Essay Sample on Women: Breaking Barriers of Discrimination in Society

Introduction

For decades now, women have been facing constant discrimination in various aspects of society. The society is trained to perceive the male as a superior gender, and this male domination has had adverse effects on the development of women globally. With the mentality that women should be submissive and voiceless has exaggerated the males' ability to lead and manage crucial positions in society (Wilson et al., 2016) even though it is essential to acknowledge that what a man can do, a woman can do equally or even better. However, despite the society agreeing that women have the capacity and the ability to perform as well as men, the rigid system in the society still pins down women, and this minimizes their productivity in society. Victimization of women is taking place at international levels since women are being locked out in the economic, social, and political aspects of the society (Bassel & Emejulu, 2017). The paper focuses on addressing some of the issues women face and how these issues lead to their discrimination in society.

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The role played by women in the local setup at home is a clear indication of their abilities. Women can multitask and do various activities simultaneously, which is impossible for men to do (Karliner et al., 2016). Furthermore, under favorable situations, women can sufficiently cater for the family. However, the rogue societal system depicts that men should provide for the family while women should not, which minimizes the women's ability to develop them (Gardiner, 2018). Even though the population of women globally is equal to that of men, and women and women qualify into the minority group since the patriarchal society defines men to be more superior to women. The circumstances worsen the same women are exposed further to other forms of discrimination, such as racism and class discrimination (Price et al., 2017).

However, despite the real sexism and gender discrimination, some women have risen to be influential and successful leaders despite the challenges they faced. More so, it is reasonable to note that for most of these women, self-determination and commitment was vital in their success (Price et al., 2017). Working in a society whose definition of a leader is male is challenging. The society has been made to believe that only the male gender can manage key leadership roles (Bassel & Emejulu, 2017). It is quite unfortunate to record that less than 30 women might be found to be holding management positions in 500 leading corporate organizations at any given time. With this statistical information, it is easier to depict the severity of discrimination on women in society's political and economic aspects.

Several factors predispose women to discrimination. Even though some forms of discrimination could be defined as negligible by the community, their long-term effects are more adverse than their short-term repercussions. A large percentage of women have poor educational backgrounds since a girl child's education is not regarded as vital as the boy child's education in society (Price et al., 2017). With the increasing number of illiteracy levels among women, the available jobs will still be dominated by educated males, which will leave women lagging in poverty and oppression (Bassel & Emejulu, 2017). A girl's right to education should be sensitized, and parents should be enlightened to take their daughter's education seriously for the sake of the future. More so, a girl’s education requires a lot of support since it faces quite a lot of challenges compared to boys. Providing all necessities such as sanitary towels and other comfort products will make a girl as productive as a boy in class.

Another challenge working against women's prosperity is the negative attitude towards feminine leadership. The society should learn to embrace female leaders emerging from the societies. With proper support, women could as well be as productive as men. However, society tends to discriminate against women as weak leaders as compared to men. Furthermore, adjustment of leadership roles to accommodate women is fundamental for any organization (Karliner et al., 2016). Since women have a lot of roles to undertake, slight modifications in the management policies would be essential with the aims of allowing women to work freely (Gardiner, 2018). For instance, in existing leadership positions, it would be very hectic for a woman to have a baby and still work comfortably. The discriminating reality of men could comfortably be fathers and still go work while women are not allowed to nurse their young ones at work is unfair.

Sexual harassment and Assault

It is also a significant contributor to the reduced number of female leaders. Women seeking jobs in the male-dominated job market face many challenges in their quest to look for employment. Most women are asked for sexual favors before being given specific job opportunities, which contradicts morality (Tebbe et al., 2018). Furthermore, it is a great challenge in a girl's education system where tutors demand sexual favors in return for good results, and when denied, they tend to fail students. It is impossible to compete in such environments, and these disadvantages the girl child (Tebbe et al., 2018) fairly. More so, due to the low number of women available in the job market, lack of moral support and professional guidance leads to a high number of women quitting their professions due to work-related stress due to male dominance.

