GENDER INEQUALITY IN AMERICA

Gender inequality in America

Gender inequality in America

In exploring the essay title, it would seem wise to explain the terms "Gender" and "Inequality". Within this essay, "gender" refers to the socially defined differences between men and women. As the word suggests, "inequality" means unequal rewards/opportunities for different individuals within a group or groups within a society. Gender inequality discusses how differences between males and females contribute to, or cause, social and cultural differences. Society has grown to have differences between men and women with greater emphasis of inequality on women.

There is evidence to suggest that women generally tend not to work in skilled jobs in the construction and engineering sectors and few men working in secretarial positions (1996 Labour Force Survey) does this mean that men are more skilled than women. Early research and theorists assumed than inequalities were biologically determined and as a result this natural ability could not be changed. Female employment has tended to increase over the years and they form 44% of all wage earners. Also, the passing of the legislation act in the 1990s ensured that an improvement, although not equality, in earnings for women. We, now, also tend to see women increasingly holding positions of importance (e.g. a female monarch and a recent female Prime Minister). Despite this women do tend to occupy the less well paid jobs with opportunities of a lesser degree to that of men, which is shown by the fact that few employers have amenities to facilitate female employees with young children.

The department of education released figures showing how women in paid employment had increased from barely 40% in 1971 to well over 55% in 2001. But why has female employment actually increased? From after the 2nd World War there was high demand for labour to rebuild Britain. Here, ...