Gender inequality exists in education, employment, and income between men and women. Women face barriers including earning only 70 cents for every dollar a man earns, being discouraged from pursuing higher-paying fields, and shouldering a greater burden of unpaid domestic work and childcare. While progress has been made over the last 30 years from more women in the workforce and policies against wage discrimination, gender roles and societal expectations of women's traditional roles in the household and workplace still contribute to inequality today.
2. What is Gender
Inequality?
Gender inequality is described as “The differences in the status, power and prestige women and
men have in groups, collectivities and societies” (Gender inequality ,n.d.).
The sub-topics of gender inequality that will be;
• Income/employment
• Education
3. Education & Income
If you're a female, ask yourself… why are you in school?
I know I chose to go to college because I know if I did not, as a woman I would be stuck making
minimum wage for the rest of my life.
Strange isn’t it? My Father runs a construction business and he starts new employees at $15/hour. This
is at least 3 dollars more than minimum wage that sits at $11.25/hr. The chance that he would hire a
woman…slim to none.
4. The Education Gap
• Female grads now account for about 60% of U.S. bachelor’s degree holders (fortune)
• In fact, women are less likely to drop out of school than men.
Why is this?
The reason is, men do not want to be stuck with debt...but who really does?
The truth is, if women drop out of school they will be stuck with low-end service jobs that do not pay well
(Fisher, 2013).
However, men can work an entry level job in either manufacturing, construction or transportation and make at
least 6500 dollars more than woman a year on average. That is if both male and female are working entry-level
jobs (Fisher,2013).
5. The Income Gap
• Women make only 70 cents for every dollar a man makes in Canada (“The Facts About The
Gender Wage Gap In Canada”,n.d.).
• It would take a woman and additional 14 years of work to earn the same amount a man
would by the age of 65 (“The Facts About The Gender Wage Gap In Canada”, n.d.).
• In 2008 women female university graduates earned 62 thousand dollars a year while the male
graduates earned 91 thousand dollars a year (“The Facts About The Gender Wage Gap In
Canada”, n.d.).
• In 2009, women aged 22-54 accounted for 22 percent of minimum wage workers in Canada.
This was more than DOUBLE the proportion of men in the same age group (“The Facts
About The Gender Wage Gap In Canada” , n.d.).
6. Why does the Wage Gap Exist?
• “Traditional women’s work” pays less than “ traditional men’s work”. In other words,
jobs in the health and education field are seen as more domesticated, less valuable
jobs than construction, manufacturing and engineering.
Women are expected to carry out these “traditional women jobs” in the house hold
anyway, so they are seen as less important as a career.
• Secondly, women are more likely to get a job that is lower paying such as those ones
in the health field, administration and teaching.
• Thirdly, more women work part- time. In 2013, 70 percent of part time workers
were female. The reasons for this are: 1. women are expected to take on the
domestic work and 2. Child care is not affordable, and family leave policies
makes it hard for woman to leave the home and work.
(“The Facts About The Gender Wage Gap In Canada”, n.d.).
7. Wage Discrimination
The final reason the wage gap exits may or may not become a shocker to you..
• A large amount of the gender wage gape remains unexplained, however it is
partly due to discrimination.
• About 10-15 percent of the wage gap is related to gender-based wage
discrimination.
(“The Facts About The Gender Wage Gap In Canada”, n.d.).
8. So What?
• Women’s lower earnings means they are at a much higher risk of living in poverty if they have
children and become separated or divorced.
• Women are less likely to be able to afford to save for their retirement. In results, they are more
likely to be poor in their senior years. In fact, more woman than men live on a low income when
they become seniors.
• Woman are more likely to stay in abusive or unhealthy relationships because they do not want to
leave in fear of becoming financially unstable.
• Woman who work outside of the home and do most domestic work experience more stressful
days than men, according to statistics Canada. In results their long-term health suffers as well.
( “The Facts About Women and Poverty”, n.d.).
9. Positive Changes in The Wage Gap
• Over the last 30 years, the amount of working women
increased from 42 percent to 60 percent!
This ranked one of the most dramatic social changes of the
century!!
• From 2000 to 2008 the average income for a woman increased
13 percent a year.
• The government does have policies in place to help those
suffering from wage discrimination.
• The Pay Equity Act ensures that women and men make the
same amount of money based on equal value of work.
• The Employment Equity Act ensures that barriers are
removed in the work place for women, aboriginal peoples,
visable minorities and physically disabled (“The Facts About
The Gender Wage Gap In Canada”,n.d.).
10. What Can YOU do to help!
• Help women enter high paying occupations such as;
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
• Advocate for better work place policies. These include lower child care costs,
and leave policies. Encourage women to go back to work after child birth
and for men to stay home for 1 year after having a child.
• Stop using discriminating language such as “traditional” or “gender roles”
• Make at home work and child care an equal job in the house!
11. Gendered Roles
Now that you have learned a little about gender discrimination, lets talk about
gender roles.
WHAT ARE GENDERED ROLES?
Gendered roles: Roles based or norms or expectations created by society (Gender
Sociology,n.d.).
How does this advertisement make you feel? Yes, this was an ad.
from the 60s.It is implying that women are as strong as men perhaps, when they are in
the house cleaning.
12. Where it all begins
• Gender Roles are typically encouraged through “gendered socialization” from birth.
• Gender socialization: This is when we are encouraged to wear certain things, play
with certain things, and show interest in certain people based solely on our
biological sex. These things are encouraged by the four major agents of
socialization: Family, education, peer groups and mass media.
• Gender roles are not typically associated with any actual inherent difference of
women and men, rather they come from what society has constructed them to be.
(Gender Sociology, n.d.).
13. Male Vs. Female Roles…according to society
Male
• “bread winner” expected to make
money to sustain house hold.
• Associated with dominance, authority
and sometimes anger (discipline).
• Expected to take care of OUTSIDE
chores.
Female
• “housewife” expected to take care of the
home, and play the “nurturing” role to the
children.
• Cooks breakfast, makes lunches, cooks
dinner, does grocery shopping.
• Less likely to go to work full time because
“that’s the mans job”.
Though we learned there has been improvements, from the previous slides, this is the lifestyle that
many people still live by today.
14. The Feminist Theory
Throughout this semester learned about 4 different and major theories.
The topic of gender inequality closely reflects the feminist theory.
The feminist theory: Explains that there is inequality between men and
women. It explains that women in particular are disadvantaged when compared
to men.
It has been made evident that women are treated as less valuable than men
when it comes to education, employment, income and gendered roles.