21 Sep 2022

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Gender Inequality: Why It Exists and How to Fight It

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Academic level: College

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The subject of gender inequality in societies today is a global concern due to the increase of social and legal situations that makes a specific gender and sex to be used to infer mostly economic inequalities to individuals of the community. From the occupation of subordinate positions by women in societies to roles that both men and women play in a family, and even the influence of media to reflect the global gender inequality issue in the community, many individuals presume that gender inequality is a part of nature and cannot be changed. Many believe that women, who are in most research the recipients of gender inequality variables, have a lower standard than their male counterparts in different aspects of life such as economic and political status. Gender inequality is a societal problem; it consists of instances of injustices that most women face in our societies ( Jackson, 2019) . The low number of women in top leadership positions, low pay and long working hours of women employees, a high number of illiterate women in the globe, high cases of gender-based violence and many more scenarios are cases of gender imbalance activities within our societies around the world. 

Due to these concerns, rules and laws have been set up by governments and non-governmental organizations to tackle the vice which derails the economic development and also affects both genders in the long run. For economic development and sustainability to any group in society and the world at large, gender inequality should be addressed in every country and societies in the world. Gender equality in addressing public economic policies, social ideologies, and health and safety are methods to be adopted when addressing gender inequality in our community. These solutions create an ethical outcome of ending gender-based violence and gender inequalities in accessing opportunities and even service provision within the community having a positive influence on the society and culture. 

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Problem 

Gender inequality is a global problem that affects communities in all regions and within all races. Its diversity has made it popular and is prominent among communities with traditional cultures and beliefs that have gender biasness in various aspects of lives. In addressing gender inequality in communities across the globe, there are various fields that experience a lot of disparity when it comes to equality in gender. In India and China, for example, being the most populated countries in the world, infant life expectancy experiences gender inequality. Statistical data shows that the survival ability of girls under five years is low compared to boys born within the same region. The survival ability disadvantage of girls in China is statistically proven with data that show that girls in the country have about eight percent higher rates of infant deaths compared to boys ( Lundberg & Stearns, 2019) . A study conducted in India proved that girls are seventy-five percent higher risked dying than boys. Gender inequality in the provision of proper health care is an issue in the two regions and many other parts of the world whereby men and boys are given proper health care, and sometimes even educated more on health than women. Gender inequality in communities around the world is sometimes seen as normal as cultural beliefs and traditions have somehow normalized the issue. If gender inequality is coded within our system, the economy is then ailing with the untapped power of women and other affected parties when providing services to the community. 

Therefore, how could gender inequality be an issue to communities? Studies have revealed that less than forty percent of the countries in the world provide equal education opportunity to both boys and girls. Also, thirty-nine percent of countries have an equal proportion of gender to secondary school enrollment. A high number of organizations and governments condoning gender inequality provides space for gender imbalances within the education system, whereby universal education of the adult population could lift over 400 million people out of poverty. How could third world countries with a higher percentage of gender inequality in education sector come out of poverty? Girls in marginalized areas experience school-related gender-based violence which results in high dropout percentages. Illiteracy level of a specific gender in the society then creeps in leading to unbalanced community and economy cripples with high unemployment and illiteracy levels. 

Gender inequality also leads to an increase in violence especially against women who are the most affected sex from gender inequality. The results of gender-based violence against women in a society include mental effects which have jarring results in their stability and daily livelihood activities. Studies reveal that women who have encountered sex-based brutality are likely to have an abortion or experience an abortion twice as often compared to a woman in a stable non-violent home. In other regions, women with gender-based violence experiences are more likely to contract HIV about twice more than women with no experience of violence with their partners. 

Female genital mutilation is an example of gender inequality, a result of a violation of gender equality in society. Classified under gender violence, over 150 million girls have experienced female genital mutilation. Majority of the young girls are below five years and are mutilated without proper anesthesia causing severe pain to affected girls and women. Some instances of clitoris artery cutting or other blood vessel lead to excessive bleeding and eventually death. Female genital mutilation cases are common with chronic genital and urinary tract infections with high risks of postpartum hemorrhage. All the subsequent effects and forceful procedures eventually lead to trauma in women and even further genital complications. 

Besides trauma, physical abuse and an unequal opportunity presented to women, child marriage and unequal representation in the government of women in the community make gender-based violence a societal problem. Almost 700 million girls and women around the globe today are married before eighteen years (Onyango, Resnick, Davis & Shah, 2019) . Those girls suffer from early pregnancies which is a factor for ending their education prematurely. They later become socially isolated increasing the chances of gender-based violence. Child marriage is an example of gender-based violence that reflects the limits that women face when it comes to opportunities reducing their abilities to reach their full potential. Unequal representation in the government is also gender-based violence whereby statistics reveal that only 22.8 percent of women are members of parliament as of 2016 ( Ortiz-Ospina & Roser, 2019) . Unequal representation reduces the ability of the government to grow smoothly with evidence that shows how women improve decision-making systems when in leadership or political positions. 

