Gender Inequality and Its Effects Leading to Violence

Gender Inequality and Its Effects Leading to Violence

Kirsten Oakes
McDaniel College
Introduction to Sociology, Spring 2015

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Gender roles; Cultural and personal. They determine how males and females should
think, speak, dress, and interact with the context of society. Since the beginning of time, gender
roles have defined out societies. Differentiating specific jobs and tasks to people based not only
on their abilities but also their gender. The classic stereotypes of women having clerical jobs and
being stay at home moms fall right into the category of gender inequality. Who is to say that a
man can not be the one who stays home with kids or works as an assistant or secretary? Society
since we are born defines roles in our society based on gender. Certain societies have been able
to evolve from traditional roles in society based on gender but there still are countries waiting to
catch up to further advanced societies like Germany and Scandinavia. The gap in gender equality
through a family setting differs greatly country by country. In job settings, life at home raising a
family, and in political settings, women are not treated as equals when compared to men
especially in countries such as Mexico. The gender inequalities are evident in all societies but
poorer under developed countries such as Mexico has the situations exacerbated and life for
women is even more unequal compared to men.
Gender roles in the job setting have been set in place since the early years of the modern
workforce. Women have typically been labeled as having secretarial or clerical jobs and men
being the smarter and more able bodied to work harder have historically had the higher
ranking positions. In the industrial era, men oversaw the assembly lines and mostly men worked

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the lines. Depending on what was being produced, women were also involved in this process if
the products being made were feminine such as making clothing or household goods. Women
were seen as knowledgeable in these areas because that is where most women were. During
World War II, Rosie the Reviter was an exception in this common trend. Since all the men were
away fighting in the war, there were only women left at home to pick up the slack of the mens
jobs. The soldiers at war needed supplies and all the men were at war. This is a historical time
for women because they are now able to complete these jobs that were predominately done by
men and produce the supplies needed for the Soldiers. You would think that this is a major turn
of events for women in the workforce but when the men returned home from the war, women
were pushed out of the jobs and they were given back to the men. This whole process did prove
one thing for women and that is that they are capable of completing a mans job.
Sexual harassment is yet another issue that mainly women deal with in the workforce.
Corporations try to diminish the amount of sexual harassment that occurs through training and
teaching their employees on how to handle situations and avoid sexual harassment. Blaming the
victim is a prime excuse in this situation. Just like it is for victims of rape, women are told that
they wear too skimpy of clothes that they lead mean on, and set off vibes to men that make them
think that advances are acceptable. There is such a borderline to tip toe through at the workplace
because sexual harassment is all in the eyes of the parties involved. It is not always seem as
harassment to certain people but to a woman a comment about her outfit could be seen as

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harassment. According to the EEOC, sexual harassment is not only making unwelcome remarks
to a specific employee but also includes making offensive comments about women in general.
Bashing women in the work force or in general is sexual harassment because you are placing the
male sex over the female sex and that is where the inequality comes into play. Men do not have
to worry about sexual harassment on the scale that women do, although it still does exist for
men. Women typically are seen as inferior to men in the workplace so women are not focused on
in terms of harassing men. The extent of the harassment can lead to violence against women
pending on what level the harassment is done on and looking at it from the womans perspective,
if they retaliate, violence can come to men as well.
Lastly, women advancing in the work place are not seen as often as men advancing. The
glass ceiling theory states is a political term used to describe the seen, yet unreachable barrier
that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder,
regardless of their qualifications or achievements. Women who are just as qualified as men are
not offered leadership roles in male based settings due to social norms. Women are not typically
entrusted by men to have the capacity to run a large corporation since history has always had the
all powerful man running things. Advancement for women is more prevalent in our society
with the workforce implementing new laws for equality in the workforce, but change doesnt
happen overnight. There are more women holding higher power positions than there were two
years ago according to Forbes Magazine, but not enough. If you were to hand select five top

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name corporations in the U.S., one in five corporations would have a woman in charge or on the
board of executives. This is a great improvement from the World War II era when women had to
relinquish the jobs that they had during the war back to the men when they came home, but it
still shows the gap in equality. In countries such as Mexico, women are definitely not in a
position of power due to the stereotypes and lack of keeping up with the U.S. systems of
changes. Women in Mexico are starting to realize their potential and are understanding that they
are being treated as inferiors so they have made themselves more marketable in the workforce.
Giving the growing number of women with advanced graduate degrees in Mexico- currently
percent, according to a recent study by the Asociacion Nacional de Universidades e Instituciones
de Educacion Superior (National Association of Universities and Higer Educational InstitutionsANUIES)- forward thinking companies have begun to understand that they need to tap into a
talent pool they didnt used to, given prejudices in hiring and professional development
processes. This is great progress for women in Mexico because there are women out there who
risk their lives to attain these degrees to help them advance in the workplace even though there is
great criticism from men who do not want to lose their jobs to women. Just as inequality in any
country progresses, there will always be people who do not want things to change. They do not
want more women in power since they are still stuck on the way things are currently running,
they dont see a need for change, and will do anything to stop things from changing. Especially

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in community and home settings, roles are changing for both genders in societies in the U.S. and
other countries.
The typical stereotypical jobs for women in a home are to clean, cook, and raise a family.
Our society has functioned this way since families had begun. In the revolutionary era, women
were not allowed to study science or medicine because it was too complicated for them to
understand. Repetitive instances where men have been superior to women in the home has
reinforced the way our society today acts. Granted, women now are more prevalent in the work
force, there is still the unofficial stereotype that the women should be home with the kids.
Technological innovations have benefited women at home and have gained the attention of men.
The advancement of technology in the home draws the stereotypical male who is interested in
technology back home to help with stuff. It is more likely for a man to vacuum than to mop the
floor since technology is involved. Granted there are always the exceptions of the woman of the
house working and the man staying home with the children but that is not as popular because it
shines a negative light on the men. In countries like Mexico, many traditional roles are still
assumed in family situations and it is less often that you find a stay at home dad. Women are
especially set up in an unequal light when it comes to raising a family.
Women especially in the U.S. have a disadvantage over women in other countries like
Germany when it comes to maternity leave. In most countries in Europe, women are granted 15

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months of PAID maternity leave to be split between the mother and father. This is also for
couples who adopt children so they can become acclimated to being parents and spend more time
with their children to start them off on the right path in life and properly socialize the children.
These countries (almost all except the U.S., Canada, and Australia) also have guaranteed daycare
for children starting at age three. There is a new law that will go in effect on July 1, 2015 in
Germany that guarantees childcare for infants starting at age one so women and men can return
to their jobs. In the U.S. there is no guaranteed paid maternity leave for any woman or couple
having children. Pending on who your employer is, they will decide how much time off you
receive, ranging from one sick day to have give birth to your child and being back at work the
next day up to however long the employer wants to grant leave. In larger companies such as
Wal-Mart, employees, especially women, are not treated as well and they are the ones who
usually grant the one day sick leave. For most people in college, thinking about having babies
and raising a family is not what first comes to mind. The problem in other countries is that
women in their teens and on do have to think about that. Every day hundreds of women are
raped and impregnated against their will and are forced out of jobs to raise the children. Gender
inequality comes into effect here because childbirth is a natural process in ones life. It has
clearly been around since the beginning of time and is not going to stop happening. Countries
that do not guarantee paid maternity leave for employees are greatly hurting the population. In
countries such as Mexico and Italy, birth rates are very low because there are not enough

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resources for women to be raising a family. Having a child is a huge expense, especially for
single women who barely have enough money for themselves. In order to go back to work after
having a child, you have to have a caregiver or daycare system in place which costs a lot of
money. In Mexico the average price for a five day daycare plan is 1500 pesos or $150 U.S.
Dollars. For a woman to be able to pay for daycare and have leftover money to live comfortably
is not common. Men who work the same jobs as women tend to make more money just on the
basis of gender. These inequalities challenge women to fulfill their natural duty of childbirth
making it impossible for women to grow and flourish on their own and not have a man
supporting them.
In a political setting, based on the history of the U.S., we have never had a female
President or Vice President. Women are still in our modern day seen as unequal to men
especially when it comes to having gross amounts of power such as running the country.
According to CNN the U.S. has a larger gender gap than 22 other countries. The advanced,
equality focused nation that we call the U.S. is further behind than we thought. In congress only
98 of the 535 seats are filled by women. Thats just 18% and that number is not growing fast.
Iceland has had for five straight years, the closest gap in gender equality, closely followed by
other Nordic countries. The U.S. is seen as such a great place for immigrants to come for equal
opportunities for all but women are still lacking in certain departments. The U.S. does have a

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large amount of economic and academic opportunities for women; they are still not scoring high
on political empowerment. Women are seen as inferior to men in the aspect of not being able to
handle large amounts of stress and deal with many different situations at once. When you take
those specifications and look at a womans daily life, multitasking and high stress environments
are typically easier managed by women since they have experience in these fields from raising
children and organizing families. Other countries such as India and Ireland have had female
heads of state 21 out of the last 50 years. The equality for these women in countries help them as
a whole since there are many beneficial factors that women leaders bring to the table as opposed
to male leaders. In March of 2008, CBS did a poll of 1,067 voters and found that 39 percent of
voters said women face more obstacles in a presidential race as opposed to the 33 percent who
said a black candidate faces more problems. In our society, we are said to be an equal rights
country giving everybody the opportunity to attain political roles. With that said why does it
matter if you are black or a woman running for president? Shouldnt it be the issues that they
side with in which your deciding factor is voted on? This is not the case. Women are at a
disadvantage mainly due to history and stereotypes that are harming women from coming into
power.
There is not much that we can do as citizens to change the fact that women are not in
power other than to vote them in. That is not to say that we have to have women overtake the
government, rather there needs to be less prejudice and judgment about women having power

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heavy jobs especially in government settings. In Mexico, there are no women in power in any
government position. Leticia Narvaez (president of the Mexican Association of Women
Executives, argues that the acceptance of women in politics and business has improves a lot
over the past 15 years. She also argues that solidarity is essential. For all the success there is
still a long way to go. Some companies, she points out, still specifically seek men rather than
women to fill executive positions. And official figures confirm a continuing gap in income
between the sexes. In Mexico, women would have to be paid 14.4% more to bring them up to
equal pay with men. Women are not able to rise up against the laws set in place because there is
such a gender gap and the resources that the women are not able to attain in poorer countries
such as Mexico are all controlled by the men in the society.
Gender inequality and violence has been a major issue in poorer male dominated
countries such as Mexico and Nicaragua. Since there is such a large gap in these countries,
violence arise because men have ideals instilled into their brains based on outside factors and
historical logic that they are better than women. With this mentality, men believe that they are
able to control women hurt them physically and emotionally since that is how it has been in the
past. In the book If I Die in Juarez, women are victimized on a daily basis. Early on in the
books, we see that Petra takes on the role of bread winner in her family when her father becomes
ill and they move to Juarez. She is responsible for making money to help pay for her fathers
medical treatment. Evita is a victim of gender inequality in Juarez based purely on the fact that

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she is raped. Women in this situation do not hold any power and are basically at the mercy of the
men in the community. In the situation that all the people are in with regards to Juarez, women
would not be able to take on toe role of raping the men. The women on the streets of Juarez are
harassed, raped, and killed every day. There is now way about justifying the situations other than
saying that the men were raised to treat women a certain way and they do not believe what they
are doing is wrong. According to Lopez-Lozano, there is a theory that the femicides are being
committed for political reasons.(Ruvalcaba 144) The control that the maquiladoras holdover
female production goes back to the point stated earlier referencing maternity leave. It is more
cost effective for these employers to regulate pregnancy and not hire pregnant women due to
having to pay them maternity leave. The femicides correlate with this issue in that many
pregnant women are killed and there goes the employers having to pay maternity leave.
It is a sad thing to have to think about in our society. Women being killed off just so
employers do not have to compensate these women while they are not working. In our society, if
a pregnant mother was killed by an employer it would be greatly discussed and if there were
links tying the murder back to the employer there would be repercussions. With the culture and
society of Mexican countries, especially in Juarez, women are seen as so little compared to men
that there is really no help or effort made to keep the women safe. The frequent rapes and
victimization of Evita, Petra, and Mayela help paint a picture of what it is like to live in a society
in which women are not cherished as they are in ours.

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Gender inequality can be changed all throughout the world. Countries such as Norway
and Sweden have figured out a system where there is a balance between gender representation in
the workforce and in politics. Stereotypes will always effect and society usually in a negative
light and there is nothing to do to change that except to prove them wrong. Women are just as
able if not more able pending on the circumstance to run a large corporation or hold a high power
job in the government. It has been seen based on polls taken over the past ten years that there has
been upward movement for women in our society and other countries such as Mexico. Granted
we (U.S.) are more evolved in gender equality than other countries that do not have the resource
that we do, does not mean that they cannot catch up to us. These countries need help from
outside factors to initiate in changing their current systems and to kick start future change.
Gender inequality is also becoming a broader topic in which more factors are now being
added. There are transgenders in our society which throws another mix of people in the grand
scheme of things. The biggest problem in inequality lies in the fact that men, especially in
Mexico, do not believe that they are doing anything wrong. The actions that they take against
hurting and abusing women is not entirely frowned upon which hurts the society as a whole.
When these things are not addressed by law enforcement or anybody standing up for the women,
nothing in the societies will change. The women also do not have a large support group other
than the other women who have fallen victim of these gender hate crimes. The injured and

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afflicted bond together through their experiences and try to bring awareness to the issue. The
biggest issue arises when you have such a strong male presence, women become fearful of what
would happen if they were to rise up against the men. If there was gender equality in al societies,
yes hate crimes would still exist, but the support group for those struggling would be much
stronger and they would be able to accomplish much more in fixing the future for their children.
References
A few shots at power. (2003, September 20). Retrieved April 25, 2015, from
http://www.economist.com/node/2076710
Duarte, S. (2008). If I die in Juarez. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from
http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/elections/preswatch_polling.php
Practical Life in Mexico City. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from
http://www.easyexpat.com/en/guides/mexico/mexico-city/practical/babysitting.htm
Ruvalcaba, H. (2010). Gender violence at the U.S.-Mexico border: Media representation and
public response. Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press.
The U.S. has a larger gender gap than 22 other countries including Germany. (n.d.). With too few
women in politics, U.S. ranks 23rd on gender equality. Retrieved April 28, 2015, from
http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/24/news/economy/gender-equality/
Women in Mexico's Workforce | Americas Quarterly. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from
http://americasquarterly.org/content/women-in-mexicos-workforce

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Honor Code: I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this assignment nor have
I tolerated any violation of the McDaniel Honor Code.