“ For years, the Caribbean has been plagued with the pervasive and enduring problem of gender inequality. Gender, as a social construct, became popular during the 1960’s and 70’s and refers to “a set of qualities and behaviors expected from males and females by society” (United States Agency for International Development [USAID], 2005, p.12). While ‘sex’ refers to differences between males and females which are biologically determined and constant, ‘gender’ refers to those differences which are socially constructed and subject to change” (Coomarsingh & →, 2017) Despite many assumptions, gender equality is not limited to creating advancement and advantages for women. Instead, it simply aims to promote equal rights and access to …show more content…
Such stereotypes have been constructed based on characteristics and behaviors that are associated with an individual’s gender. Additionally, most assigned gender roles, have been learnt at an early age, through the process of gender socialization. While the community and society play a large part in instilling such roles, the first and primary agent of socialization is the family. Distinctions in gendered roles, are heavily seen and perpetuated in Caribbean families, where male figures are protectors and financial provides, while women care for the home and children etc. Gendered based toys, attitudes and behaviors, are gender specific, and hence why inequalities between genders are accepted as the norm, from an early age. Many Caribbean families enforce that girls participate in domestic chores within the home, while mail chores tend to be outdoors. Furthermore, girls are more ‘sheltered’ and guarded than their male siblings. It becomes evident that from an early age, a girl is taught that her place is in the home, but is not the case for …show more content…
They have to live up to societies expectations, which states that men are able to be providers (breadwinners). Furthermore, due to the biological advantage of being able to bear children, women are automatically viewed as women, however; men must prove their “manhood”. Men are also termed as being “macho” which entails a complex variety of attitudes, expectations and performances (Wilson 1969). As in the case of Puerto Rico, men are socialized from childhood to be aggressive and even the use of male is interchangeable with the word “macho”. The male has to express himself with caution so as not to be perceived as feminine or weak, for example he should not cry or become emotional. At times, being unemployed or unable to provide for his family, cause males to feel “less than a man” and their self esteem and worth is threatened. A mans ability to financially secure his family, display his sexual prowess, pass on his family names wins him respect and proves his manhood. According to (Wilson 1969) male morality becomes the center of a rational system of value and their virility is manifested in their sexual activities and
Female children born into low income families in Jamaica and other islands of the Caribbean are burdened with a stereotype that their male counterparts will never know. When faced with the gender oppression their society has constantly been feeding, and the fact that so many women must act as the single financial heads of their families, many women of the Caribbean must settle for low paying occupations associated with 'female' or domestic labor. For women born into families at the bottom of the economic ladder, there is little hope of social mobility or escape from the fist of poverty. In most cases, the cycle continues to feed itself from mother to daughter. In my paper I will demonstrate this cycÀle by examining the Caribbean women's role in the family as head of the household and the education, employment and survival strategies characteristic to many of these women. I will conclude my paper by discussing some of the new organizations and movements that have surfaced in the Caribbean within the past thirty years that are fighting for women's empowerment.
The Structure of families is sometimes based on gender. Gender roles in the Dominican Republic are similar to the roles that use to be the norm in America and that is still present in some households. The men are treated as superiors while women are seen as house wives. Women are the primary caregiver, either through divorce or widowhood or if the husband is working far away from home (“Roles of Women”). Also women are expected to be dedicated in being a mother and a daughter and by their late twenties to be married (“Dominican Republic Traditions and Etiquette”). It is interesting that they are expected to be married at a certain age. The men take on the role that is traditional which is being the one who enforces rules. The role of the men and women is also based on the social class they are in. The middle and upper class families are called patriarchal and the father is the norm (“Dominican Family Structure”). In the lower classes of the Dominican Republic the women are taking on the role of the men, which is to support the family. In the lower class families the structure is sometimes matriarchal because the father does not live in the house (“Dominican Family Structure”). It is interesting that depending on the social class it determines the structure of the household. Also the family structure can also depend on the oldest married couple or within their extended family the oldest male would holds authority....
Women have been oppressed in many places and in many different ways over the years, but in Jamaica this continuing trend is finally to be broken. "Sexual or gender inequality represents as essential and integral feature of social relations and culture construction in Jamaica, where for the past four hundred years colonial and imperialist exploitation has governed the development of economic, political, and sociocultural patterns and structures."(Harrison: Women in Jamaica's Urban Informal Economy pg. 12)
For instance the mortality rate is described as girls having better chance of surviving than boys; according to MacCormack (1988) “this unusual imbalance in mortality rates suggests that Jamaican mothers are investing more care in daughters than in sons” (Sargent, 204). Therefore, creating an environment where boys have a higher rate of obtaining a disease compared to girls, since it’s mention how “Jamaican mothers expect much from their daughters, she argues that the concern they express for the well-being and future success of their female children is reflected in infant and child mortality statistics in Jamaica” (Sargent, 203). Upon, Mothers expressing more care for their daughters, their sons will feel the neglection due to the fact that they don’t expect much from them. Additionally, Jamaican mothers raise their children according to their gender, it’s brought up that the mothers support their female children in order to have better future, compared to their male children, according to
Ever since the women’s suffrage movement of the 1920s, there has been a push for eliminating sexism and providing equality between men and women, especially in the workplace. The United States, along with most of the world, has made great strides in gender equality since then. Women can vote, and have careers, and men are able to stay home with the children if they choose to. But are the sexes really equal now? There are three common answers to this question. Some say yes, while the most common answer is no. The debate does not end there, however. It is typically assumed gender inequality is oppressing women and limiting their rights. Regardless, there are those who say the system is harming men instead. So, if gender inequality still exists,
Gender stratification can be described as unequal power, wealth, and privileges between men and women. This stratification is more generally aimed at women who are oppressed in the work place, economic class status, and many other aspects of life because of their gender. We can blame this on the patriarchal culture that we prescribe too, where males hold primary power and privileges in our society. Two of the most common aspects of gender stratification that we see in the United States includes the wage gap between men and women and the violence that women face. There are many more aspects to gender stratification, however, these two topics seem to be a gender stratification problem all over the world.
