Gender Inequality

Inequality between genders is a world-wide issue that has been around for centuries. In many counties today women are not considered equals to men at all and in others the position of women has been steadily declining since the late 1900’s. According to The Penguin State of the World Atlas by Dan Smith, women today are generally paid less than men –even when doing the same job. Women also tend to be more involved in politics even though most political leaders are men. In the book Racism: A Short History, by George M. Fedrickson recalls the exclusionary principal that is “biological unfitness for full citizenship”. Though Fredrickson applies this to racism of Africa-Americans, women also fall under this category and are therefore also denied equality under the law. A majority of our nation has moved passed this state of mind but nevertheless women still aren’t treated as equals to men. Canada, the USA, most of Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Australia all ranked 900 and above on Gender-related Development Index, indicating they are “most equal” (Smith, 90). As gender-equal countries we should set an example to other countries and help promote the cause.
Since gender equality isn’t going to suddenly happen overnight, the best solution is to take small steps toward it in our everyday lives. To start we can get involved in politics; becoming educated about all the candidates’ views—women included. It might be surprising when a strong women candidate