Question

Women have a long history of being considered inferior to men. However, during the middle to the late 20th century, the women’s rights movement began to improve the plight of women in Western society by granting them access to societal positions previously held only by men.

Some people claim that women have finally achieved equality with men in the 21st century; others are not convinced.

How will you describe the status of equality between men and women in contemporary Western culture?

Do you see any major areas where women are still discriminated against on a large scale? If so, give at least two examples. If not, rationalize your views.

Answer 1

Women in the contemporary Western culture though is quite ahead in terms of equality, but they still have not achieved the fuller participation and equality in all aspects of the society. They are still behind in recievrec equal amount in terms of pay when compared to their male counterparts. They still do the majority of the household chores in their homes, and manage home and work in the same time. Though their participation in the political sphere of the western countries is comparatively more than other countries, still the numbers are not very encouraging when it comes to equality in gender roles. In U.S on an average, a full time female worker earns only $80, wheras, a full male worker earns $100. In U.K this pay gap is lesser, but still it exists, its 9.4%. In Ireland this pay gap is around 16%. Similarly, regarding the women's participation in politics, in Canada the women holds one-quarter seats in the House of Commons, while in Ireland under a third of Senator's position in Seanad is held by women.