Power And Inequality Essay

Power and inequality are two huge concepts that are regulated and also challenged in legislation differently. However, people apply, understand and manage these two concepts differently in regards to different social issues, such as in terms of people with disabilities. Some laws and legislation may also challenge the concept of power and inequality. This essay will examine the two concepts mentioned in regards to women, employment and the workplace and its laws and legislation.

In politics and social science, power is defined as the ability to influence other people’s behaviour and it is commonly perceived as similar to the term authority (Foucault, 1982). Power can be seen both positively and negatively, depending on how different people

However, throughout the years, women have stepped up to promote and advocate for empowerment and inequality (WIC, 2017; McBride & Parry, 2016). Even with the positive improvements with this, gender equality is still not achieved; as women are not treated or presented equally in regards to employment and the increasing number of women working did not result in equal advancements in their careers (Michailidis, et al., 2012). Gender inequalities, discrimination and stereotypes have made the workplace atmosphere inhospitable for women, which negatively affected women’s income and the opportunity to excel in their careers (Son Hing & Stamarski, 2015). Before the 1960s, there was no law that addressed the gender inequality in the workplace (McBride & Parry, 2016). Acceptable occupations and work for women in the USA in the early 19th century were limited to either domestic work or factory labor (WIC, 2017; McBride & Parry, 2016). Women were seen as incapable of doing the male-dominated jobs, such as in the STEM fields, which includes sciences, accounting, psychology, statistics, computer programming and civil and electrical engineering (Cheryan, Jiang, Montoya & Ziegler, 2016). According to Cheryan et al., (2016), women in the USA amount to 48 percent of their workforce, however, only 6.7 percent of women graduate and 24 percent work in the STEM fields, which still shows a huge gap. Women were also unequally paid, as they were paid lower than men by doing the same jobs (WIC, 2017; McBride & Parry, 2016). The establishment of the Equal Pay Act in 1963 helped reduce discrimination and gender inequality in employment and the workplace (WIC, 2017; McBride & Parry, 2016; US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2017). This act compelled employers to provide equal pay to employees regardless of sex, and it was made illegal to discriminate women