Are women still discriminated against today?
In the last fifty years or so, our society has made unprecedented strives towards
improving the status of women. Women have been relentless in fighting discrimination
against the female gender, carving a place for themselves within the business,
educational, professional and political arenas of the society. As a result, today, women
have much more power then ever before. This is reflected in the area of work. More than
half of the labour force is made up of women However, the participation of women in the
workforce has also become an economic necessity, because there are less secure full-time
jobs and many families today need the dual income. Although many things have changed
for women in the last century, the full equality between the genders has not yet been
achieved. This essay will argue that women are discriminated against in the labour
market. The discrimination is manifested in several ways. First, women are still paid less
then men for corresponding jobs. Second, they still form the major part of part-time and
temporary workforce. Women are segregated into certain 'female' professions and they are
underrepresented in other professions. Women concentrated in jobs stereotyped as
"women's jobs". They are poorly presented in science, computer science and engineering
occupations, which are often very prestigious and well paid. Fourth, more prestigious
positions with power are still mainly reserved for men as women often encounter the
'glass ceiling'. Finally, women often do 'second shift' of housework at home, which is
unpaid and undervalued. This job inequality is rooted in the broader social inequality,
which separates boys and girls from an early age, and which still sharply defines male
and female roles with the family and society at large." The perception of certain work as
feminine has had a significant impact on...