Gender Inequality

Most societies in the world are divided based on some criteria. These can be religion, age, social class, and others. However, the most controversial one is gender. For a long time, in different places in the world, people have been regarded differently on the basis of whether they are males and females. The most crucial reasoning behind this is inherent biological differences between men and women. These two groups also differ in their emotional and mental responses to various human factors, due to some people argue that even nature has given them different roles. However, despite stereotypes connected with the latter, men and women should have equal opportunities in all spheres.

In some communities, these differences have been misunderstood and are utilized to segregate and even dehumanize one gender. It has a negative impact, as each gender makes approximately a half of the world population. It means that a human society cannot develop fully, if one gender is not included in the development process (World Bank, 2011).

Sociologists suggest that gender inequality results into the unequal perception of people on the basis of gender. This issue arises due to various male and female roles, due to there are expectations attached to both men and women in society. The promoters of gender inequality also focus on biological differences in the physical structure of each gender. These lead to dichotomy, according to which all human beings are divided into two groups. Gender inequality is also called sex inequality (Jacobsen, 2007).

Sociology studies a human society scientifically. It deals with social evolution and the organization of various human set-ups. Due to the use of scientific principles in studying human lives, it becomes a social science. Therefore, it is a very crucial branch of this study that guides research that informs of social welfare and the respective policy. Sociology also seeks to establish a behavior that is modest and acceptable in a social setting. It emphasizes the importance of not overdoing anything socially and expounds that too much of something is poisonous, while too little may be inadequate. The social part of a human being is very crucial and affects all other aspects due to the interconnected nature of human behaviors.

Today’s society is in the depth of gender inequality. It is evident in various spheres. The level varies and the form, in which it occurs, is also different. The most basic inequality is probably connected with languages. Since the early period in the evolution of human beings, the language has been used to show that some occupations are reserved for one gender, and others for the other, Similarly, better rewarding ones are taken by males (Pemberton, 2002). It has also been supported by payment and remuneration systems that reward men, but not women. In the current society, this leads to confusion and increased levels of poverty in families that are headed by women.

In the olden days, almost all families were headed by men, who were also breadwinners. However, nowadays, the roles have changed, and some families are headed by women. As seen in some organizations, some employers pay women less than men. For this reason, families that are headed by females have fewer resources to spend, namely money, and, hence, face increased poverty levels and vulnerability.

Another form of gender inequality was brought about by the feeling that the male gender was stronger. For this reason, jobs that were thought to require more strength were given to men. The term “strength” is very subjective, and the definition can vary. Due to different types of this concept, every human being has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. This reasoning was just a form of ensuring that the female gender was not empowered. It is very detrimental to any society, which is composed of roughly the same number of men and women. Any attempt to avoid or prevent the empowerment of any gender leaves society impoverished.

An inferiority complex among men has also informed of a wide range of cruelty towards women. This vice has been used to direct violence and physical assault towards the latter. In most cases, the apparatus aimed to check fair coexistence between two genders is skewed towards making men powerful. It is a misinformed stand that has worked only to degrade society, which is made up of adults and children. The female gender is naturally gifted to take care of young members of the society, and if it is left behind, the latter are left without proper care.

The availability of opportunities is also a very crucial aspect of society. From the origin, evolution and formulation of structures by human beings, men aimed at controlling this issue. Various sociological researches and experiments have been carried out on this crucial subject. In the USA, these are conducted to identify the ability of various social welfare programs to correct gender-based inequality regarding income distribution. Other sociologists have also carried out various researches to identify the effects of various modes of the distribution of resources across the population. In relation to this, it has been found out that the old African and Chinese tradition of availing opportunities to a boy child has only persistent adverse effects.

Modern society has to do something with the issue of the availability of opportunities. Most importantly, it has to work and ensure that there are enough of them for all. After that, these opportunities should be availed in all aspects of human life, such as economic, social, political, and cultural. However, due to it is not enough, modes to ensure that these opportunities are availed for all people should be sought. For instance, there is the need to have as many women in leadership positions as men.

Although the USA is the country that has managed to increase woman representation, much more can be done, as elective opportunities are not equally shared. Similarly, in the religious realm, men have also many opportunities with the remaining few being reserved for women. It is also the case in the corporate world, where males have taken a larger share of jobs. Nevertheless, it is important to note that this sphere has taken the lead in availing opportunities to both genders equally. However, the point of the equality of quantity between the two groups is still to be achieved (Namie & To?ru, 2009).

Sociologists have to come up with ways of correcting this. Being experts in this field, they should also come up with the means of informing the public and society of how to rectify this. In the USA, they are voluntary advisers of various welfare programs. It is sometimes inadequate, due to it covers openly vulnerable people. Some groups are not classified as vulnerable despite them being openly unprivileged. The fact that few women are employed in various sectors as compared to men makes them a subtly vulnerable group. Another factor that makes them vulnerable is that some firms pay them less than their male counterparts.

One more factor that has made women vulnerable and increased gender inequality is the changing role of females in society. Many firms and the government continue to recognize men as breadwinners in their families. It has been used as the reason for paying them more. However, some men are no longer breadwinners. This role has been taken over by women successfully. The situation becomes worse, due to it is not accompanied by a salary increment and strains the resources earned by such women. Some sociologists and lawyers have to come up with measures to improve this (Hill, 2011).

Some measures have been taken to reduce the effects of the unfortunate circumstances mentioned above. Such include child support laws and social welfare programs, which gave arguably reduced gender inequality. However, it is important to note that there are few challenges facing the implementation of these laws. Sometimes people, who have been previously the proponents of this inequality, are charged with the responsibility of ending or reducing it, and it complicates the issue. Moreover, this has been worse in some parts of the world, where people believe that one gender should be subject to the other. The very thought of treating both genders equally does not go well with them. However, in the USA, this fight has progressed well.

To sum it up, in the USA, both men and women can enjoy almost equal chances, privileges, and opportunities. In such a highly democratized society, some places have fully embraced the ideology of gender equality and equity itself at a very high level (Schmitz, 1996). However, some researches argue that it has occurred to the extent, where women have lost the sense of responsibility due to excessive protection. It is important to note that the main idea is to ensure that there are equal opportunities provided to both genders.