Common stereotypes of men and women have roamed in this society for too long and, therefore, almost impossible to get rid of. For example, toys that are targeted at boys include trucks, blocks, guns, action figures, and soldiers; and toys that are targeted at girls include dolls, kitchen utensils, and doll houses. Moreover, boys are raised to be aggressive, tough, and daring and girls are raised to be emotional, sweet, sensitive, and subordinate. Furthermore, the pattern continues on through marriage. An obvious example of male dominance can be seen when a woman gets married; the woman would change her last name to that of the man's. Overall, society as a whole plays a major role to the problem of inequality.
Due to these traditional cultures, failure to recognize women as an equal still exist today. “She must exercise control of the money spent on such festivities as her husband has approved..she should allow none to enter without her husband’s knowledge.“ and “But in all other matters, let it be her aim to obey her husband, giving no heed to public affairs, nor having any part in arranging the marriages of her children.” (Source A). The traditional role of the man was to work and the money he made would be used by all in the household. On the other hand, the traditional role of the woman was to stay home, take care of the children, clean the house, and cook. Because society has always associated money with power, the person bringing home the money had the power and, therefore, the man often makes the final decision on all household matters because he has the money. Furthermore, inequality today can be viewed through workforce. In a typical business, men are often applauded for giving orders because its shows that men are taking a leadership role; leadership ability is a quality that employers often look for. On the other hand, women who show leadership skills are not well liked in the work place, and for women to be well liked in the work place, they have to be subordinate to the men (The fact that women often hold lower ranking positions shows inferiority). In other words, secretaries, nurses, and maids are often associated with women, and lawyers, doctors, and construction workers are often associated with men. “Females who are full-time wage and salary workers earned a weekly median of $552 while men earned a median of $695 per week, a ratio of 79.5 cents to one dollar (Source E).” Overall, because women are mostly associated with subordinate jobs they earn less salary then men.
Overall, The problem of inequality begins with the declaration of independence. Society has lived with this inequality for many years. It’s impossible for society to change overnight; the problem will not and CANNOT disappear overnight. Therefore, a lot of progress has been made overtime, but more time is needed for women to be equal with men.