Why women are still being treated as unequal to men

GS-I: Why women are still being treated as unequal to men

CONTEXT

According to a study published in American Psychologist, for the first time in history, 86% of US adults have admitted that men and women are equally intelligent. In 1946, only 35% of those surveyed thought both men and women are equally intelligent.

Status of gender equality

From the days when one had to hunt for food, to the days of agricultural output and the industrial economy, the superior physical abilities of man gave him an advantage over women in work efficiency. With the arrival of the knowledge economy, the human brain has become the most important tool for work.
According to the World Employment And Social Outlook Trends For Women 2018 report, more women than ever before are both educated and participating in the labour market today.
Men’s rates of graduation remain relatively stagnant, while women across socioeconomic classes are increasingly enrolling for and completing post-secondary degrees.
The Global Gender Gap Report 2018 by the World Economic Forum says that it will take 108 years to close the gender gap and 202 years to achieve parity in the workforce.

Suggestions to Bridge Gender Gap:

Apart from providing education to women, they need to be provided with all kinds of opportunities and skills without any discrimination or stereotyping.
The health and safety of women should be given priority to enable them to participate in public life efficiently.
The disparity in pay structure for women for same work and skill set needs to be closed at all levels.
Women should be given the right to decide the size of their family i.e. number of and spacing between children. Further, all women need to be made aware of contraception.
Support from society, family and corporate is required to create a soothing working environment for a woman.
A working couple needs to spend part of their income on domestic arrangements; otherwise, the woman will get marginalized.
The family of a woman needs to understand that she is pursuing a particular job as her passion, not just to earn some income.
The life of the child needs to be planned by a couple in advance so that s/he does not suffer.
Change in the mindset is required to bridge the gaps in gender equality. Apart from family and workplace support, use of technology is required to maintain a work-life balance.

Conclusion

Achieving gender parity is not about organizing awareness programmes and pasting a few posters in offices. It is all about fundamentally altering beliefs upheld by the two strongest institutions of any society the family and religion.

Source: Live Mint

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