Women have been treated unequally since the beginning of time. Just recently have things began to change for the better for women and the future of our society. The increase in women’s equality rights will take time, but some day women and men will be treated equally. This cannot happen until each of us is able to look at a person and just see another individual, not a male or a female, white or black, rich or poor… a person as just a person.
Many laws and regulations are implemented everyday into our society, involving equal rights for all. But, even with being in the year 2015; there is still much discrimination and inequality seen throughout many different institutions. Gender inequality is defined as unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on gender. This has been seen for many decades now, revolving mainly against women. Throughout history to even today, men have always been seen as the stronger, faster, and harder working gender as opposed to women. Today, with more women being seen working at larger firms and corporations, we still see many obstacles and challenges that they must face. While many women have fought for equality in the workplace, it is still a
Gender inequality can be quite different when considering the varying perspectives of all different kinds of women throughout history. For a middle class white woman of the 19th century, gender inequality can be as simple as “men are superior to women” and because of that they have rights and privileges women don’t, but for a black woman of the 20th century, gender inequality isn’t just defined by men being superior to women because the sexism black women face is affected by racism.
The equality between men and women is an integral part of human rights, it is also a prerequisite for democracy and social justice. Any democratic state seeks to promote gender equality in all spheres of life. Despite the creation of a strong legal framework to ensure the principle of equality of both sexes, the gap between men and women about their capabilities remains significant (Pomeroy, 72).
From the beginning of time, females have played a powerful role in the shaping of this world. They have stood by idly and watched as this country moved on without them, and yet they have demanded equal rights as the nation rolls along. Through the years the common belief has been that women could not perform as well as men in anything, but over the years that belief has been proven wrong time and time again. So as time marches on, women have clawed and fought their way up the ladder to gain much needed equal respect from the opposite sex. However, after many years of pain and suffering, the battle for equal rights has not yet been won. Since women have fought for a long time and proven their importance in society, they deserve the same rights as men.
Throughout history an even today, Caribbean scholars contend that Caribbean relations are characterized by an interplay of race, class and gender. Clarke agree with this statement and said that, “The social structure of the Caribbean region is based on differences associated with class, race or colour, ethnicity and culture (Clarke, 2013). These three (3) components of race, class and gender affect each other in one way or the other. In other word, one’s class position may be dependent on his or her race or gender or one’s gender may determine his or her class position in society. It is important to note that the interplay of race, class and gender in the Caribbean differs from island to island. This essay will discuss the extent to which
Do we truly understand how the meaning to equality among men and women affect society. Jobs, health, and education are affected by what transpires from the meaning to gender equality. Throughout history equality has been debated. Equality is defined as getting respect and giving respect regardless of gender or culture through fair treatment and maximized happiness. Balance and harmony are developed from the application of ethical theories to aid society in defining the meaning to gender equality rather than debating the issue. Therefore, defining gender equality should be the role of society by utilizing ethical theories. The theories can be consequentialist or nonconsequentialist acts that develop and maintain good morality and ethical
Equality is a concept mankind never is able to grasp correctly. Of course humans will always search for different solutions to create fairness, but factors such as human greed, ignorance of mass populations, and even biological aspects stagnates the process of equality. The oldest and most relevant discussion on equality lies with the difference of sex; man versus woman. Initially, men, because of their physical superiority, were given the prospects many women never even dreamt to have. Conversely, as time has progressed, women have fought this unfair treatment with demands of suffrage and similar rights to those of their male equivalents. Greatly enough, this generation has done an exceptional job in the challenge of overcoming sexism and inequality. However, will this search for equality ever end? When can we say we have created an equal race of men and women? The fact of the matter is that it is truly impossible to have equality between the sexes because of predisposed circumstances that are not easily controllable in the slightest bit.
Gender is defined as the scopes of genetic, physical, mental and behaviour characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity and feminity, meanwhile inequality is defined as in a situation where there is an unfair situation or treatment in which certain people have more privileges or better opportunities or chances than other people. Thus, from the definition stated gender inequality refers to unequal or unfair management, treatment, or perceptions of persons or individuals are based on their gender. In a parallel sense, gender inequality can be said as the world in which there was discrimination against anyone based on gender. In this introductory, the general understanding of gender inequalities will be discussed further into three significant factors that influence the allocation of housework between men and women. Household chores can be classified as cleaning, cooking and paying bills. Division of housework serves as an important element in the continuation of the function of a family and it requires contribution from both spouses (Tang, 2012). However, current society’s perception on housework is based on gender, so the three major factors that influence the division of household chores within the couples are education level, economic resources, and time availability (refer to Figure1 in Appendix 1).