GENDER INEQUALITY IN NIGERIA By Elizabeth I. OLINMAH Ph.D COLLEGE OF VOCATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECH.

GENDER INEQUALITY IN NIGERIA

By

E.I. OLINMAH Ph.D

COLLEGE OF VOCATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECH.

ABSTRACT:- Gender inequality can be regarded as the unequal treatment or perception of individuals on the basis of gender. It arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles as well as biologically through chromosomes, brain structure, and hormonal differences. It has been observed across the world, particularly in Africa, that womanhood is now reduced to a mere “infidel” and a second-class citizen; hence, the general belief that the best place for women is in the ‘kitchen’. This trend has brought about tremendous misrepresentation of women right from the level of the family down to the larger society. Majority of African countries are patriarchal in nature which is a major feature of a traditional society. It is a structure of a set of social relations with material base which enables men to dominate women and feel more entitled to material privileges than women.

As a result, women are discriminated from (in most cases) acquiring formal education, they are wildly mistreated and perpetually kept as house-helps. The average African woman is seen as an available object for prostitution, forced marriage, street hawking, instrument of wide-range trafficking and a misfit in the society. Thus, the purported irrelevance associated with the status of women in society has merely reduced an average woman to an inferior commodity which should not be.    Women make up about half of the population of any society and are known to play vital roles as mothers, producers, managers, community developers/organizers etc.

Their contribution to the social and economic development of societies is also phenomenal compared to that of men owing to their dual roles in the productive and reproductive spheres. Yet their active participation in formal and informal structures and processes, where decisions regarding the use of societal resources generated by both men and women are made, remains insignificant.

The patriarchal society subtly sets the parameters for women’s structurally unequal position in families and markets by condoning illegitimate gender-differential terms in inheritance rights and by tacitly condoning domestic and sexual violence and sanctioning differential wages for equal or comparable work. Tradition, culture and religion have dictated men and women relationship for centuries and entrenched male domination into the structure of social organizations and institutions at all levels of leadership.

Patriarchy justifies the marginalization of women in education, economy, labour market, politics, business, family, domestic matters and inheritance (Salaam:2003).

Also, this culture of patriarchy is a very strong determinant of male dominance over female and as a result men will sit back in the family to keep the family name and lineage growing while women will be married out. Thus men are being trained for leadership activities while women are confined to domestic activities; roles ascribed to them by culture which later affects them adversely, thereby making them to lose self-confidence and self-worth in their career and possibly other spheres in adult life. Despite the pronounced commitment of the international community to gender equality and to bridging the gender gap in the formal political arena, reinforced by the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform of Action, women are highly marginalized and are poorly represented in political activities. The position of women to men in most African countries is that of subordination, oppression, marginalization and that of victimization. Efforts to bring an end to it are gaining a lot of attention. Women gender equality issues have become a global core commitment because equality between men and women is not only fair but also morally good. Each person is an extension of God. No one is superior or inferior to another. Gender equality is not a mere charade of women activists; rather, it is a prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable development. Like the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said “When we empower women, we empower communities, nations and entire human family”. We live in a world where majority of girls and women face real-time poverty, gross inequality, molestation and injustice, which could run through from birth to death. From poor education to poor nutrition to violence and brutalization, to vulnerable and low pay employment, the sequence of discrimination and atrocities a woman may suffer during her entire life is unacceptable but all too common in our global society.

No girl or woman should be made to feel sorry because of her gender. Rather, she should be able to stand confidently tall with her male contemporaries and compete favorably where applicable.

Educating and empowering the girl child implies preparing her for future motherhood challenges, that will in the nearest future affect a family and the larger society either positively or negatively. This emphasizes the need to fortify her with all the necessary empowerments possible (academically, socially, mentally, financially, career-wise, health-wise, economically, politically etc.) Failure to do so invariably mean the future is at stake.

In forms of inhuman discrimination and gender inequality must be challenged. A deliberate, sensitive, consistent and systematic approach of gender relations should be adopted, including gender mainstreaming in all aspects of life.

INTRODUCTION:- Gender simply implies sex, which is either male or female. Inequality means the state of not being equal or not treated equally. Gender inequality from the definition of the two different words is the state of not treating the male and female genders equally or the situation where the male and female are not given equal perspectives. In many countries, financial youth empowerment which is a type of youth empowerment is given mainly to the male gender than the female gender because the men are seen as being more important than the female. But, to be frank, this old mentality must be eliminated in the present world for us to develop more.

In the history of United State of America, how many times have female gender occupy the Presidential post of the country? This is evidence that gender inequality is practiced in the country. It is one of the challenges in the United States though not a major one. The number of female genders that occupies leadership positions in the United States of America is more when compared with that of many African countries.

The unequal treatment given to the female gender in respect to the male gender has many causes. Why do men out-number the female in the government of many countries? The simple answer is because the males are seen as superior to the females. What was the proportion of men to women in 2007 in Nigerian National Assembly? Out of 109 senators in the Senate House, there were only nine women in their midst. This means that the proportion of the women in the Senate was 8.26% and that of men was 91.74 % in 2007. This is one of the major challenges in Nigeria as well as a problem in the general Africa Continent. In that same year, there were about 27 women in the House of Representative out of 360 members of the House (Nigeria). The truth remains that the unfair treatment given to the female gender are more in African continent unlike that found in Europe.

RELIGION: In the world of today, so many people have developed bias attitude toward religion because they recently found out that so many religious groups are causing harm to human race instead of making it a better place for all. Some teachings in some religions have because more pains than peace to the world.

It is good to belong to any religious group but the truth remains that some of these religions do not give freedom to the weaker sex. Do you think that it is good to scrap (remove) religion from the surface of the earth? No, because religion plays important role in directing the masses on how to live good lives for peace and unity to exist. Notwithstanding the fact that religion plays important role in the life of every man, there are weaknesses in certain religion because of some act as cages to females. In Islam for example, movement of many women is restricted not even to think of occupying political positions. Only the wise, educated, rational, and dynamic ladies that belong to this religious group breakout from the barrier. It is good to belong to a religious group and better if you know what is right to do as an individual irrespective of any religious group.

LACK OF EMPOWERMENT: Women are still regarded as nothing in some parts of the world because there are no women empowered. Understanding the importance of youth empowerment where more attention will be paid in empowering most female gender will curb the issue of female gender inequality. The government of every country should understand the importance of training and development and make effort to train the female which then will “give birth” to proper development; and hence reduces female gender inequality. I believe that women can take over the stage if they are empowered, but, how many individual organizations organize seminars for women empowerment? Selfish politicians who are occupying political posts in some countries do not think of this because they look down on women and do not want to see them as part of decision makers in Government Houses. When women are encouraged, they are given the sense of belonging, and this can bridge the large gap between the proportions of the women to men in the governance of various countries.

MENTALITY: Many people are still going on with certain archaic (outdated) mentalities that never will any lady or woman rule them in any organization. This old mentality is one of the key causes of the less respect given to women in some societies. Also, many women have the mentality that it is not possible for them to occupy top positions in politics and other areas. They have the mentality that leaders are only meant to be men and not the women. This old mentality induces fear in them and makes them reluctant instead of working hard to be registered as big boss of some top companies.

LACK OF PROPER EDUCATION: There is a saying: “education is power to success”. Based on this topic, lack of proper education is the cause of gender inequality as nobody can go far in this modern world without good education. Yes, it is hard for any female to be recognized without proper and adequate education given to her. It is painful that many families do not pay good attention to their female children because the families do not see them as being very valuable to them when compared with the male. In some countries for example, families spend money in training the male gender than the female because they see the female as liability (not being of good advantage).

According to Gender, Institutions and Development Data Base (GID-DB), 67 percent of the female gender in Africa undergo primary education behind 72.6 of the male gender. They (families) believe that if females are trained educationally and they get married later, they (the family) will gain nothing as all the money she makes becomes that of the husband and her new family. This is the reason that the percentage of educated men is more than that of the female in certain countries. When women are not educated, they will find it difficult to attain a top position as they cannot represent organizations very well without being equipped educationally. Governments of all countries should understand the importance of education to nations which should include both the male and the female education.

Gender inequality is the idea and situation that women and men are not equal. Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals wholly or partly due to their gender. It arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles. Gender systems are often dichotomous and hierarchical; gender binary systems may reflect the inequalities that manifest in numerous dimensions of daily life. Gender inequality stems from distinctions, whether empirically grounded or socially constructed. (On differences between the sexes, see Sex and psychology.)

NATURAL SEX DIFFERENCES:-Natural differences exist between the sexes based on biological and anatomic factors, most notably differing reproductive roles. Biological differences include chromosomes and hormonal differences. There is a natural difference also in the relative physical strengths (on average) of the sexes, both in the lower body and more pronouncedly in the upper-body, though this does not mean that any given man is stronger than any given woman. Men, on average, are taller, which provides both advantages and disadvantages. 

