Feminism: Gender Role and Women
Feminism is the fight for equality, freedom, respect and dignity for all women/principle of gender equality. In today’s modern world context, where women are perceived to be of equal status of men, many people may believe that there is already not a need for the practice of feminism. However, I feel that in all aspects of life and society, there is still a need for feminism due to the societal expectations, the dynamic characteristic of societies, as well as inequality and differences between men and women.
Despite all the efforts of feminists, gender inequality is still present in today’s world. Women are generally perceived as the weaker sex in many domains. The fact that they are the ones who are subject to domestic violence and sexual assault shows the lack of respect shown to them. Women are sometimes poorly represented in society and law as well. This can be seen from the significant gap between men and women in leadership positions, and in governments or parliaments. Female representation in Parliament in Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and even Singapore has not exceeded 19%.
Lack of equality is also evident in the workplace, where women often do not have equal opportunities and benefits and a level playing field as men. One reason that some employees are not keen on employing women is because of the fact that women may have to give birth to children at some point in time. Giving birth will mean maternity leave for the employers, and some people also have the impression that some women will quit their jobs after they give birth. These factors may discourage people from employing female workers. Studies have shown that women only earn 77 cents on the dollar relative to the men for the same job. Jobs available to men were challenging positions with potential for advancement, while those available to women were typically low-paying and involved mundane clerical tasks. These reasons can show that women’s capabilities are undermined.
However,
Despite all the efforts of feminists, gender inequality is still present in today’s world. Women are generally perceived as the weaker sex in many domains. The fact that they are the ones who are subject to domestic violence and sexual assault shows the lack of respect shown to them. Women are sometimes poorly represented in society and law as well. This can be seen from the significant gap between men and women in leadership positions, and in governments or parliaments. Female representation in Parliament in Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and even Singapore has not exceeded 19%.
Lack of equality is also evident in the workplace, where women often do not have equal opportunities and benefits and a level playing field as men. One reason that some employees are not keen on employing women is because of the fact that women may have to give birth to children at some point in time. Giving birth will mean maternity leave for the employers, and some people also have the impression that some women will quit their jobs after they give birth. These factors may discourage people from employing female workers. Studies have shown that women only earn 77 cents on the dollar relative to the men for the same job. Jobs available to men were challenging positions with potential for advancement, while those available to women were typically low-paying and involved mundane clerical tasks. These reasons can show that women’s capabilities are undermined.
However,