Achieving Gender Equality: A Comprehensive Guide

Posted on Aug 20, 2024 in Social sciences

Equality Between Men and Women

Human Beings: Male and Female

The human being is composed of two genders: male and female. Both have the same dignity and deserve the same respect. However, in the past, women have not always been considered human beings with rights; their values have not been recognized as equivalent to those of men.

Traditionally, men and women were associated with different stereotypes. It was considered that every human being born male had to be courageous, intelligent, and strong and make money to support his family. Similarly, every woman should be beautiful, weak, and innocent, with a vital objective to marry and have children.

It is true that some biological characteristics differentiate men from women, such as height or flexibility. However, these are not so pronounced as to justify the repeated discrimination against a person because of their gender differences.

The ethical point of view is that each person is unique and has individual characteristics that distinguish them from the rest, regardless of being a man or a woman. Therefore, their value must be recognized by examining their strengths and capabilities.

Causes and Factors of Discrimination Against Women

The problem of discrimination against women has several causes. The main factors that have led to discrimination against this group are the following:

Socio-political circumstances: Throughout history, most human societies have been organized in patriarchal structures, so authority, leadership, and power were exercised by men, while women and children were subordinated to them.
Economic circumstances: Patriarchal societies are characterized by the sexual division of labor, so men went outside the home to earn an income while women engaged in housework and care of children and sick people. The invisibility of female labor has meant their total economic dependence on the “father/family.”
Androcentric thinking: Since males possessed the means to study, train, and research, scientific, philosophical, and political theories taught a way of understanding reality in which men were more relevant than women, being discarded from their studies or stereotypically considered.
Conflict of interests: Once men were in power, most of them opposed women’s claims arising out of the Enlightenment, as they were reluctant to lose their traditional privileges. However, other men like Condorcet and Mill supported the need for women to reach equal rights.

The Struggle for Equal Rights for Women: Feminism

Feminism is a social, political, and philosophical movement that aims to achieve equal rights between men and women. This movement emerged in the 18th century when Enlightenment ideas about equality among all human beings permeated the minds of some women, who began to claim their rights.

18th Century: The First Wave of Feminism

In 1791, the French writer Olympe de Gouges wrote the “Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen,” considering that the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen” proclaimed by the French Revolution did not cover half of humanity, i.e., women.
In 1792, the philosopher and English writer Mary Wollstonecraft published her “Vindication of the Rights of Women” in response to the writings in which Rousseau argued that women should receive a different education because they were made to please. In her work, Wollstonecraft argues that women should receive an education of the same quality and extent as men.
In general, women in the 18th century claimed the right to education, the right to work, marriage rights, and the right to vote. However, with the advent of the “Code of Napoleon,” women were again forced to obey their husbands, and many could not exercise a profession.

19th-Mid 20th Century: The Second Wave of Feminism

One of the main objectives was to claim the right to vote, conducted by the suffragists.
In 1848, 68 women and 30 men signed the “Declaration of Seneca Falls,” which claimed women’s rights. Thanks to this, Wyoming became the first US state to recognize the vote for women in 1869.
Another wave of the second-wave feminism was labor rights. Women were paid a lower salary than men, and it wasn’t well considered that they worked outside the home.

Mid 20th Century-Present: The Third Wave of Feminism

In 1950, Simone de Beauvoir published “The Second Sex,” which analyzed in detail what life was like for women and concluded that much of what society considered female was merely a social convention, so subordination to men didn’t have a biological cause but a cultural one.
This thesis is summarized in her famous phrase: “No one is born a woman, but becomes one.”
From the 1970s, feminism has diversified into different schools of thinking.

In conclusion, there is currently no single “feminism” but different “feminisms” whose views do not coincide, but they all have one goal in common: to achieve equality between men and women.

The Issue of Violence Against Women

Gender violence is any act of physical or psychological violence carried out by a man linked sentimentally to a woman as a manifestation of discrimination and inequality in which she is immersed.

Cycle of Abuse:

Tension Building: Tensions increase, communication breaks down, the victim becomes fearful and feels the need to placate the abuser.
Incident: Verbal, emotional, and physical abuse. Anger, blaming, arguing. Threats. Intimidation.
Reconciliation: Abuser apologizes, gives excuses, blames the victim, denies the abuse occurred, or says it wasn’t as bad as the victim claims.
Calm: The incident is “forgotten,” no abuse is taking place. The “honeymoon” phase.

To prevent this, it is important for men to be aware that feeling extreme jealousy, control, abuse, threatening, or even hitting their partner is not a sign of love or a healthy or ethical way of establishing affective relationships.

Secondly, women must be aware that abuse is not tolerable in a relationship, even if there are problems or conflicts to resolve.

It is extremely risky to believe that the abuser is immoral just because he is having a hard time and that he will change because he is sorry. Many abusers become violent, and increasingly more dangerous, even to the point of murdering their partner.

The European Parliament made a resolution in 1997 that it was necessary to change society’s attitudes so that there was zero tolerance for the abuse of women.

Abuse is ethically reprehensible and reportable to the authorities. Following this, several governments have articulated a legal framework to combat this social problem.

In Spain, since 2004, there is the “Comprehensive Law against Gender Violence.” Consequently, in a situation of abuse, women victims of gender violence are entitled to receive full information and advice, as well as counseling and social support for their full recovery.

Gender violence leaves its mark on women who can suffer from anxiety, chronic stress, depression, and low self-esteem. Hence the importance of services and institutions, such as foster homes or the Institute of Women, working together to ensure that victims can recover and reintegrate into society normally.

Good Practices for Gender Equality

To make our society more equal and establish relationships between men and women based on mutual respect and collaboration, several measures are recommended:

Co-education: At home and school, it is important that children be taught to value and respect equality. Therefore, it is important that the contributions of women are taught in school, that playgrounds can be shared, and that language is not sexist.
Working conditions: Both men and women must be paid the same salary if the task they perform is the same. Both should have the same opportunities for promotion and advancement. Avoid and report sexual harassment at work. Women must have access to professions of equal status with men.
Domestic responsibility: All people who occupy a home must learn to organize a fair division of household chores so that each contributes their efforts to the welfare of the group. Household chores are not limited to cooking or washing but include administrative tasks, home economics, and care for both the other inhabitants of the home as well as animals and plants.
Reconciling work and family life: Companies and organizations that employ professionals of both sexes should ensure the implementation of measures to promote the reconciliation of work and family life. For example, maternity and paternity leave, teleworking, flexitime, and playgrounds or daycare services.

Conclusions

With the proper implementation of these measures, a society in which men and women can work together in all areas will be achieved, sharing spaces, responsibilities, and projects.

This objective will be beneficial to everyone because we can construct a more equitable and fair society based on exchange, cooperation, and the search for common goals.