Women live significantly longer than men, though it is not clear to what extent this is a biological difference - see Life expectancy. Men have larger lung volumes and more circulating blood cells and clotting factors, while females have more circulating white blood cells and produce antibodies faster. Differences such as these are hypothesized to be an adaption allowing for sexual specialization.

Psychology:-Prenatal hormone exposure influences to what extent one exhibits traditional masculine or feminine behavior. No differences between males and females exist in general intelligence.

Men are significantly more likely to take risks than women. Men are also more likely to be aggressive, a trait influenced by prenatal and possibly current androgen exposure.

It has been theorized that these differences combined with physical differences are an adaption representing sexual division of labor.

A second theory proposes sex differences in intergroup aggression represent adaptions in male aggression to allow for territory, resource and mate acquisition. Females are more empathetic than males. Men and females have better visuospatial and verbal memory, respectively. These changes are influenced by the male sex hormone testosterone, which increases visuospatial memory in both genders when administered.

From birth males and females are raised differently and experience different environments throughout their lives. In the eyes of society, gender has a huge role to play in many major milestones or characteristics in life; like personality.

Males and females are lead on different paths before they are able to choose their own. The color blue is most commonly associated with boys and they get toys like monster trucks or more sport related things to play with from the time that they are babies. Girls are more commonly introduced to the color pink, dolls, dresses, and playing house where they are taking care of the dolls as if they were children. The norm of blue is for boys and pink is for girls are cultural and has not always historically been around. These paths set by parents or other adult figures in the child's life set them on certain paths.

This leads to a difference in personality, career paths, or relationships. Throughout life males and females are seen as two very different species that have very different personalities and should stay on separate paths.

DEATHS:-93% of workplace deaths (fatal occupational injuries) in the US between 1980 and 1997 were men (97,053 deaths). The male fatality rate (8.6 per 100,000 workers) was 11 times greater than the female death rate of the 1980-97 time range (0.8). This accounts for the other 7% of work place deaths (6,886 deaths).

The gender pay gap is the average difference between men's and women's aggregate wages or salaries. The gap is due to a variety of factors, including differences in education choices, differences in preferred job and industry, differences in the types of positions held by men and women, differences in the type of jobs men typically go into as opposed to women (especially highly paid high risk jobs), differences in amount of work experiences, difference in length of the work week, and breaks in employment. These factors resolve 60% to 75% of the pay gap, depending on the source. Various explanations for the remaining 25% to 40% have been suggested, including women's lower willingness and ability to negotiate salaries and sexual discrimination. According to the European Commission direct discrimination only explains a small part of gender wage differences.

In the United States, the average female's unadjusted annual salary has been cited as 78% of that of the average male. However, multiple studies from OECD, AAUW, and the US Department of Labor have found that pay rates between males and females varied by 5–6.6% or, females earning 94 cents to every dollar earned by their male counterparts, when wages were adjusted to different individual choices made by male and female workers in college major, occupation, working hours, and maternal/paternal leave.^[26] The remaining 6% of the gap has been speculated to originate from deficiency in salary negotiating skills and sexual discrimination.

Human capital theories refer to the education, knowledge, training, experience, or skill of a person which makes them potentially valuable to an employer. This has historically been understood as a cause of the gendered wage gap but is no longer a predominant cause as women and men in certain occupations tend to have similar education levels or other credentials. Even when such characteristics of jobs and workers are controlled for, the presence of women within a certain occupation leads to lower wages. This earnings discrimination is considered to be a part of pollution theory. This theory suggests that jobs which are predominated by women offer lower wages than do jobs simply because of the presence of women within the occupation. As women enter an occupation, this reduces the amount of prestige associated with the job and men subsequently leave these occupations. The entering of women into specific occupations suggests that less competent workers have begun to be hired or that the occupation is becoming deskilled. Men are reluctant to enter female-dominated occupations because of this and similarly resist the entrance of women into male-dominated occupations.

The gendered income disparity can also be attributed in part to occupational segregation, where groups of people are distributed across occupations according to ascribed characteristics; in this case, gender. Occupational gender segregation can be understood to contain two components or dimensions; horizontal segregation and vertical segregation. With horizontal segregation, occupational sex segregation occurs as men and women are thought to possess different physical, emotional, and mental capabilities. These different capabilities make the genders vary in the types of jobs they are suited for. This can be specifically viewed with the gendered division between manual and non-manual labor.

With vertical segregation, occupational sex segregation occurs as occupations are stratified according to the power, authority, income, and prestige associated with the occupation and women are excluded from holding such jobs.

As women entered the workforce in larger numbers since the 1960s, occupations have become segregated based on the amount femininity or masculinity presupposed to be associated with each occupation. Census data suggests that while some occupations have become more gender integrated (mail carriers, bartenders, bus drivers, and real estate agents), occupations including teachers, nurses, secretaries, and librarians have become female-dominated while occupations including architects, electrical engineers, and airplane pilots remain predominately male in composition. Based on the census data, women occupy the service sector jobs at higher rates than men. Women’s overrepresentation in service sector jobs, as opposed to jobs that require managerial work acts as a reinforcement of women and men into traditional gender roles that causes gender inequality.

Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, by sex, race, and ethnicity, U.S., 2009.

Scholars disagree about how much of the male-female wage gap depends on factors such as experience, education, occupation, and other job-relevant characteristics. Sociologist Douglas Massey found that 41% remains unexplained,^[30] while CONSAD analysts found that these factors explain between 65.1 and 76.4 percent of the raw wage gap. CONSAD also noted that other factors such as benefits and overtime explain "additional portions of the raw gender wage gap".

The glass ceiling effect is also considered a possible contributor to the gender wage gap or income disparity. This effect suggests that gender provides significant disadvantages towards the top of job hierarchies which become worse as a person’s career goes on. The term glass ceiling implies that invisible or artificial barriers exist which prevent women from advancing within their jobs or receiving promotions. These barriers exist in spite of the achievements or qualifications of the women and still exist when other characteristics that are job-relevant such as experience, education, and abilities are controlled for. The inequality effects of the glass ceiling are more prevalent within higher-powered or higher income occupations, with fewer women holding these types of occupations. The glass ceiling effect also indicates the limited chances of women for income raises and promotion or advancement to more prestigious positions or jobs. As women are prevented by these artificial barriers, from either receiving job promotions or income raises, the effects of the inequality of the glass ceiling increase over the course of a woman’s career.

Statistical discrimination is also cited as a cause for income disparities and gendered inequality in the workplace. Statistical discrimination indicates the likelihood of employers to deny women access to certain occupational tracks because women are more likely than men to leave their job or the labor force when they become married or pregnant. Women are instead given positions that dead-end or jobs that have very little mobility.

In Third World countries such as the Dominican Republic, female entrepreneurs are statistically more prone to failure in business. In the event of a business failure women often return to their domestic lifestyle despite the absence of income. On the other hand, men tend to search for other employment as the household is not a priority.

The gender earnings ratio suggests that there has been an increase in women’s earnings comparative to men. Men’s plateau in earnings began after the 1970s, allowing for the increase in women’s wages to close the ratio between incomes. Despite the smaller ratio between men and women’s wages, disparity still exists. Census data suggests that women’s earnings are 71 percent of men’s earnings in 1999.

The gendered wage gap varies in its width among different races. Whites comparatively have the greatest wage gap between the genders. With whites, women earn 78% of the wages that white men do. With African Americans, women earn 90% of the wages that African American men do.

There are some exceptions where women earn more than men: According to a survey on gender pay inequality by the International Trade Union Confederation, female workers in the Gulf state of Bahrain earn 40 per cent more than male workers.

In 2014, a report by the International Labor Organization (ILO) reveals the wage gap between Cambodian women factory workers and other male counterparts. There was a $25 USD monthly pay difference conveying that women have a much lower power and being devalued not only at home but also in the workplace.

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AND CAREERS:-The gender gap also appeared to narrow considerably beginning in the mid-1960s. Where some 5% of first-year students in professional programs were female in 1965, by 1985 this number had jumped to 40% in law and medicine, and over 30% in dentistry and business school. Before the highly effective birth control pill was available, women planning professional careers, which required a long-term, expensive commitment, had to "pay the penalty of abstinence or cope with considerable uncertainty regarding pregnancy." This control over their reproductive decisions allowed women to more easily make long-term decisions about their education and professional opportunities. Women are highly underrepresented on boards of directors and in senior positions in the private sector.

Additionally, with reliable birth control, young men and women had more reason to delay marriage. This meant that the marriage market available to any one women who "delay[ed] marriage to pursue a career...would not be as depleted. Thus the Pill could have influenced women's careers, college majors, professional degrees, and the age at marriage."

Studies on sexism in science and technology fields have produced conflicting results. Corinne et al. found that science faculty of both sexes rated a male applicant as significantly more competent and hireable than an identical female applicant. These participants also selected a higher starting salary and offered more careers mentoring to the male applicant. Williams and Ceci, however, found that science and technology faculty of both sexes "preferred female applicants 2:1 over identically qualified males with matching lifestyles" for tenure-track positions.

