The Role Of Gender Inequality In America

Hillary Clinton, the sixty-seventh Secretary of State, once said, “If a country doesn't recognize minority rights and human rights, including women's rights, you will not have the kind of stability and prosperity that is possible” (“Hillary Clinton”). For millenniums, women have not been as fairly treated as their male counterparts. Many women worldwide have participated in the war for women’s equal treatment, but have yet to receive what they have long desired. We should end gender inequality, exemplified through society’s assumed role for women throughout history, by taking action against gender inequality. Living with three sisters for the majority of my life, I witnessed how their gender affected how they were expected to behave and think.
When my youngest sister was first introduced to football in her third-grade year, she approached me with questions about the sport.
The first question she asked was why females did not participate in the sport. I never pondered this until her asking because I had become accustom to the gender roles of our society. Women’s lack of participation in sports has been heavily influenced by society’s expectations of women. My sister aspired to play football but strayed away from her desire for it was not considered to be lady-like by American society. The American society has encouraged these biased gender-roles throughout the country’s
history. America, along with many other countries, is currently a patriarchal society. With years of research, Maria Miles wrote Patriarchy and Accumulation on a World Scale. This outlines the origin of the patriarchal society, is thought to have originated through men’s role as hunter during the hunting and gathering society. At the society’s beginning, the roles of men as hunters and women as gatherers were equal. The role of the hunter grew with the evolution of weapons and domestication of animals, eventually diminishing the role of the gatherer, most commonly women and young boys. Women soon became pressured by the hunters to breed and be controlled, similar to the animals. Hunters soon became territorial, inspiring men’s desire for property and power (Richards and Saba). As certain sections came to power, they were ruled almost strictly by men. Oppression against women did not end with the hunting and gathering society but instead became a larger part of society. Men were also predominately selected to deport on expeditions from their respected countries. This led men to have a superior education than women, which eventually led to a substantial gender-education-gap. This led women to be more dependent upon men for food and resources, leading to a wrongful sense of inferiority. Women’s lack of education is still exemplified in many societies today. Worldwide, eighty-seven percent of men can read and write while only seventy-seven percent of women can (Hale). Although this gap has made tremendous strides in a positive direction, much work is still needed. Unethical treatment of women was not recognized as a problem until the Industrial Revolution.
Women at the beginning of the eighteenth-century were not allowed to own property, vote, hold office, or have custody of her children in a case of divorce. A decrease in birthrate and an increased need for workers eventually led to employment opportunities for women, mostly in factories and mills. These jobs allowed women to become less financially dependent on men, furthermore increasing America’s divorce rate. As more women entered the workforce, men were still able to trump women in economic and political status ("Digital
History”). Worldwide, we could all take steps to ensure that unethical treatment of women is a practice performed in the past. With gender inequality plaguing society for many centuries, it will be many years before worldwide gender equality is accomplished. Steps to expedite this process could be as simple as one communicating with the opposite sex. Most know of ways to alleviate gender inequality, but avoid partaking in the change. To end inequality would take much more than a single person, but one has the power to influence many. This is why if one spends more time than usual talking with the other sex it could influence others to do the same, eventually leading to equality. The education gap could be eliminated by strengthening opportunities for women to attend a secondary education. An increase in female members of government would better represent the need of our population (Hathaway). We can all take a stance against gender inequality and drastically improve the living conditions of women worldwide. Women’s equal treatment would further the economy of the United States and many other countries. A report conducted by the International Monetary Fund found how gender inequality in the workforce is limiting economic growth. The report finds that enforcing gender equality in the workforce would raise gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States by five percent. Third-world countries such as United Arab Emirates and Egypt by as much as thirty-four percent (Devex.com). As a society we could all take part in the feminist movement by promoting equal representation of women in the workplace and government. Assigning gender to certain careers is an unethical act harming not only the economy but the aspirations of women. If education was more encouraged the economy would have tremendous improvement. A report conducted by World Bank, World economic Forum, and the OECD found that women have an important role in the economy as they become more productive through education. These studies have also found that improving women’s education can provide a growth in GDP and boost per capita income (Matsui). These studies suggest a change in women’s treatment would not only improve women’s lives but the economy as well.
The most common argument against women’s rights movements is women already have equal rights. This argument is mainly from the mouths of men who cannot relate to treatment women receive. When one meets an unfamiliar person, he or she automatically categorizes the other by gender, race, and age. Stereotypes of these categories will continue throughout the conversation. Research conducted by Stanford University shows that categorization of gender primes stereotypes, eventually leading to gender inequality. Women are most commonly stereotyped to be less competent than their male counterparts (Fisk). This stereotyping could explain why women are less represented in politics and corporations, as these are considered to be male-type careers. Until the stereotyping of genders, especially women, is ended and women are adequately represented in government and corporations, the argument cannot be made that women are not treated equally. Worldwide women face the unequal treatment and representation in their respected society. This unequal treatment began with the hunting and gathering society and still permeates our society today. We should all take steps to end gender inequality by communicating to the opposite gender and encouraging women’s secondary education. Ending gender inequality would drastically improve the economy of many countries. Ending gender inequality can start with a single person influencing others of the need for equality.