Paper Sample on Gender Inequality: A Review of Male Dominance and Present-Day Solutions

Gender inequality is a notion that harbors the exclusiveness of one type of sexual orientation over another without any objective reasoning. Though archaic, the obtuse assumptions of superior male dominance can still be witnessed across a variety of fields (Lorber 1). However, present-day acumens have discerned the need for balanced gender opportunities and equal representation in economics and employment. Today gender identities vary tremendously, but this debate shall analyze the predominant equality and inequalities between male and female individuals in economics.

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The global trend towards intense redistribution of wealth and profits has significantly increased those persons — disproportionately male — at the peak of political and economic influence. Females tend to be marginalized in high-level, well-compensated occupations in the United States and around the world, and overrepresented in low-paying employment. Individuals of color and transgender face disproportionately high rates of violence, homelessness, and other economic hardships. Gender inequality and employee sexual misconduct greatly add to such pervasive economic inequalities (Seguino 12).

The income gap between genders is one of the key characteristics of this blatant inequality. The lowest rungs of the U.S. pay hierarchy tend to hold female-dominated jobs — such as daycare and food service. Females make up 63 percent of total minimum wage earners, a pay threshold that has been fixed at $7.25 as of 2009. On the other hand, women constitute just 5 percent of Fortune 500 companies’ chief executives (Seguino 15). Caucasian men particularly dominate extremely competitive positions in the financial sector. Males make up from 69 to 82 percent of CEOs and senior management of the big 5 U.S. investment firms. The white proportion ranges from 78 percent to 87 percent. In 2016, more than two-thirds of all workers of the New York City financial industry were male, and almost two-thirds were white (Seguino 16).

The absence of a balance in gender representation in political positions is another crucial aspect that generates economic gender inequality. The government is the source of economic policies via which markets and industries operate (Lorber 7). The policies tabled and set in place may only be equal to all genders if there is equal representation during the drafting process. Without adequate representation, the policies that are passed end up becoming unfair for women who partake in economic activities. The wealth gap between men and women, plenty of evaluations on disparities rely on wages instead of property. The disparity of revenues, although large, pales when contrasted with the disparity of property. When seen via a sexuality glass, the differences get even more drastic. On the high end, we have no more startling indication of the rising accumulation of world wealth than the growth of the wealthiest class. Between 2010 and 2018, the number of persons with riches worth at least $1 billion more than doubled while staying predominantly male. Just 256 women listed amongst 2,208 billionaires worldwide in 2018. Seventy-seven from the U.S., more than twice the amount in any other nation (Seguino 22).

Debt also negatively affects property. Wrecking college debt loads are pulling numerous young People deep into the asset line's downward side, with the worst for college graduates. Females make up 56 percent of college graduates, but carry almost two-thirds of the school loans pending. Transsexual Citizens face deprivation double the average American average, and transgender people of color face much higher rates. The National Center for Transgender Equality found that in 2015 43% of Hispanic, 41% of American Indians, 40% of multi-ethnic, and 38% of African American transgender participants were living in poor circumstances. For transgender Americans, the mean unemployment rate peaked at 15 percent in 2015, compared with 5 percent for the mean populace. For Native Americans, Colored, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and multi-racial transgender Americans, the unemployment rate was much higher (Seguino 26).

Since the start of the 20th-century women's rights have been one of the forefront issues that all and sundry have deemed worth weighing into. Numerous policies have been set in place to alleviate the unfair stereotype of male superiority. However, these efforts of elevating women in society have reached a point where the male sex has become marginalized and is bordering on a complete reversal of the chauvinistic endeavors of gender equality. This radicalization of the effort to achieve gender inequality has been further fueled by feminism (Sanders 10). The fight for gender equality has evolved into a battle pitting men versus women instead of cultivating actual fairness of the sexes.

There have been numerous cases of gross misconduct all veiled in the gender equality banner. Such a case was the ‘#me too' campaign where women were able to open up on sexual harassment cases that had befallen them. While it was a genuine avenue for helping these victims at the start, it ended up being a weapon fashioned for any woman with a score to settle with men over any altercation without evidence. With social media as the judge and jury, many innocent men's public images were tarnished beyond repair. This method of settling grudges has also rooted itself in the economic and corporate field. The notion of gender equality has empowered women with unfair weaponry, which is easily misused and may lead to the loss of innocent men who fall prey to these tactics (Kunst et al. 87).

Furthermore, policies have been erected where a certain aggregate of staff has to be filled with women at different levels of organizations. Despite the positive elevation of women's plights that these policies have addressed, they have also led to the appointment of underqualified and redundant staff overqualified workers (Sanders 22). Positions in executive and leadership roles require certain qualifications that match the responsibilities of these offices. However, due to the policies that require equal gender representation, these offices may be allocated to underqualified employees or left vacant. The absence or incompetence of the occupants of such positions has devastating effects on the organizations functioning.

Feminism, rather than become a fight for equality, has been manipulated by others into a fight for equity. The drive with which female equality has been propagated and pushed by media and state at large has become detrimental to the male sex at some levels. The concentrated efforts of uplifting women have left the plight of men reeling from being ignored, and the signs are visible. Today women generally have higher levels of education than men do. While this may seem a turn for the better, one must remember that equality should apply to both sexes. The male gender has been marginalized despite having some of the most negative characteristics. Male mortality is significantly higher than females; moreover, mental illnesses are more prevalent in men rather than women (Kunst et al. 107). This situation is replicated in the economic field; qualified and eager male employees are overlooked for their female counterparts.

Conclusion

Proper equality of the sexes is a state that should be aspired and cultivated. Equality means that no gender is under or over the other, but both receive a fair stake in their endeavors. Due to differences in our physicality, it is impossible to achieve equity. However, if humanity can choose to appreciate the differences in our genders, and we choose to accept and respect people's orientations, then we can have equality. Feminism, by its definition, is the plight of female rights by championing equality. Proper policies and regulations should be put in place, not for the sake of one particular gender but all genders.

Works Cited

Kunst, Jonas, et al. “Sexism, Rape Myths and Feminist Identification Explain Gender Differences in Attitudes toward the #metoo Social Media Campaign in Two Countries.” Media Psychology, 2019, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15213269.2018.1532300. Accessed 23 July 2020.

Lorber, Judith. “The Socially Constructed Body Insights from Feminist Theory1.” ResearchGate, unknown, 2011, www.researchgate.net/publication/237118472_The_Socially_Constructed_Body_Insights_From_Feminist_Theory1. Accessed 23 July 2020.

Sanders, Mia. “Green Left Weekly - The ‘feminist’ War on Traffic Lights: Political Correctness Gone Too Far? (Humanities & Social Sciences Collection) - Informit.” Green Left Weekly, no. 1129, 2017, p.10, search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=727671870306420;res=IELHSS. Accessed 23 July 2020.

Seguino, Stephanie. “Gender Inequality and Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Analysis.” World Development, vol. 28, no. 7, July 2000, pp. 1211–1230, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305750X00000188,10.1016/s0305-750x(00)00018-8. Accessed 23 July 2020.