Consequently, objectification and gender stereotypes where girls are regarded as tools to stay at home and help my house chores are among the primary motives to downgrade the girl child (Wilson et al., 2016). More so, gender stereotypes where girls are forced to fit into the community's expectations much oppose the developments of the girl child. Such scenes act as discouraging factors leading to reduced self-esteem, which significantly affects the academic performance of girls. Treating children with equality is exceptionally fundamental since all the children will be regarded as essential and relevant, and this vital in boosting their performances. More so, teachers should give every student equal opportunity to prove their academic prowess since favoring jeopardizes the learning process.

Leadership is defined as the process where an individual influences a group of people to do something. Therefore, the abilities of a leader are confined within the proximity of influence. Gender and titles are not necessary for the development of leaders. According to the existing leadership theory, The Great man theory points out that leadership is inborn, and only a few people who are lucky to have the leadership traits make good leaders. However, the practicability of such a theory is questionable since it focuses on leadership is a critical component of the Y chromosome. Nonetheless, other leadership theories seem to agree that both men and women could be leaders provided they possess leadership characteristics.

Transformational leadership theory entails motivation and morality. In this theory, a leader is believed to have the ability to influence followers to boost their productivity while maintaining their morality (Tebbe et al., 2018). In this theory, both genders have equal chances to prove their leadership skills by enhancing their followers' motivation. Therefore, defining leadership abilities based on gender is inhumane and irrational since the ability to influence people is not entirely dependent on gender.

However, the leader-member exchange theory seems to be the most efficient leadership model which recognizes women as a minority. This theory divides members of staff into two categories in the group and out-group members (Gardiner, 2018). In-group members are easy going with the leader and are cooperative. However, our group members are incompatible with the leader and are likely to have clashing personalities. Therefore, the leader has a crucial role in ensuring both the in-group and out-group members are working harmoniously. Therefore, when women are given equal chances, they are likely to balance the two categories of workers. It is fundamental to enlighten all the units making up society starting with families since most of the negligence starts from the family level, that all equality is the epitome of development.

When given the right environment to flourish, women can rise and become significant, influential personalities around the world (Howe-Walsh & Turnbull, 2016). It is essential to acknowledge that not all women leaders, however, had a rough childhood and faced discrimination. Some current leaders were born from well off families with adequate resources to fund their education comfortably. More so, having educated parents who value education is fundamental to secure the future of these leaders. Ursula Burns, the CEO of Xerox, is among the most powerful women in the world. Having been born from a low-income family, Burns struggled a lot through primary school, facing a lot of challenges from discrimination due to gender and race. She grew up in a housing project until she started her internship at Xerox in 1980.

Burns was raised by a single mother who intensely valued education. S attended an all-girls’ catholic school, her dreams of becoming an engineer were rekindled, and this formed the fundamental basis of her future career. She acknowledges that apart from being talented, ambitious, and fear, her valuable asset is the education she received. Due to the invaluable support she received from her mother, she was an excellent academic performer, and this motivated her further to advance her education in the field of engineering. Even though her interests are not in politics, she is satisfied with her leadership roles at Xerox. Her motivation originates from her being the first woman to take over from another woman as the CEO Xerox. With her African American complexion, she is motivated that women could rise above social norms and take up influential roles in society.

She highlights that women don’t need sympathy; they need equal opportunities with their male counterparts to prove themselves. Even though activists are severely condemning sexism, she significantly emphasizes parents are supporting their children to acquire education (Brown & Kellough, 2019). Being a firm believer in education is power; she agrees that once a woman is educated, she will fight her way through to the top. However, a significant population of women had no access to adequate education, which hinders their growth even in fair, competitive environments.

Conclusion

Among the long-lasting solutions, creating a favorable environment for girls' development, both socially, economically, and physically is fundamental. Allowing women freedom of expression is fundamental since women have many brilliant ideas, but their voices have been shut down (Howe-Walsh & Turnbull, 2016). It is fundamental for governments to address issues affecting women when developing their MGDs to counter the issues facing women to develop women. Legal measures should also be stipulated against early marriages in girls (Karliner et al., 2016). Such measures should focus on discouraging parents who willingly give out their daughters to early marriages. More so, severe punishment to lawbreakers should act as a lesson in the quest for the government to protect its citizen.