In today’s society, gender inequality poses as a substantial issue. The perception of women being less superior compared to men solely based on gender as well as the stereotypical views towards women lead to gender inequality, such as unequal pay for the same job. This essay will discuss the basis of gender inequality along with its effects on the society.
Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on whether they are a male or female. Majority of the time, it is evident that men are perceived as more superior than women. This social and cultural issue is apparent in several different categories including but not limited to religion, employment, education, and marriage.
Women experience gender inequality in various occupations and stereotypes. For example, women were stereotyped to be stay at home moms where they were responsible only for cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children. This idea has been altered due to the fact that most women have careers and are not stay at home moms, however, it is still considered a woman’s responsibility to care for the kids, cook, and clean in addition to having a full time profession. Women are expected to balance their professional and personal lives while men are only expected to be the primary source of income in order to support and provide for their families. Professionally, women are typically offered fewer opportunities than men and are compensated less for the same amount of work performed. On a state to state basis, the numbers continue to support the fact that women are getting paid less than men. In Illinois, women who work full time, on average, are getting paid $37, 841 per year. Men, however, are getting paid $49,336 for the same amount of work being done. This presents a gap of $11,495, a substantial amount of money. (“Human Development”) Several critics believe that pay differences between men and women are based on personal choices