Inequality For A Specific Group - Women

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

A group in society which I have studied is women. Social inequality impacts women in different ways including employability , politically and Socially.

Question 2

Social norms

Answer 2

• a factor contributing to inequality between men and women is social norms , which have negative impact on women. Social norms can be described as unwritten rules of behaviour that are considered acceptable in society - include things like expectations of men to be non emotional and strong and women to be sensitive and caring
• according the British social attitude survey : 71% of people think women should not work full time when they have a child under school age. Further more people think a full time working couple should split the paid leave as follows :30% think mothers take whole period m 39% think mothers take most
• this all shows how women are expected by social norms as they tend to be expected to stay home and care for the child rather than the father : the impact of this is that women may actually be less likely to work or apply for demanding jobs as they are expected not to - therefore have an economic loss, and miss out on employment + promotion opportunities
• moreover a further impact of this is that it contributes to further inequality in earnings as women are statistically more likely to live in poverty. The impact of this is that women are further exposed to other inequalities such as health : as they are more likely to heave worse mental of physical health / be socially isolated which is all detrimental.

Question 3

Women in politics

Answer 3

• a factor which has a negative impact on women contributing to gender inequality is women in politics ,- because women are significantly underrepresented in politics
• eg in the UK Parliament 222 out of 650 MPs are women( 34%)
• this shows how there is a lower number of women representatives - the impact of this is that females interestes and needs are not being adequately represented in Uk Parliament : when legislation is being made, females needs may be overlooked
• a further impact of this is that low number of female representatives means that there are not many women role model which means there is less encouragement for young girls to pursue careers in politics as they have the idea it is a male dominant career
• this is refereed to as descriptive representation : when individuals are elected because they share certain characteristics and experiences of a certain group : more descriptive representation us required
• ## the impact of descriptive representation can be demonstrated in the Scottish Parliament : where 35% of MSPs are female including the first minster : allows female interests To effectively represented / legislated such as Scotland was the first country ti make offers for sanitary products in public mandatory

Question 4

Gender pay gap

Answer 4

• inequality effects women economically in the form of the gender pay gap and reduces their earnings -this affects women as they work hard yet earn less than their male counterparts
• eg in 2017 78% of firms in the Uk reported a gender pay gap , only 8% of companies reported no pay gap.
• this creates inequality as women end up facing a financial barrier compared to men: the impact of this is that women are less likely to accumulate savings , make pension contributions or get into the housing ladder.
• furthermore women are affected by heir high representation in lower wage jobs. Women make up 60% of all lowers paid employees - often working in the jobs like: catering , cleaning , clerical , caring and cashier
• this has an effect on women as their major representation in low paid work leads women to fall into poverty : impact of this can be detrimental as they are exposed to further physical and mental issues
• on the other hand women are underrepresented in higher paid jobs as they face a “glass ceiling” reference to barriers in the career of high achieving women
• eg BAS in 2017 highlights that 38% people say mothers only should work part time when they have a child under school age
• impact is that creates barrier for women who want to work and achieve high as businesses value those who can commit to long traditional hours and can be flexible

Question 5

Conclusion

Answer 5

• to conclude social inequality impacts womens in many ways such as gender pay gap + unde representation in politics and social norms
• however I would argue the factor which impacts women most greatly is social norms : the fact that women are expected to stay home after having a baby affects their employment, and promotion aspects all contributing to inequality
• the reason social norms is the biggest factor is also because it links to many other factors , it is the root cause of inequalities in gender and is also very ingrained in the world of politics
• for example a way that social norms can be linked to the gender pay gap : 78% of firms reported gender pay gap, this can be linked to social norms because often there is a barrier to women to wanting to achieve high pay which is the social expectation if the, requiring flexible working hours and being the ones who should take care of the children.