GENDER EQUALITY
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Introduction
Gender is explained as the roles and responsibilities of male and female that are generated from our families, communities and cultures. Gender equality means that men and women have equal opportunities for recognizing their full human rights and for participating in, benefiting from socioeconomic, political and cultural development. Therefore, it means that there is an equal value by the societies of similarities and differences between women and men and the roles that they play ( Waylen, 2014). It is based on men and women as the full partners in their homes, societies, schools and workplaces. Both men and women can become aware of their social roles that will help in developing the nation in terms of economic, political and cultural development. Gender equality has continued to create awareness regarding the role of women in today’s world.
There have been arguments regarding the status of women in the workplaces around the globe. Many times, women have been perceived to be weak and looked upon in various department despite their contribution to the world today. This paper, therefore, aims to identify gender equality in the world today (Stoet & Geary, 2018). The Commission on the Status of Women which is the principal universal intergovernmental body that is exclusively dedicated to the gender equality promotion and women empowerment will be used to analyze gender equality. This paper will use feminist theory to explain women’s rights and their role in the growing world. Documenting women’s lives and promoting their rights in the world and shaping the standards of the world is essential because it will help vulnerable women by acting as their voice.
Analysis
The Commission on the Status of Women is mandated was expanded and decided that it must take a leading role in evaluating and reviewing the growth and the issues about gender equality. The commission embraces multi-year programs of work to monitor the progress and make future recommendations that could help ensure that there is gender equality. It strengthens the need to help women and girls project their voices so that they can be heard and makes sure that there are high-level engagement and the visibility of the Commissions deliberation encompassing high-level dialogue to share experiences and lesson s and good practices that they have learned (Cuong & Tarp, 2018). Furthermore, it asses the progress in the execution of agreed conclusions from past sessions to provide solutions for the challenges that might arise in future.
Stereotypes
Both men and women have roles and responsibilities that they are ascribed to by society. This leads to many assumptions regarding the role of each individual at home, school, society or workplaces. Women are discriminated or excluded in various aspects because of stereotypical expectations, perceptions and behaviours (Darmstadt et al., 2019). For example, women’s roles within the family result in the division of labour within households that mostly result in time poverty for women especially those who have a low level of education. This results in human rights violations and essential freedoms.
Social Change
This creates an environment where women and girl’s self-efficacy is built so that they can make good decisions for their lives whether they are at home or their workplaces. Good relationships with individuals will help in the transformations that will lead to sociocultural, economical, and political development. It will also give women the power to showcase their leadership skills and their contributions (Crespi & Lomazzi, 2018). Also, it enables people especially young girls and women to be confident, believe in themselves and fight for their right so that they can create a better future for the coming generation.
Historical interpretation
During a two week annual session, the representatives of United Nation Member State, civil society organizations and United Nations entities gather at UN headquarters in New York discussed the development and the gaps in the execution of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and emerging issues that have an impact on gender equality and women empowerment. Furthermore, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission resolution in 2015/6 engaged in a discussion on the gender equality status, realizing the attained goals and efforts that are underway in closing the gaps and meeting the challenges (Commission on the Status of Women, n.d.).
Current perceptions
Both men and women differ in their gender perceptions. Men believe that they are superior to women whereas women believe that they should be given equal opportunities like men. This explains why women are judged most of the times and men are given the forefront of every decision making (O’Neil, Denke & Blazina, 2016). This has resulted in cruel treatment for women in various social institutions such as schools as they are given roles that align with societal expectations. Additionally, some women find themselves marginalized by the gap between the formal processes that are designed to deal with inequalities and the institutional cultures and practices geared towards selection and promotion. This leads to a toxic work environment and discrimination of women.
Sociological theory
Gender and Conflict theory
This theory identifies society as a competition for minimum resources. This focuses on the analysis of limitations faced by women when they have equality with men claims. Also, it examines the gendered nature of human social interactions that influence fighting for women’s rights (Crespi & Lomazzi,). Social institutions such as education, religion and government reflects on this competition in their inherent inequalities and assist in maintaining the unequal structure.
References
Commission on the Status of Women. (n.d.). Retrieved June 02, 2020, from https://www.unwomen.org/en/csw
Crespi, I., & Lomazzi, V. (2018). Gender mainstreaming and gender equality in Europe: Policies, legislation and Eurobarometer surveys. Studi Di Sociologia, 56, 23-40.
Cuong, N., & Tarp, F. (2018). Changing male perceptions of gender equality: Evidence from an experimental study.
Darmstadt, G. L., Heise, L., Gupta, G. R., Henry, S., Cislaghi, B., Greene, M. E., … & Levy, J. K. (2019). Why now for a Series on gender equality, norms, and health?. The Lancet, 393(10189), 2374-2377.
O’Neil, J. M., Denke, R., & Blazina, C. (2016). Gender role conflict theory, research, and practice: implications for understanding the human-animal bond. In Men and Their Dogs (pp. 11-45). Springer, Cham.
Stoet, G., & Geary, D. C. (2018). The gender-equality paradox in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Psychological science, 29(4), 581-593.
Waylen, G. (2014). Informal institutions, institutional change, and gender equality. Political Research Quarterly, 67(1), 212-223.