Social Inequalities - Essay 3 - Gender Flashcards
Gender Inequalities - Introduction
Gender inequality is a worrying problem that sadly a great number of women are affected by. This response will set out how all over the UK women are employed in low paid work and part time work. However, arguably the most concerning effect of gender inequality on women is women who are unemployed which is having a mammoth effect on women.
women in low paid work (Paragraph 1 )
One effect of gender inequality on women is that they are more likely to be employed in low paid work. Gender stereotypes result in this because historically women have been stereotyped as “carers” with skills as “homemakers’’ that makes them more suited for low paid professions known as the 5 C’s - caring, catering, cleaning, checkouts and clerical work so it hardly surprising that then women are encouraged into these professions one viewed as “women’s work”. According to the UK Parliament 11 men are 2x more likely to be in the highest paid jobs like management compared to women who are in caring and clerical jobs. It’s no surprise that when women are more concentrated in these low paid jobs that they are also more likely to experience poverty. One effect of gender inequality on women is that they will on average earn less than men. The “Gender Pay Gap ‘’ as it is known is the gap in average earnings between men and women. It varies by profession but what is clear is that the women’s overrepresentation in low pay work, part time work and absence from senior positions is costing women financially. According to the UK Parliament the UK gender pay gap is around 9% for full time workers and sees women earn around £100 less a week than men for full time work. To earn almost 10% less than men for the same hours of work means that women will struggle more in life financially and will therefore need to rely on others for help. The evidence above shows that women are over concentrated in low paid employment and earning a lot less money a week than men, which increases their risk of experiencing poverty thus contributing to gender inequalities.
women in part time work (paragraph 2)
One effect of gender inequality on women is that they often end up in part time work rather than full time work. One reason why women find themselves in low paid, part time work is due to the societal expectation that women will be the primary caregivers at home. So low paid part time professions are often more flexible around the needs of caring for a family which is expected more of women than men. This has resulted in around 38% of women being in part time work in contrast to only 13% of men. The world of work has historically not been as flexible or supportive of working mothers making it harder for them to develop in their careers once more showing how badly affected women are by gender inequality. Known as the glass ceiling, one effect of gender inequality on women is that they are less able to progress to the top levels of their occupations. Despite women increasingly outperforming men in education and being overrepresented at the lower levels of well- paid professions such as law and medicine. It is argued that the caring responsibilities expected of women are not accounted for in the workplace and so women miss out on opportunities and experiences that lead to promotion. This is exemplified by the work of the UK Parliament which shows that in the UK only 35% of the people running the biggest companies in the UK are women. Not only do women miss out of dream careers and face barriers to success in their work, businesses themselves miss out from the talents and ambitions of these women due to gender inequalities.The evidence provided above shows that women are far more likely to be in part time work rather than full time work which will result in low income and thus becoming far more vulnerable to poverty and therefore contributing to gender inequalities.
Women in no work (Unemployment( Paragraph 3)
One effect of gender inequality on women is that they will be less likely to work and more likely to be unemployed. Once again, the caring responsibilities placed on women mean that they will find it more difficult than men to find work and hold onto while also being expected to “maintain a home” and look after a family. When 90% 12 of single parents are women it is not surprising so many women might be out of work. According to the UK Parliament 13 there are a million more women than men out of work because they have to look after a family and home. Evidence like this tells us that the gendered expectations placed on women is a big barrier to economic success and independence for women. A further effect of gender inequality is it increases the risk of women to become victims of domestic abuse. Traditional gender stereotypes expect men to be dominant and “head of the household”. Women are expected to be submissive to men and be the “homemaker”. For men they should “wear the trousers” and “control their woman”. Men who “fail” at this may feel emasculated which can drive them to use controlling behaviours to regain power or prove themselves. According to Health Scotland 14 around 80% of domestic abuse incidents reported had a female victim and male perpetrator. Sadly women’s economic position, being at greater risk of low income, poverty and dependence on male partners does increase their vulnerability to abuse. The evidence shown suggests that women are more likely to be unemployed and therefore creating no income to provide for themself and thus falling into poverty, which furthermore will contribute towards gender inequalities.
Gender Inequalities conclusion
As set out above it is clear that gender inequality is really having a detrimental effect on women in low paid employment and Part time work are really worrying because they will have a large lack of income creating a hardship to provide the necessities to survive like food and shelter, but the most alarming effect on women is Unemployment As this means They will have no income whatsoever therefore having nothing to provide for themselves. All together though it is very important that more is done and quickly to begin to overcome these issues, to help overcome gender inequalities in the UK.
