The Roots of Gender Inequality in Developing Countries Essay

In A Significant Life Human Meaning in a Silent Universe, philosopher Todd May examines what makes for a meaningful life. People's lives can be characterized by intensity, perseverance, curiosity, or numerous other traits that end up being guiding narrative values. According to May (2015), such values give value to people's lives that are distinct from the universal values they have been taught to adopt such as happiness or goodness. The philosopher highlights that narrative values present a wide variety of criteria that can be used to assess life. They offer people a way to read themselves, who they are, and who they might like to be. This essay uses A Significant Life as a framework to examine the values and meaningful distinctions of gender inequality.

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There is no denying that gender inequality is still rampant in the society. Such inequality begins at an early age in the values that people teach their children, and what is considered as acceptable behavior for girls and boys. This rigidity can be particularly harmful to non-binary offspring who fail to fit into a distinct box. Female children have been traditionally raised to take up little space, ask minimal questions, and be quiet. What is perceived as assertiveness and confidence in boys is seen as aggression and vanity in girls. There is a common phrase that goes like 'boys will be boys' that is often used to explain rowdy, apathetic, and combative behavior in boys that is frowned upon in girls. It seems as if girls are raised to be empathetic and caring in a manner that they become the world's peacekeepers (Jayachandran 69).

Female children are taught to make themselves beautiful and to please others. However, putting too much emphasis on a child's appearance over their skills, confidence, and intelligence can be detrimental for the remainder of their lives. If girls learn just to smile and appear pretty, they get reinforced with the idea of always making others happy and not interfering in matters, at their own expense. According to Lutter (338), the modern society and culture indirectly tolerates sexual assaults and abusive relationships by labeling women as 'emotional' and 'crazy' whenever they assert themselves and set up healthy boundaries. For instance, when an adolescent male pressurizes a female peer to engage in sexual activities, the phrase 'boys will be boys' is mentioned. On the other hand, when the same individual courts his love with consent and respect, nothing of the sort is mentioned.

The manner in which girls are raised is for them to become the society's caregivers; with women being expected to be children's sole nurturers. The society expects them to look after aging parents, any sick relatives, and give emotional satisfaction to their spouses. Often, they don't get any support in return for their own emotional needs. The labor of love and emotions that they put is rarely noticed and appreciated by society. It is unlikely that they would use such a phrase if a young male relative wept over the loss of a loved one or expressed his emotions.

The society has a unique gender binary on various matters such as how to behave or dress. Some of these gender-based roles and rules have gradually faded as time went by, such as men adopting stronger parenting roles and women wearing pants. However, a certain degree of gender binary is still evident. All in all, not every person fits in this binary and their experiences are not that new. There are non-binary individuals who identify with a gender that is not within the male/female binary. Such people have existed across various generations and cultures. How parents and the society at large impart values to children is particularly not good for non-binary ones as it propagates gender stereotypes. Such a situation perpetuates the notion that all girls act in one way while boys behave in another manner. It leaves non-binary children with less options and makes them feel as if they have to abide by a certain structure or be left out altogether.

The good news is that, in recent times, some progress is being made in inducing an understanding of non-binary individuals. The once deep-rooted gender roles are becoming more and more lax, with some parents entertaining their children's curiosity instead of curtailing it. For instance, they have figured out that playing with dolls is not solely restricted to girls, nor is playing with racecars limited to boys. Accepting a non-binary child plays a crucial role in instilling self-love and confidence (Waldfogel 2).

Nurturing other people and expressing emotions indicates strength of character as opposed to being a sign of weakness. These traits happen to be part of human conditioning and are not restricted to a certain gender. If society holds all children to similar basic tenets of integrity, kindness, and respect, it can promote a certain acceptable and more inclusive understanding. This is that both boys and girls can display a wide variety of human traits that do not have to be assumed to be for any gender. If parents look beyond the binary and encourage their children to behave with as much humanity as possible, they induce individuality within the context of equity and equality for all.

Gender inequality is known to affect earnings and has global economic costs. The average educational attainment for females in most countries is lower than that of males, with grownup women generally being illiterate when compared to men. In addition to such gender gaps in literacy levels, social norms and discrimination shape how women participate in the labor force. Women are less likely to seek employment and work in order to earn a living. When they do join the labor force, they are more likely to get to the informal sector, seek part-time jobs or work for meager pay. Such shortcomings translate into significant gender gaps in terms of earnings; a situation that undermines women's voice and bargaining power.

Conclusion

To make matters worse, many women get married or bear children before they even attain the age of eighteen years. At such a tender age, they may not be emotionally and physically ready to handle marriage or become mothers. In addition, women are often subjected to gender-based violence at home as well as discrimination in the workplace and in public places. Often, their agency and voice is lower when compared to that of men, whether it is at a home, work, or national institution setting. Such a situation has a significant impact on their children. For instance, children of young mothers with little or no education often face higher risks of poor performance in school, malnourishment, or infant mortality. Simply put, gender inequality undermines women in a way that denies them basic human rights.

References

Jayachandran, S. (2015). The roots of gender inequality in developing countries. economics, 7(1), 63-88.

Lutter, M. (2015). Do women suffer from network closure? The moderating effect of social capital on gender inequality in a project-based labor market, 1929 to 2010. American Sociological Review, 80(2), 329-358.

May, T. (2015). A significant life: Human meaning in a silent universe. University of Chicago Press.

Waldfogel, J. (2014). Feminist Economics: Then and Now-Gender Inequality and Wages. Members-only Library, 17(1-2).