Gender Discrimination between Men and Women
Pradeep Neupane
This paper is an attempt to explore and analyze the gender issues manifested at workplace, sports, media, politics, and fashion. I have examined gender dynamics and impact of gender stereotypes in Walmart workers, basketball game, university transportation services, mass media, fashion, and politics. This research presents an overview of my experiences, values, attitudes, and thoughts in relation to integrating gender considerations into sociocultural value regarding men and women’s participations, activities, and roles in a variety of social and political institutions. I also explore gender perspective issues concerning power, strength, attitude, behavior, work- division, and perception regarding gender and sex differences between men and women. This paper focuses on how differences and inequalities affect men and women’s rights and opportunities in the workplace, sports, politics, and the media.
Introduction
Although the implementation of variety of government and society’s plans, policy, programs, and law enforcement has been conducted by government and organizations, for example, NGOs and INGOs, to grant women equal opportunities and rights as men, gender stereotypes have been consistent over time. We think this as good or bad based on whether the society accepts or denies these behaviors, beliefs, practices, and attitudes. I think gender stereotypes are shaped by society. We are taught, since our childhood, to see differences in clothing, playing, and living styles in the society. Discrimination may not have negative connotation all the time. It depends on whether discrimination is for empowerment and opportunity or essential to provide certain level of support to disadvantaged people. For example, if there are very few natives joining college compared to migrants, policy to reserve some quota for natives as disadvantaged group can be positive discrimination. But my focus in this paper is discrimination against essential or fundamental human rights of equity in opportunities and choices. Why is there discrimination between men and women at workplace, sports, politics, and media? Why do men think that masculinity, power, and violence define their manhood? I was pondering with these gender perspectives questions in association with learning gender roles in a society. Therefore, I decided to study and analyze gender stereotypes in different areas, such as, work place, sports, and politics.
Gender and workplace
By the end of February 2011, I planned to observe men and women’s jobs in Wal-Mart. I went to Wal-Mart in the evening (6:00pm) and at night (11:50pm). I observed what men and women were doing. It was very interesting to see work-division between men and women at different time intervals. I found that numbers of women were working in the cash counter to serve the customers and a few men were working in the car repair and electronic areas in the evening. On the other hand, less numbers of women were working at the cash counter while many men were running big carts of groceries to unload and put these groceries in the respective areas at night. Some men were supervising works done by women in the evening and at night. I followed and continued the same schedule from three to four days. I observed the same event almost every day I visited. I tried myself to analyze these realities that shape men and women’s role differently in the workplace. Why are women only associated with cash-counter jobs and men with electronics and heavy loading? This is an example of gender stereotypes that exemplifies men and women were assigned in their specific jobs.
Next, let me discuss these issues at University’s transportation service. I always use the service of the Union Express to travel from my apartment to the University and back to my apartment. I carefully observed gender role in driving bus for two weeks in last month (March, 2011). I noticed that men were driving big buses almost all the time, while women were driving small buses. There were only few women who drove big buses, but, they drove these buses not very frequently. For me, this is clearly a gender bias in assigning men and women driving different buses. I think women can drive the large buses as confidently as men but still men are assigned to larger buses and women are assigned to drive smaller buses. What is the reason behind this type of work difference between men and women in the context of driving Union Express at UW? The reason may be different from my opinion, but, I would say gender based conceptions and roles have created these gender inequalities between men and women at workplace.
Gender and Sports
I analyzed gender inequalities at sports to see how men and women are performing different roles at sports. I went to watch a basketball game on every weekend for three weeks at the Arena, University of Wyoming last fall semester. As each match went through, cheerleaders danced, jumped, and cheered the spectators. I noticed that the cheerleaders were all females. I never found men as performing as cheerleaders except the Cow Boy Joe (mascot) (I guess male) who puts a mask on his face and entertains people while game is going on. I think, not only female but male cheer leaders also can dance, jump, and cheer at sports. Why we never see men as cheerleaders in games? Coming from different culture, I was not able to understand the origin of gender role of cheerleaders. Therefore, I asked a man seating beside me during the game: Why there were only female cheerleaders? He replied, “I think women cheerleaders entertain people better than men cheer leaders and it is female job.” May be men are not suitable for this job. American football is still pretty exclusively male. I often see male football but rare female foot ball in television. World famous sports club are all male dominated. I think this is an indication of gender stereotype in sports.
