, prevented from working, and prohibited from learning. In present, women are more economically and socially independant. In developing countries more girls are receiving an education. Though society has made major progress over the issue of gender inequality over the decades, gender inequality still exists to some extent all areas in the world.

The United States Department of Labor states that women are projected to constitute 51% of the workforce. However, an economic disparity between women and men in developed countries still exists. According to The Guardian, the economic gap between men and women is rising. “When measured in terms of income and employment, the gender gap has widened in the past four years; at 59%, it is now at a similar level to that seen in the depths of the financial crisis in 2008.” (The Guardian) The economic gap is caused by several factors including unequal pay for more work and smaller chances for promotion. Authors of the World Economic Forum, Richard Samans and Saadia Zahidi, call for lawmakers to hold corporations accountable for prioritizing gender equality in the workforce. According to Mary Brinton, a sociology professor at Harvard University, there is gender inequality in the American workforce due to the pre notion that unlike men, women are expected to balance work and family. Therefore men have a higher chance of receiving promotions, making women a minority in the corporate

According to a Huffington Post article titled, The Gender Crisis in Politics: U.S. Congress Fails at Equality, 51% of the US population is made up of women, but only 16.6 percent of Congress constitutes of women. This shows how underrepresented women are in politics and government. Similarly only 19.3% of national legislative seats represent women worldwide. According to the Washington Post, women are restricted from voting in Vatican City, because women cannot participate in the religious government. Thus, even in developed places, women are unequal to men. According to NPR, the political under-representation is likely to be caused by the by the fact that women are less likely to appear on voting ballots than men. If women are underrepresented in government, then there are fewer opportunities for women to socially and economically grow and the gap between men and women will continue to