Assignment Flashcards
Intro
Plan International describes gender inequality as being “the condition in which access to rights, resources and opportunities is unequally distributed between men, women, boys, girls, and individuals of other gender identities.” The key causes of gender inequality are societal expectations, discrimination, and attitudes towards women; all of which are driven by misogyny. For example, ‘Gender equality at every stage: a roadmap for change’ published by the UK gov. shows that limiting attitudes towards women have resulted in 67% of girls aged 11-21 in the UK believing that women don’t have the same chances as men. Gender inequality has been a large problem in the UK for centuries, but many in Britain still view this issue as irrelevant. For example, a 2021 survey found that only 23% of Britons consider inequality between men and women to be one of the most serious types of inequality. However, evidence shows that gender inequality is still relevant in British society, having the largest effect on women and non-binary people, especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds. For example, the gender pay gap is larger for ethnic minority women, with Pakistani women earning 31% less than men. One impact of gender inequality is increased violence against women and girls. For example, eight women a month are killed by a current or former partner in England and Wales.
GPG Support 1
One reason to support closing the GPG in the UK is it’ll reduce poverty. This is because the GPG increases for women as their years in the labour market increase. One reason for this is that women are more concentrated in lower income work, like the 5Cs (caring, catering, checkouts, cleaning, and clerical work). This is mainly attributed to caring needs, which leads to women earning less than men because they may have to take time off work. Due to this, women have less to spend on essential needs which can then lead to a higher risk of poverty for older women. For example, in 2024 it was reported that 23% of single older women live in poverty compared to 20% of single older men. Currently more women are in part-time work than full-time work. Source D shows that 38% of women in employment worked part-time, compared with 14% of men. This shows that the proportion of women in part-time work is larger than men, leading to women suffering from poverty. By closing the GPG, less women will suffer from poverty as it will encourage them to work higher paid jobs which then means they will earn high wages.
GPG Support 2
Another reason to support closing the GPG is women will be more likely to progress to leadership positions. This is because women often work part-time or take time off work to fulfill caring responsibilities (e.g maternity leave) which then limits the progress that they can make in their careers. For example, 25% of women in the UK believe that their career has been stunted by their caring responsibilities. This also makes them less likely to receive promotions as they are working less time than others. Source C shows that 16% of women reported being promoted, compared to 23% of men. This shows that tackling the GPG would be effective as closing the gap by making jobs more flexible (i.e by encouraging remote work) for those with caring responsibilities (mainly women) would allow them to earn more money by giving them the chance to remain in work whilst caring for others, along with the chance of working in roles that reflect their abilities, therefore enabling them to afford basic necessities and splurge on luxuries.
GPG Agaisnt 1
However, one reason to oppose this option is that it’s already mandatory for most employers to report their GPG. This is because it’s a requirement for organisations in the UK with more than 250 employees to report their GPG, in which they must calculate their GPG, report their data to the GPG service, and publish it to their organisation’s website. For example, organisations must report their GPG under the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017. Many companies have followed through on this law, with thousands of them reporting their GPG to the government. Source A states: “A total of 10,015 firms have reported their figures in time for this deadline.” This shows that closing the GPG isn’t the most effective solution as companies are willing to report their GPG and face the scrutiny they’ll receive if the gap is large, making it likely that they could possibly listen to people’s complaints and do more to try and close their gap. This then means that more needs to be done to tackle gender inequality as this simple act alone isn’t enough for gender inequality to disappear.
GPG Against 2
Another reason to oppose this option is it’s already illegal for men and women to be paid differently. This is because numerous laws have been passed in the last 60 years making it a criminal offense for men and women to be paid differently for the same job. For example, the Equal Pay Act was introduced in 1970, a large step towards achieving equity in the workplace and in terms of earnings. This makes the GPG a less important solution to tackling gender inequality as it being illegal makes it a less prevalent issue that women in the UK face. Source B shows an anonymous quote from my survey which states: “Just focusing on pay alone doesn’t tackle attitudes and cultures. There should be a multifaceted approach.” This shows that closing the GPG isn’t the most effective solution to tackling gender inequality as it is societal views that actually affect women and lead to problems like the GPG. If we want to solve gender inequality we should instead focus on dealing with the root cause of the GPG (misogynistic views in society) rather than attempting useless solutions to closing it like encouraging women to work in higher paid sectors which they may not want to work in.
