Lack of equality remains as one of the notable social issues in the United State arising from a disconnect policy frameworks that would guarantee equality for all irrespective of their gender. An in-depth review of the United States Constitution indicates that it has failed to guarantee equal rights and freedoms for all persons with the view being that the constitution discriminates against women when compared to men. The issue arising from this scenario is that many women find it hard to access health care, which compromises the quality of care in the United States. That becomes an issue that affects many of the women in the country considering that it serves as a clear indication of the extent to which inequality is rampant in the country. Americans ought to care about the issue of inequality, as it occurs in the American social institution because it affects them in one way or another. The balance between genders favors men compared to women, which occurs in both developed and developing countries. Statistics on gender inequality, in the United States, show that many of the women find themselves in environments where they are discriminated against solely based on their gender. Many of the women experience longer working hours when compared to their male counterparts while receive far less pay. That is common in minimum-wage paying jobs across all states in the United States. Additionally, statistics indicate that only 10% of board or top-level management positions in corporate companies are held by women, which limits their ability to make decisions. Gender inequality tends to have a serious impact on economies, as it stunts economic growth, as well as, hinders development. Therefore, it is within the expectations that every American would need to understand this issue as a way of ensuring that they call for change in the policy structure to promote equality.
The issue has been brought to light by a vast number of occurrences experienced in recent years, which include open discrimination of women seeking employment in private companies and the rise in the number of cases associated with violence against women. Such cases have helped raise awareness on the fact that the United States Constitution does not have the legislative authority to build on equal rights for men and women. That is beyond the position held by the majority of Americans, who believe that the constitution guarantees the overall protection of men and women concerning their rights and freedoms. What makes this issue controversial is the fact that it has been institutionalized within the United States because of failures by the constitution. Until recently, it was believed that the United States Constitution had created a well-structured framework aimed at protecting and upholding the rights and freedoms of every American irrespective of gender. However, this is a position that has been supported by different polls showing the overwhelming support that Americans give the constitution as it seeks to promote equality. A poll conducted by the ERA Coalition/Fund for Women’s Equality noted that 80% of Americans believed that equal rights and freedoms were already guaranteed as part of the constitution (Homan, 2019). That is a position that fails to account for the fact that some areas of the constitution have created loopholes that go against equality expectations. Legislative Action Bill number H0239 would serve as a solution to addressing the issue of gender inequality as it occurs within the United States. The bill, which was introduced in the Senate of the United States on March 27, 2019, seeks to ensure that equality of rights shall not be denied under the confines of the law. The bill intends to create a legislative framework to ensure that the United States Constitution guarantees equality for all regardless of their gender.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
History and Background
Gender inequality is a prevalent issue considering the persistent discrimination of people based on their gender. In the early 1990s, gender inequality was a major issue in the United States where men were considered superior thus allowed to engage in a wide range of social, political, and cultural activities, unlike the female counterparts. Women, on the other hand, faced discrimination, which denied them basic rights and freedoms to engage in a wide range of activities in day to day activities. The main issue that arises as a result of gender inequality is a disparity in political representation and participation of women. Women are denied the rights and freedom to participate in political activities such as rallies and campaigns as they are male-dominated activities. The issue of gender inequality is also depicted in occupational segregation and the distribution of household labor. Considering that women tend to be victims of gender inequality, it is important to note that they face discrimination, which associated with gender. Over the years, human rights activists tend to capitalize on campaigns and awareness programs that seek to ensure that people in society understand the implications of gender inequality. Although the campaigns and awareness programs have partially succeeded in some parts of the United States, the issue remains to be prevalent considering that most people do not appreciate the fact that men and women should have equal representation in society. The main issues that continue to promote the issue of inequality in society involve cultural and social beliefs that consider men as superior gender compared to women. To deal with the issue in the United State, the Equal Rights for Men and Women, Legislative Action Bill was introduced to help in ensuring that there was equality in the society. The introduction of the bill resulted from the need to ensure that women received equal rights and opportunities.
Nature of the Problem and its Public Standing
Problem
The problem identified reflects on the fact that discrimination of women has paved created a situation where it has become extremely challenging for women to access health care services across the United States. Institutionalized discrimination, occurring within the United States, is the main factor contributing to the problem at hand. The fact that the position of the woman is not considered as equal to that of the man, the consequence is that inequality becomes rife. Many women find themselves unable to access quality care from health facilities, especially when dealing with areas such as reproductive health; thus, serving as a public health issue of concern. The majority of women wanting reproductive health care have been forced to consider private health facilities because public institutions are not in any position to offer such care. The challenge that most women face is that health facilities are not tailored to meet their health needs considering that many of those coming to these facilities are men.