GENDER PAY DIFFERENCES IN THE MEDICAL FIELD:-Although the disparities between men and women are decreasing in the medical field, gender inequalities still exist as social problems. From 1999 to 2008, recently qualified female doctors in the US made almost $170,000,000 less than their male counterparts. The pay discrepancy could not be explained by specialty choice, practice setting, work hours, or other characteristics.

GENDER DISCRIMINATION AGAINST MEN:- There is a common misconception that women are the only ones that experience gender inequality in the workplace, but that is not true; Men face discrimination as well. Where women will receive some form of parental leave after having a child, a father will not get nearly as much time off, if any at all. New fathers usually will not get enhanced pay during parental leave like women do. Many employers will work with women when it comes to schedule changes, but men will rarely enjoy that same benefit. Under the Equality Act 2010, sex discrimination is not solely defined as a man harassing a woman; male employees have also faced sexual harassment in the workplace, though it is rarely, if ever, discussed. 

AT HOME  GENDER ROLES IN PARENTING AND MARRIAGE:-Gender roles are heavily influenced by biology, with male-female play styles correlating with sex hormones, sexual orientation, aggressive traits, and pain. Furthermore, females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia demonstrate increased masculinity and it has been shown that rhesus macaque children exhibit preferences for stereotypically male and female toys. 

GENDER INEQUALITY IN RELATIONSHIPS:-Gender equality in relationships has been growing over the years but for the majority of relationships, the power lies with the male. Even now men and women present themselves as divided along gender lines. A study done by Szymanowicz and Furnham, looked at the cultural stereotypes of intelligence in men and women, showing the gender inequality in self-presentation.  This study showed that females thought if they revealed their intelligence to a potential partner, then it would diminish their chance with him. Men however would much more readily discuss their own intelligence with a potential partner. Also, women are aware of people’s negative reactions to IQ, so they limit its disclosure to only trusted friends. Females would disclose IQ more often than men with the expectation that a real true friend would respond in a positive way. Intelligence continues to be viewed as a more masculine trait, than feminine trait. The article suggested that men might think women with a high IQ would lack traits that were desirable in a mate such as warmth, nurturance, sensitivity, or kindness. Another discovery was that females thought that friends should be told about one’s IQ more so than males. However, males expressed doubts about the test’s reliability and the importance of IQ in real life more so than women. The inequality is highlighted when a couple starts to decide who is in charge of family issues and who is primarily responsible for earning income. For example, in Londa Schiebinger’s book, "Has Feminism Changed Science?", she claims that "Married men with families on average earn more money, live longer and happier, and progress faster in their careers," while "for a working woman, a family is a liability, extra baggage threatening to drag down her career." Furthermore, statistics had shown that "only 17 percent of the women who are full professors of engineering have children, while 82 percent of the men do."

ATTEMPTS IN EQUALIZING HOUSEHOLD WORK:-Despite the increase in women in the labor force since the mid-1900s, traditional gender roles are still prevalent in American society. Women may be expected to put their educational and career goals on hold in order to raise children, while their husbands work. However, women who choose to work as well as fulfill a perceived gender role of cleaning the house and taking care of the children. Despite the fact that different households may divide chores more evenly, there is evidence that supports that women have retained the primary caregiver role within familial life despite contributions economically. This evidence suggest that women who work outside the home often put an extra 18 hours a week doing household or childcare related chores as opposed to men who average 12 minutes a day in childcare activities.

One study by van Hooff showed that modern couples, do not necessarily purposefully divide things like household chores along gender lines, but instead may rationalize it and make excuses. One excuse used is that women are more competent at household chores and have more motivation to do them. Another is that some say the demands of the males’ jobs are higher.

There was a study conducted at an "urban comprehensive school". They were asked questions regarding their views in sexual inequality. Many parents were for the equal pay for men and women. They also were in favor for men to help with the housework. In this study, the majority of the people who were interviewed wanted gender equality and more people want a change in gender roles. Where men stay home, clean, and cook while the women can work and help support the family.

Gender roles have changed drastically over the past few decades. In the article, it says that in 1920-1966, there was data recorded that women spent the most time care-tending with the home and family. There was a study made with the gender roles with the males and females, the results showed that as women spend less time in the house, men have taken over the role as the mother. The article also said that women who work spend less time within the house and with their children if they have any. Furthermore, men are taking the roles of women in the homes and its changing as time goes on. Robin A. Douthitt, the author of the article, "The Division of Labor Within the Home: Have Gender Roles Changed?" concluded by saying, "(1) men do not spend significantly more time with children when their wives are employed and (2) employed women spend significantly less time in child care than their full-time homemaker counterparts, over a 10-year period both mothers and fathers are spending more total time with children." (703).

GENDER INEQUALITIES IN RELATION TO TECHNOLOGY:- One survey showed that men rate their technological skills in activities such as basic computer functions and online participatory communication higher than women. However, it should be noted that this study was a self-reporting study, where men evaluate themselves on their own perceived capabilities. It thus is not data based on actual ability, but merely perceived ability, as participants' ability was not assessed. Additionally, this study is inevitably subject to the significant bias associated with self-reported data. In contrary to such findings, a carefully controlled study that analyzed data sets from 25 developing countries led to the consistent finding that the reason why fewer women access and use digital technology is a direct result of their unfavorable conditions and ongoing discrimination with respect to employment, education and income.^[68] When controlling for these variables, women turn out to be more active users of digital tools than men. This turns the alleged digital gender divide into an opportunity: given women's affinity for ICT, and given that digital technologies are tools that can improve living conditions, ICT represents a concrete and tangible opportunity to tackle longstanding challenges of gender inequalities in developing countries, including access to employment, income, education and health services.

STRUCTURAL MARGINALIZATION:-Gender inequalities often stem from social structures that have institutionalized conceptions of gender differences. Marginalization occurs on an individual level when someone feels as if they are on the fringes or margins of their respective society. This is a social process and displays how current policies in place can affect people. For example, media advertisements display young girls with easy bake ovens (promoting being a housewife) as well as with dolls that they can feed and change the diaper of (promoting being a mother).

GENDER STEREOTYPES:- Cultural stereotypes, which can dictate specific roles, are engrained in both men and women and these stereotypes are a possible explanation for gender inequality and the resulting gendered wage disparity. Women have traditionally been viewed as being caring and nurturing and are designated to occupations which require such skills.

While these skills are culturally valued, they were typically associated with domesticity, so occupations requiring these same skills are not economically valued.

Men have traditionally been viewed as the breadwinner or the worker, so jobs held by men have been historically economically valued and occupations predominated by men continue to be economically valued and earn higher wages.

 

SEXISM AND DISCRIMINATION

Gender inequality can further be understood through the mechanisms of sexism. Discrimination takes place in this manner as men and women are subject to prejudicial treatment on the basis of gender alone. Sexism occurs when men and women are framed within two dimensions of social cognition.

Discrimination also plays out with networking and in preferential treatment within the economic market. Men typically occupy positions of power within the job economy. Due to taste or preference for other men because they share similar characteristics, men in these positions of power are more likely to hire or promote other men, thus discriminating against women.

IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Sonja B. Starr conducted a study in the US that found that the prison sentences that men serve are on average 63% longer than those that women serve when controlling for arrest offense and criminal history. However, the study does not purport to explain why this is the case. Starr does not believe that men are disadvantaged generally. Men's rights advocates have argued that men being over-represented in both those who commit murder and the victims of murder are evidence that men are being harmed by outmoded cultural attitudes.

IN TELEVISION AND FILM

The New York Film Academy took a closer look at the women in Hollywood and gathered statistics from the top 500 films from 2007 to 2012; for their history and achievements, or lack of With only a 5:1 ratio of men working in films than women, the 30.8% of women having speaking characters, who may or may not have been a part of the 28.8% of women who were written to wear revealing clothing compared to the 7% of men who did, or the 26.2% of women who wore little to no clothing opposed to the 9.4% of men who did the same.

Hollywood actresses get paid less than actors. Topping the Forbes' highest paid actors list, of 2013, is Robert Downey Jr. with $75 million yet Angelina Jolie tops the highest paid actresses list with only $33 million,^[75] tying with Denzel Washington ($33 million) and Liam Neeson ($32 million) who were the last two of the top ten highest paid actors list.

During the 2013 Academy Awards, 140 men were nominated for an award but only 35 women were nominated, however, no woman was nominated for directing, cinematography, film editing, writing (original screenplay), or original score that year. But ever since the Academy Awards first opened in 1929, only 7 women producers have won the Best Picture category (all women who have been co-producers with men), only 8 women have been nominated for Best Original Screenplay, and Lina Wertmuller (1976), Jane Campion (1994), Sofia Coppola (2004), and Kathryn Bigelow (2012) were the only 4 women to be nominated for Best Directing, with Bigelow being the first woman to win for her film The Hurt Locker. 77% males make up the Academy Awards' voters.

IMPACT AND COUNTERACTIONS

Gender inequality and discrimination are argued to cause and perpetuate poverty and vulnerability in society as a whole. Household and intra-household knowledge and resources are key influences in individuals' abilities to take advantage of external livelihood opportunities or respond appropriately to threats. High education levels and social integration significantly improve the productivity of all members of the household and improve equity throughout society. Gender Equity Indices seek to provide the tools to demonstrate this feature of poverty.

Poverty has many different factors, one of which is the gender wage gap. Women are more likely to be living in poverty and the wage gap is one of the causes.

There are many difficulties in creating a comprehensive response. It is argued that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) fail to acknowledge gender inequality as a cross-cutting issue. Gender is mentioned in MDG3 and MDG5: MDG3 measures gender parity in education, the share of women in wage employment and the proportion women in national legislatures. MDG5 focuses on maternal mortality and on universal access to reproductive health. These targets are significantly off-track.

Addressing gender inequality through social protection programmes designed to increase equity would be an effective way of reducing gender inequality, according to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). Researchers at the ODI argue for the need to develop the following in social protection in order to reduce gender inequality and increase growth:

• Community childcare to give women greater opportunities to seek employment;
• Support parents with the care costs (e.g. South African child/disability grants);
• Education stipends for girls (e.g. Bangladesh’s Girls Education Stipend scheme);
• Awareness-raising regarding gender-based violence, and other preventive measures, such as financial support for women and children escaping abusive environments (e.g. NGO pilot initiatives in Ghana);
• Inclusion of programme participants (women and men) in designing and evaluating social protection programmes;
• Gender-awareness and analysis training for programme staff;
• Collect and distribute information on coordinated care and service facilities (e.g. access to micro-credit and micro-entrepreneurial training for women); and
• Developing monitoring and evaluation systems that include sex-disaggregated data.

The ODI maintains that society limits governments' ability to act on economic incentives.

NGO's tend to protect women against gender inequality and Structural violence.

During war, combatants primarily target men. Both sexes die however, due to disease, malnutrition and incidental crime and violence, as well as the battlefield injuries which predominately affect men. A 2009 review of papers and data covering war related deaths disaggregated by gender concluded "It appears to be difficult to say whether more men or women die from conflict conditions overall."^[81] The ratio also depends on the type of war, for example in the Falklands War 904 of the 907 dead were men. Conversely figures for war deaths in 1990, almost all relating to civil war, gave ratios in the order of 1.3 males per female.

Another opportunity to tackle gender inequality is presented by modern information and communication technologies. In a carefully controlled study, it has been shown that women embrace digital technology more than men. Given that digital information and communication technologies have the potential to provide access to employment, education, income, health services, participation, protection, and safety, among others (ICT4D), the natural affinity of women with these new communication tools provide women with a tangible bootstrapping opportunity to tackle social discrimination.

Variations by country or culture

The Gender gap index world map for 2013.^[82]

Main article: Global Gender Gap Report

Gender inequality is a result of the persistent discrimination of one group of people based upon gender and it manifests itself differently according to race, culture, politics, country, and economic situation. It is furthermore considered a causal factor of violence against women. While gender discrimination happens to both men and women in individual situations, discrimination against women is an entrenched, global pandemic. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, rape and violence against women and girls is used as a tool of war. In Afghanistan, girls have had acid thrown in their faces for attending school. Considerable focus has been given to the issue of gender inequality at the international level by organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank, particularly in developing countries. The causes and effects of gender inequality vary geographically, as do methods for combating it.

ASIA:- One example of the continued existence of gender inequality in Asia is the "missing girls" phenomenon. “Many families desire male children in order to ensure an extra source of income. In China, females are perceived as less valuable for labor and unable to provide sustenance.”

CAMBODIA:- Cambodia is one of the examples. A Cambodian said “Men are gold, women are white cloth”, emphasizing women had a lower value and importance compared to men.^[ In Cambodia, approximately 15% (485,000 hectares) of land was owned by a women. In Asian culture, there is a stereotype where women usually have a lower status than men because males carry on the family name and hold the responsibilities to take care of the family. Females on the other hand have a less important role. Their main role is to carry out domestic chores, taking care of her husband and children. Women are also the main victims suffering from poverty as they have little or no access to education, low pay and low chances owning assets such as lands, homes or even basic item home but also in the workplace.

In Cambodia, the Ministry of Women’s Affair (MoWA) was formed in 1998 with the role to improve women’s overall power and status in the country.

EUROPE:-Europe, as a whole, has a decent amount of disparity when in reference to Global Gender Gap Report put out by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2013. The Global Gender Gap Report ranks nation between 0 and 1. A nation with 35 women in political office and 65 men in political office would get a score of 0.538 as the WEF is measuring the gap between the two figures and not the actual percentage of women in a given category. While Europe holds the top 4 spots for gender equality, with Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden ranking 1st through 4th respectively, it also contains two nations ranked in the bottom 30 countries, Albania at 108 and Turkey at 120. The Nordic Countries, for several years, have been at the forefront of bridging the gap in gender inequality. Every Nordic country, aside from Denmark who is at 0.778, has reached above a 0.800 score. In contrast to the Nordic nations, the countries of Albania and Turkey continue to struggle with gender inequality. Albania and Turkey failed to break the top 100 nations in 2 of 4 and 3 of 4 factors, respectively. However, despite the disparity, European nations continue to make advances in the many factors that are used to determine a nation's gender gap score.

WESTERN EUROPE:-Western Europe, a region most often described as comprising the non-communist members of post-WWII Europe, has, for the most part been doing well in eliminating the gender gap. Western Europe holds 12 of the top 20 spots on the Global Gender Gap Report for overall score. While remaining mostly in the top 50 nations, 4 Western European nations fall below that benchmark. Portugal is just outside of the top 50 at number 51 with score of 0.706 while Italy (71), Greece (81) and Malta (84) received scores of 0.689, 0.678 and 0.676, respectively. EASTERN EUROPE:- A large portion of Eastern Europe, a region most often described as the former communist members of post-WWII Europe, resides between 40th and 100th place in the Global Gender Gap Report. A few outlier countries include Lithuania, who jumped 9 places (37th to 28th) from 2011 to 2013, Latvia, who has held the 12th spot for 2 consecutive years and the aforementioned Albania and Turkey.  INDIA:-India ranking remains low in gender equality measures by the World Economic Forum, although the rank has been improving in recent years. When broken down into components that contribute the rank, India performs well on political empowerment, but is scored near the bottom with China on sex selective abortion. India also scores poorly on overall female to male literacy and health rankings. India with a 2013 ranking of 101 out of 136 countries had an overall score of 0.6551, while Iceland, the nation that topped the list, had an overall score of 0.8731 (no gender gap would yield a score of 1.0).

Gender inequalities impact India's sex ratio, women's health over their lifetimes, their educational attainment, and economic conditions. It is a multifaceted issue that concerns men and women alike.   The labor force participation rate of women was 80.7% in 2013. Nancy Lockwood of Society for Human Resource Management, the world's largest human resources association with members in 140 countries, in a 2009 report wrote that female labor participation is lower than men, but has been rapidly increasing since the 1990s. Out of India's 397 million workers in 2001, 124 million were women, states Lockwood.

India is on target to meet its Millennium Development Goal of gender parity in education before 2016. UNICEF's measures of attendance rate and Gender Equality in Education Index (GEEI) attempt to capture the quality of education. Despite some gains, India needs to triple its rate of improvement to reach GEEI score of 95% by 2015 under the Millennium Development GoalsA 1998 report stated that rural India girls continue to be less educated than the boys.

UNITED States of America:- The World Economic Forum measures gender equity through a series of economic, educational, and political benchmarks. It has ranked the United States as 19th (up from 31st in 2009) in terms of achieving gender equity. The US Department of Labor has indicated that in 2009, "the median weekly earnings of women who were full-time wage and salary workers was…80 percent of men’s”; The Department of Justice found that in 2009, "the percentage of female victims (26%) of intimate partner violence was about 5 times that of male victims (5%)". "The United States ranks 41st in a ranking of 184 countries on maternal deaths during pregnancy and childbirth, below all other industrialized nations and a number of developing countries “and women only represent 20% of members of Congress.

POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS AND BEHAVIORS:-Existing research on the topic of gender/sex and politics has found differences in political affiliation, beliefs, and voting behavior between men and women, although these differences vary across cultures. Gender is omnipresent in every culture, and while there are many factors to consider when labeling people "Democrat" or "Republican"—such as race and religion—gender is especially prominent in politics. Studying gender and political behavior poses challenges, as it can be difficult to determine if men and women actually differ in substantial ways in their political views and voting behavior, or if biases and stereotypes about gender cause people to make assumptions. However, trends in voting behavior among men and women have been proven through research.

Research shows that women in postindustrial countries like the United States, Canada, and Germany primarily identified as conservative before the 1960s; however, as time has progressed and new waves of feminism have occurred, women have become more left-wing due to shared beliefs and values between women and parties more on the left. Women in these countries typically oppose war and the death penalty, favor gun control, support environment protection, and are more supportive of programs that help people of lower socioeconomic statuses. Voting behaviors of men have not experienced as drastic of a shift over the last fifty years as women in their voting behavior and political affiliations. These behaviors tend to consistently be more conservative than women overall. These trends change with every generation, and factors such as culture, race, and religion also must be considered when discussing political affiliation. These factors make the connection between gender and political affiliation complex due to intersectionality

Candidate gender also plays a role in voting behavior. Women candidates are far more likely than male candidates to be scrutinized and have their competence questioned by both men and women when they are seeking information on candidates in the beginning stages of election campaigns. Democrat male voters tend to seek more information about female Democrat candidates over male Democrat candidates. Female Republican voters tend to seek more information about female Republican candidates. For this reason, female candidates in either party typically need to work harder to prove them competent more than their male counterparts.

CHALLENGES TO WOMEN IN POLITICS

Overall, politics in the United States are dominated by men, which can pose many challenges to women who decide to enter the political sphere. As the number of women participants in politics continue to increase around the world, the gender of female candidates serves as both a benefit and a hindrance within their campaign themes and advertising practices. The overarching challenge seems to be that—no matter their actions—women are unable to win in the political sphere as different standards are used to judge them when compared to their male counterparts. One area in particular that exemplifies varying perceptions between male and female candidates is the way female candidates decide to dress and how their choice is evaluated. When women decide to dress more masculine, they are perceived as being "conspicuous." When they decide to dress more feminine, they are perceived as "deficient." At the same time, however, women in politics are generally expected to adhere to the masculine standard, thereby validating the idea that gender is binary and that power is associated with masculinity. As illustrated by the points above, these simultaneous, mixed messages create a "double-bind" for women. Some scholars go on to claim that this masculine standard represents symbolic violence against women in politics. Political knowledge is a second area where male and female candidates are evaluated differently and where political science research has consistently shown women with a lower level of knowledge than their male counterparts. One reason for this finding is the argument that there are different areas of political knowledge that different groups consider. Due to this line of thought, scholars are advocating the replacement of traditional political knowledge with gender-relevant political knowledge because women are not as politically disadvantaged as it may appear.

A third area that affects women’s engagement in politics is their low level of political interest and perception of politics as a "men's game." Despite female candidates' political contributions being equal to that of male candidates, research has shown that women perceive more barriers to office in the form of rigorous campaigns, less overall recruitment, inability to balance office and family commitments, hesitancy to enter competitive environments, and a general lack of belief in their own merit and competence. Male candidates are evaluated most heavily on their achievements, while female candidates are evaluated on their appearance, voice, verbal dexterity, and facial features in addition to their achievements.

HARMFUL CULTURAL PRACTICES AND GENDER EQUALITY IN NIGERIA

For many years the issue of gender equality has continued to generate interest across the world. While it is generally agreed that human rights apply to all human beings regardless of gender, in reality women's fundamental rights and freedoms have been limited by patriarchal tradition (UN, 2009). The situation is even worse in many African societies where cultural and religious practices tend to assign different roles to men and women. In most cases, cultural practices often render women invisible and subservient to their male counterparts (Teriy, 2007). This in turn makes it difficult for women to participate in political and economic activities and live a productive life (Metcalfe, 2011). Hence, while men continue to dominate political activities and enjoy economic power, women are relegated to the roles of homemakers and child bearers and are predominantly engaged in menial jobs such as farming (Eboh, 1997; Tamale, 2004; Ssenyenjo, 2007; Cornwall et al., 2007). It is now recognized internationally that promoting gender equality is an important development strategy for combating poverty and ill health in society. Indeed, one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (goal no. 3) is to realize gender equality by 2015 (UN, 2000).

The adoption of an appropriate policy and legal framework can help to address gender inequality and improve the status of women in society. Such a policy should aim to empower women (Sen and Batliwala, 2000). Although the Constitution of Nigeria contains provisions prohibiting discrimination on various grounds including sex, religion or political beliefs, some cultural and religious practices continue to discriminate against women and undermine their fundamental rights and freedoms. In different parts of the country harmful cultural practices such as female genital mutilation, male preference, early marriage and wife inheritance continue to fuel gender inequality and pose threats to women's exercise of their fundamental rights.

Against this backdrop, this article discusses how cultural practices may impair women's fundamental rights; particularly the rights to nondiscrimination and equality guaranteed in numerous international and regional human rights instruments. More specifically, the article discusses three main cultural practices: son preference, primogeniture system and burial rites, and their implications for women's fundamental rights and freedoms in Nigeria. It analyses the conflict that may exist in adhering to cultural practices and in promoting women's fundamental rights to equality in a plural society like Nigeria. It further examines the legal and structural framework for addressing gender equality in the county and makes some suggestions for the way forward. It concludes by urging the Nigerian government to take more decisive measures in eliminating harmful cultural practices against women in line with its obligations under international law.

WOMEN HAVE THE SAME INTRINSIC WORTH AS MEN

Discriminated against at every level, women and girls traditionally have limited access to education, ownership of land and assets in Nigeria. And they are denied equal treatment in inheritance rights, human resources development and sustainable economic growth. It is therefore worrisome that at a time they are seeking equal treatment and participation in issues that concern them and their families, some respected traditional rulers who ordinarily should know better are making utterances that are entirely unhelpful.

The general notion in our country that women are inferior to men was recently reinforced when President Muhammad Buhari, at a press conference in Germany, said the role of his wife did not extend beyond the kitchen and “the other room”. It was an unfortunate gaffe, especially given that women in Nigeria have made their mark in the political and economic arena. Only recently, a Nigerian woman, Amina Mohammed, was named as the Deputy Secretary General to United Nations.

Against the background that just last September, gender equality was declared “not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world” President Buhari’s remarks about his wife was unfortunate. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on which Ms Mohammed was an adviser to the outgoing United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, had helped set as one of the goals, undertaking reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources.

It is all the more disheartening that in this climate, the Nigerian Senate has been found wanting in its role to help achieve these new goals of promoting gender equality. In September last year, a watered down version of the Gender and Equality Bill passed a second reading in the Senate, and was referred to the committee on judiciary, human rights and legal matters. The first bill put forward six months earlier, and which included equal rights for women in marriages, divorce, property ownership and inheritance, was voted down. That bill was rejected because members of the upper arm of parliament said “enacting a law to accord women equal rights with men was un-African and anti-religious”.

There are 102 men and seven women in the Nigerian Senate. But the ratio of women to men in the Senate should not influence the seriousness with which issues relating to women should be taken. Women make up about 50 per cent of the Nigerian population. Therefore, it makes no sense to exclude half of our population from contributing to national prosperity and well-being for archaic and oppressive reasons.

Gender equality is not just a human rights issue, it is essential for the achievement of sustainable development and a peaceful, prosperous world. Therefore, circumscribing the access to opportunities that ultimately empowers women and girls is counterproductive. Women are not the objects of pleasure of men or property to be used and disposed of. Indeed, women have the same intrinsic worth as men. Therefore any custom that seeks to treat them as inferior to men or treats women as the property of their husbands cannot and should not stand.

In a landmark judgment in 2014, the Supreme Court held that the Igbo Customary Law which bars the female child, irrespective of the circumstances of her birth, from inheriting or partaking in the sharing of the property and estate of her father, is a violation of her right to freedom from discrimination enshrined in section 42 (1) (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. According to the Supreme Court, “any culture that disinherits a daughter from her father’s estate or wife from her husband’s property by reason of God-instituted gender differential should be punitively dealt with.”

PATRIARCHY AND GENDER INEQUALITY IN NIGERIA: THE WAY FORWARD

The patriarchal nature of traditional Nigerian society, which enables men to dominate women, continues to negatively impact the participation of women in formal and information decision-making. Taking an historical approach, this paper examines the conceptual and material bases of patriarchy and gender inequality in Nigeria. The author discusses a number of socio-cultural, economic and political factors involved in various dimensions of gender inequality and discrimination. This study finds that the following circumstances perpetuate the inadequate representation of women in Nigerian society, and pose serious threats to Nigeria’s quest for democratic consolidation and sustainable development: lack of access to well-developed education and training systems for women’s leadership; undue dominance of men in the socio-political sphere, including imbalances in political appointments; and poverty.

In order to redress gender inequality in Nigeria, the author emphasizes the need to challenge the influences of patriarchy, and promote women’s rights in domestic production, paid employment, culture and religion, sexuality, male violence and governance. The author recommends that the United Nations General Assembly reaffirm is Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), making it compulsory for all nations to adopt its cardinal objectives, and employing stricter sanctions for violating the convention. Additionally, the relevant clauses of the Beijing Platform for Action, giving specific rights to women, should be reactivated. Further recommendations for change include:

– Domestic production: challenge patriarchal division of labour in the home; advocate for equitable distribution of housework; promoting fatherhood responsibilities; and include of domestic work in GDP.