GE Support 1
One reason to support introducing gender equality education is that gender stereotyping is still present in schools. This is because gender stereotypes exist in every aspect of a child’s life, including at home and in school. This then indicates to young children that there are certain ways that boys and girls should behave. For example, these ideas are perpetuated to children at a key developmental stage where they are learning about the world around them and continue to affect them as they grow older. If we prevent gender stereotyping, by discussing it in classes like PSE, then we can stop girls from being negatively impacted by gender inequality both as children and as adults. Source F states: “Subject choices are still gendered, and gender stereotypes are impacting girls’ future career opportunities.” This shows that class choices in schools are still being promoted as ‘girl classes’ or ‘boy classes’ which then limits the opportunities that women have to go into higher paid job sectors
(e.g finance) because they were prevented from fulfilling their academic potential in male dominated classes. This can lower their morale in school as they are taking classes they don’t enjoy purely because they are ‘girly’. It also makes them more likely to go into lower paid work as they don’t have the qualifications required for high earning occupations.
GE Support 2
Another reason to support this option is that discrimination is still prevalent in schools.
This is because issues of sexual harassment and bullying in schools effect girls more than boys. Without being taught about gender equality, boys grow up seeing men as ‘superior to women.’ This then leads to boys seeking control over women through harassment and bullying. For example, over 3/4ths of female secondary school pupils in the UK who attend mixed schools claim that they have been on the receiving end of sexist comments from other pupils. Many incidents of sexual harassment and bullying go unreported in schools. This can be linked to a fear of not being believed. Source H shows that 14% of students that have experienced sexual harassment reported it to a teacher. This shows that gender equality should be taught in schools as sexual harassment can result in girls’ confidence and self worth being diminished, with girls learning to hide themselve because they’re scared of unwanted attention from boys. If we teach gender equality in schools, it’s likely that these incidents would decrease largely, with boys growing up seeing all genders as equal and girls not fearing that they’ll be taken advantage of.
GE Against
However, one reason to oppose this option is parents disagree with it. This is because many parents believe that gender equality and the topics related to it (e.g gender identity, LGBTQ+ education) shouldn’t be taught in schools. This is due to religious beliefs and views on gender roles. The idea of teaching these topics in school has led to outrage from parents in the past. For example, parents protested outside of Birchfields Primary School in Fallowfield in 2023 over LGBT material being taught in schools. This wasn’t the only time this has happened and shows that backlash will ensue if gender equality topics are taught in schools. Many parents in Britain are against such topics being taught in schools; Source E shows that among parents of a child younger than 18, around a quarter (25-26%) say these subjects should not be covered. This shows that teaching topics in relation to gender equality in schools will lead to protests from parents which will make the gov. look bad to the general public, therefore making it likely that they’ll stop these topics from being taught or won’t make further steps to include them in future curriculums.
GBV Support 1
One reason to support improving protection against GBV, discrimination and harassment is that women are often the target of crime. This is because misogynistic views perpetuated in society lead to gender-based hate crimes being carried out against women. Women are less likely to know how to defend themselves sufficiently which increases the chances that they’ll be attacked and killed. For example, 28% of homicide victims in 2021/22 were female. Additionally, the majority of victims of crimes like stalking, domestic abuse and harassment are women, with men often being the perpetrators. A reason for this is sexual assault gives men control, allowing them to perpetuate misogynistic stereotypes of men having power over women. Source J shows that there is a higher proportion of women experienced domestic abuse (6.6%), stalking (4.0%), sexual assault (3.4%), and harassment (11.2%) in the last year, compared with men (3.0%, 2.3%, 0.8% and 6.6%, respectively). This shows that improving protection against GBV would be effective in tackling gender inequality as it would reduce the number of female victims of crime, effectively saving their lives and keeping them from experiencing life-long consequences of crime, like PTSD.