The Severity of the Problem
In trying to understand the extent of the problem, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) conducted a survey focused on women's coverage, access, and affordability of health care. From the survey, it was noted that one in every five women is not covered by insurance, which impacts their overall capacity to access quality care services (Ranji, Rosenzweig, & Salganicoff, 2018). Based on the findings from this survey, the problem can be considered as being severe where many of the women are finding themselves exposed to serious suffering as a direct result of gender inequality. It is from this perspective that it has become essential to consider passing bills and adopting policies that would specifically focus on protecting the rights of women. The main issue of concern when dealing with this problem is the fact the country has experienced a lack of political goodwill among legislators, many of who fail to recognize this as a problem affecting millions of women in the United States.
Population Affected
From the analysis of the problem, it can be noted that the population affected is that of women, especially women between the age of 18 and 64 years. The problem with these women implies that it impacts the quality of care that they receive because it becomes much harder for them to access or afford health care services.
Impact on Access and Quality of Care
The severity of the problem can also be evaluated from the fact that the inability of women to access health care has impacted the overall quality of care in the United States. Statistical reports note that the quality of care has been on a steady decline, which can be attributed directly to a lack of effective support given to women in seeking to deal with the issue of gender inequality. Approximately 32% of women over the age of 18 years do not have any form of health insurance with a further 18% having private insurance policies while Medicaid covers 14% of women. The figures indicate that a significant number of these women are likely to find themselves exposed to serious challenges when dealing with health-related issues. The main factors leading to a high number of women remaining uninsured include job loss, widowhood, unaffordability of premiums, and spouse’s job loss. Therefore, this means that the uninsured women are not in any position to access quality health care even as they seek to improve on their health outcomes matching overall expectations.
Insights from Academic, Professional, or Public Documents
Women, in the United States, have long lagged in terms of access to health care and health status when compared to the men, which highlights a clear disconnect arising from gender inequality. In a study aimed at examining how gender inequality is affecting women's right to health care, Homan (2019) notes that women in American society have the greatest burden in dealing with chronic illnesses, as well as, highest rates of skipping need care attributed to lack of affordability. While considering that many American women do not have health insurance, they often find it hard to access health care services. Therefore, this means that women experience much greater challenges in dealing with chronic illnesses and conditions. Gender inequality has introduced a wide array of differences in areas such as life expectancy, healthy life years, health behaviors, mortality, and morbidity risks with men experiencing better outcomes when compared to the women (Upchurch & Johnson, 2019). The differences between how health facilities handle men and women are evident from the fact that they fail to account for the varied health expectations among women. Instead, they equate women’s health needs to those of men, which, in turn, helps promote the existing gender inequality. The issue reflects on the fact that health care policies adopted in the United States often fail to consider women’s health needs and wants. On the other hand, Gunja, Tikkanen, Seervai, & Collins (2018) note that women are least satisfied with their care because the quality of care does not match what they may have expected in terms of their overall ability to achieve best possible outcomes. In the United States, women are far less likely to rate their quality of care as being excellent or very good when compared to women in some of the other countries across different parts of the world.
Another key issue to note when examining how gender inequality is affecting women’s right to health care is on maternal mortality. Manuel (2018) indicates that the lack of an effective structure on health care focusing on women has resulted in a situation where women in the United States have the highest rate of maternal mortality compared to some of the other developed countries. The main contributors to this issue include complications from pregnancy or childbirth and an increase in the number of cesarean sections. When compared to countries such as Sweden and Norway, the United States health care system can be quantified as lacking a sense of connection in determining the overall value for the women. Read & Smith (2018) highlight the need for adopting policy changes in the United States with the view being that this would help change how the health care system’s response to dealing with women’s health needs. An example of a policy change that would be effective is the passage of a bill that would require health institutions to shift their focus towards women’s health needs as opposed to creating a blanket expectation for both men and women. Ranji, Rosenzweig, & Salganicoff (2018) focus on the need to come up with policies to help improve insurance coverage, especially focusing on the women, as a way of increasing overall capacity to help deal with the unequal health care environment in the country. Increasing insurance coverage would mean that women would be in a much better position to not only access health care but would also serve as a guarantee for improved quality outcomes. The main expectation is that adopting policy changes would help create a shift in the way women are treated in the country’s health care system to improve on their quality outcomes.
