Gender equality is one of many goals our society aims to achieve. Battling centuries of oppression, war, unequal rights to vote, work, or go to school; the progress our society has made over the last century, shows we have evolved socially. However, women continue to hold less power and value than their male constituents and in order to fully achieve gender equality, economic, legal, and social aspects must be met equally. Men and women are different in many ways; through a constructionist lens these difference are both necessary and inevitable. In fact, the constructionist perspective argues that gender is socially related because categories that prescribe gender are formed within a social context. Although gender is socially ascribed, “…individuals
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Zimmerman (2012) notes the primary concern for Americans is “the task of balancing and reconciling the demands of paid work with the demands of family” (p.67). Over the past forty years, women have been making substantial gains in the workplace, the home, and in government; conversely there is still room for more progress. The role of women in society and their appropriate gender roles has changed dramatically over the last 40 years, changing the perspective that “only” men are breadwinners. The alteration of gender roles is an indication of the strength that the social constructionism theory has on the concepts of gender. Although, the gender wage gap in the United States has dropped, women still receive less pay for every dollar received by their male constituents. Johnson & Rhodes (2010), noted “women typically hold lower status, lower-paying jobs than men with similar educational backgrounds (p. 139). Evidently there are still efforts that need to be made. On the contrary, education enrollment for women continues to rise. In fact, women currently surpass men in educational achievement in the United States. Thus, women can be successful within and outside the …show more content…
These problems can include a lack policies and resources in the workplace for women, stereotypes that steer women toward different career paths, education opportunities, and training. In addition, the blatant and subtle forms of sexism within organizational and institutional settings. Moreover, society’s expectations for mothers compared to fathers and wives compared to husbands. Until we challenge and understand the binaries that attribute to women receiving lower paid jobs and less prestigious levels of education, unequal access to communal sources of power, and unbalanced family responsibilities; our society will remain a patriarchal one. In other words, by ascribing gender, we strengthen the assumption that there are only two select categories of gender. Within the constructionist mindset, men and women are substantially different which in return makes men and women act in ways that seem different. As a society, it is imperative to continue to encourage people to look beyond the stereotypical roles and realize the contributions that each individual, man or woman, can have on workplace and family
Zimmerman (2012) notes the primary concern for Americans is “the task of balancing and reconciling the demands of paid work with the demands of family” (p.67). Over the past forty years, women have been making substantial gains in the workplace, the home, and in government; conversely there is still room for more progress. The role of women in society and their appropriate gender roles has changed dramatically over the last 40 years, changing the perspective that “only” men are breadwinners. The alteration of gender roles is an indication of the strength that the social constructionism theory has on the concepts of gender. Although, the gender wage gap in the United States has dropped, women still receive less pay for every dollar received by their male constituents. Johnson & Rhodes (2010), noted “women typically hold lower status, lower-paying jobs than men with similar educational backgrounds (p. 139). Evidently there are still efforts that need to be made. On the contrary, education enrollment for women continues to rise. In fact, women currently surpass men in educational achievement in the United States. Thus, women can be successful within and outside the …show more content…
These problems can include a lack policies and resources in the workplace for women, stereotypes that steer women toward different career paths, education opportunities, and training. In addition, the blatant and subtle forms of sexism within organizational and institutional settings. Moreover, society’s expectations for mothers compared to fathers and wives compared to husbands. Until we challenge and understand the binaries that attribute to women receiving lower paid jobs and less prestigious levels of education, unequal access to communal sources of power, and unbalanced family responsibilities; our society will remain a patriarchal one. In other words, by ascribing gender, we strengthen the assumption that there are only two select categories of gender. Within the constructionist mindset, men and women are substantially different which in return makes men and women act in ways that seem different. As a society, it is imperative to continue to encourage people to look beyond the stereotypical roles and realize the contributions that each individual, man or woman, can have on workplace and family