GBV Support 2
Another reason to support this option is it’d lead to improved support for women who have experienced GBV. This is because violence can cause major physical, psychological, and social consequences and, in extreme cases, death for victims of any gender. However, as women are more likely to experience violent crime in the UK, these consequences affect them more, and often there is little support available to them before and/or after they have been the victim of a crime. Women are also more likely to be victims of sexual violence, which can lead to life changing physical and mental consequences like infertility and trauma. For example, 63% of women who have been victims of sexual assault said they experienced mental health issues as a result. By improving protection against GBV, support for women attempting to escape abuse can be increased and hopefully lead to better results. Currently, it’s extremely difficult for women to escape domestic abuse as they aren’t listened to by professionals/professionals are unable to aid them. Source G shows 73% of [domestic abuse] victims sought help two times on average from professionals in the year before they got effective help to stop the abuse. This shows that improving protection would be effective as increased awareness of violence against women, and the signs of it, means more victims will be able to seek help faster and receive the necessary support to help them get away/cope with their trauma.
GBV Against
However, one reason to oppose this option is bills have already been introduced to stop this problem. This is because the gov. is taking the problem of GBV seriously and has implemented new laws to try and tackle the issue. For example, the gov. introduced the Domestic Abuse Act in 2021. Since the introduction of this act, the number of domestic abuse prosecutions has decreased. Source I shows there were 51,183 domestic abuse-related prosecutions in England and Wales in YE March 2024, compared with 51,288 in YE March 2023. This shows that the gov. have created an act that has led to a decrease in persecutions, implying that there was a decrease in domestic abuse cases which suggests that the government’s actions have been successful and therefore this option isn’t as important as others.
My decision
The best solution for tackling gender inequality in the UK is option 2 - gender equality education in schools. This is because teaching children about gender equality from a young age will help them recognise inequality and discriminatory behaviour and actively try and put a stop to it. This option is better than closing the GPG as giving children the opportunity to take subjects in school without gendering them can enable them to go into high earning jobs in the future e.g allowing girls to take STEM subjects like maths could allow them to go into finance, a high paid sector. This would then lead to the GPG closing as women wouldn’t be concentrated in low paid work, therefore making education more effective. This option is better than improving protection against GBV, discrimination and harassment as educating children about misogyny and gender roles can prevent GBV from occurring in the first place. Overall, the best option is gender equality education in schools because gender inequality in the UK is based on misogynistic views, attitudes, and ideas that are cultivated in society which can only truly be solved by educating people from a young age. It would also be the easiest approach to ending gender inequality as misogynistic ideas fuel the GPG and GBV. If we can tackle these cultures and ideas through educating the young, these two problems would likely be eradicated, therefore making education the most effective solution.
Research method 1
The first research method I used is a survey I created. One strength of my survey is that my results can be recorded in a graph or table to be analysed. For example, one of my questions is: “What do you think the best solution to tackling gender inequality is?” The three solutions are listed and respondents simply click the option they think is best. This information can then be turned into a pie chart to show the percentage of people who support each issue which can then be compared. One weakness of my survey is that I didn’t get a lot of responses. For example, I only received 6 responses to my survey, meaning I didn’t get a wide range of responses/opinions. This then makes it difficult to come to a conclusion as it doesn’t represent most people’s opinions, only a select few.
Research method 2
The second research method I used is the Office for National Statistics (ONS). One strength of ONS is that it’s part of an official government record. This made the information provided on the percentage of the GPG, number of people experiencing domestic abuse, the number of domestic abuse incidents reported, etc. more accurate as it comes directly from the source. For example, their statistics on violence came from police reports. One weakness of ONS is that their method of measuring statistics changes over time, leading to problems when comparing results. For example, ONS states that for the ASHE GPG for median gross hourly earnings (excluding overtime) statistics, estimates for earnings in April 2021 using the SOC 2020 code might not be comparable to estimates in earnings using SOC 2010 code and shouldn’t be used as direct comparisons. Therefore, the source is less accurate as the data can’t be compared to previous years.
Research overall
Overall, the research method that I think is most reliable is ONS. This is because ONS’s statistics have a large number of respondents (ranging between 144,000-180,000) whereas my survey only had 6. Also, ONS contains factual data on each of my options, whereas my survey’s respondents could have made up data or indicated that information was factual when it isn’t when answering my questions, therefore making the data collected from ONS more reliable. ONS also has a wide variety of resources to use when collecting data (police reports, citizen accounts, etc.) which allows them to combine all the information collected to create an accurate piece of data. The only resource in my survey was people’s opinions, which makes my survey less reliable.
