Are Women Still Discriminated Against Today?

Are Women Still Discriminated Against Today?

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...

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