• Paid employment: challenge stereotypes and fighting discrimination against women; and promote the entry of women into male-dominated or reserved professions.
• Culture and religion: combat cultural practices that oppress women (female genital mutilation, widowhood practices, etc.); promote the education of girls and women-sensitive interpretations of religion; challenge gender stereotypes in the media, practices that promote son preference and predispose women to malnutrition; etc.
• Sexuality: promote the sexual and reproductive rights of women; challenge practices that predispose women to sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS; etc.
• Male violence: combat violence against women; and promote new conceptualizations of masculinity and femininity.
• State: challenge the patriarchal arrangement of the state and violence in the state, as well as neoliberalism and fundamentalism; promote women-friendly constitutions and legal frameworks, and budget redistribution in favour of women; support the affirmative action of women and other marginalized groups; etc.

CAUSES OF GENDER INEQUALITY

Gender inequality which in this context implies unfair treatment given to female gender with respect to the male has many causes. Its causes include culture and tradition, religion, lack of empowerment, mentality, and inadequate education.

HOW TO OVERCOME GENDER DISCRIMINATION (FEMALES)

For generations inequality between males and females has prevailed. Despite the modernization of society, the mindset of men being superior to women has hardly altered. Truth is, women, too have accomplished various landmarks to create history. More women in the modern age should step up and achieve their dreams, as they are truly capable of it.

1. Understanding Yourself:- Before anything else, seek to understand what you are capable of. Comprehend your inner potential. Focus on your positives. These are the qualities in which you think are good. Whether it is sports, academics, or even brilliant reading/writing or debating skills. It is as Albert Einstein once quoted "Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its entire life believing it is stupid."

2. Pull up your confidence and self-belief. Several sports were considered masculine, but now women have come up in those sports and have taken it to a new level. For example, national level football, or national level cricket. Use examples of the success of these women to boost up your confidence. You should look at enough examples from the past and present to be willing to start something new, or a completely new trend of your own.

3. Understand your rights. Nothing will change unless you are aware of your capabilities or your rights. Understand the law, and be well aware of the rights of women. This way, if someone tries to go against you, you will have evidence to defy them. Not only this, but also be well aware of current events, and news from the world. This will increase your knowledge of society, and attain you a stronger position than others. This will make you stand out in the crowd. It is as they say “knowledge is power.”

4 Realize that you cannot fully believe in yourself unless you believe in others. Look around you. Everyone has weaknesses, and flaws. Boys, girls, men, women, everyone! No one is perfect. Notice all the examples around you, of women who tried and failed, yet still persevered. If guys can succeed, so can you. Just keep trying.

5. Talk to other women around you. Whether it be a friend, colleague, mother or sister. Get their views on how their life experiences have been. Generally, talking to other women about your dreams and ambitions will help you be more confident with your decision, and will persuade you to not back out from your potential. Identify the mistakes, and hurdles these women encountered. This will give you knowledge on how to achieve your goals, and not repeat mistakes. It will result in more encouragement, before you actually take a big step forward.

6. Bring forward the change, and eliminate female discrimination for yourself. Start speaking up for yourself and also for others around you. Whenever there is a hint of injustice call it out. Society insists that they do not believe in gender inequality, but they still will do injustice. Whenever you are treated unfairly, question them. Ask why you were treated, the way you were.

Nothing will change unless the people discriminating are questioned in public. Stepping up for you is the key. For example, say you are good at sports, better than some of the males there and the coach chooses a male over you for team selection. You should question this judgment if you know you are more worthy. Demand another try out, or seek advice from other coaches.

7. Try new things, and participate in as many activities as you possibly can. This will not only open more doors for you, but will also have a way for other females interested in that field. Do not step back. Having experience in various areas will only develop you as a person, and the better you are at something, the more respect you will receive. You can never get too old to try something new.

8.Never forget to advise other females. The more awareness you spread, the easier it gets to overcome female discrimination on a larger scale. Advise those younger than you. Advise those that are scared, or pressurized by society.

9. Encourage men, too. Do not start thinking that you are superior to men. Remember that you are equals. If you have rights and capabilities, so do they. Recognize theirs, and encourage them to recognize yours (and those of other women).

OVERCOMING GENDER INEQUALITY AND DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE

Gender inequality in the workplace occurs when an employee is treated differently, unfavorably or unfairly because of their gender. Not only is gender discrimination wrong, when it affects the terms and conditions of employment, it's against the law. Despite protection from the law, many people, particularly working women, feel that gender inequality and discrimination is still a big problem in some businesses. In fact, 68% of women who participated in a TNS Research survey responded that gender discrimination is quite commonplace in the work place.

TYPES OF GENDER DESCRIMINATION

So what exactly constitutes gender inequality? What are the signs that gender discrimination may be happening in your work place? Before answering these questions, it's important to know that while gender discrimination is usually directed toward women, men can also be subjected to gender discrimination. The most overt form of gender inequality is unequal pay or unfair promotions. Unequal pay is typically a form of gender discrimination against women. Men are not supposed to earn more for performing a particular job just because they are men – but all too frequently they do. Under federal law, if a woman performs the same function, achieves the same goals, and works the same hours, she is entitled to be compensated as much as a man performing the same job. Women often have to work longer at their job than men do to be promoted.  For most of history, women were discriminated against for giving birth. When a woman got pregnant she often lost her job, her position, and was replaced with a new "more productive" worker. Since a pregnant mother was often unproductive, employers felt justified in not continuing their employment or allowing them to return to work once their pregnancy and birth was over. Today, under federal law, an employer cannot discriminate against a woman based on pregnancy or child birth. Pregnancy must be treated as any other temporary condition.  Think you weren't hired because of your gender? If so, pay attention, you may have grounds for a lawsuit. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 specifically states that it is against federal law to refuse to hire someone based on their gender. The same law also specifies that it is illegal to fire an employee, or deprive them any job related opportunities, including internships, apprenticeships or promotions based on gender. For example, a hospital can't decide not to hire a nurse because he's male any more than they can fire a doctor because she is female.

Another form gender discrimination and inequality is harassment. In this day and age you'd think we were beyond gender driven harassment in the work place – but unfortunately it still exists. Harassment takes many forms and can be difficult to prove. Sexual harassment is arguably the most egregious form of harassment and may include overt sexual advances, unwanted sexual overtures, suggestive photos, inappropriate physical contact and the request for sexual favors in return for promotions, job security or any other job related benefit. Other common forms of harassment may include bullying, off-color jokes, and any patterns of behavior that fosters a hostile environment for an employee.

EFFECTS OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION

To say gender discrimination isn't a problem is like saying bullying in elementary school is perfectly acceptable. The victims of gender discrimination feel its effects, as do the companies that allow gender discrimination to go unchecked. One of the biggest effects of gender discrimination – particularly for women – is increased stress. In fact, women who report experiencing workplace discrimination also report experiencing increased levels of stress – especially when discrimination involves any form of sexual harassment. Women dealing with workplace discrimination, in conjunction with increased stress levels, may also experience poorer health.   Decreased productivity is another effect of gender inequality and discrimination in the workplace. Not surprisingly, when faced with ongoing gender discrimination and inequality, workers tend to lose motivation and morale and they're unable to perform their jobs as effectively. Discriminatory behaviors that can lead to loss of morale and motivation – and consequently productivity – include off-color jokes, jokes that imply inferiority, jokes of a sexual or suggestive nature, or directly suggesting an employee's performance is sub-par because of his or her gender.  In corporate America these days, performance is often team based. While individuals contribute their skills, knowledge and services, overall production and final outcomes are often based on the continuity and performance of the team as a whole. There isn't much that creates more tension, hostility or lack of continuity for a team than gender inequality or discrimination. A woman doing the same job as her male coworker – and team member – will likely feel resentment towards her male coworker if she's being paid substantially less – even if the unequal treatment isn't his fault. An atmosphere or environment filled with tension often leads to lower productivity.

Conflict is a natural consequence when employees experience gender discrimination or inequality – regardless of whether it originates from other employees or management. If, for example, a junior employee is promoted ahead of his female supervisor to a managerial position, without sound rational, it will likely be difficult for the female supervisor to accept this man as her new manager, and she may take issue with management's decision and claim that gender discrimination has occurred.  Gender discrimination can lead to high employee turnover, which in turn equates to higher than necessary hiring, training and operating cost for a business. If an employee feels that his or her value is based on gender, rather than job performance, they'll feel demoralized, develop a bad attitude, performance poorly and ultimately look for a different job where gender discrimination does not exist. Even worse, employees who experience gender discrimination and then quit usually don't have nice things to say about their previous employer. Businesses that don't nip gender discrimination; inequality and bias in the butt can develop a poor reputation and find it more difficult to attract good employees.  Not only does gender discrimination affect workplace performance, productivity and attitudes, it can negatively impact every aspect of a worker's life, including their overall emotional and mental health. Just like bullying in school, discrimination can take a tole on the emotional and mental health of the individual being discriminated against.

