Gender Inequality in American & Chinese Communities: A Persistent Problem - Essay Sample

Introduction

The marginalization and degradation of women in American and Chinese communities have been able to persist despite the efforts by government and non-governmental organizations seeking to end the practice (Davis, 2018). The initial framework for women marginalization and degradation in both communities are socially and culturally instigated and promoted by the dominance of masculine cultures which ensure men superiority and high social, political, and economic position over women. The marginalization of women takes different shapes with both cultural, economic, and political marginalization reinforcing the masculine ideals within the society (Ye, Wu, Rao, Ding, & Zhang, 2016). The economic marginalization of women in both American and Chinese cultures is attributed to the notion that men are supposed to provide for women (Kite, Togans, & Schultz, 2019). This has resulted in gender pay differences in the United States and in China, there is low participation of women in formal employment and economy with the best jobs and economic roles being a preserve for men. In politics also, there has been poor women participation and general society preference for male leaders (Kite et al., 2019). This essay will assess the representations of female marginalization and degradation in Asia as compared to the United States and the different measures in place that seek to end the vicious cycle on the value of women.

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Representation of Female Marginalization and Degradation in Different Countries

The roles played by women present their undeniable essence in every society. However, for decades women have been globally undermined limiting them from numerous societal activities and positions in both political, economic and social-cultural spheres of life decimating their power and competence (Ye et al., 2016). This vice has been attributed to men patriarchy, where they are considered more eligible for opportunities and superior to women on gender basis. China being one of the world's largest economy has been in the gender equity struggle since the communism government, and even after its economic freedom, there is still much to be done in ending women oppression (Ye et al., 2016). Although there has been a tangible improvement on gender equity overtime especially in necessary grounds such as schooling and healthcare, women are hitherto sub-ordinated in other fields they relate with men regardless of its constitutional criminalization and the country's subscription to the United Nation's charter of gender equality (Attane, 2012). Some of the gender inequalities that still oppress women in China include; education and employment, whereby women have limited access to educational facilities and employment facilities primarily in the rural areas despite the fact that education plays a vital role in advocating for women freedom, for instance, in 2010, the global ratio of educational level between men and women was 7.6:6.1 (Attane, 2012). Bounded economic participation, lower general health, and limited political empowerment are other factors that have sub-ordinated the females.

In India, the country has hit the news in recent times with news of women rape and marginalization due to a masculine society where women are supposed to submit to men. Women are highly marginalized and degraded in India with research showing that forty million female children were killed according to the 2001 census. Female infanticide and foeticide have led to the decline in the number of women in India with a recent survey showing that in every 1000 men 914 are women. The gap between men and women population in India continues, and it is expected to grow further. Women marginalization and degradation in India takes place through continued preference to educate men, offer men better job opportunities, negative community culture towards women, and the dependence of women on men in society. As a result, women have been left behind economically, and they also have low social empowerment. The tradition and customs of marginalizing and degrading women have significantly affected the potential of the Indian economy. Due to the cultural aspects involves, it becomes difficult to change the vice without complete acculturation to encourage men to respect women and the society to give them equal opportunity accorded to men economically and in education.

Sexism in the US is exhibited in a much similar manner as in China, although in the US, it has been progressively minimized since the early 1990s (Dixon, 2011). However, female oppression is still persistence with men depicting higher representations in academic performance, political representations, and in employment. Some of the significant inequalities undermining women self-worth in the United States include; Sub-ordination in households where women's opinion bears less weight than the man's in decision-making, women are also discriminated in legal entitlements such as land ownership despite it being outlawed by the constitution (Dixon, 2011). Women take the lower stand in economic activities with men dominating most of the regular jobs while women major on non-standard jobs resulting in a gender pay gap. Besides, women are discriminated in the domestic sector, where they undertake most of the household responsibilities such as washing and caring for the children as men focus on productive employments (Dixon, 2011). Gender-based violence is also a significant problem in gender equity as there have been several instances of violence against women, for example, abuse by their partners domestically and by predators who aim to exploit them sexually.

According to the 2018 global gender gap report by the World Economic Forum, the United States is ranked above the worldwide average of population-weighted gender gap while China falls slightly below the average (Kite et al., 2019). Among the 149 countries featured in the gender gap analysis, China falls at position 103 with an average score of 0.673 as the United States comes at position 51 with 0.720 average score (Kite et al., 2019). This portrays better general gender equality standards in the USA in comparison to China's. Female oppression is, however, a vice that should be eliminated in modern societies for a fair and peaceful gender coexistence (Kite et al., 2019). The marginalization of women is a severe problem that leads to unpleasant physical and mental health aftermath (Pallito, 2005). To attain gender equality, it is advisable that the governments lay more emphasis on achieving gender equality rather than on women empowerment.

Changing Attitudes and Perception Towards Women in Asia, the Americas, and the West

In the 20th century, there have been significant changes in the perception of women and the participation of women in society. During the Jiangxi, Soviet regulations and laws were passed in China, which created the beginning of a culture and practices that supported women rights and equality (Cheng, 1988). The rules marked an essential break from the tradition of women marginalization and degradation. The regulations and laws identified the need to provide women the necessary support to be able to acquire their freedom of marriage, emancipation from domestic work and give them more significant opportunities to participate in the cultural, social, economic and political aspects of the country (Cheng, 1988). The contribution of women in the civil war further increased their ability to demand equal rights and social recognition, which significantly changed the negative and reserved view and control of women.

In the United States and the West, there has been a significant growth of campaigns aimed at encouraging respect and also the emancipation of women in all levels of society (Cruea, 2005). The 19th-century movement for feminity has been instrumental in changing the fortunes of women in Europe and the Americas. The world has slowly been transformed towards equality of the sexes through women's suffrage campaigns in which women voiced against their precarious situations and roles in society. Women during the 19th century became socially and economically empowered, which has changed the internal dependency of women (Cruea, 2005). Women started gaining greater access to education, which has been instrumental in the employment emancipation of women giving them greater responsibilities in the community apart from taking care of children and their families. Today, there are a greater call for equal gender pay with gender pay discrimination being one of the persisting gender-related problems in society today (Cruea, 2005).

Conclusion

Women marginalization and degradation represent one of the lowest moments in the history of humanity, where children could be killed after birth for being female. This was as a result of cultural practices that identified and gave women fewer opportunities and significantly discouraged women from competing for economic and political dominance with men. Women were encouraged to depend on and also serve men, which was detrimental towards attaining the emancipation of women in society. The 19th century came with significant changes and empowerment of women, which gave them better opportunities and recognition of their potential in agriculture, economy, and politics and even in the military. Women today are mostly empowered in China, the West, and the Americas. This is unlike the case in India, where millions of women undergo discrimination at all levels of society due to the backward cultural beliefs and practices. There is a need for education to change the negative culture in India and encourage greater recognition and representation of women in society at all levels.

References

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