Solution 

Considering the effect gender-based violence has to women and the community at large, ending it is an immediate option whereby prevention methods are adopted in addressing social norms and cultures causing the vice. Prevention of gender-based violence involves the implementation of systems and strategies that focuses on promoting gender equality and the enjoyment of opportunities by both genders. Education can be used as a tool to prevent violence against women in communities in the world. Incorporation of the non-formal curriculum in education systems whereby young people and even adults are engaged in efforts to end or prevent gender-based violence could be handy as a solution to the societal problem. A co-educational curriculum designed to engage individuals between five and twenty-five years could also be implemented in the system which would be used to provide the young generation with a better understanding of causes of violence in communities. The improvised education system would be used to not only prevent violent cases but also access support when gender-based violence activities occur. The education system will be designed to raise awareness of harmful traditions that promote gender-based violence especially female genital mutilation, and other violence against women. Education will empower women in the community. Studies reveal that education is a fundamental tool to be used by women to develop their aspiration and skills making them capable of managing her property and finances reducing gender-based violence in the community. Education can, therefore, be used as a universal vehicle to end gender-based violence in communities. 

Changing stereotypes and attitudes which make gender-based violence possible is a preventive measure that is adopted as a solution to end violence. It involves building capacities of local organization and communities to respond to gender-based violence locally. Changing attitudes could be empowering women through education and equal opportunity presentation, or even supporting women to speak up for their rights. Engaging men to break the cycle also changes attitudes and even the use of local music and artists. Change of attitude prevents gender-based violence effectively and with less hassle, compared to other methods. 

Evaluation of Evidence 

Sources used in this essay is reliable and valid since the majority of the evidence used are scholarly articles. Information used from these sources is reliable and valid since secondary sources used are reliable. For example, one source ("Gender Economic Inequality - Inequality.org," 2019) provided extra information about gender-based violence problems faced by communities in the world. Its explanation is valid and reliable. ( Borgen, 2019) Is another source that was used to provide information on problems faced by communities experiencing gender-based violence. The third source, ("Gender Equality: What is Gender Equality?", 2019) was also used to provide a definition of gender-based violence and background information the violence. Not all sources presented biasness 

Ethical Outcomes of the solution 

Gender-based violence roots from societal cultures that defines some communities. Fight against gender-based violence means the fight against individuals with customs that discriminate women such as female genital mutilation. In this case, we divide the community from what they believe in and from what they truly distinguish as the truth. When law enforcement is applied to such individuals, mental stress and depression will be seen in those individuals whose families will also be affected. Apart from the enforcers of the vice, gender-based violence previous victims will be affected when social education about the effects of the violence will mentally affect them, due to separation and isolation. 

A gender-based violence-free community will be a prosperous one in terms of peaceful coexistence and even economically. When equal opportunities such as health care and education are provided to both genders, self-confidence will be boosted, and skills output in an individual will be higher. Free and equal access to opportunity and basic or even government services should be conducted freely and fairly; it is the right of every individual to live in without being violated based on their gender, a positive outcome of education on the issue. With equality being the backbone of any community or nation, service provision and output is bound to increase in that community. 

Conclusion 

Gender-Based Violence is used when describing discrimination of individuals of a specific gender, mostly women and girls when accessing basic social amenities, and other injustices conducted against the gender. The issue is a societal problem as it affects the lives of children of women abused, and the mental stress and anxiety cannot be ignored. Solving discrimination against women in a community requires individuals from all genders to participate in the process to end the discrimination actively, eventually leading to an equal, free and fair society, sustainable to all gender. 

References 

Borgen, C. (2019). 10 Important Examples of Gender Inequality Happening Today | The Borgen Project. Retrieved from https://borgenproject.org/examples-of-gender-inequality/ 

Casey, E., Carlson, J., Two Bulls, S., & Yager, A. (2018). Gender transformative approaches to engaging men in gender-based violence prevention: A review and conceptual model.  Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 19 (2), 231-246. 

Gender Economic Inequality - Inequality.org. (2019). Retrieved from https://inequality.org/gender-inequality/ 

Gender Equality: What is Gender Equality?. (2019). Retrieved from http://www.genderequality.ie/en/GE/Pages/WhatisGE 

Jackson, R. (2019). What Causes Gender Inequality? -- Robert Max Jackson. Retrieved from https://www.nyu.edu/classes/jackson/causes.of.gender.inequality/ 

Lundberg, S., & Stearns, J. (2019). Women in Economics: Stalled Progress.  Journal Of Economic Perspectives 33 (1), 3-22. doi: 10.1257/jep.33.1.3 

Onyango, M. A., Resnick, K., Davis, A., & Shah, R. R. (2019). Gender-Based Violence Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women: A Neglected Consequence of the West African Ebola Outbreak. In  Pregnant in the Time of Ebola  (pp. 121-132). Springer, Cham. 

Ortiz-Ospina, E., & Roser, M. (2019). Economic inequality by gender. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/economic-inequality-by-gender 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 14). Gender Inequality: Why It Exists and How to Fight It .
https://studybounty.com/gender-inequality-why-it-exists-and-how-to-fight-it-essay

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