Artifact III: The Global Gender Gap
HR: Handouts from class
The Global Gender Gap refers to the financial gap that is prevalent between the genders, meaning an analysis of which gender makes more money and lives a bette quality of life. This is important because it offers insight into even more in depth issues within that state of culture. For example, Norway was recently ranked number 1 in the survey for “State of the World’s Mother’s”. Though not knowing much else about Norway, it wouldn’t be hard to deduce that Norway probably treats its women much better than a country such as Somalia which ranks 179th. Meaning that both women and children live much better lives in Norway rather than Somalia. Further evidence of this lays within the fact that Norway ranked second on the list for “The Global Gender Gap Index”, meaning that women in Norway hold a closer amount of jobs to their male counterparts on average than women within other countries.
I do not find it very surprising that the U.S did not rank in the top ten for either “State of the World’s Mothers” or “The Global Gender Gap Index”. Though I do consider myself to be very patriotic, it is not hard to look into America’s history to find sexism to be a larger part in it. Not only were women not allowed to vote until the 20’s but fighting for equal rights and wages is still an issue even today. Even my own school did not allow females to attend until the 1990’s and I still know people who feel that women have done nothing but hurt the establishment. However, what does make America different from other countries is that women are seen of as equal in the sense of being human and are given the same rights as men. Women in countries such as Somalia, Dr Congo and Niger have to fight just to live in many circumstances. Infanticide, rape, and the prevention of women from working is not seen as taboo or wrong. Women are simply seen as inferior.
Just because women are the sex that gives birth does not make them inferior to their male counterparts. A vagina does not make a person weaker or helpless, it is the culture that makes people weak and helpless. In female run societies men become the weak ones, meaning that it has nothing to do with sex but rather which sex is dominant at that time. Though there are counties such as India, China, parts of the Middle East, and parts of Africa that limit, restrict, rape, and beat women, these countries are uneducated and other countries, such as the countries that did fall within the top ten, benefit a lot more when they not only provide for their children but allow the other 50 percent of their population to enjoy and exhibit the same rights as the dominant gender. Most people generally want to live and vacation in countries where human life is viewed with care and importance. No one wants to go somewhere their mothers, sister, daughters, and even themselves, may be raped, killed, and seen as second-class citizens.
