Professor Olga Mella
Language VI
14th November 2012
Sexual Discrimination against Women in our Modern Society
A long time ago, in 1791 Olympe de Gouges wrote the “Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen” nowadays in 2012 sexual discrimination has not yet ended. Even when applying for a job, women have to undertake the legacy of an old chauvinist society. For instance, when a woman decides to have a child they face another problem, who is the one that should foster the child? Despite of the fact that women are working more than in the past decades, it is still wrongly seen when a woman leaves her child in charge of a babysitter or even the father. So despite of huge improvements within sexual equality, women are still facing discrimination in many areas. Some of these areas will be discussed on this essay.
Nowadays there are certain jobs which are more suitable for men than for women, therefore a woman does not have the chance to decide on her own when looking for a job. This suitableness has been defined not be women capacity, but by a chauvinist ideology. For instance, when a woman decides to join the army the chances for her to be selected are less than the ones for the man. This happens just because there are more vacancies for men than women. In the same way, women working on the construction can also be discriminated, and not just because they will not be accepted, but because of unintentional discrimination. This type of discrimination can be seen when “[Managers] tend to do things like trying to protect women – not let them go out on site – or not give them jobs that involve some danger, even though it’s those kinds of jobs that would be good for their career” (Career Structure). Women not only have to face discrimination only when applying, but as well as when working in a non-regular work for. As a result of this, women have to live with gender differences, despite of the fact that there is no such thing as different laws for women and men.
Discrimination against women can also be seen every day on the media. Whether intentional or not TV commercials have had an accentuated discriminatory tendency on women. There are some commercials that may classify women on certain roles, which are to be known as a chauvinist distribution. Then let us think of a washing machine commercial, Can you remember the gender of the person who talks and gives advice on the quality of this machine? If you do not remember, I will tell you that most of the time it is a woman who is giving advices on the product. Indeed this “advice” it is mostly directed to female audience with phrases such us “If you are a good mother, then with this product your family will reward you my dear girlfriend”. This marked tendency of women doing things which have always been fixed for women it is anything but changing. So next time you look at a commercial on any media, pay attention to the person who speaks, because this represents a type of discrimination that sometimes can be too narrow to be seen.
All in all, as we have seen there are regular situations such us applying for a job, having a job or watching commercials, in which we can see sexual. Moreover when thinking of this, as a man I wonder if there is a chance for this to change, because as we saw on this essay even when not thinking of discrimination there is a sort of unintentional type which we cannot control. Nevertheless there are some other things which must be changed, such us this idea that women are the ones to do house shores. This idea should be banned from TV commercials at least. Even though this change is not to happen in the short time, we can start with small changes. Changes such us dividing house shores equally and not by gender will decrease sexual discrimination against women.
Works Cited
Career Structure. "CareerStructure.com." 10 November 2012. 14 November 2012. <http://www.careerstructure.com/careers-advice/life-at-work/female-discrimination-is-often-unintentional>.
Cited: Career Structure. "CareerStructure.com." 10 November 2012. 14 November 2012. <http://www.careerstructure.com/careers-advice/life-at-work/female-discrimination-is-often-unintentional>.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The role of women in society has been shifting over the past few decades. In the early days women were only allowed to be wives and all they had to do was cook, clean, and take care of the kids. They were not allowed to vote while men were the ones responsible to provide and pay the bills. The man always had the final decision on all household matters because he had the money. Women were treated like they were property of men, with no voice about their own fate. Feminist movements took place around the world in the 1870 's with the purpose to fight for the women 's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. Mexico was no different from the rest of the world up until The Mexican Revolution in 1910. For the first time in Mexican history, women fought alongside men for justice and freedom. The novel "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel takes place at that revolutionary era in Mexico and the members of the De La Garza 's family, which are all female, challenge the current standards of the society at the time. Mama Elena and Tita, are strong, powerful and influential women, and…
- 910 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The issue that has been persistent for as long as one can remember is Misogyny in the society. The belief that women are inferior to men has been contaminating the human mind. The issue can be commonly seen in the society in form of domestic abuse, violence, objectification in name of advertisements, and especially in the music industry where the lyrics are filled with hateful messages towards women. Even though the governing laws consider men and women as equal, but the mistreatment of women continues to be the headline of every newspaper.…
- 1001 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Equality is an issue many countries processes and assesses in the workplace environment. Men are not subject to the destitute of justice nor humanity, and many men are truthful and honest, who despise the autocracy of inequality for women (Anthony, 1848). Therefore, the argument is the acceptance of more women in senior positions equivalent to the men in…
- 568 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In Britain, many women's employment in the so-called "non-standard” form: part-time work, temporary contracts, overtime work, stay away from the employer.(Knights and Richards,2003)This is a kind of discrimination.Discrimination against women is on the basis of gender there is a human right to influence the recognition of women, to enjoy or exercise, regardless of their marital status, the basis of equality between men and women, the purpose of any distinction, exclusion or restriction in many aspects of the basic freedoms.(Falcon,2015) This essay will discuss women within the UK are discriminated at work,because people believe some work are not suitable for women,misunderstand of their attitude and the impact of work after women's pregnancy .…
- 527 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
According to the socially constructed idea of gender binarism, a woman’s role in society is to be a mother who is subordinate to a man. Women are seen as fragile, nurturing, “unmarried, married” and void of all original ideas (Rogers). This treatment is common towards women all over the world where they are forced to feel incompetent and barred from independence. In the workforce, women are continually treated as being incapable, along with discriminations such as, “experiencing repeated, small slights at work; and receiving less support from senior leaders than someone of the opposite sex who was doing the same job” (Gramlich). With gender binarism taking control over the workforce, jobs of women are often altered to fit a ‘woman’s role’, where less complicated and light work is given with lenient deadlines.…