OVERCOMING WORKPLACE GENDER INEQUALITY

Gender discrimination is in many instances illegal, definitely immoral and just plain wrong. In the workplace, workers should be judged, promoted and valued based on the merit of their effort, contribution and ability – not their gender. So what should you do when you think gender discrimination is occurring in your workplace? Consider the following:

• An important first step in overcoming gender discrimination and inequality is to recognize that it's actually happening. Just as an alcoholic can't deal with their alcoholism until they admit they have a problem, gender discrimination can't be overcome until all relevant parties are willing to admit that it's occurring in their organization. Unfortunately, recognizing that gender discrimination exists is uncomfortable, and many people would rather remain silent or pretend it's not taking place.
• Start talking about it – especially if you're the one getting discriminated against. No one should be treated unfairly. Talking about discrimination or inequality due to gender brings the issue out into open so it can be addressed. If you feel comfortable confronting the offender, then do so. If you don't feel it's appropriate to confront the person doing the discriminating, then speak with a trusted supervisor, manager or member of your company's human resource department. Once a company is aware of that discrimination is occurring, it's their responsibility to make sure it's addressed appropriately. However, avoid gossiping. Spreading gossip – whether true or false – will only hurt your cause and likely create a worse situation for both you and the offender.
• If you're a business owner, make sure your organization provides proper training on gender equality to all management personnel and supervisors. Teach managers what constitutes gender discrimination and inequality, and train them how to identify both the obvious and not so obvious signs that gender discrimination is occurring. But being able to spot gender discrimination is only the first step, managers must also be taught to how to deal with it and prevent it from happening again in the future.
• As much as possible, make sure your company, division or department has clear policies for advancement and promotion – and then follow them. This will help ensure that gender discrimination does not occur, will set a standard of performance for employees to meet if they want to advance and will decrease the likeliness of unnecessary (and uncomfortable) conflicts or lawsuits.
• Make sure that all employees are aware of what gender discrimination is and that gender discrimination is an unacceptable practice in your organization. This in and of itself will go a long way to establishing an environment and atmosphere of mutual respect and gender equality.
• While we recognize that gender discrimination can happen to both sexes, it is predominately a problem that occurs to women. There is also a stigma in corporate America, and within most corporations, that women have to work harder than men to achieve the same level of career success. For these reasons, we recommend showcasing those women in your organization that have become successful and demonstrate how they achieved their success.
• Publicize the efforts your company, division or department is making to promote gender equality. Become a role model to other businesses in your industry, your vendors and your local workforce of what a gender neutral environment – where everyone is treated equality – looks like.
• Develop a written set up policies to promote gender equality in your organization. (1) Your policies should ensure that men and women receive equal pay for equal work. (2) Policies should promote gender equality in recruitment, training, hiring and promotion practices. (3) Make sure policies allow men and women to balance their careers with their personal lives. (4) Your policies should strictly prohibit all forms of harassment – especially sexual harassment. (5) Make sure that it is known that nondiscrimination policies apply to all company employees, including management. (6) Policies should outline the procedure for reporting gender discrimination without fear of retribution.

REPORTING GENDER DISCRIMINATION

If you are discriminated against in the workplace due to your gender, the first step is to report – in writing – the act(s) of discrimination or harassment to your employer. If your employer doesn't hand your complaint fairly, you can then report it to the government. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces the federal discrimination laws. An employee who believes he or she has been the subject of discrimination can contact the EEOC’s Office of Equal Opportunity to file a complaint. Complaints can be filed at.

HOW YOU CAN SOLVE GENDER INEQUALITY NOW:- New solutions are emerging every day to combat gender inequality issues in the workplace. For example, a recent bill passed in San Francisco requires that employers pay new parents 100 percent of their normal compensation for 6 weeks of leave.    These types of benefits and initiatives are honing in on one of the most controversial topics in the world today — a form of bias that should have been solved decades ago. A March 2016 study from Glass door found that, based on more than 505,000 salaries shared by full-time U.S. employees on Glass door, men earn 24 percent higher base pay than women, on average. In other words, women earn about 76 cents per dollar of what men earn.

Despite empirical evidence, there is still a disconnect between how men and women perceive gender inequality. A March 2016 study from The Drum found that 53 percent of men say that gender equality has already been mostly achieved, whereas only 30 percent of women agree with this statement.

Despite how men and women perceive it, the gender bias is an ongoing issue. Let’s take a look at how to create a fair workplace and stop gender inequality:

USE METRICS TO SET GOALS AND INFORM TALENT MOBILITY

It’s difficult for an archer to aim for a target they can’t see. Similarly, how can companies know they are achieving equality when they don’t know what equality looks like?

Simply put, use data. Measure inequality to set clear goals to determine how to close gender gaps. For example, if management consists of more men, a goal should be to train talented female employees for management. Look at measurements in recruitment, company culture, and similar areas to see how the organization is impacting men and women and their careers.

Additionally, companies need to know what they’re considering when they give raises and promotions. Create a framework of work-related aspects like performance, and use it to set standards for evaluations that are to be used for all employees in the same way.

CONSIDER PAY TRANSPARENCY

The 2016 Glassdoor study found research showing that salary transparency can help eliminate gender pay gaps and play an important role in helping achieve balance..

The current imbalance is even more apparent when women have children. A 2015 study from Payscale found that the largest gap in pay occurs when women are married with children. How are women supposed to perceive this idea of making even less money when they become mothers? How can companies address this growing concern?

OFFER CHILD CARE SOLUTIONS

An April 2014 survey from the National Women’s Law Center found that working mothers make 69 percent of what working fathers earn. This can be mitigated by embracing a policy that includes salary transparency and performing evaluations in the same way for everyone.

To ease some additional burden on working mothers, offer childcare on site, corporate discounted daycare, or open a flexible spending account to help supplement parents’ expenses. It shows respect for their effort and helps them achieve a better work-life balance.

PROVIDE MENTORSHIPS TO STRONG TALENT

Management should be finding good talent and providing mentors for them to help them grow and advance within the company. Encourage women to engage in professional development by pairing them with strong leaders who can assess their skills and goals.

Mentors can advise female employees on how to build their appeal for advancement opportunities, like adding to their skill sets, continuing their education, and learning how to network.

EDUCATE MANAGERS ON HOW TO BE FAIR

Many managers don’t realize they speak to women differently than men. Train your management team to effectively lead and do so in a fair way. Offer every employee consistent feedback, encourage their input, offer professional development, and coach everyone equally.

In a culture founded on transparency, employees feel motivated to take ownership of their roles and are encouraged to address concerns with all levels of management. So if women feel like they are being discriminated against, they are comfortable in addressing this with leaders and working toward finding solutions.

12 THINGS EMPLOYERS CAN DO TO IMPROVE GENDER EQUALITY AT THEIR WORKPLACE

1. REASSESS JOB REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM:-Companies that aren’t hiring women for senior roles should consider what barriers they’ve constructed that prevent women from filling them. That doesn’t mean diluting requirements but asking if 15 years of management experience, for example, is necessary when 10 would do. Employers should consider including other types of experience that broadens the pool of possible candidates.

2. EXPAND THE APPLICANT POOL:-If the goal is a diverse workplace, the pool of job candidates needs to be diverse as well. That means reaching out to professional groups, such as women engineers, and contacting employees—men and women—that left the firm to raise families to ask if they’d be interested in returning.

3. CONSIDER YOUR BIASES:-As Segal says, most employers understand the concept of unconscious bias, they just don’t believe it happens at their company. But since it can exist everywhere, hiring managers should circulate resumes with names removed, so women are not discriminated against. And don’t ask candidates to explain multi-year gaps in their resumes, which are almost always due to family or illness. (Lots of short gaps, however, can be a red flag.)

4. RETHINK YOUR INTERVIEW PROCESS:-All candidates should be asked the same questions, so not just women are asked about what hours they can work. If possible, questions should be phrased the same way as well, as different wording can elicit different answers. If executives resist being told how to interview, Segal recommends asking them “Would you like to not be deposed?” Fear of litigation can change behavior. At later stages of interviewing, he recommends teams of mixed gender interview candidates, to further reduce hiring biases.

5. MAKE SURE ALL EMPLOYEES HAVE THE SAME ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY:-If men are more likely to spend time with senior executives, work on the most important projects or meet the most valuable clients, they’ll be more impressive candidates for promotion. Companies should have processes in place so all employees meet the same standards as they progress through their careers, which helps ensure they all get the same exposure to training and opportunities.

