Gender Inequality
Whether at an individual, national, or global level, a core issue that challenges our social progress is gender inequality, that is the unequal power afforded males and females due to the different roles assigned to them by society. It most often negatively affects women. Although men and women share the same space it is as though they live in different worlds. Throughout history, women have had fewer rights and opportunities than males. In North America, the 20th century witnessed the rise of Women's movements that challenged the stereotypical roles that women played in society. The issue of gender inequality in Canada is deeply rooted. It was brought to the forefront in the early 1900's through the suffragist movement. Today, as women and men continue to work for greater income equality in order to help reduce the gender gap, modern laws such as affirmative action have been passed. These laws seek to ensure preferential hiring practices and pay equity. Despite these efforts, the gender gap still exists in Canada, especially in terms of income. According to a 2001 Status Report on Gender Inequality in Canada, women still lag behind men in terms of their earning power. Gender inequality holds back the growth of individuals, the development of countries and the evolution of societies, to the disadvantage of both men and women.
Political
Women have been represented extremely poorly in the political context. They make up only 12% of all legislative bodies in the world. This is mainly due to a historical control of legislatures by males. In some countries, women fear the hostility that might face them if they were to seek political power. The "gate keeping" function of political parties tends to slot women in contests where their chances of winning are poor. Most women have limited access to proper resources, such as money, needed to run for office. Governments must take the fundamental decisions to move ahead, and move towards gender equality. The World Bank believes that is women's involvement in politics were to increase, child mortality would decrease, population growth would be slowed, and the overall economic development would improve. Women need to be encouraged by the government to get involved in politics. They need to run for office and take political action or the stepping-stone of gender equality will be far from reach.
Whether at an individual, national, or global level, a core issue that challenges our social progress is gender inequality, that is the unequal power afforded males and females due to the different roles assigned to them by society. It most often negatively affects women. Although men and women share the same space it is as though they live in different worlds. Throughout history, women have had fewer rights and opportunities than males. In North America, the 20th century witnessed the rise of Women's movements that challenged the stereotypical roles that women played in society. The issue of gender inequality in Canada is deeply rooted. It was brought to the forefront in the early 1900's through the suffragist movement. Today, as women and men continue to work for greater income equality in order to help reduce the gender gap, modern laws such as affirmative action have been passed. These laws seek to ensure preferential hiring practices and pay equity. Despite these efforts, the gender gap still exists in Canada, especially in terms of income. According to a 2001 Status Report on Gender Inequality in Canada, women still lag behind men in terms of their earning power. Gender inequality holds back the growth of individuals, the development of countries and the evolution of societies, to the disadvantage of both men and women.
Political
Women have been represented extremely poorly in the political context. They make up only 12% of all legislative bodies in the world. This is mainly due to a historical control of legislatures by males. In some countries, women fear the hostility that might face them if they were to seek political power. The "gate keeping" function of political parties tends to slot women in contests where their chances of winning are poor. Most women have limited access to proper resources, such as money, needed to run for office. Governments must take the fundamental decisions to move ahead, and move towards gender equality. The World Bank believes that is women's involvement in politics were to increase, child mortality would decrease, population growth would be slowed, and the overall economic development would improve. Women need to be encouraged by the government to get involved in politics. They need to run for office and take political action or the stepping-stone of gender equality will be far from reach.
