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Impact of gender inequality in the economy
Impact of gender inequality in the economy
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INTRODUCTION
This essay is mainly based on Åsa Löfström´s report Gender equality, economic growth and employment. Åsa Löfström is the Associate Professor at the Department of Economics at the Umeå University in Sweden. During the conference on Female Employment and Economic growths, which took part in Stockholm on 12th September 2013, she presented main questions connected to her report, published in 2009. First question was of whether female employment rate matters for GDP and GDP-growth. If the answer is yes two other questions have to follow: 1. What strategies and actions have to be taken in order to “exploit” the economic potential there is in rising female employment and 2. How to fulfil these actions. The aim of my essay is to discuss the relation between gender equality and economic growth, formulated in three questions, and to illustrate this relation on the example of the European Union.
My essay is divided into two parts. In the first part I am focused on the first question and I analyse Åsa Löfström´s report, OECD and World Bank Group´s documents and the scientific works of other scientists, such as Roger Mortvik and Roland Spant, Mark Smith, Kabeer and Natali. In the second part I am more specific and I try to find answers on the second and third question. Whereas these questions involve the strategies and actions to exploit the economic potential in female employment, I will focus on the EU level to give you a particular example.
1. GENDER EQUALITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Åsa Löfström´s report analyses the connection between gender equality, economic growth and employment. If we want to find an answer on the first question (Whether female employment rate matters for GDP and GDP-growth), we should first...
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...arl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=IM-PRESS&reference=20100127IPR68135&language=LT
More Women Executives and Entrepreneurs Required To Boost EU Economic Growth - EU conference hosted by Gender Equality Minister Kathleen Lynch T.D., 2013
http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/PR13000156
Observatory: European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local life: The European Union and Gender Equality
http://www.charter-equality.eu/the-charter/the-eu-and-gender-equality.html
Gender dimension is also included in the EU 2020 strategy. (http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.soc-opinions.23970)
Gender Equality in Workforce is Central to EU’s targets for Economic Growth, 2013
http://www.eu2013.ie/news/news-items/20130429genderconferencepr/
Gender dimension is also included in the EU 2020 strategy. (http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.soc-opinions.23970)
In her article, “Men and Gender Equality: European Insights”, Ellie Scambor (2014) presents the necessity of recognizing, and including, the male gender and their own relations and struggles in the movement towards gender equality. Acknowledging the often one-dimensional approach of the past, with gender issues and research largely centering around women, Scambor (2014) illustrates the influence and effect that the gender equity movement has had on men, as well as significant data that reflects the shifts, or lack thereof, amongst the male gender in progression towards equality.
Barsh, Joanna and Yee, Lareina. Unlocking the Full Potential of Women in the US Economy. McKinsey & Company. Accessed April 4, 2014.
Iversen, Torben and Frances Rosenbluth. Women, Work, and Power: The Political Economy of Gender Inequality. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010. Kindle E-Book.
During the American Industrial Revolution, women began to work in factories, leading to conflicts in 19th century society that would eventually result in the Cult of Domesticity—the belief that women’s only responsibilities existed at home. This aimed to establish the subservient woman and the husband as the master of the house as the social norm. Kate Chopin's bleak but realistic depiction in her work, The Awakening, reveals her reasonable attitude during the Second Great Awakening in American history. Men coveted control and achieved it by undermining women and being their superior. Society followed a mob mentality and accepted gender inequality as a social norm. Subjugation of women lead to panic and mania in men and the oppression made
There are nearly as many women as there are men working, yet, as it was discovered in 2011, on average, a woman will only earn seventy-seven cents for every dollar that a man earns. Women owned businesses make up for over a quarter of all national businesses and earn more than one point two trillion dollars (“Assessing the Past, Taking Stock of the Future” 6). Since many women are now becoming are the primary sources of income in the household, making less that a man does not only negatively affect families, but also the overall economy suffers as well. These women, among many others, are the ones who end up purchasing the supplies that go toward improving communities and stimulating the economy. There is no reason that the general public should stand for this. Women should be treated equally to men in today’s American society based on their biological compositions, psychological profiles and contributions to history.
Further data shows that in Woman’s lifetime, she will earn 77% of what a man will earn. However, there are controllable factors, such as job position, race, job industry and other factors, which affect the Gender Pay Gap. For instance, the US Department of Labor found that when such factors were considered, the gap ...
The Web. 24 Feb. 2014. " 50 Years of EU Gender Equality Law." EUROPA.
population in the country and because of no fixed salary, some women who can actually obtain a job are only paid a third of what male employees are paid monthly. Much of the gender discr...
