August 7, 2011 JUS 110- Crime and Criminology Critical Feminist Theory VS Grauwiler and Mills A critical feminist views gender inequality as stemming from unequal power of men and women in a capitalist society, which leads to the exploitation of women by fathers and husbands. Under this system women are considered a commodity worth possessing like land or money. (Siegel 2010) In knowing this view we know that men feel that they have power over women since they are generally stronger they take advantage of this and try to control the women in their lives. Many times the control that they have over women is abusive. It is a known cultural difference that men usually dominate the world.
Radical feminists argue that its the wives and not the husbands who are looked to in times of distress or when problems occur, Radical feminists would describe women as more likely to listen, to agree, to understand, to excuse and to flatter. Marxist feminists (who believe capitalism to be the root cause of female oppression) would agree and say women would be the ones to give the emotional support when men are frustrated from the stresses produced by working for capitalism. Being a slave to unpaid domestic labour, married women are usually financially dependant on their husbands, although women may be able to pick up a part time job, the responsibilities of looking after the family usually
It is shown that the higher level of education the higher level of income. So with the basic stats of entry level education being less, the lack of opportunity based on income and the lack of support for minorities to receive the same educational realities as the white class it stands to reason that this a major component to the disparity in classes and race. In addition to the disparity in class and race there is a disparity to class and gender. Women are paid less than men. The majority of single parent families are supported by women.
Violence, obesity, children’s education, life expectancy, mental illness, teen births, trust- all are major problems for societies across the globe, and according to Wilkinson and Pickett, can be attributed to inequality. In their examination of developed countries, they found that inequality, rather than average income, is a far better indicator of wellbeing. Furthermore, the authors posited that nearly all problems that are more prevalent at the bottom of social hierarchies (many are aforementioned) are more common in unequal societies. They suggest that despite a nation’s apparent affluence, wealthy yet unequal nations are nonetheless “social failures” (18). Wilkinson and Pickett explore two of the most common assumptions about the social gradient that shows people at the bottom of social hierarchies suffer more problems- circumstances and individual tendencies.
A woman working in the same job as a man will usually earn less, despite the fact that she may have the same or better training, education, and skills required for the job ("Study Shows Female Managers in Britain Earn Less than Men, and Equality Could Be 57 Years Away." 2010). Women are consistently discriminated against in the workplace. Women only make 60 percent or less than their male counterparts in the same job position (Louis, 2010). Throughout history men are seen as the “strong/tough ones”; the belief is that they should be paid more than women in order to support their families (Loney, 2005).
She knew that women who disguised their sexuality were likely to be promoted more readily than she, yet simultaneously she thought her sexuality was a trump card. Even as she saw how it worked against her, she valued it and sought to preserve it, and tried hard to outshine all young female incumbents. This cannot be a true picture of my mother, though it is as I saw her.” (Working Women Don’t Have Wives) Women executives are everywhere in corporate America, and they may actually be more effective managers then men. In fact, women managers consistently are rated higher than their male counterparts on 37 of 47 critical management qualities such as leadership, social skills, problem-solving and decision-making,
This stereotype in itself can be attributed in perpetuating the wage gap at both the conscious and non-conscious levels thus leading to a sever inequality and a wage gap. Melissa Williams states in her article, “The Masculinity of Money: Automatic Stereotypes Predict Gender Differences in Estimated Salaries,” that in the United States, the average woman who works full time and year-round earns $0.81 for every dollar earned by the average full-time year-round working man (Williams 7). She also notes that in no other country is there an equality of wages between the two sexes, women are faced with inequality in the workplace all over the world. The social problems that exist between the sexes are within a realm that cannot be changed overnight. Many studies and laboratory research all indicate that in the social atmosphere there is a social role theory that states stereotypical descriptions of men and women emerge
In studies provided by the Census Bureau, women proved to have worked more hours per week than men. Vanderkam feels the pay gap is reasonable considering women are beginning to work more hours, but some Americans argue that social inequality is now in favor of women. America is always going to have competitiveness with employee wages. While this is seen as social inequality, it sometimes is morally fair. If women are working more hours than men, many people find it reasonable for women to make more money.
They point out that: empowering women is also an indispensable tool for advancing development and reducing poverty. Equal pay for equal work is one of the areas where gender equality is rarely seen; all too often women are paid less than men for doing the same work. This is one of the reasons that the majority of the world’s poor are women: around 70 per cent of the people who live in extreme poverty, on less than one dollar a day, are girls and women. Suffrage, the right to vote, is another area of gender equality that still does not extend to all the women in the world. Saudi Arabia does not give women the right to vote; in the USA right wing commentators say that women should never have been given the right to vote.
Gender inequality can be defined as the obvious or hidden disparity between male and female. In order to fight gender inequality, the US government had enacted several laws such as the 1963 federal Equal Pay Act, the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the passage of Title VII and IX of the Education Amendments in the early 1970s. Gender discrimination can be manifested in several ways in this society; for instance, although there are more women that are being active in the workplace nowadays, they are being paid less money than men in many positions that are being occupied by both entities. This is so true that according to the US Census Bureau, the median income in 2000 for females with a high school diploma was $21,963, compared to $30,868 for males with a high school diploma. Females with bachelor's degrees earned $35,408 in 2000, compared with $49,982 for males.