Sociology Gender Roles Essay

Economists, theologians, and sociologists have all hypothesized why societies, both Christian and Hindu, continue to embrace defined gender roles. Economically, financially independent women are often perceived as a threat. An Oregon survey of engineers reported, “Men maintained their objection (to the pay increase of women ) even though their own wage would not be lowered if the women’s wage were increased” (Aker 456) . A proposed explanation was the potential degradation of a man’s self-esteem if pay was equitable. In addition, despite higher education, professional jobs such as a physician have documented a discrepancy of females earning 74% of their male counterparts in the USA (Hill) and 55.75% in India (Varkkey). Finally, sociologists …show more content…
A daughter often is given a doll and cooks with her mother. Subconsciously, she is learning to be nurturing, compassionate, and competent in the domestic duties of a woman. In contrast, a son often plays outside and is given intellectually stimulating toys such as Legos. These activities develop his ability to be a leader, work independently, and develop the intellectual prowess necessary for a job in the workforce. Each gender contains the same Brahman and needs the same knowledge to reach liberation; therefore, qualities developed from this matter have been highly influenced by culture. However, wouldn’t a society that accentuates interests rather than gender obligations and introduces all aspects of male and female work spheres produce more enlightened individuals? A solution to these problems may be raising children without gender role restrictions, allowing them to demonstrate ultimate love through their knowledge of both genders, and developing their spirituality through pathways adapted to their interests. Since religion is a significant influence on culture, how can religion help redefine the current societal norms of gender identities, specifically of a women’s role exclusively in the domestic sphere subservient to