Andrew Mortensen
BI-218X
HR: notes, videos, readings from class
Artifact 3: Equality is not Actually Equal
In the United States and many other developed nations around the world today, women and men typically are granted similar, if not equal rights. However, the laws on paper do not constitute the degree of validity in action, creating a global gender gap. A gender gap is essentially the difference in equality and opportunities between a male and female, which is reliant upon many factors that simply cannot be fully quantified. There are various examples that can be seen in everyday life that can prove this gap however. For example, men will never have to worry about becoming pregnant. Although it is a way of life, this restricts time and ability women have to work, go to school, etc. Additionally, history has formed a stereotype for woman that leaves them to be judged and viewed as lesser than men, even if it is not the case at all. Another example is that men who perform sexual activities with a number of partners are hailed, while women who do the same are seen as sluts. To add on to that point, sexual harassment plays a large role in gender gap and affects a woman not only physically, but psychologically and emotionally. The gender gap in today’s society will depend on how each country decides to handle these situations and how they truly value equality rather than just laws written on a sheet of paper.
The United States suffers from more of a gender gap than one would think. Being one of the most populated and modern countries in the world, we rank in the high 40’s when it comes to gender gap. Many of these issues stem from what I mentioned earlier. Although women all over the world give birth and have to take work off to care for the baby, the United States is one of the only countries that do not allow paid leave. Again, as I mentioned earlier, the way we handle natural gender issues attest to our global ranking. Additionally, we rank high on educational attainment, as women have the upper hand on graduating college, yet there are a lower percentage of women who hold political and higher positions in the work force. The answer to this issue cannot be pinpointed to any specific inequality, but it can possibly be due to a combination of inequalities.
On the lower half of the list lies Iceland, who ranks number one overall in the world for having the lowest gender gap. Unlike the United States, they pay females during leave to care for youth, and have more women that hold higher positional powers. Additionally, there is a higher percentage of economic opportunity. These are just some examples that demonstrate how Iceland has closed 10% of their gender gap, making it one of the fastest improving countries in the world.
As mentioned in my opening paragraph, the gap comes from how each country handles the differences between males and females, depending on the struggles that they come across, whether they are inevitable or not. As for a country like the United States, we rank awfully in accordance to where we stand as a civilized society. I believe that we have the tools to be a country within the lowest gender gap, and adopting practices of those countries would allow us to close it even more. Although I believe this, I do not think it will happen any time soon. With the role of social media in our society, gender gap has become an issue as stereotypes flood the minds of our future and create a line between males and females.