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Gender equality: An introduction

Information: This article gives a brief review of issues surrounding gender equality. A version of this article was originally published on the website www.faithnet.org.uk.

Introduction

In an ideal world, men and women would be treated fairly and equally in all matters. However, we do not live in an ideal world, and men and women have not been treated in this way. For instance, women have been particularly discriminated against in that they have often been denied basic education, voting rights and even the right to have their own property. Fortunately, over the last 100 years or so this trend has been largely reversed. Under new European and North American laws, women now enjoy the same social and political rights as men do. I say 'under law', as there are still sections of European and American society which consider a women's place as being in the home; the notion here being that men should go out to work, while women stay at home to cook, clean and look after the family.

Since the 1970s, feminist and women's movements in Europe and North America have campaigned for women's equality, and sought to revise society's gender-stereotypes of what constitutes the roles of men and women in terms of work and the home.

Some definitions

• Gender: Understood as the classification of society into male and female types. Gender is often decided at birth (physical). Difficulties with this classification can arise when people feel they have been 'born into the wrong body' (trans-gender). In the past, gender roles have been set out by 'society' (which has often been patriarchal, or serving male needs), but in recent years men and women have been re-defining their own roles, leading to a new understanding of what men and women really are.
• Gender-stereotypes: This occurs when the role of a man or a women is defined and fixed in such a way that it is expected they have/do a certain job/role in society, work or the home. An example of a gender-stereotype is to say that all secretaries should be female; implying that this is what women do (or should do). However, that women have been encouraged to do secretarial jobs in the past, does not mean this is the only job women should do, or that men should not do it (or be ridiculed if they do).
• Discrimination: The deliberate, and sometimes unconscious, unfavourable treatment of a person. People can be discriminated against because of their race, ability and/or sex (gender). Those who are discriminated against find themselves 'sidelined', as others considered to be 'more able' or 'more favoured' are privileged by those around them. In the past women have been particularly discriminated against by men, often being denied full social and political rights (also referred to as sexism).

Something to think about: Religions, religious groups and religious leaders can be punished for not obeying laws on taxes and property, so should they be following equal opportunity laws as well? In other words, is it legal for any religion or denomination to deny women the right to become a priest or church leader?

Men and women in the work-place

It is now unlawful for prospective employers to discriminate on grounds of race and gender, by defining in adverts whether they would prefer a man or women for a job. For example, it is unlawful to advertise for a female secretary or a male plumber. These jobs are to be advertised, and prospective employees interviewed, on the basis of ability, not gender.

Something to think about: A person's resume focuses predominantly on their education and work achievements, whereas a CV usually includes personal data. Which of them do you think it is better to have when applying for a job (think about this from the perspective of the employer, as well as prospective employee?

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Although it is now unlawful to discriminate against someone on the basis of their gender in many countries around the world (notably in Europe and North America), in practice gender-discrimination in the work-place is still evident. For example, women having (or who express the desire) to have children, are less likely to progress in their careers than men. Western societies are still largely influenced by the notion that when children do come along, it will be the woman who will give up working outside the home to look after them. Very few women have been able to balance having a family, with a successful career, and not be penalised financially in the future for doing so.

'50% of working women (12% of men) are still mainly employed in administration, secretarial, personal care and customer services. Less than one in three managers are women. Less than one in 12 skilled trades people are women. 43 companies in the FTSE 100 index have no female directors... Female graduates earn 15% less than men before they reach 24. The gap between women's and men's average salary increases with age, with men earning 43% more by their late 40s.' (Equal Opps: Men vs. Women, BBC One Life)

In the UK, The Equal Pay Act (1963) states that women have the right to equal pay for work, which is of equal value to that done by a colleague of the opposite sex, in the same employment.

The ongoing battle for equality

Although European and American law has responded positively to the call for equality, in other places around the world women still struggle for social and political acceptance. For example, in some Asian countries women are still being killed for dishonouring male relatives (honour killings). For example , a woman can be attacked or killed for having sexual relations outside marriage, choosing her own husband against her parent's wishes, or even seeking a divorce. Women branded a 'kari' (adulterer) can find their life at risk from relatives, even if they have been abused or raped by someone in their own family. Many women have also been horrifically scarred in acid attacks, especially over dowry payments.

Female infanticide in India and China is still a wide-spread practice. This occurs because the raising of a girl is seen to be a greater financial burden, and also because women still have a relatively low status in these countries. In India there are around 930 girls born for every 1000 men [1] (elsewhere the average is 105/106 males for every 100 girls born in countries with adequate healthcare). In China, the number of 'missing girls' has crept up since the introduction of the 'one-child policy' by the government in 1979, which was designed to control the population growth.

In rural communities boys are often more highly valued than girls, because they can work and do not require a dowry payment in marriage. Women who give birth to a daughter can be made to feel a real sense of shame in these communities, for the financial burden they have brought on a family for doing so.

Final thoughts

Although many women still face immense difficulties and pressures in certain sectors of the global community, their plight is regularly being brought to the attention of the world. Although women may have far to go to achieve complete equality in all matters (social, political and religious), the world has changed a lot in the past 100 years. Women have come a long way, despite the efforts which still need to be made on behalf of them.

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