Past Approaches to Deal with the Problem
Before the introduction of the bill, some approaches sought to ensure that women received equal treatment on matters concerning access to health care. Considering that women faced discrimination associated with gender inequality, the issue affected their ability to access quality care thus affecting their general health. The first approach implemented to deal with the issue of inequality involved campaigns by the government to address the issue and the need to promote gender equality in American society. The campaigns focused on the health care benefits that may be accrued in the situation where women would receive equal treatment and rights. However, the campaigns did not successes in the effective implementation of equality measures considering the cultural beliefs and myths associated with gender inequalities. The second approach implemented to deal with the problem involved the establishment of women-friendly hospitals that could deal with a wide range of women's health issues. It is important to note that gender inequality towards women impacted their reproductive resulting in a situation where they cannot access health care services in society. The federal government in conjunction with non-governmental organizations focused on the establishment of hospitals that were women-friendly and those that would handle the reproductive health of women without any form of discrimination. Another significant approach used to deal with the issue of inequality in society involved the introduction of the affordable care act. The affordable care act purposed to ensure that the women received proper health care despite different forms of discrimination faced. The fact that women faced occupational segregation and inequality resulted in a situation where they could not access quality health care services due to a lack of adequate funds. In that case, the affordable care act sought to ensure that women would access health care services at any time considering that cost factor was not a hindrance.
Outcomes/Stakeholders/Competing Proposals
The purpose of Legislative Action Bill number H0239 is to ratify the proposed amendment to the United States Constitution with the focus being on creating provisions for equal rights for both men and women. The bill intends to create an avenue through which men and women are treated as equals with the view is that this would help improve on their position within the social context. The main group that stands to gain from the passage of this bill is the women. Women in the United States have, for a long time, experienced discrimination based on their gender, which has had a significant impact on areas such as health among others. The passage of this bill would mean that women would be accorded equal rights and freedoms compared to the men; thus, enhancing their position within the society. The passage of the bill would have financial consequences for the United States government as it seeks to establish strategic positions to ensure equal rights and freedoms for men and women. The government would be expected to spend significantly on dealing with inequality, especially focusing on areas such as health. The specifics of the bill suggest that health institutions ought to establish clear guidelines that would justify equality. The proposed bill does not intend to harm any stakeholder groups even as it faces likely unintended consequences. After conducting an in-depth analysis of the bill and its proposals, what can be noted is that it only intends to institute policy structures that would enhance equality. Each stakeholder group is likely to benefit from the passage and enactment of the policy.
Democrats have been at the forefront in supporting this bill as a way of showing their support for gender equality as it relates to the constitution. Approximately 99% of those supporting the bill are democrats with only 1% being republicans. From this political alignment in the way the bill has been supported in the house, it can be argued that indeed political parties have taken notable positions on the bill. On the one hand, Democrats are in full support of the implementation of this bill with their view being that it would help create a well-established constitutional framework for equality. On the other hand, Republicans are against the passage of this bill, which impacts the support that they offer in the house. On the other hand, women’s rights groups across the United States have equally raised their support for the passage of this bill arguing that its implementation would serve as a win for millions of women in the country. The position by these groups has been the fact that legislators have a key role to play in ensuring that they establish clear frameworks on how to promote equality. The passage of this bill is one of the ways to ensure that the position of women is protected. Therefore, these groups are in support of its passage and enactment to help achieve some form of equality. In every perspective, the bill is seen as a solution to dealing with the vast array of problems that women are facing across the United States. Women's rights groups view the bill as a win for women considering that it would be much easier for them to achieve overall efficiency in their bid to deal with possible issues of gender inequality and discrimination from different perspectives.
Competing Proposals: Comparison of Policy Alternatives
To capitalize on measures to deal with the issue of gender inequality in health care, the legislature and the executive focused on the introduction of policies that would create lasting solutions. The first major policy implemented involved the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which focused on promoting the issue of affordability of health care services. The policy implemented by the executive focused on dealing with issues that arise from high costs of accessing health care services due to factors such as poverty resulting from unemployment. The policy played a vital role in dealing with the issue of gender inequality considering that women faced discrimination on matters concerning access to health care services. Additionally, the fact that women faced discrimination in employment and occupation opportunities resulted in a situation where accessing reproductive health was relatively difficult due to issues concerning affordability. The costs associated with the policy involved the establishment of hospitals and health packages that are favorable to women. The benefits involved in promoting public health, which is an aspect that results in a healthy society. The second policy that is being proposed to deal with gender inequality in the society is Equal Rights for Men and Women, Legislative Action Bill number H0239. The policy proposed by the legislative branches focuses on promoting the provision of equal rights for both men and women in society. The bill seeks to ensure that women receive equal opportunities and that they are accorded the freedom to engage in a wide range of activities. The benefits of the bill involve the development of measures that seek to ensure that women receive equality, which is an aspect that helps to promote public health. Additionally, the bill focuses on the establishment of effective measures to deal with any form of a discrimination case against women in the society, which helps to create a significant reduction of gender inequality in the society.
