Research Paper on Gender Equality: Women Still Do Not Have Equal Rights as Men

Introduction

Gender equality is the state in which people have equal access to opportunities and resources regardless of their gender. It refers to the equal responsibilities and rights of both men and women. However for a long time now gender equality has been downplayed in our societies. According to the UN, there are some parts of the world where women and girls are still discriminated against in the labor market, education, and in health sectors. A survey, directed in April and May by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project, demonstrates that in both developing and the developed nations, there is an articulated gap between beliefs in the uniformity of the genders. That is, many individuals around the globe believe that men should get better treatment in some areas, especially education and employment. A review found that, regardless of confirmations that gender equality is being practiced in our communities, some people still view the male gender as more superior than the female gender. Studies reveal that a lot of people around the globe often argue that they support equal rights for women and men, yet many of them still believe that men should get special treatments with regards to higher education, good jobs, or even at times the basic handy jobs. However, not all is lost, this is because gender equality can be achieved in our society through the introduction of women empower programs, implementation of gender equality policies, and creation of gender awareness campaigns.

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How Will Gender Equality Be Achieved?

First, the introduction of gender empowerment programs will ensure that both men and women understand about gender equality and how they can complement each other in their struggle to improve life. It will also provide effective solutions for mitigating male- dominance in our society. Gender empowerment programs, for instance, will teach men how to use their qualities for good. They should use their strength to preserve and protect the feminine character, helping women realize their potential in which the world so desperately needs today. If you look in depth, you will realize that both men and women have equal capabilities. Men are beginning to realize that women can no longer be seen as commodities. Those days are far gone. Women no longer want to be seen as feeble, inactive or weak and they no longer tolerate exploitation, injustice, torture, hatred, and insults at the hands of male manipulators. And this is the reason why women's liberation movements have emerged in the recent times. These are the signs of the awakening of women. It is important to know that when men and women do not have equal opportunities to take part in decision-making, there are direct social and economic costs which primarily affect women but also have an impact on their communities and countries. However, gender empowerment programs will help us understand that both men and women should be given equal opportunities and resources to establish themselves in society, depending on their determination.

Second, Implementation of gender equality policies will see through that gender equality is achieved and maintained in our societies. It is good that most countries accept that equal rights should exist between women and men. In fact, these countries have produced regulations which grant women access to education, economic opportunities, and health rights however women still have fewer opportunities than men. It is imperative to know that inequalities between women and men hurt prosperity and development (Sainsbury, 180). Therefore policies which recognize the vulnerabilities and needs of women and men should be implemented. These policies should ensure that women and men have equal access to planning and decisions about different aspects of our society such as political, social, and economic aspects. Progress to achieve gender equality has been made, but there are still more men than women in political, business and employment sectors. Gender inequality in the workplaces is still a popular thing in our societies. In fact, studies reveal that women work for about two-thirds of the world's working hours and earn only 10% of the world's income. Furthermore, gender wage gap is still a problem in the workplaces. It has been over five decades since President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal pay act into law. And it is regrettable that fifty years later we are still talking about the wage gap and how women earn less compared to men. Implementation of gender equality policies will ensure that women are given equal opportunities as their male counterparts.

Third, the creation of gender awareness campaigns will give both men and women a collective voice. It is true that women have been treated as a second-class citizen for a very long time in the sense that they have unequal employment opportunities as men, they are sometimes mistreated in workplaces, and most notably female gender is often propagated negatively by media including movies and music videos. The society thinks of women as less superior compared to men regarding physical and mental strength. There are other places in the world for example where women were not even allowed to drive. This means that a lot of people still do not understand what women are capable of. Therefore an extensive gender awareness campaign should be conducted to ensure that both men and women understand about their respective abilities and how they can use them for the general good.

What Do Critics Say About Gender Equality?

Critics argue that gender equality is a women's issue. Therefore, measures that include men are likely to fail. They explain that women and men tend to live in two different worlds that are they have completely different perceptions about gender equality. According to their studies, a lot of men do not believe that there is a problem with gender equality (Seguino, 15). Only a small number of men recognize that gender inequality is a crucial issue in our society. Women on the other side, tend to see gender inequality as a huge and continuing challenge. Therefore, they argue that implementing men-inclusive practices such as gender awareness campaigns, enacting gender equality policies, and the introduction of gender empowerment programs is not going to work. They add that gender equity is a feminist issue and men should not be involved when addressing the issue. However, I believe that these critics are wrong, this is because gender equality is both a men's and women's issue. Men, for instance, may face disapproval or discrimination when taking on jobs and career responsibilities that are traditionally reserved for women. Therefore, it is evident that gender equality is an issue that affects both men and women in equal measure. Therefore implementing men-inclusive practices will play a huge role in restoring gender equality in our society.

Other critics argue that implementation of gender equality policies are not likely to be effective since a lot of men hold most of the top political positions, therefore, these policies will take a long time to be implemented. They, therefore, recommend that gender equality should be addressed through other means such as creating adverts against gender inequality. However, what these critics do not tell us is that a lot of adverts we see on our TVs usually diminish one gender. Furthermore, most music videos and movies often feature a lot of nudity, especially from the female gender. Therefore, using adverts as a way to address gender equality is not likely to be the best way to restore gender equality in the society.

Can We Have a Common Ground?

I firmly believe in equal rights for men and women. It is not fair that just because you're a woman, you don't get opportunities that a man gets or just because you are a man you have to work harder than a woman. The rights of women and men should be pretty much equal. Here is a fascinating explanation why gender equality should be embraced with both hands in our society. A woman and a man represent two types of divine energy that is male and female elements of a single soul. For a person to lead a total life, she or he must have both forms of divine energy which provides the power of giving, the power of receiving, and the power of subtlety. Women usually represent the idea of personal dignity while men by nature are physically stronger, they are often externally oriented and more aggressive. The characteristics of a woman, while subtle, is not weak and the characteriof a man, while aggressive, is not brutish. For a woman and man to be complete, they must have both energies. Gender equality has to be restored for our communities to keep progressing. The society must use the potential of women and girls in improving the living standards of other people. Providing women and girls with equal access to health care, education, and work is most likely to promote sustainable economies.

Consequences of Gender Inequality

Some of the common consequences of gender inequality include poverty, impunity, injustice, and violence (Squires, 8). It is imperative to know that violent behavior is often associated with male behavior and a lot of people usually think that it is a normal aspect of men. This the main reason why violence is often masculinized. Women are usually the victims of gender-based violence because the men tend to see themselves as physically stronger than their women colleagues. Male-dominance in our society results in the exclusion of a lot of women hence affecting the social and economic structure of our communities. Moreover, gender inequality breeds poverty; this is because it denies one party a lot of opportunities including lack of access to health services and education, and lack of productive opportunities in the society. Therefore, gender equality is vital in the fight against poverty since it ensures that everybody in the society contributes towards development and eradication of poverty. From these consequences, it is evident that gender inequality has a lot of negative impacts on our societies hence we should implement the measures which help us restore gender equality in our societies.

Works Cited

Sainsbury, Diane. "Gender Equality Reforms and Their Impact." Gender, Equality, and Welfare States, pp. 173-197., doi:10.1017/cbo9780511520921.009.Seguino, Stephanie. "Financing for Gender Equality: Reframing and Prioritizing Public Expenditures to Promote Gender Equality." Financing for Gender Equality, 2017, pp. 5-24., doi:10.1057/978-1-137-46101-8_2.

Squires, Judith. "Introduction: Institutionalizing Gender Equality." The New Politics of Gender Equality, 2007, pp. 1-20., doi:10.1007/978-1-137-03653-7_1.