- 850 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
This can be referred to as the glass ceiling ‘’ the “glass ceiling,” which presents an impenetrable barrier at some point in a woman’s career’’ (Morrison, White, & Van Velsor, 1987). Because of that will affect women at some stage of their career because of them being unable to go forward within their workplace or go higher up after a position within the workplace ladder. Even though sex discrimination has been introduced within the workplace many women are still in low pay, low status, gender segregated jobs (Davidson 1992)…
- 1176 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
It’s difficult to choose which type of discrimination needs the most immediate attention, especially on a world scale, as there are so many forms of prejudice and many I am unaware of .With the ones I do know about it’s difficult to choose the one that creates the most harm. Is the discrimination against women the most damaging as they are a significant part of our population? Should we address the violence against them and the economic and social repression? Should we address the strain of nationalism and anti-immigrant rhetoric that is abundant in countries like the U.S and Britain? Should we address the discrimination against people of the Islāmic faith or those of the LGBTQ community?…
- 472 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The applicant, Arin Kline was a member of a protected class (pregnant woman) at the time of her submission of the job application for a food server to Crooked Creek & Creekside Bar & Grille, a private employer with 15 employees. Kline had prior food server experience, which made her qualified for the position. Kline was rejected for the position. The position then remained open for applications even though Kline was qualified to fulfill the job. Kline subsequently filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within the allotted period and followed the grievance procedures set forth by the…
- 632 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
When people who have the same level of educational attainment and work experience are treated differently because of their gender: different pay levels for the same work or different job requirements for the same pay level. Efforts and achievements in the field of direct discrimination have been made in many countries by passing laws or establishing supportive institutions. The various forms of discrimination relating to occupational gender segregation are more subtle as well as more…
- 1639 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
Women have experienced a historic situation of inequality in the social as well as professional aspects. Women are normally the ones that would take care of the children, do the household chores, and in rural areas; they would work in the field with the rest of the family. Just like how the Breaking Barriers article states, “from an early age, girls are dressed in pink boys in blue. Boys are given trucks to play with while girls are offered dolls [..] girls are assigned household duties like washing the dishes and doing laundry, while boys are relegated to mowing the lawn and talking out the trash” (18). Gender inequality in the workplace is becoming less common; yet, gender is a factor that affects both men and women. Also, in Breaking Barriers article it says how “females and males often choose career paths that are traditional for their gender” (18). Females are usually seen in jobs such as nursing or paralegals. Males are typically doing jobs that have to do with welding, carpentry, or engineering. Women could have the same capabilities and maybe even higher qualifications than a men going for the same position, but because of gender inequality the male is more likely to get the job then the female. Men and women should be offered the same job opportunities no matter what gender they are; it should be based on their ability to complete the…
- 992 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
As women start to become leaders in the professional world, they have also jobs once regarded as too physically strenuous. Women have become coal miners, fire fighters and police officers. As they advance professionally, so do their self image. In the professions there are more opportunities. There seems to be a "glass ceiling" a level which women do not rise. Women were, however, paid much less for such work than men, and their economic "value" decreased. It took many decades of determination for the legal reform to end the discrimination against women.…
- 672 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Were you engaged with women’s rights in the nineteenth century? Or do you ever wonder what it was like to be a woman back in the days? The term women’s rights are rights and freedom that are set for women and girls of all kind. In which is now formed into women’s rights and the feminist movement which was around the 20th century. In some countries, these rights are supported by law, but in others, women’s rights are being ignored and they, are being oppressed on the regular basis.…
- 2002 Words
- 9 Pages
Better Essays -
In the last half century, many adult females have joined the workforce, many times doing the same work as men. Adult women make up 51% of the population; it seems only natural that the workforce should reflect this. Many of the same rules that stood true for avoiding race discrimination stand true for gender discrimination as well: no lumping people together, no stereotyping, and no belittling. It should also be noted to not refer to adult females over the age of 18 as “girls”. Most males in the workforce are referred to as “men” or “guys”, and so “girls” is seen as belittling women. It is important to treat everyone the same. Women often face a double-edged sword. If they are in lower-level positions in a company and are content staying there, they are often seen as lacking ambition or inferior. However, if a woman is in a position of authority, the words power-hungry, formidable, cold, bossy, etc. are often used to describe her. It is also important to realize women are not the only victims of gender discrimination; men can face discrimination as well. They can also file suits and win. The key is to not single out one gender. However, women get specific treatment in one area: pregnancy. Pregnancy is a form of sex discrimination as well. Companies with 15 or more employees treat it as a short term illness. A shortcoming of this book is that it fails to mention that men are often discriminated…
- 2954 Words
- 12 Pages
Good Essays -
Discrimination based on gender is an extremely common civil rights violation here in the United States, and it can manifest itself in many ways. It is often seen in the work place, where women are often payed less for the same jobs as men. Gender discrimination can also manifest itself through pregnancy discrimination and even sexual assault. Things like unwelcome sexual advances, dismissal due to pregnancy, and other forms of harassment found both in and out of the workplace are an unfortunate reality that many women here in the United States and throughout the world suffer from.…
- 776 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
It is no secret that woman have been facing various types of oppression for centuries. Gender equality is a crucial element for democratic countries; both women and men should participate as equals in the social, cultural and economic life (Michailidis, Morphitou, Theophylatou, 2012). Although over the last decade improvements have been made, gender equality is still not achieved due to the fact that men and woman are not represented and are not treated equally in the workplace(Michailidis, Morphitou, Theophylatou, 2012). This essay will examine the ways in which woman face oppression in the workplace along with factors that play a role in these obstacles. Firstly, this essay will discuss the lack of opportunity for advancement in the workplace…
- 412 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays