Discrimination Against Women

4-13-2013

AFAM 1020 - Section 51

Discrimination against Women

The issue of women being discriminated against remains one of the most underrated problems in today’s society. Usually,the most common discrimination we hear about is the race of people. No one really takes into consideration of how woman are discriminated

because of their sex, and how they are treated lower because of what their roles were

traditionally. Throughout most of history women generally have had fewer legal rights and

career opportunities than men. Wifehood and motherhood were considered as women's

most significant professions.

While in the most of the world (US, Russia, China, Middle and Northern Europe) women are 40% or more of the workforce, in Latin America, it is only 15%, and in Islamic countries of Africa and Middle East the figures are much lower. This kind of situation is much due to the widely accepted prejudice that woman’s main functions in the society are childbearing and household work. Even when employed, women meet a lot of discrimination. For, example, it is displayed in the wages they receive, if compared to men. The U.S. Census Bureau conducted a study in 2004 that demonstrated that the same positions are still paid higher salaries if held by men. According to dosomething.org, the recent research of the earnings of men and women on the full time position shows that being employed on the same position as men, women receive only 72 cents for every man's dollar. A recent report from the Department of U.S. Labor found that at least one-third or about 11 cents of the pay gap is caused by pay discrimination against women, and this is 38 years after the Equal Pay Act became law. This situation is complicated