The Notion of Gender is a Social Construction that Facilitates Inequality

Introduction

Gender inequality is a result of social construction and is happening everywhere in some places increasing in others decreasing, we need to close the gender gap so that all women can achieve their dreams without a choice of being a mother or having a profession. Women should not have to choose between motherhood or a profession if men don’t even consider it. A mother feels guilty once she leaves the family home to work as she wants to care for her child every day, but men do not feel welcome in the home once a child is born as the bond of a mother and child is unbreakable. Fathers are less likely to engage in the infant’s care without the reinforcement of their wives. Men feel more frustrated when they can not meet the needs of the child. Mothers form a stronger relationship with the child from the early days as they are breastfeeding and caring for them on their maternity leave. Breastfeeding can strengthen the maternal bond or infant connection. Men should consider taking paternity leave to care for their child as women are left longer away from work which could have an effect of returning if they have constantly been with the child every day. ‘Only 14% of fathers who take paternity leave use more than 2 weeks and apparently enthusiasm fades overtime’. First time dads are 77% more likely to take leave than a dad who had 2 or more children. This highlights how men don't consider taking the time for their second child as they feel mothers are 'better' at caring for the child which causes inequality to strike in the home. Work in the home

Women are portrayed to cook, clean and mind the children in the home while men were encouraged to pursue outdoor activities, and this is where the gap has grown to form gender inequality which results in lower-paid jobs for women. The father had all the power in the household and was the voice of the house as women were not allowed a vote or form an opinion. There is a difference in the amount of housework and childcare a man does to a woman even if they both work outside of the home. This tells us that even today inequality is still occurring, and women’s rights are not equal. In the past Men had the choice to receive an education while women were not encouraged. Not much women had the perk of secondary education and most of the universities were for male students only. Gender inequality has led to gender stereotyping which is a judgement about a person even though it may not be true, there are different types of gender stereotypes such as personality traits this is women are pictured to be emotional and shy while men should be strong and confident in themselves, this is wrong as we aren't giving anyone the chance to be unique and find out who they really are. Domestic behaviour is women should stay at home and mind the children while men make the money this is not allowing women to have a say in their life as they should be allowed to have a profession and play a role as a mother. Occupations

Occupations stereotyping is men are pictured to be mechanics and pilots while women should be nurses and teachers this again doesn’t allow women to be what they want as society will judge them. And lastly, physical appearance, men are viewed as tall and muscular while women are thin and kind this doesn’t allow women to be who they are as society has caused judgement which controls us in to think what is right and wrong in relation to how a woman should dress, speak and act This highlights the difficulties for women as they feel they must choose between motherhood or having a profession because society will judge them in some way. ‘Even as early as preschool, children demonstrate knowledge of gender stereotypes’. This shows how early children develop the understanding of stereotyping and how it influences their behaviour towards gender. Role of women in society

The role of women in society has changed as women are now more educated and are focusing on their career rather than having large families, in the past women were treated with very little respect as men expected them to do everything that was involved within the house and family. Women had very little rights and couldn't vote for their opinion. Women were forced to marry at a young age and have a large family as children were seen as an economic asset to help out on the farm, Daughters in the family would follow their mothers footsteps by learning how to cook and clean while the sons followed their dads and learned how to be powerful and work outside the home to support their future family. M. E Daly stated that in the 1930s 1 out of 4 women stayed unmarried as the tasks linked to marriage such as child-raising and staying at home urged them not to. This tells us that some women were afraid of being controlled for the rest of their lives as the men had all the power over the women.

Education for women became a role in the 1800s however it was a struggle due to male discrimination and beliefs that women could not achieve. The history of women’s education started to develop, teachers, colleges and schools began to grow in the United States in the 1800s and more women took the choice of these opportunities. This means many women started to believe in their rights and wanted education to get a job and receive equal pay. M.E. Daly stated that the strengths of the trade unions for better working conditions for women were defined. This meant that women couldn't get better working conditions such as equal pay even though they may be doing the same job as a man. Today women acquire 16% less than men for doing the same job. This has highlighted the women are still not receiving equal pay even though they have the same level of degree, women are fighting for their career so men can see that they don’t have to choose between motherhood or a profession. Gender labelling

Gender labelling has caused gender equality, boys and girls are labelled different they are judged on how they should act and dress. Gender labelling is a symbolic interactionism of how people perform tasks or roles based on the gender they are given. Gender labelling occurs immediately when a child is born as they are announced to be a boy or girl, once the gender is given people will react differently to the gender of the child by giving certain gifts. ‘The attainment of gender identity requires that children understand that everyone including themselves is either a male or a female’. Every boy is taught to be strong and brave while girls should be kind and cute. Fathers will encourage their sons to be rougher and play with masculine toys such as cars or trucks although girls should play with dolls and houses to learn to be gentle and kind. The perception of how we view girls and boys has caused inequality in society. Adults will respond differently to the function of a child's gender due to gender labelling. Adults react more rapidly to a crying girl then a boy and will offer masculine toys for boys and feminine toys for girls. Having gender labelling may be easier for us to categorize people and make sense of who they are however if we are being categorized, we no longer can express our personality and be unique if we are going to be labelled as a boy or girl.

Today gender labelling still occurs but many people are choosing to be transgender, bi-sexual, gay or lesbian. This has caused social construction due to people not accepting other's beliefs in who they may feel they are. Bullying in the workplace is focused on gender. Gender is also a factor on how bullying is perceived, the power of boy and girl are different, women are labelled as being ‘weak’ so men think they can’t fight back so women are targeted. Therefore, women are aimed at choosing between a profession or motherhood because men see women as too 'weak' to perform both. Parent's communication with their children from a young age may interfere with the growth of sex differences in aggression. Children's aggression can be higher as a result of who they are surrounded by such as a boy-boy element result at a higher power than a girl-boy element. There were results on the examination of the child's aggression, these results were biased as 'Raters knew the gender of the child being rated’ in which helped structure the answers. From society, we are thought that boys are more aggressive when it comes to rough play as 'boys will be boys' however if two girls were seen being rough, they would be told to stop as society wouldn’t approve of these actions. Gender labelling has caused inequality not only in the home but in the workplace where bullying is due to gender. Staff who work in lower management men are generally more bullied than women, however with a higher management woman are targeted for bullying. This highlights how little power women have when working in a high-status job, they still are perceived as not having the right skills and abilities as men. Conclusion

Social Construction has caused Gender Inequality, women are still fighting for their rights such as equal pay as women are paid less for doing the same job as a man because some men still believe they have the power over women. Women shouldn’t have to choose between being a mother or having a profession however today we see many women who play both roles. Gender Labelling continues to happen and is more noticeable than ever, in many toy shops there are sections for boys and girls and certain colours associated with each gender this divide gives the child the perception of how gender is viewed. If we continue to live being categorized are, we not viewing people as belonging to a group rather than an induvial.

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