Gender Inequality and Discrimination

Gender Inequality

Gender inequality is rampant in most societies. In some countries, women continue to be denied access to financial resources such as bank loans to start a business, scholarships for education, and legal recourse against wrongful termination. American popular culture illustrates more subtle examples of gender inequality. In general, women are portrayed in the media as weaker and less intelligent than men. Magazines marketed to women tend to define women in terms of their being sexually attractive and available to men. On television and in movies, women tend to be younger than their male counterparts and cast in roles that are supportive to a male and less serious. Women are held to a more rigid standard of beauty and are depicted as more sociable, nurturing, and caring. In popular culture, men are generally portrayed as more aggressive, assertive, and violent as well as less expressive and emotional than their female counterparts. While male characters are more likely to initiate violence, female characters are more likely to be the victim of male violence. These stereotypes of gender hold each sex to an impossible standard. Gender inequality is perpetuated not only by a person's views of others based on gender, but also her or his view of her or his own abilities and opportunities based on her or his gender. Gender inequality can manifest itself in obviously discriminatory ways—such as not hiring a male candidate for a child care position because of the stereotype that women are naturally better at child care—and in more subtle ways—such as a male not ever considering a career in child care because he has internalized the stereotype that desiring such a position proves he is feminine.

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