6. MINIMIZE THE GENDER PAY GAP:-A major topic in and of itself, Segal says companies that are serious about paying men and women the same wages shouldn’t ask candidates what they were paid at their last job. Instead, every position should have a pay range, with the allowance for exceptions for special cases. Employers should also audit their payroll, and increase pay for women who have been short-changed. (To avoid lawsuits, he suggests companies not admit any wrongdoing when doing so).

7. GET SERIOUS ABOUT ADDRESSING WORK/LIFE BALANCE:-To ensure employees aren’t leaving the workplace because of punishing hours or work rules, employers should give them more control over their schedules and not prioritize time in the office over delivering results (“face time over the bottom line”). Companies should consider helping pay for child and elder care, and make sure they don’t oversell how family friendly they are to job candidates, which can result in more frustration and exits.

8. MAKE SURE EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO MENTORS:-Companies with mentoring programs shouldn’t insist on same-sex matches. In firms with few senior women, they’re spread too thin and junior women get less attention. Mentoring should include discussing how to ask for a pay raise.

9. EVALUATIONS SHOULD BE FAIR:-Evaluations should measure substance, not style, and results, not methods. If employees are criticized as being too assertive, or not assertive enough, insist on examples. Employees should be judged on their behavior, not their personality; i.e., it’s one thing to say “she’s acting too abrasive” and another to say “she’s too abrasive.” It’s easier to fix behavior than personality. Evaluators also shouldn’t confuse commitments at home with a lack of dedication to work.

10. EMPLOYERS NEED TO SQUASH HARASSMENT:-One in four women say they are subject to sexual harassment at work. All managers have a responsibility to step in to prevent sexual harassment. Incivility “is a gateway drug to harassment” Segal says, and workplaces should strive to tame it, within the bounds of the law.

11. COACH ALL YOUR EMPLOYEES:-Too many managers resist criticizing female employees for fear of being accused of bias. But all employees need feedback to grow and improve, and not giving those opportunities to women because of their gender is a form of sexism.

12. VACANT BOARD SEATS ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO ADDRESS GENDER IMBALANCE:-US employers very rarely can consider gender when hiring; the law doesn’t allow it to be a factor when filling jobs. That’s not the case when filling board seats, because board members are not classified as employees, Segal says, and there can be good financial reasons to include more women on corporate boards.

12 WAYS TO INCREASE GENDER EQUALITY

1. INCREASE THE GENDER REPRESENTATION ON YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS:-Where the board of a company has at least one woman on its board, it is likely to crush the competition. Unlike in the employment context, you can specifically target women for positions on the Board. No discrimination issues.

2. MAKE AFFIRMATIVE EFFORTS TO INCREASE DIVERSITY OF APPLICANT POOL FOR LEADERSHIP POSITIONS:-Where there is gender diversity on the senior leadership team, companies outperform their competitors. While we always should hire the most qualified person, we should make sure that we cast a wide net to increase the diversity of the applicant pool. For example, consider circulating to managers resumes without names. This not only will help eliminate unconscious bias relative to gender but also race, religion etc.

3. DECISION MAKING PROCESS:-Diverse teams should help to ensure that there is not conscious or unconscious gender bias in decision-making. How do you avoid the unconscious? Bring it to conscious awareness through training, discussed below.

4. EDUCATION OF THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM (SLT):-The SLT need to understand the legal issues associated with gender discrimination. It is not enough simply to reference it generally. Focus also on unconscious bias and how conscious systems can minimize the risk of it. Don’t forget to focus on covert bias, too.

5. THE ASSIGNMENT PROCESS:-It is important to evaluate critically your organization’s work assignments systems to make sure the work is being distributed fairly and equitably and not based on personal relationships or there is a real risk of “like me” bias. I could go on and on but I won’t, except to say: no system not only produces chaos but also can help create guard rails for a boys’ club.

6. THE MONEY:-We have a gender gap when it comes to pay. There are fair questions about whether the gap is solely due to gender.

But no reasonable person can deny a gap exists and it must be closed. Here are some recommendations for how to do so:

7. THE SOCIAL INCLUSION:-Social inclusion is a big part of business inclusion. Candidly, I bristle at the term, “social inclusion” because it diminishes its importance. A conscious effort should be made to ensure that social inclusion is, well, inclusive. Not everything needs to take place on a golf course.

8. WORK-LIFE MANAGEMENT:-Work life management benefits all but, with more women as primary caregivers, it is particularly important in minimizing gender inequality. By way of example only, the focus should be less on face time and more on the bottom line. We need to train managers how to control their control issues.

9. THE EVALUATION PROCESS:-In my experience, the evaluation process often benefits men as a result of unconscious bias. We need to evaluate the evaluators!

Be careful not to evaluate based on projected confidence rather than actual competence. Focus on the performance, not the person!

10. EVALUATION OF OUR LEADERS:-Some leaders engage in behaviors that are contrary to gender equality. Make them pay a price on their evaluations and in their compensation.

11. EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN:-We talk a lot about sensitizing leaders. We need to empower women, too. While we always need to be clear that employees can bring a complaint, teach power tactics, too.   Excluded from a meeting where you clearly belong? Join the meeting and say something like: “Someone mistakenly left me off the invitation list. Don’t be too hard on them.’

12. THE MEN:-Men must play a role in remedying gender inequality.   Women alone cannot resolve it, particularly in organizations where men dominate the power circles. Nor should they. This takes time and effort and it is not fair to expect women to carry this burden alone.

ESTABLISH HIGH-LEVEL CORPORATE LEADERSHIP FOR GENDER EQUALITY

LEADERSHIP PROMOTES GENDER EQUALITY

·         Affirm high-level support and direct top-level policies for gender equality and human rights

·         Establish company-wide goals and targets for gender equality and include progress as a factor in managers’ performance reviews

·         Engage internal and external stakeholders in the development of company policies, programmes and implementation plans that advance equality

·         Ensure that all policies are gender-sensitive – identifying factors that impact women and men differently – and that corporate culture advances equality and inclusion

Treat all women and men fairly at work - respect and support human rights and non-discrimination

·         Pay equal remuneration, including benefits, for work of equal value and strive to pay a living wage to all women and men

·         Ensure that workplace policies and practices are free from gender-based discrimination

·         Implement gender-sensitive recruitment and retention practices and proactively recruit and appoint women to managerial and executive positions and to the corporate board of directors

·         Assure sufficient participation of women – 30% or greater – in decision-making and governance at all levels and across all business areas

·         Offer flexible work options, leave and re-entry opportunities to positions of equal pay and status

·         Support access to child and dependent care by providing services, resources and information to both women and men

Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers

• Taking into account differential impacts on women and men, provide safe working conditions and protection from exposure to hazardous materials and disclose potential risks, including to reproductive health
• Establish a zero-tolerance policy towards all forms of violence at work, including verbal and/or physical abuse and prevent sexual harassment
• Strive to offer health insurance or other needed services - including for survivors of domestic violence - and ensure equal access for all employees
• Respect women and men workers’ rights to time off for medical care and counseling for themselves and their dependents
• In consultation with employees, identify and address security issues, including the safety of women traveling to and from work on company-related business
• Train security staff and managers to recognize signs of violence against women and understand laws and company policies on human trafficking, labour and sexual exploitation

Promote education, training and professional development for women Education and Training

• Invest in workplace policies and programmes that open avenues for advancement of women at all levels and across all business areas, and encourage women to enter nontraditional job fields
• Ensure equal access to all company-supported education and training programmes, including literacy classes, vocational and information technology training
• Provide equal opportunities for formal and informal networking and mentoring
• Articulate the company's business case for women’s empowerment and the positive impact of inclusion for men as well as women

Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women Enterprise Development, Supply Chain and Marketing Practices

·         Expand business relationships with women-owned enterprises, including small businesses, and women entrepreneurs

·         Support gender-sensitive solutions to credit and lending barriers

·         Ask business partners and peers to respect the company’s commitment to advancing equality and inclusion

·         Respect the dignity of women in all marketing and other company materials

Ensure that company products, services and facilities are not used for human trafficking and/or labour or sexual exploitation

Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy Community Leadership and Engagement

·         Lead by example – showcase company commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment

·         Leverage influence, alone or in partnership, to advocate for gender equality and collaborate with business partners, suppliers and community leaders to promote inclusion

·         Work with community stakeholders, officials and others to eliminate discrimination and exploitation and open opportunities for women and girls

·         Promote and recognize women’s leadership in, and contributions to, their communities and ensure sufficient representation of women in any community consultation

·         Use philanthropy and grants programmes to support company commitment to inclusion, equality and human rights

Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality Transparency, Measuring and Reporting

• Make public the company policies and implementation plan for promoting gender equality
• Establish benchmarks that quantify inclusion of women at all levels
• Measure and report on progress, both internally and externally, using data disaggregated by sex
• Incorporate gender markers into ongoing reporting obligations

E. I. OLINMAH Ph.D

COLLEGE OF VOCATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECH.