The Influence Of Social Stratification On Women

A gender that makes up 50% of our population. But, have they been respected and treated justly? Are they getting what they deserve? Even though in western society, women are granted equal rights, there is not enough done to fill the gender gap. Women continue to face many issues that proves that gender inequality still exists in our society. This is apparent in the obstacles they face in their everyday lives and by the way they are not being treated right despite societal gender rights.

Women and girls still continue to face too many obstacles in this male dominated society. For example, women are facing a type of discrimination known as social stratification. According to Khan Academy, social stratification is when “...there is often unfair treatment directed against certain individuals or social groups.” In this case, social stratification is being referred to as women. It could just be the simplest stratification like women get paid less than men. To add on to that, women minority groups such as South Asian women, are marginalized through social stratification. It's the smallest things like them being at the workforce and through immigration. In addition, women are consistently facing a wide range of discrimination. There are many conflicts regarding discrimination towards women that have been continued over many years. For instance, women are pushed into doing certain jobs such as staying at home and doing household chores. Statistics Canada did a study on the amount of time designated to household chores and found that women spend an average of 2 hours and 15 minutes while men only spend an average of 1 hour and 15 minutes. Not only that, but women also face a wide range of discrimination to the point where they are sometimes forced to do low-class jobs. Women working in the same field as men are also very unusual. Rainbo Organization did a study to find that there is still a 20% gap between men and women working in the same field. Speaking of work, there comes the problem with women being paid less than men. The gender pay gap happens worldwide in every single country. The Canadian Women’s Foundation stated that “...women workers in Canada earned an average of 75 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2016.” To add on to work, women are being mistreated and underrepresented in the political world. Even in history and today, there has been a significant lack of women in politics. United Nations Women did some research to find that globally, only 32 percent of all national parliamentarians are female. This number is remarkably low considering the fact that even first world countries are trying to be more “inclusive” with women. These numbers and facts raise many questions. Questions like why can’t females get the same jobs as men? Is it because they are dumb? Or, is it because they are not strong enough?

Secondly, females are treated differently throughout their entire lives. There are everyday examples like the inclusivity in sports, and how boys should be separated from girls because of the stereotype that boys are awfully stronger and smarter than girls. Another major everyday example is paternal care. If the parents decide to depart their own ways, who should get the baby? The mother or the father? In addition, women also receive a lack of legal rights. According to USA Today, women still deserve rights like “...equal pay for equal work, and the government should fund abortions for women who can’t afford”. Even though the National Women’s Conference is calling for change, will it happen now? As well as that, people in our society don’t quite understand the difference between equality and equity. Merriam Webster Dictionary states that equality is “the quality or state of being equal”, while equity is 'justice according to natural law or right”. As you can see, equality is the way people can treat each other. On the other hand, equity is how the law decides people’s faith according to the way they proved justice.

Finally, women are victims of gender based violence. According to the United Nations Women Organization, 70% of women worldwide experience violence in their everyday lives. Despite laws and rights, these women are being mistreated through violence. Human trafficking, sexual assault, and harassment are all very common for females to face these days. A report in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology states that more than 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year; of which 80 percent are women and girls. These women and girls are kidnapped and taken from their homes and forced into prostitution. When and if they are found, they are silenced. This leads to the next similar issue of sexual assault and harassment. Rainbo Organization did a study in Nepal to find that if a woman is raped or sexually assaulted, the perpetrators are not punished, they aren’t even arrested. It’s shocking, but we still aren’t doing anything. These females are living their lives not being able to speak up and tell people about the disgusting things that happened to them. Why? No one can answer that.

“Gender equality is the unfinished business of the 21st century” (Brodrick, 2015). As shown, there are still many changes needed to be made. We are not done. We need to start making a change and giving women what they deserve. Women should not face obstacles that stop them from pursuing anything they want to do, and women should be getting the gender rights that have been enforced since decades ago. Do you want society to better? Have you always wished for this world to be a better place? If so, then start making a change for women.