Recommendation
Considering the benefits associated with the bill, it is important to focus on the implementation of strategies to ensure it is passed into law to protect people against any form of discrimination against women. The legislator should vote for the bill considering the benefits associated with different provisions mentioned in the bill. To capitalize on the effectiveness of the bill, it important that there should be several amendments and changes to capitalize on addressing the issue of gender equality in society. The first recommended change that would be relevant in this case would involve focusing on specific rights and freedoms that should be granted to women in the society to ensure that they can take part in a wide range of activities in the society. The amendment should enable women to participate in political and social activities considering without fear of discrimination from their male counterparts who dominate various activities in society. The second amendment that would be necessary to promote the bill would involve the inclusion of sections that define punitive measures for individuals that would engage in any form of discrimination against women in society. It is important to note that women face different forms of discrimination, which impact on their physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. In that case, a bill advocating for gender equality should focus on defining issues faced by women and describe the punitive measures that would be necessary to overcome the discrimination issues. The proposed amendments would help in ensuring that the bill can promote gender equality in society and that the public will engage in measures to promote gender equality. With the given amendments the legislator should focus on ensuring that his vote counts towards the passing of the bill, which would be of great value towards promoting equality for all.
The success of the bill will be determined by the number of votes received from the legislators. The legislators must understand the key provisions of the bill and their relevance in dealing with the issue of gender inequality in society. Considering that the issue of gender inequality is crucial, the implementation of an effective bill will capitalize on ensuring that women receive equal freedoms and rights to engage in a wide range of activities in society. A successful bill should focus on providing solutions to the problem of inequality and helps deal with the effects of inequality in society. To capitalize on the success of the bill, the legislators should ensure that the public understands the magnitude of the problem and the need for the implementation of measures to overcome the issue. A successful bill should be a representation of the thoughts and ideas of the public. The main benefit that this bill would have is that it would help set precedence in dealing with issues of inequality occurring within the United States. The passage of the bill will serve as a source of motivation for legislators pushing them towards the introduction of more bills that would be designed to deal with the issue of gender inequality. Another key benefit that this bill is expected to have is that it will help introduce new structures aimed at dealing with gender inequality as it occurs within the United States. For example, it will help streamline the country's health care system as a way of improving its capacity to offer quality and affordable care to the millions of women in the country. Additionally, it would also help guarantee access to care for women, which remains as one of the key problems that many of the women are facing in American society today.
Conclusion
Historically, gender inequality has been noted as a key social issue that the United States is facing where society favors men over women. That becomes a key problem, especially in health care, considering that many of the women find themselves not being able to access health care services across the United States. Ultimately, this tends to have a serious implication on the quality of health expectations for the United States in its entirety. The main contributor to this problem is the fact that the constitution does not recognize equality for men and women. The majority of people believe that the constitution guarantees equality, which is an inaccurate position because the constitution is inclined more towards the men ignoring the needs and wants of the women. Different proposals and approaches have been considered previously in trying to deal with this problem including the adoption of policies, such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and campaigns that seek to improve on social equality. However, it is important to note that these approaches have failed in promoting equality considering that it remains rife within American society. A proposed bill, Equal Rights for Men and Women, Legislative Action Bill number H0239, which was tabled in the United States Congress on March 27, 2019, intends to deal with the problem that the American society is facing. The bill intends to create a well-structured constitutional framework that would ensure equality for men and women as a way of dealing with gender inequality. The bill has received immense support from different quotas include women’s rights groups, which believe that its enactment would be of great value towards creating a well-advanced framework for gender equality.
References
Gunja, M. Z., Tikkanen, R., Seervai, S., & Collins, S. R. (2018). What is the status of women’s health and health care in the US compared to ten other countries? https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2018/dec/womens-health-us-compared-ten-other-countries
Homan, P. (2019). Structural sexism and health in the United States: A new perspective on health inequality and the gender system. American Sociological Review , 84 (3), 486-516.
Manuel, J. I. (2018). Racial/ethnic and gender disparities in health care use and access. Health services research , 53 (3), 1407-1429.
Ranji, U., Rosenzweig, C., & Salganicoff, A. (2018). Women's Coverage, Access, and Affordability: Key Findings from the 2017 Kaiser Women's Health Survey . https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/womens-coverage-access-and-affordability-key-findings-from-the-2017-kaiser-womens-health-survey/
Read, J. N. G., & Smith, P. B. (2018). Gender and national origin differences in healthcare utilization among US immigrants from Mexico, China, and India. Ethnicity & Health , 23 (8), 867-883.
Upchurch, D. M., & Johnson, P. J. (2019). Gender differences in prevalence, patterns, purposes, and perceived benefits of meditation practices in the United States. Journal of Women's Health , 28 (2), 135-142.