...ds & Gelleny, 2007). Moreover, the status of women is independent on policy adjustments in developing countries. Governments in developing countries should organize an economically and political stable environment, to be economically attractive (Maxfield, 1998 as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). Other critics state governments are forced to cut expenditures in education and social programs. This phenomenon especially affects women (Ayres and McCalla, 1997, as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). Since the public sector is one of the main employers of females, women are often the most disadvantaged by governmental efforts to cut expenditures in the public sector (Hemmati and Gardiner, 2004, as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). As a result, women will become unemployed and unable to expanded education among themselves or their children. (Richards & Gelleny, 2007)
Globalisation refers to the shift toward a more integrated and interdependent world economy. It has several factors, including the globalization of markets and the globalization of production (Charles W.L. Hill, 2011). Inequality on the other hand, refers to the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, or opportunities (Oxford Dictionary). Globalization is argued to be the root cause raising the unequal distribution of status, rights and opportunities around the globe. The main problems connected with this 'inequality of distribution' is argued to occur at many different levels, including; inequality between genders, nations, within-nations and others. The main focus of this essay, however, will be based on the impact that globalization may have on gender equality. It would begin with an overview of the common beliefs or arguments of those in favor
The opportunities available to women in the market are not as diverse as those presented to men. Still, the construct of gender ideology influences how employers undertake economic decisions, and that is why companies still have jobs labelled as “men’s work” and occupations categorized as “women’s work.” Indeed, the pervasiveness of gender differences in labor markets is undeniably true, specifically with respect to salary gap between men and women, occupational gender segregation of men and women, and the challenge that women face in terms of juggling their time and attention between their career and family life. There is no denying that the salary of men is far more than that of women’s. In the Great Britain (and other parts of the globe), there are pieces of evidence which suggest that gendered practices of participation in the labor force still have significant impact on the economic security level that men and women develop over the course of their lives (Warren 606).
There are many way in which a man can achieves a higher status than women in today’s society. Galligan (1998) shows that in 1991 women only made up 33.5% of the work force in Ireland. The economic difference between men and women are self explanatory with all the facts and figures given. However, I do not want to concentrate wholly on economic reasons such as minimum wage or women in the workforce but more so I want to concentrate on factors such as women in politics and their participation in important subject matter in parliament. Women receive a lower status then men in terms of education by the lack of respect and recognition they receive even in today’s modern era. But most importantly how women are treated in everyday practice in our society such as the status that is given to women is care givers and the status women hold with children and child-minding and rearing is a major way in which men have a higher status then women in society. I hope to prove that even though much is broadcasted in our media about how equal women are in today’s society, women are in fact, not as equal as perceived
Feminism is the belief in social, economic, and political equality between men and women. For many years women have strived for equality with men, and feminism is helping women to achieve that mark. The issue of feminism has been a part of the culture since the American Revolution, which will be discussed. Feminism is helping the world to expand its growth by providing equal opportunities to both men and women. There has been a drastic change due to feminist approaches to problems faced by women in the social, economic, and political world. So the progress of women from ‘homemakers’ to ‘breadwinners’ is an answer to gender inequality, which indeed existed in society but is now being slowly demolished by feminist approaches.
Discrimination in workplaces is a prevalent issue that is much discussed about all around the world. Gender biasness has become a norm in our everyday life almost in every part of the world. Even the developing countries are not spared from its occurrences but the numbers of cases are lesser as compared to those in the developing and least developed countries. There are different forms in which discrimination may be evident at workplaces. Workplace discrimination is defined as giving an unfair advantage or disadvantage to the members of the particular group in comparison to the members of other groups. This can be exemplified by the wide earning gap that is observed as a universal trend between the average monthly earnings of a men and women. A woman's average page would be consistently lower than a man's. Individuals with equal productivity receive different amount of wages and its is seen to be systematically correlated with certain non-economic characteristics like gender, which would be further discussed in the essay. Despite notable changes in work, meaningful differences in ...
According to Vera Nazarian, “A woman is human. She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less. Equality is a given.” For centuries, gender discrimination and inequality issues concerning employment and wages, has been a serious problem that still is in the midst of being solved. Women excel in all fields and play a vital role in economic development of the country, and their contribution is nothing short of their male counterparts. However, there are still several issues and problems that women face today. Sometimes, they are not treated equally in their workplace and are considered as inferior to their male co-workers. Gender discrimination and inequality issues has been a reoccurring issue for years and because of this, it impedes single and/or married women from acquiring certain occupations or levels of occupations as males, receiving equal wages as males, and therefore affects women’s economic class placement in society.