Women As Second-Class Citizens – Still A Real Issue In The Modern World
With more concerned eyes turning to the obstacles for women in today’s modern world, it’s important to facilitate a discussion around the key factors. A second-class citizen, by definition, is a social, cultural or otherwise group that sits inferior to a larger body of power. While the last few centuries have made enormous strides in offering equal opportunity for women, hurdles still exist today.
If society hopes to change for the better, then discussions on this topic will be essential for shedding light on the core problems. When you understand the issue, you’re better prepared to approach a solution. Let’s look at three critical topics that modern women might face today.
The gender pay gap in the modern workforce.
One of the most widely acknowledged disparities in today’s workforce is the gender pay gap. Payscale, a large data collection service focused on pay statistics in individual industries, found a consistent pay gap between men and women, with the largest offenders being: finance and insurance, agencies and consultancies, health care, transportation, warehousing, and nonprofits. Even in industries where the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a higher percentage of women, such as healthcare, we continue to see this disparity.
Addressing and fixing the pay gap won’t happen overnight. Organisations and missions like Equal Pay Today have set out to correct this wrong and put women back into an equitable position in the workforce. Whether you get involved in a larger mission or begin conversations with trusted members of your circle, you can make a difference too.
A society that fails to respect women.
Passed down systematically from a bygone era, an alarming lack of respect towards women still exists in our society. In the workplace, countless women have been discouraged from sharing opinions or participating in high-level opportunities.
While overtly sexist rhetoric may be hushed today, quiet and passive sexism can still run rampant. When women aren’t taken seriously, coddled, or trampled by a dominant male hierarchy, they operate as second-class citizens.
Women’s femininity is often disrespected both in and out of the workforce. The MeToo movement brought to the forefront the abuse women have received in their pursuit of purpose by a society that doesn’t respect them.
Day-to-day over-sexualization of women can reduce them to things, the consequences of this being something as seemingly casual as an undesirable catcall, too dangerous and oppressive advances.
A lack of systemic and familial support for women
The function of a healthy society and a fair legislature is to support the people who comprise it. While men have been the recipient of a culture that has made way for their dreams, much of this support has only become available for women within the last century. This lag behind has created generational inequity in careers, education, and opportunity.
The Pew Research Center reported in 2018 that 1-in-5 parents stay home to support their children and the family, nearly 70% of whom are mothers. While many women choose to be caretakers for their families, it’s essential to be mindful of all factors that influence these decisions.
As women mature, they are not often equally encouraged to establish careers. This can come from parents, spouses, and even tradition. Furthermore, workforces in America still fail to provide practical support for birthing mothers. Many women are forced to support their families when choosing between dreams outside the home and their families. This cut careers short, making the long-term growth and earning potential of women who sacrifice so much to help those around them significantly disadvantaged.
Women have not historically been encouraged into emerging fields and disciplines considered “masculine.” For a long time, this has produced male-dominant fields, compounding women’s struggle in the workforce by keeping them in the minority.
Organisations and nonprofits like Women Who Code or Women in Stem advance women in society by introducing young girls to new possibilities and aspirations in science and technology.
Conclusion
We can’t continue to avoid the apparent disparity that still exists today for women. In a world as advanced as ours, a woman should have equal opportunity. Ignorance of the struggles that happen every day, all around us, holds progress back. The sooner we inform ourselves and those around us, the closer we get to real change.