Gender and politics
It is interesting to know that Wyoming is the first state in the US where women were given their voting right. I began thinking about gender and its roles in Wyoming’s politics. I looked at research done by Regina Branton to study the political data regarding women’s positions in politics and their participation in politic interactions. Wyoming’s politics is dominated by male politicians. According to Regina, “Sex-role socialization, gender discrimination, and structural barriers make it difficult for women to enter the political sphere” (Branton, 1994). Societal and traditional beliefs place certain criteria and expectations upon women, for example, by considering women better at caring for children and for doing household activities (cleaning, cooking). This made it difficult for women to enter politics and to hold a position in public offices. Men have played dominant political role in the most government offices (branches) including legislature branch and county court, however, women in Wyoming have more political representation than at national level. People in Wyoming generally expect that women primary responsibilities are to care for children and work at home; therefore, people find it difficult in voting or electing female candidates, who have children, in public offices and legislature branch. According to Wyoming’s eGovernment Site, Nellie Tayloe Ross was the first (and only women) to serve as Governor of Wyoming (Wyoming Government, 2011). Many policies and programs are conducted by Wyoming State to encourage and strengthen women’s participations and leadership in Wyoming. I found that women’s success in politics were lower than men’s success in Wyoming politics because of societal expectations placed by societal and traditional beliefs-women’s primary jobs are to care children and to serve their family at home.
Gender, mass media, and fashion
While I was concerning the gender roles in relation to mass media and fashion, one quote by Elsa Schiaparelli stuck in my mind-“Women dress alike all over the World: they dress to be annoying to other women” (Zimbio, 2011). From my observation of the mass media (television, newspaper, radios, magazine including internet), I observed that these media focused on several strategies to show women what women should look like. I found videos and advertisements on television and internet that humiliated and objectified women’s body as sexual objects. I noticed that programs, movies, and news from mass media were designed to be interpreted from a masculine perspective that reflects women’s role as kind, loving, caring for children and family, and obeying men’s orders. Moreover, I visited several places, like, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and Safeway located in Wyoming. I observed that women were more interested in wearing different clothing (color, style) from men. When I went to K-Mart with my friends (all males) for shopping, they were reluctant to buy a pink color T-shirt. Some of my friends shared their thought that pink-color cloth is only for women. Also, I did not see men wearing pink color cloths. A familiarity with mass media and fashion about women’s roles and life styles including clothing led to richer discussions with higher degree of relevance and this helped to understand that women are much more targeted and influenced by mass media than men.
Results
The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the activities, attitudes, gender roles, and complexities between men and women in terms of gender roles in various social arenas. This study addresses the gender issues as a key factor for the reason of decreased women’s opportunities and rights in a society. I tried to focus on how gender inequalities affect women’s values, rights, equity and access to opportunities in the society. Every observation shows a glimpse of hermeneutic (in the sense that I tried to interpret the things in social and cultural contexts) lived experience during my research regarding gender related issues, work division, and discrimination between men and women. Lived experience in the sense that I have experienced those realities myself besides seeing them in other work places, sports, transportation, fashion, etc. Although the proportion of women is growing in several areas, for instance, fashion, sports, jobs, and politics; various forms of gender discrimination have been playing major roles in weakening women’s success. Gender stereotypical perspectives and long held belief system might have prevented women to facilitate their access to physical and social needs. All my observations discussed above and my experiences show that gender is a socially constructed term and its interpretations and perceptions have made it difficult to change gender biased social norms for equity and access to all social, political, cultural, and economic opportunities for women.
Conclusion
All in all, this research concludes that gender stereotype is still a major problem for women in societies that have limited women's access to opportunities though the law of the state guarantees equal rights to all despite gender, origin, color, ethnicity, or economic status. Gender stereotypes are observed on daily basis from workplace to media because people are more likely to follow social norms what it identifies and accepts certain tradition, culture, and norms of a society as standard for all. Societal institutions, such as, education, culture, religion, economy, family, beliefs and personal experiences maintain, enforce, and create social stratification, inequalities and differences based on gender between men and women that ultimately underestimate women’s values and rights. This has brought many challenges to equal opportunities and rights for women as men have in a society. Research indicates that women have less access and equity at several areas, for instance, workplace, sports, and politics, and women are dominated by male because of gender stereotypical societal institutions (education, family, friends, religion, and culture) and public perception of traditional gender roles.
References
Branton, R., (1994). A Comparison of Under-Representation of Women in Politics Nationally with Women in Wyoming Politics. Department OF Political Science. Retrieved from
Wyoming Government, (2011). Governors of Wyoming. Retrieved from
Zimbio, (2011).The Lip Gloss Conundrum. Retrieved from
