Discrimination is prejudicial as well as unfair handling of a person or groups based on qualities such as gender, race, age, and sexual orientation. Discrimination is categorized in terms of direct discrimination, victimization, harassment, and indirect discrimination. The stereotype is an expectation that one person has about another person in a specific group. Stereotyping takes place when a particular individual ascribes the collective features associated with a given group to every individual of that group when discounting individual features. Over the decades, different groups have been undergoing rampant discrimination due to their differences in society. The increased discrimination has been triggered by different perceptions existing in society. Therefore, this paper seeks to address the discrimination against women and the way men should be educated to break the stereotypes.
In Different Parts of The Globe
In different parts of the globe, the discrimination of women is associated with society, as well as rules and regulations that govern a certain society. In various developed and developing countries, there exist a massive gender gap between the female and males. Shafer states that this gender gap makes women face strong social hindrances, a phenomenon that requires a lot of time to bridge the existing gap. Notably, women are being forbidden to drive across many conservative communities in Saudi Arabia, which acts as a major social bulwark in this region. In these countries, women are not allowed to take licenses and can only have the right to go out in public when accompanied by their chaperons. Such a society requires more social reforms to exercise their rights without this intensive discrimination fully.
Discrimination in women occurs during job segregation when a woman is denied a job not because of a level of incompetency but because of gender inequality. Many societies have inherent beliefs that men are completely better than their female counterparts in handling some jobs, making them be paid better than women. This discrimination leads to low income for the women, which makes the women unable to offer adequate support in the family. Also, women occupy the primary responsibility for the various unpaid tasks such as home chores that are never recognized financially. The research indicates that only six countries worldwide give women equal rights with men, whereby most of the countries give them two-thirds of the men’s rights (Stamarski, & Son Hing, 1400). This discrimination and gender inequality derail most of the women from competing favorably with men.
Notably, women are discriminated on their mode of dressing in some parts of the globe. There exists a pretext in many conservative communities where women are considered inferior and have to put on loose-fitting clothes when they are going to public places. This is a rule that is passed by the sharia court and implemented by these communities, yet it is a pervasive law that discriminates the woman towards pursuing their dreams. In some places, women are denied the freedom to travel or leave their home countries until they have attained a certain age. This stringent measure discriminates some women from participating in some significant forums that would impact their livelihood. Discrimination of this kind makes women remain at the house and regard themselves as inferior beings.
Subsequently, some communities practice female infanticide, which is prevalent in China, Pakistan, and parts of India. The one-child policy in this region contributes to this practice since the boy child is deemed to be the security of the family while women acts as the liability, making the girl child undergo massive discrimination. Women are discriminated against as the result of a lack of legal rights which is ubiquitous among many countries which do not strongly address the rights of women. For instance, from the rape laws in different nations, women are not given adequate legal counsel. Also, spousal rape has not been criminalized, while in many Middle East countries, divorce laws are termed to be very weak (Skewes, Fine, & Haslam, n.d). The inadequacy of legal rights discriminates women from getting justice in comparison to their male counterparts.
The Women Discrimination Derails
The women discrimination derails them from acquiring quality education as the result of gender stereotypes. In many instances, stereotypes about the women’s role in society have been confined to family and domestic spheres underpinning various obstacles to girls and women from accessing quality education. From the tender age, women are assumed to uphold domestic care and family responsibilities, assuming that they will be economically dependent on their men. The stereotype of men is assumed to the sole breadwinners in their family, leading to prioritizing of men to get quality education (Padavic, Ely, & Reid, 59). Also, women are denied an opportunity of enrolling in some course such as engineering and information technology since these fields are highly dominated by men denying them chances of venturing into these fields.
The stereotyping and discrimination of women expose them to both public and domestic violence. The rigid construction of feminism, harmful gender stereotypes and masculinity are the sources of gender-based violence between men and women. This violence is triggered by the discrimination existing toward women who are perceived to be weak being in society. Notably, women are highly discriminated due to some other practices that are performed by different communities, such as female genital mutilation. This practice is prevalent sub-Saharan African nations where communities have inadequate knowledge on sex awareness and education. This community stresses that this practice enhances women’s fidelity before marriage, which is an indication of dire discrimination against women and violation of human rights as this practice subject women to severe pain and the spread of infections.
From the recent statistics, it is evident that females make up approximately fifty percent of the whole world population. They contribute to over forty-seven percent of the American labor force; however there still exist rapid gender inequality and discrimination towards them, with women in professional specialties earning relatively less than their male counterparts in the same job. To combat discrimination against women, men should be educated on various effects of some practices that lead to gender discrimination against women. For instance, men need to be informed about the effects of early marriage that deter women from achieving their dreams (Clarke, 12). These early marriages are fueled by poverty and gender discrimination which violates human rights by prohibiting women from making their own decision pertaining to their lives. Educating men on the effects of early marriages on women will equip them with the knowledge that can help minimize the gender discrimination associated with early marriages.
Also, men should be educated about the role played by women in society. They should be made to understand that women are the nation’s pioneers who are helpmates, comrades and partners who are willing and ready to sacrifice their personal pleasure and their ambitions for their families. Also, men should comprehend that women are the managers of the household and family income as it is their personality to secure their minimum return as they always prefer for surplus budget rather than a deficit in their family. Women contribute greatly to the family developments not only by their income but also by saving some of the family income by performing some of the family chores that would have cost the family some income. When men are educated on these great responsibilities of women, their level of discrimination and negative perceptions, they posit over women are likely to reduce.
Notably, an organized focus group should be organized to facilitate delegates’ participation from different parts of the world. Segal indicated that these groups and forums are substantial in ensuring people’s perspectives directly affected by various issues are appreciated and understood. The organizing committees of these forums are encouraged to involve series of groups on equity and diversity from both genders to ensure that issues of gender imbalance are clearly addressed. The benefits of men participating in this diversity programs are to enhance their understanding of their women counterparts and be educated on the advantages of availing equal opportunities to both genders. Therefore, these programs help in reducing the level of gender inequality and discrimination by eradicating the stereotype that men have against women.
Men should also be educated on how to rebuke racist and chauvinist attitude by not making any comment that humiliates or demean women in the society. According to Romano Sanchez most of the talks from men against women indicate a high level of discrimination towards which erupts from the stereotype they have from women. Also, men should be made to reflect and listen to the women during various forums and measure their reasoning capabilities to minimize the existing perception of women as inferior beings who should be given full rights. The existence of this prejudice against women lacks freedom of speech, making the men produce stereotypes that are irrelevant against women. As such, men understood that what men can do, women can also do when they are all given the same platform to exercise their rights.
The Discrimination Against Women
The discrimination against women started at a tender age due to the perception that young boys grow with concerning their girl child. They are taught that they are superior beings and they should do more than the girl, and they should not be subjected under the same conditions as girls who are deemed to be weak. These prejudices make the boys start demeaning the girls at a tender age by giving negative comments and some common words and phrases about girls that sound to be discriminative and offensive. To mitigate this perception to grow from boys, they should be taught to appreciate that it is their obligation to offer girls protection without diminishing them (OHCHR | Combating Discrimination Against Women). Also, boys should be encouraged to express their worries and feeling and appreciating them for caring the girls, who will be essential in counteracting the existing stereotype about girls.
Overall, discrimination against women has been an issue of discussion for many decades from different parts of the globe. This difference exists due to the negative perception that many communities have concerning women leading to gender inequality and discrimination. In many parts of the world, women are denied freedom of expression and competing positions as men. Women are deemed inferior, and their contribution to society is never embraced by their male counterparts, who play a great role in demeaning them from the stereotype that was grown in them concerning the ladies. Educating men about the significance of women through participation in open forums where issues pertaining to both genders are discussed will eradicate the belief men have against women. Also, boys at a tender age should be taught to embrace young girls and shown that they all have the same capability to instill different perceptions in males. Therefore, appreciating women and availing equal opportunities to them will be significant in bringing gender balance and stereotypes existing about women.
Work Cited
Segal, Jonathan. “10 Tips To Fight Gender Discrimination”. SHRM, 2015, https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/Pages/010215-gender-discrimination.aspx.
“OHCHR | Combating Discrimination Against Women”. Ohchr.Org, 2021, https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/discrimination/pages/discrimination_women.aspx.
Skewes, Lea, Cordelia Fine, and Nick Haslam. “Beyond Mars and Venus: The role of gender essentialism in support for gender inequality and backlash.” PloS one 13.7 (2018): e0200921.
Romano Sanchez, Giovana. “10 Ways To Promote Gender Equality In Daily Life – Believe Earth”. Believe Earth, 2021, https://believe.earth/en/10-ways-to-promote-gender-equality-in-daily-life/.
Clarke, Heather M. “Gender stereotypes and gender-typed work.” Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics (2020): 1-23.
Stamarski, Cailin Susan, and Leanne S. Son Hing. “Gender inequalities in the workplace: the effects of organizational structures, processes, practices, and decision makers’ sexism.” Frontiers in psychology 6 (2015): 1400.
Padavic, Irene, Robin J. Ely, and Erin M. Reid. “Explaining the persistence of gender inequality: The work–family narrative as a social defense against the 24/7 work culture.” Administrative Science Quarterly 65.1 (2020): 61-111.
Shafer, Leah. 2018, https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/18/11/preventing-gender-bias. Accessed 11 Apr 2020
