Question

DISCUSSION #5--Gender Stratification

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Gender stratification refers to unequal access to property, power, and prestige on the basis of sex. Each society establishes a structure that, on the basis of sex and gender, opens and closes doors to its privileges.

Before responding to this week's discussion board:

• Please watch the film Why Can't a Woman Earn as Much as a Man? (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

For this week's discussion board, please respond to the following questions:

1. Discuss the origin of gender discrimination. In your response, please describe a) how females became a minority group; and b) provide examples of gender inequality today.
2. In your opinion, will there ever be complete equality between males and females in the United States? In your response, please describe what would constitute complete equality.

Students should make one original post by Thursday, and play Devil's Advocate in responding to at least one other post by Sunday, April 14 in order to receive participation credit.  Initial responses should exceed 250 words. One of your devil's advocacy posts should be at least 125 words.

Answer 1

Almost all the societies are male dominated and women’s roles were limited to home and children. They were treated as child bearing machines and housemaids without any rights to education, employment, voting and property. This long unequal treatment made them fight for their rights by coming together as one strong force. They were able to fight through the sociopolitical pressures and attained most of their rights. Today, women are present in almost all the fields including the space. The question is, whether they have achieved equality and the simple answer would be no.

There are certain social and physical factors that prevent women from becoming equal. Women have to spend more time bearing and bringing-up children. This prevents them from progressing in their careers. There is also a myth that women are physically weak and that they shouldn’t be paid on par with the men. This pay equality is present in almost all the fields from low paid jobs to high paid executive positions.

The times are changing where women is increasingly becoming independent and powerful in terms of more rights in the society. It’s all in the minds of the people in the society such discrimination and differential treatment exists. As the society progresses, all these inequalities at home, society, employment and politics would fade away because it’s part of the evolutionary process. Men and women would share the responsibilities in terms of earning, bringing up the children and doing household chores. All these would ensure that United States achieve equality in the nearest future.

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