An issue about gender equality has absorbed much attention from the society and has become a popular topic discussed by all humans. While some experts argue that the gender equality is more likely taking disadvantages in many life events such as education and discrimination, others state at opposite opinions that the rights of different gender are equally attained in many fields. The term “Gender equality” can be defined as shared rights and opportunities under the same condition across variable parts of the society, including access to working place, salaries, and politic participation. The varied thoughts, aspirations, and behaviors from both male and female are evenly valued and supported. This essay will argue that gender equality has improved in the 21st century based on three reasons. The reasons are more political participation of female, increasing employment rate in different industries, and the phenomenon of higher income contrast with male.
Firstly, more female representatives are elected in the government. According to the date from the United Nations Women (2019), it has numbered that a significant increase has occurred in average percentage of female political participation of all national parliament from 11.3 percent in 1995 to 24.3 percent in 2019. The participation is still in expanding. The empowerment of women takes advances in building laws that more likely favors women and girls and settle them in decision making positions (Mbabazi, 2018). Even though the growth rate of women seating in governing bodies remains low, it reflects a globally advocation of championing gender equality.
Moreover, Laws that priorities female have been introduced into most of the countries in the world in order to achieve the balance between two sexes in the government parties.
Hergenhan (2017) mentions that European countries firstly legislated gender quotas to enhance the number of female candidates and the number of women elected in the administration arm of the government in 1970s. Both obstacles of the rights to be elected and influential ability to vote were effectively overcome. However, it is controversial that the female participation rate in local government still remain under the average of 23% worldwide and 26% in Europe (Women in National Parliament, as cited in Hergenhan, 2017), although the gender quota has last and been implemented for 30 years. After a long time of implementation, the benefits of gender quota tend to meet its extreme and the extension of the policy is being questioned. Overall, in the past decade years women display more important role in the government, which contributes to narrow the gender gap in governmental agencies.
Secondly, gender equality also displays improvement in the workforce. A stereotype inherited from generation to next generation was that the only duty for women was cultivating children and finishing the housework. Rare female worked for companies or industries as long as surviving needs were satisfied. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (2017) found that the employment rate of female labor force has progressively raised from 30% to 60% over all labor force in 2000. This great surge of women labor force symbolized that the women participation rate reached the peak across the history in America. As a result of the great share held by women, some female elites successfully squeezed into the leadership condition where was dominated by male in the past. Data from Australia Government (2018) indicates that the number of female managers across different industry fields inclines consistently from 26.1% to 29,7% in 2013 and 2017 and female chief executive officers or the owner of companies smoothly arise to 16.5% which is 2% higher than the data in 2012 in Australia.
The contribution from male workers toward society is closely followed by female employees. It can be concluded that an impressive outcome made by women labor force added to stimulate the gay between different genders more equal. However, analyzed by the Parliament of Australia (2018), the large amount of female labors is more likely concentrate enrolling in health care, education, financial services, and art, which in return will lead to the division of different industries. While women target to take actions on engaging in jobs, the variable industry shares are being segregated. Generally, the enhancement of female workforce is a phenomenon that gender gap has been narrowed because women attain the opportunities to be under employed rather than resisted from working.
Besides the workforce of female has broadened in the recent decades, wage gap has been narrowed as well, which pushes the gender differentiation more even. The salary gap between different genders is referred to the average total earning of male and female in a week except part-time jobs. Etta and Gillian (2002) point out that the reasons for occurrence of gender pay gap are that men paly more senior roles than women and women therefore trend to promote in careers less far and the occupation of women are commonly paid less.
The data collected from Australia Government (2018) indicates that the gender pay gaps consistently decline from 18.5% in 2013 to 14.1% in 2018 where the average weekly payment for female is 1445.8 in American dollars and the total earning in a week for male is 1695.6 dollars. As an increasing number of women successfully break the barriers of turning into the head managers, much contribution to pull the average revenue of female rise achieves narrowing the gender pay gap. An encouraging outcome from the top hierarchy within the society effectively prosper the equality between different sexes. Sayers (2016) states that the gender wage gay can also be concluded as a result of individual choice. That is, some women prefer to enter the industry with higher payment, while others favor a stable career with comparatively low but permanent work. Therefore, as lots of women earn more money in different areas, the wage gap accordingly narrows.
In conclusion, the following three reasons argue that the gender equality displays improvement in nowadays. Women attain more power in government bodies than the conditions in the last century. And a surge of female labor force injects into the market exerting an even share of workforce. Lastly, the salary gap has been narrowed as more women progress further in the careers. According to Ridgeway (2011), the rewrite of stereotype of gender equality shapes a new form of social and economic organization. Thus, gender equality is promoted in terms of political representatives, workforce, and wages.