“We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back”, were the famous words that then 16-year-old, Nobel prize winning Malala Yousafzai spoke to the world in 2013. The issue to which she was referring: sexism- an antiquated form of prejudice that runs deep in our society- so deep that it is too often just acquiesced, or is simply regarded as ‘just a myth’. However, I, just as Malala, think that the apathy and repudiation of the subject are deeply, deeply wrong. Sexism is not a myth. The gender wage gap and taxation of women's health care products are not myths. Nor are the staggering figures of sexual assault of females, or crippling gender-based attitudes, particularly those found in ‘Rape Culture’, myths. These issues are all very real and very damaging. So how have we allowed ourselves to ignore a predicament of such immensity? If there is one thing I know, it is that this inane omission has to stop, and the dissertating of these discriminatory …show more content…
You see, despite the changes the US has undergone in the past few decades, there remains major prejudicial issues in regards to equality in the economic system; for instance, with the notable gender wage gap, which, also, still disproportionately impacts women of color. This is not a feminist myth to be debunked. This is inequality. And, with current rates putting an estimate of over 43 years before the US can expect to see women be paid the same amount as men for the same work, there needs to be something done now. Women are just as competent and able as men, so why then, even as we go into better paying jobs, are, as 19-year-old Nina Donovan so rightly put it, ‘our wages still cut with blades sharpened by testosterone?’. As though it may seem trivial bringing up the issue of just a few extra cents, consider this: cents add up to dollars which add up to thousands over a lifetime of work- is it right to lose all this simply for having been born a
Despite the manifestation of Rosie the Riveter propaganda and the continuous push to recruit women, they still were not granted equal pay for their services. This was true in the 1940’s and it’s still a relevant issue today. Then, it was rare for women to earn even slightly more than fifty cents to every man’s dollar. Now, the average woman earns anywhere from sixty to eighty percent of a man’s salary for the exact same job. Ranges vary depending on the specific career field. However, women of minorities remain stuck in injustice systematic trends. The pay rate for a female minority is still approximately fifty percent.
Though any pay disparity between women and men is a pressing issue, the “wage gap” is much more complicated than people believe because of misleading statistics, unaccounted for variables, and the different social and economic choices of men and women. The common idea that women make 77 cents on every dollar men make in the workplace is very misleading. It is true, however, this statistic ignores any factors that justify different pay. The wage gap is just the difference
Malala Yousafzai is an activist for women’s rights and education rights (Yousafzai). According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary sexism by definition is “unfair treatment of people because of their sex.” An example of sexism in I Am Malala is a man by the name of Maulana Fazlullah has a radio station called Mullah FM (Yousafzai 114). Fazlullah had broadcasts aimed towards women (Yousafzai 115). Fazlullah said “Women are meant to fulfill their responsibilities in the home. Only in emergencies can they go outside, but then they must wear the veil” (Yousafzai 115). This degrades the women of Pakistan because they are not allowed to live to their full potential. The biggest example of sexism in Malala Yousafzai’s autobiography is when she was shot in the head by the Taliban on the bus home from school (242). The men walked on the bus and asked “Who is Malala?” (242). The men were on a mission to kill her because she stood up for what she believes is right. Malala Yousafzai’s autobiography is an example of social inequality because it depicts the sexism that took place in Taliban-controlled
Sexism is the ideology that maintains that one sex is inherently inferior to the other. Sexism or discrimination based on gender has been a social issue for many years; it is the ideology that one sex is superior or inferior to the other. Sexism does not only affect females, but also males. Men are very often victimized by social stereotypes and norms based on gender expectations. Sexism has appears in almost all social institutions including family, the media, religion, sports, the military, politics, and the government. However, although both genders are affected, men have benefited from sexism the most (Thompson 300-301.)
The reality of wage differences between men and women is that above all changes women continue to earn less than men. Countless arguments have promoted that wage inequality has changed and that everyone finally receives an equal amount of pay. “For women of color, the gap is largest of all: In 2006, black and Hispanic women earned 86 and 87 cents on the white man’s dollar, respectively,” (Mcswane 2). If a woman is lucky enough she will get an equal pay compared to a man doing the same job. But it is challenging for a woman of a minority background to achieve this. Not only are women paid less because of their sex, but also because of their race. There seems to be a mentality that because someone is a woman and a minority that they cannot do the same job as men or that women do not have the same education as the men, so employers do not have to pay them the same. “When the numbers are broken down by district, they 're pretty hard to ignore. Women in Texas are being utterly screwed financially, according to the data compiled by AAWU, with women earning anywhere from 66 percent of what men do in some districts, to the top end of things, which is about 89 percent,” (Leicht 4). The proof cannot be ignored. It i...
Under the Equal Pay Act of 1863, the gender wage gap supposedly no longer exists, but the facts are that “as of 2012 women in the U.S. earn 77 cents to a man's dollar” (ProQuest Staff). Men try to justify this unjust statistic by saying that “wage gap isn't necessarily the result of discrimination” (ProQuest Staff). Although, there is no logical reasoning behind it. When women are actually given the same jobs as men they may be paid the same but typically, they are not able to reach the higher positions in the company that men do. Even with their 77 cents to a man’s dollar, “women still tend to bear a larger responsibility for child care and other household matters within families” (Mazorelle). Women are not given the opportunity to earn as much as men and then they still have to take on a majority of the responsib...
When President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 into law, he hoped that it would allow working women to finally earn the same amount of money as men; however, more than half a century later, men continue to out earn women in almost every field of work (Lipman para. 4). Male dominated fields tend to pay more than female dominated fields at similar skill levels. In 2012, women earned an average of $691 per week while men earned an average of $854 per week. Furthermore, the majority of women remain unaware that they are earning less than their male colleagues (Hegewisch para. 1). The gender wage gap not only harms a woman’s ability to provide for herself, it also harms many children and families. Women are now the primary caregivers
Wage inequalities are not a result of women’s qualifications or choices. Wage discrimination persists despite women’s increased educational attainment, greater level of experience in the workforce, and decreased amount of time spent out of the workforce raising children. • Education. Although the number of women attaining baccalaureate and advanced degrees now surpasses the number of men, in 1999 the median wages of female college graduates were $14,665 less than those of male graduates. College-educated African American women earn only $1,500 more than white male high school graduates.
Did you know that the youngest Nobel Prize winner is Malala Yousafzai? She showed us that every voice matters, education should be given to girls as well and; she is fighting for equality between genders. Even though Malala proves us all those things, some people still consider that equality between genders is not relevant. People should not think that way because gender equality is crucial. I believe that women should be treated equally as men. My three main points that back up my thesis are that women work just as hard as men yet men still get paid more which shouldn’t happen, without equality, women are getting physically abused, and women have contributed to the discovery of amazing things just like men.
For many years in United States, equal salary pay for women has been a major issue that women have been fighting for decades. This began back in World War II, when the National Labor Board urged equalize the salary rates for women with the same rates that males were getting of the same professions. (Rowen) Although, traditionally most women do not work to provide for there family and there are not so many independent women during World War II. After World War II more women lost their jobs to veterans returning to the workforce. Women in the workforce after the war have been discriminated ever since. The idea of women as weak and cannot perform there jobs
Have you ever felt discriminated against in the workplace? Usually, women are the most common people that are mistreated in the workplace. There are many reasons why women are discriminated against, but none of them are excuses for women for not being successful. Women face sexism by getting less pay than men, not getting promoted as equally as men, and facing other gender stereotypes, but sexism can be solved by women confronting their internal and external barriers and finding people that can help women.
1. My result for hostile sexism was between zero and one, while my score for benevolent sexism was between one and two. My scores were closest to the average female and male in England and Australia for benevolent sexism. However, my hostile sexism was very low compared to all the countries that were listed. My scores surprised me, because I did not expect my benevolent sexism score to be closest to England or Australia. More simply, I did not expect other females and males to have similar scores, so the graphs were shocking. My results were furthest from Cuba, Nigeria, and Syria. My scores for hostile and benevolent sexism were very low compared to average women and men in Nigeria, Syria, and Cuba. I was not surprised by these results, because these countries are known to practice traditional gender roles. In other words, I was not surprised that
It is very important to be concerned about the issue because it is constantly increasing throughout the United States. It upsets me that women are paid less than men because women have the same ability and work ethic as men do, but they are looked at differently. According to AAUW, women make 77 percent of what men make. This rate hasn’t changed since 2002 (Hill, 2013). Statistics show that women will never make as much as men due to the thought of never being comparable to men (Williams, 2013).
I wonder what it will be like 2,000 years from now. I picture radiant and glossy skyscrapers that look like they touch the clouds. I see children riding to school on hover boards and in flying cars. Honestly, I see nothing that I look forward to. When I picture the future, I see a world overrun by technology, dull and heartless people, and everything looking exactly the same as everything else. That is how the media has portrayed it for me. I wonder if there will be an extraordinary 17 year old who will sacrifice his/her life for a cause that could end sexism, or if someone will create something that could be a scientific breakthrough, or even if new doors of hope and freedom open after a tragedy that brought a whole country to its knees.
In today’s society, Women perform similar jobs to men. Whether it’s blue or white collar jobs, women are always present and thriving for success balancing a life of business and family. In the job market, some are graduates of the best schools and have interned at the best firms, but are still not compensated as equally as men. Following the recent comments by the CEO of Microsoft concerning women asking for raises and how they should trust the system to install equality, the issue seems to be still present, and women’s work is not rewarded similarly to men’s.