Analysis of Female Inequality as a Social Justice Issue

Analysis of Female Inequality as a Social Justice Issue One of the most well-known and opposed conflicts in society today is the injustice inflicted against woman. Currently, the most important movement working towards reversing this social inequality is Feminism: “a range of political movements, ideologies and social movements that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve equal political, economic, personal, and social rights for women” 1. Despite the fact that Feminism is now a house-hold term and that North-American society specifically has come a long way in recognizing women’s rights, there is still much to be done in establishing universal equality for women. The Patriarchy, “a system of society or government in which men hold the power” , is a “structure of oppression” and is the primary force opposing the movement 2 towards female equality. This essay will be an examination of gender inequality throughout 3 history, its political, social and economic implications on women and why Feminism is such an important tool, necessary for the establishment of social justice in society. Throughout history, women have faced an immense amount of discrimination and in many societies are still viewed as being less than fully human. Women have faced, and still do face, many forms of social inequalities from a lack of legal rights to have actually been scientifically thought of as having inferior brains than men. These differences between sexes 1 Feminism. (2016, March 8). Retrieved March 21, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism 2 Patriarchy. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/patriarchy 3 Morley, Constance. (2016). Lecture 6: Oppression, resistance and social justice (PowerPoint slides). Retrieved from Saint Paul University Inequality, Conflict and Social Justice Blackboard: uottawa.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp? course_id=_43778_1&content_id=_975610_1&mode=reset 2 can be viewed since the beginning of time, even showing a great prevalence in the Bible, regardless of the Bible’s promotion of equality and fair treatment to all. Yet, despite this message, the Bible still contains many statements contradicting this principle such as, “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God” 4. This demonstrates just how far back this extreme prejudice towards women stems from. It wasn’t until 1848 that the first women’s right convention was held, and even then, it wasn’t until April 25 th 1940 that every Canadian province had granted woman the right to vote 5. Despite the progress that has been made in establishing equal rights for women, there is a still a long way to go before complete social equality between sexes is fully established. In some countries, women are still prohibited from driving, are subject to extreme clothing restrictions, do not have the right to divorce, education or travel, and are still the victims to a startling amount of violence and sexual subjugation 6. Although these examples may seem extreme, even in Canada women are still subject to a great deal of political, social and economic discrimination. The gender pay gap in Canada is actually twice that of the global average, with Canadian women earning $0.82 to every $1 earned by men7. This difference may seem insignificant; however, that variance equates 4 Sexism in the Bible. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://members.shaw.ca/tfrisen/Bbl/Sexism/Sexism.html 5 Library of Parliament. (2014, March 31). Women's Rights. Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.lop.parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/compilations/provinceterritory/ProvincialWomenRightToVote .aspx 6 Trademark of Listverse Ltd. (2008, April 19). 10 Extreme Examples of Gender Inequality - Listverse. Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://listverse.com/2008/11/20/10-extremeexamples-of-gender-inequality/ 3 to an $8000 pay gap7 between male and female Canadians. In terms of politics, “the biggest downfall for Canada is suffered by its female legislators, senior officials and managers”8. This downfall is not however, due to lack of female qualifications. Despite its large gender gap, Canadian women have relatively equal access to education8 as men, proving that the average Canadian woman is just as capable as the average man to perform in a political position. However, despite this fact, women still currently only make up about 25 per cent of the federal legislature (as of 2013)8. Lastly, the most evident form of discrimination is seen through the social inequalities women face on a daily basis. Due to women’s child-bearing capabilities, many women are forced into positions of care and nurture for their husbands and children, while still being expected to uphold a full-time job. This dubbed the term “The Second Shift”9 which refers to the unfair amount of “unpaid domestic labour women do in addition to their paid jobs” in the household9. And this is only one example of the immense about of social discrimination women are forced to undergo every, single day. These examples only demonstrate a small portion of the vast amount of inequality women face, despite all the efforts made to reverse this unfair treatment. Studies demonstrate that at the rate the movement towards equality is going; it will take nearly 228 years to close the gender gap between men and women8. Feminism is an 7 The Huffington Post. (2016, March 21). Gender Pay Gap In Canada. Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/05/06/gender-pay-gap-canada_n_7223508.html 8 The Huffington Post. (2013, April 25). 228 Years Until Gender Equality! Go Canada! Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/25/canada-gender-gap_n_3156904.html 9 Zeilinger, J. (n.d.). 4 Women's Issues That Haven't Changed Since 1911. Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/17/4-womens-issues-that-havent-changedsince-1911_n_3606537.html 4 extremely important tool, necessary to closing this gap quicker by sparking the establishment of a social-justice based society based on fair and equal treatment of everyone, regardless of their sex. The inequality imposed upon woman would not be possible without the social dynamics that stimulate this issue’s growth and development. The main concept contributing to this prolonged female discrimination is the Patriarchy. As previously stated, the patriarchy is “a system of society or government in which men hold the power”10 and can be dated back to as early as “1632”10. This shows that the Patriarchy has been a primary force in the prevention of woman’s equality for a very long time. “Patriarchy is a system of oppression which permeates institutions”3 and is the main factor contributing to female discrimination. Again, as previously stated, the Bible is another major contributing dynamic. Seeing as there are “1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world”3, and aside from just that large number, “one in five of all American adults have read the Bible from start to finish”3, the messages in the Bible are extremely influential in establishing the views of society’s members. Since the Bible contains many statements promoting the superiority of man, and more importantly the suppression of woman, it is an extremely influential source in continuing the lack of inequality women face. Another source of discrimination against woman is lack of knowledge or education. Especially in developing countries, many people truly do not know any better than to have these viewpoints and are simply following the sexist beliefs based down by their family or community. Without proper education for people in these situations, it is very difficult for them to differentiate from 10 Patriarchy. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/patriarchy 5 the viewpoints of their family that they were raised to believe. Aside from these three major sources, there is a much less obvious dynamic that contributes largely to the issue: the members of society that stand by and do nothing to help the cause. Of course, anyone promoting or supporting the suppression of woman are major contributing factors, but, anyone that simply stands by and does nothing to end the issue is also at fault. The only way for real change to come into effect is for men and women who support the cause to stand together and demand it. Feminists are extremely important in promoting this because they are fighting every day to make this change possible. The maintained universality of this conflict means that there is a great deal at stake in “terms of human rights or needs and interests”11. The largest issue involves an issue of autonomy for females. Autonomy refers to a person’s right to make their own decisions and in a society where woman are discriminated against and have little to no financial and legal independence, women are not granted this right. The majority of women, “at least 75%, have primary responsibility for childcare in the home”12 but are forced to work a full-time job. There are “31 million mothers with children under 18”15 currently in the workforce because they are still unable to receive payment for all the labour they provide at home. Despite this discrimination due to the still-prevalent importance placed on traditional gender roles, women are still also discriminated against in terms of their pay and the jobs they can work. Women make up only “26% of people employed in computer and mathematic occupations”13 and still currently 11 Morley, C. (n.d.). Final Essay. Retrieved March 23, 2016, from https://uottawa.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_43778_ 12 UK feminista. (n.d.). Facts and statistics on gender inequality. Retrieved March 23, 2016, from http://ukfeminista.org.uk/take-action/facts-and-statistics-on-gender-inequality/ 13 Data & Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2016, from http://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/stats_data.htm 6 make a significant amount less money than men, even when working the exact same job. In terms of politics, this discrimination can be seen once again. “Women are outnumbered 5 to1 by men in the cabinet: only 16% of senior ministerial posts are held by women”14 and “at the current rate of progress we would have to wait more than 150 years before seeing an equal number of women and men elected to local councils”17. Even if women are lucky enough to get “a foot in the door, one study indicated, they’re much more likely to experience rampant sexual harassment and assault”15.These are just a few of the terrifying ways in which women are stripped of their freedom, and despite all of these, many people still believe that sexism no longer exists. In a study done by the Washington Post, “9.5 percent of the comments argued that sexism does not exist; 68 percent of these commenters were men”18 and “7.6 percent of the comments argued that sexism targets men more than women; 65 percent of these commenters were men”18. This shows just how uneducated and naïve the current population is on the discriminatory issues women are faced with every, single day. These stats also show just how important the Feminist movement is for society’s future. Every day, millions of women are discriminated against simply because they are female: whether it be politically, socially or economically. Despite how far society has come in terms of 14 Facts and statistics on gender inequality. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2016, from http://ukfeminista.org.uk/take-action/facts-and-statistics-on-gender-inequality/#link3 15 Men (on the Internet) don’t believe sexism is a problem in science, even when they see evidence. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/01/08/men-on-the-internetdont-believe-sexism-is-a-problem-in-science-even-when-they-see-evidence/ 7 developing an equalized society for all genders, the examples discussed in this paper demonstrate that there is still a long way to go before a completely equal society is established. The Patriarchy, the bible and the lack of education of society’s members are just a few examples of the powerful dynamics working against the promotion of feminine equality. This shows just how important the feminist movement is, and just how important it is that everyone takes action in promote a society based on social-justice and equality for all.