Page 207 - DSOC201_SOCIAL_STRUCTURE_AND_SOCIAL_CHANGE_ENGLISH

Social Structure and Social Change

Notes Sexism and discrimination
Gender inequality can further be understood through the mechanisms of sexism. Discrimination
takes place in this manner as men and women are subject to prejudicial treatment on the basis of
gender alone. Sexism occurs when men and women are framed within two dimensions of social
cognition.
Discrimination also plays out with networking and in preferential treatment within the economic
market. Men typically occupy positions of power within the job economy. Due to taste or preference
for other men because they share similar characteristics, men in these positions of power are more
likely to hire or promote other men, thus discriminating against women.
Discrimination against men in the workplace is rare but does occur, particularly in health care
professions. Only an estimated 0.4% of midwives in the UK are male and according to cbs only 1 % of
all trainee nurses and only 2% of Secretaries are male.
Discrimination against women in the workplace also occurs. Only an estimated 1% of roofers in the
US are female.
Variations by country or culture
Gender inequality is a result of the persistent discrimination of one group of people based upon
gender and it manifests itself differently according to race, culture, politics, country, and economic
situation. It is furthermore considered a causal factor of violence against women. While gender
discrimination happens to both men and women in individual situations, discrimination against
women is an entrenched, global pandemic. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, rape and violence
against women and girls is used as a tool of war. In Afghanistan, girls have had acid thrown in their
faces for attending school. Considerable focus has been given to the issue of gender inequality at the
international level by organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank, particularly in developing countries.
The causes and effects of gender inequality vary by country, as do solutions for combating it.
Asia
Many Malay Muslim communities believe that passion and desire carry derogatory connotations,
especially when it is applied to humans. The Muslim Malays believe that women have more sexual
passion than men and that men have more logic.
One example of the continued existence of gender inequality in Asia is the “missing girls”
phenomenon. It is estimated that due to the undervaluing of women, over 100 million males are
living as a result of the infanticide of female children, sex selection for boys, allocation of economic
and nutritional resources that are taken away from female children, and generalized violence.
India
Some studies have documented that in villages in India, women are often discouraged to seek
education, which is seen as immoral. However, recent studies document remarkable success in efforts
to improve girls’ primary education. However, when it comes to secondary education, girls are still
disadvantaged. Moreover, women’s employment rates are still low and seem to have further declined
in recent years. Recent studies also document unequal access to and control over family resources for
Indian women including control over land and bank accounts as well as severe limitations on their
geographical mobility.
In the Sitapur district, there is an event which involves men destroying gudiyas (rag dolls) that their
sisters made the night before the festival. The long tradition reveals the embedded gender inequality
within society. The bashing of the doll symbolizes the bashing of the spirit, to maintain control.
United States

The World Economic Forum measures gender equity through a series of economic, educational, and
political benchmarks. It has ranked the United States as 19th (up from 31st in 2009) in terms of achieving
gender equity. In the U.S., women are more likely than men to live in poverty, earn less money for
the same work, are more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence and rape, and have less of a

202 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY