why do we avoid gender discrimination persuasive essay

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Essay on Gender Discrimination

• Updated on  
• Jul 14, 2022

One of the challenges present in today’s society is gender discrimination. Gender discrimination is when someone is treated unequally based on their gender. Gender discrimination is not just present in the workplace but in schools, colleges and communities as well. As per the Civil Rights Act of 1964,  gender discrimination is illegal in India. This is also an important and common essay topic in schools and competitive exams such as IELTS , TOEFL , SAT , UPSC , etc. Let’s explore some samples of essay on gender discrimination and tips for writing an impactful essay.

Tips for Writing an Impactful Essay

If you want to write a scoring and deep impact essay, here are some tips for writing a perfect informative essay:

• The most important and first step is to write an introduction and background information about and related to the topic
• Then you are also required to use the formal style of writing and avoid using slang language
• To make an essay more impactful, write dates, quotations, and names to provide a better understanding
• You can use jargon wherever it is necessary as it sometimes makes an essay complicated
• To make an essay more creative, you can also add information in bulleted points wherever possible
• Always remember to add a conclusion where you need to summarise crucial points
• Once you are done read through the lines and check spelling and grammar mistakes before submission

Essay on Gender Discrimination in 200 Words

One of the important aspects of a democratic society is the elimination of gender discrimination. The root cause of this vigorous disease is the stereotypical society itself. When a child is born, the discrimination begins; if the child is male, he is given a car, bat and ball with blue, and red colour clothes, whereas when a child is female, she is given barbie dolls with pink clothes. We all are raised with a mentality that boys are good at sports and messy, but girls are not good at sports and are well organised. This discriminatory mentality has a deeper impact when girls are told not to work while boys are allowed to do much work. This categorising males and females into different categories discriminating based on gender are known as gender discrimination. Further, this discriminatory behaviour in society leads to hatred, injustice and much more. This gender discrimination is evident in every woman’s life at the workplace, in educational institutions, in sports, etc., where young girls and women are deprived of their rights and undervalued. This major issue prevailing in society can be solved only by providing equality to women and giving them all rights as given to men.

Essay on Gender Discrimination in 300 Words 

Gender Discrimination, as the term signifies, is discrimination or discriminatory behaviour based on gender. The stereotypical mindset of people in the past has led to the discrimination that women face today. According to Kahle Wolfe, in 2015, women earned 83% of the income paid to men by working the same hours. Almost all women are not only discriminated against based on their salaries but also on their looks.

Further, most women are allowed to follow a certain dress code depending upon the work field and the dress women wear also decides their future career.

This dominant male society teaches males that women are weak and innocent. Thus women are mostly victims and are targeted in crimes. For example, In a large portion of the globe, women are blamed for rapes despite being victims because of their clothes. This society also portrays women as weaker and not eligible enough to take a stand for themselves, leading to the major destruction of women’s personalities as men are taught to let women down. This mindset of people nowadays is a major social justice issue leading to gender discrimination in society.

Further, gender-based discrimination is evident across the globe in a plethora of things, including sports, education, health and law. Every 1 out of 3 women in the world is abused in various forms at some point in their lives by men. This social evil is present in most parts of the world; in India, women are burnt to death if they are incapable of affording financial requirements; in Egypt, women are killed by society if they are sensed doing something unclean in or out of their families, whereas in South Africa baby girls are abandoned or killed as they are considered as burden for the family. Thus gender discrimination can be only eliminated from society by educating people about giving equal rights and respect to every gender.

Top Universities for Gender Studies Abroad

UK, Canada and USA are the top three countries to study gender studies abroad. Here’s the list of top universities you can consider to study abroad for Indian students if you planning to pursue gender studies course abroad:

We hope this blog has helped you in structuring a terrific essay on gender discrimination. Planning to ace your IELTS, get expert tips from coaches at Leverage Live by Leverage Edu .

Sonal is a creative, enthusiastic writer and editor who has worked extensively for the Study Abroad domain. She splits her time between shooting fun insta reels and learning new tools for content marketing. If she is missing from her desk, you can find her with a group of people cracking silly jokes or petting neighbourhood dogs.

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Gender Equality Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on gender equality essay.

Equality or non-discrimination is that state where every individual gets equal opportunities and rights. Every individual of the society yearns for equal status, opportunity, and rights. However, it is a general observation that there exists lots of discrimination between humans. Discrimination exists because of cultural differences, geographical differences, and gender. Inequality based on gender is a concern that is prevalent in the entire world.  Even in the 21 st century, across globe men and women do not enjoy equal privileges. Gender equality means providing equal opportunities to both men and women in political, economic, education and health aspects.

Importance of Gender Equality

A nation can progress and attain higher development growth only when both men and women are entitled to equal opportunities. Women in the society are often cornered and are refrained from getting equal rights as men to health, education, decision-making and economic independence in terms of wages.

The social structure that prevails since long in such a way that girls do not get equal opportunities as men. Women generally are the caregivers in the family. Because of this, women are mostly involved in household activities. There is lesser participation of women in higher education, decision-making roles, and leadership roles. This gender disparity is a hindrance in the growth rate of a country. When women participate in the workforce increases the economic growth rate of the country increases. Gender equality increases the overall wellbeing of the nation along with economic prosperity .

How is Gender Equality Measured?

Gender equality is an important factor in determining a country’s overall growth. There are several indexes to measure gender equality.

Gender-Related Development Index (GDI) –   GDI is a gender centric measure of Human Development Index. GDI considers parameters like life expectancy, education, and incomes in assessing the gender equality of a country.

Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) – This measure includes much detail aspects like the proportion of seats than women candidates hold in national parliament, percentage of women at economic decision-making role, the income share of female employees.

Gender Equity Index (GEI) – GEI ranks countries on three parameters of gender inequality, those are education, economic participation, and empowerment. However, GEI ignores the health parameter.

Global Gender Gap Index – The World Economic Forum introduced the Global Gender Gap Index in 2006. This index focuses more on identifying the level of female disadvantage. The four important areas that the index considers are economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, health, and survival rate.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Gender Inequality in India

As per the World Economic Forum’s gender gap ranking, India stands at rank 108 out of 149 countries. This rank is a major concern as it highlights the immense gap in opportunities in women with comparison to men. In Indian society from a long time back, the social structure has been such that the women are neglected in many areas like education, health, decision-making areas, financial independence, etc.

Another major reason, which contributes to the discriminatory behavior towards women in India, is the dowry system in marriage.  Because of this dowry system, most Indian families consider girls as a burden.  Preference for son still prevails. Girls have refrained from higher education. Women are not entitled to equal job opportunities and wages. In the 21 st century, women are still preferred gender in home managing activities. Many women quit their job and opt-out from leadership roles because of family commitments. However, such actions are very uncommon among men.

For overall wellbeing and growth of a nation, scoring high on gender equality is the most crucial aspect. Countries with less disparity in gender equality have progressed a lot. The government of India has also started taking steps to ensure gender equality. Several laws and policies are prepared to encourage girls. “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana ” (Save girl, and make girls educated) campaign is created to spread awareness of the importance of girl child.  Several laws to protect girls are also there. However, we need more awareness of spreading knowledge of women rights . In addition, the government should take initiatives to check the correct and proper implementation of policies.

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Safe Speaks

A safe space for gender based violence awareness, empowerment and healing, 12 ways to promote gender equality: preventing violence against women.

• by Safe Speaks
• Posted on June 29, 2021 July 10, 2021

Gender equality is the route to ending violence against women (VAW).  Empowering men and women equally – both in law and in practice – can change power relations that underpin VAW.  

Gender equality is a fundamental human right that should not be denied to anyone. It is one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and it is also one of the 8 Pillars of Global Peace. Many people care about equality, but they might not know how to promote it. Supporting gender equality means challenging prejudicial attitudes and assumptions related to things like what people think about sexuality, race, age, or disability status. One way we can promote gender equality is by preventing violence against women.

This article explores 12 ways on how to support gender equality so that we may create an equal world for both men and women with less violence against women.

1. Establishing Equal Partnerships to promote gender equality

In the past, men were not involved in raising children and doing housework. Now men should be encouraged to take an equal part. Men are encouraged to support women’s careers by helping with the house and taking care of their kids when they’re newborns.

Organizations should offer paid maternity leave to both parents so that they can spend time with their newborn child before returning to work. This will also help promote childcare responsibilities between fathers and mothers equally instead of just one parent shouldering this responsibility.

2. Breaking Down Stereotypes

Gender inequality can be reinforced through negative attitudes towards men or women who do not conform to traditional gender roles. Breaking down negative stereotypes (traditional, rigid social norms that come with it) about gender roles will allow people to think of more ways in which they can be themselves. These attitudes need to be challenged everywhere from schools, work and at home.

3. Understand the importance of gender equality

Women make up half of the world, but they are underrepresented in decision-making. They also face discrimination. Women have limited access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunities which have led them to be disproportionately affected by poverty and violence. Governments need to make sure that both males and females have an equal opportunity for jobs without discrimination.

4. Become informed about local resources for victims of abuse and learn how to help someone who is in need

It’s important to know what resources exist in your community if someone is dealing with domestic violence. Find out how you can provide comfort and help them take action so they don’t remain trapped by fear. 

If someone tells you they or another person is in an abusive relationship, offer to help by asking them if there’s anything specific you can do. Encourage the person and tell them that leaving is not a selfish choice but will benefit them and their family. If they don’t want to leave, offer your contact information so they have more options for reporting abuse outside of their partner.

Be supportive during difficult conversations such as when they’re making decisions about whether or not to report abuse to authorities. Remind victims of domestic abuse that no one deserves this type of treatment.

5. Support legislation that prevents discrimination based on sex or gender identity

We need to take action. The United Nations says that gender equality is a human rights issue and it’s something we can’t ignore any longer. We need to create legislation that prevents people from being discriminated against because of their sex or their gender identity. This will help us achieve true change throughout the world!

6. Educate yourself about the definition of gender equality and violence against women

It is important to understand the definition of gender equality and violence against women. This is so you can stop it and make sure that all people have equal opportunities, treatment, and respect for their rights. The United Nations says “gender equality” is when men and women enjoy equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities without discrimination or violence.

7. Learn how to respect people’s boundaries

When someone is hurt, they might not want you to touch them or ask them questions. They might need space and time alone. If you are unsure whether the person wants help, offer to get emergency services on their behalf or call a friend instead of going up to them directly. It is also important to educate yourself on other ways to offer help. You can offer emotional support or help them get more resources. Check out resources here.

8. Be a good bystander by intervening in situations that could lead to violence against women

If someone tells you that they’ve been sexually assaulted, pay attention. The person may want to talk about the experience and figure out what happened. Paying attention also means recognizing warning signs of an abusive relationship.

Another way bystanders can help prevent violence against women is by calling out inappropriate jokes and comments related to sex/sexuality when they hear them from others. This will contribute to a culture where everyone feels safe within their own gender identity and sexuality without fear of judgment.

9. Get involved with your community – volunteer, donate money or advocate for change

Nothing is worse than feeling powerless in the face of injustice. But you’re not! You can make a difference by fighting against violence towards women and girls by getting involved with your community. One way to do this is by volunteering your time at organizations that provide support for victims of gender-based violence.

Another option? Get out there on social media and use #endrapeculture #GenerationEquality when talking about these issues. It is an important conversation starter because society has normalized sexual assault culture. Jokes like ‘locker room talk’ or one-night stands where both parties are too drunk to consent have become rampant. No matter what you choose to do, it will be an important step in making this world more equal. Together we can make the world a better place!

10. Don’t tolerate jokes about sexual assault

Don’t let sexual assault jokes go unchallenged. It is not about whether or not you laugh at them, it is about how you react when someone does. When someone has a good sense of humor, they know that if their joke falls flat with others, the best thing to do is apologize and move on. If your friend tells an inappropriate or offensive joke, call him out for it. Even though they may be joking with good intentions, this doesn’t excuse ignorance about how humor around abuse can hurt people in bad ways.

11. Challenge sexism whenever possible without making it personal

If you hear a sexist remark, say it’s not right. When girls are teased for not conforming to traditional ideas about being feminine, stand up for them. If someone says something offensive about a girl’s appearance or sexuality, tell them it is wrong. Don’t laugh at jokes that put down girls’ abilities or intelligence just because they’re told by popular boys or men from school, work, or at home. Refuse to participate in sexual harassment activities like catcalling and groping when you are with men you know. Support female-only spaces such as those found in many feminist organizations.

12. Work on changing attitudes so that they’re not based on traditional ideas about gender roles and what is considered masculine or feminine

People have made ideas about what is masculine and feminine. But it’s not always true. Work on changing how people think about those ideas and how they act because of them. They might be angry if you try to help them with what is masculine or feminine, but if you talk to them nicely, they will want to change their attitude. When people do different things, the idea of what is masculine or feminine can change too.

It is important to work on changing attitudes so that what is considered masculine can include qualities such as nurturing or empathy. While feminine behaviors are seen in other contexts than just childcare or homemaking.

Ask yourself if your own actions reinforce traditional ideas about gender roles, then work hard to stop doing those things.

As a society, we have the power to change attitudes and behaviors that are based on traditional ideas about gender roles. It’s time to get involved. We can start by challenging sexism in our communities, respecting other people, and speaking up.

Many men don’t know that they have power. They can control their words, attitudes, and actions to create equality. Sometimes this is because of bias in society that teaches them to dominate over girls when they are young. If we invest more resources into education about gender norms and encourage positive media portrayals where both sexes share responsibilities like childcare, soon our social environment will be less oppressive towards women.

What steps are you taking to promote gender equality? If you’re looking for more information or want help making this goal happen, join our mailing list .

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Edith is a writer, social science researcher and speaker who cares about communication, gender equality, and women empowerment. She loves adventure and comedy too! Edith believes that we can all be agents of positive change in our communities by making small but impactful changes every day.

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This Is How Everyday Sexism Could Stop You From Getting That Promotion

By Jessica Nordell and Yaryna Serkez Oct. 14, 2021

By Jessica Nordell Graphics by Yaryna Serkez

Jessica Nordell is a science and culture journalist. Yaryna Serkez is a writer and a graphics editor for Opinion.

When the computer scientist and mathematician Lenore Blum announced her resignation from Carnegie Mellon University in 2018, the community was jolted. A distinguished professor, she’d helped found the Association for Women in Mathematics, and made seminal contributions to the field. But she said she found herself steadily marginalized from a center she’d help create — blocked from important decisions, dismissed and ignored. She explained at the time : “Subtle biases and microaggressions pile up, few of which on their own rise to the level of ‘let’s take action,’ but are insidious nonetheless.”

It’s an experience many women can relate to. But how much does everyday sexism at work matter? Most would agree that outright discrimination when it comes to hiring and advancement is a bad thing, but what about the small indignities that women experience day after day? The expectation that they be unfailingly helpful ; the golf rounds and networking opportunities they’re not invited to ; the siphoning off of credit for their work by others; unfair performance reviews that penalize them for the same behavior that’s applauded in men; the “ manterrupting ”?

When I was researching my book “The End of Bias: A Beginning” I wanted to understand the collective impact of these less visible forms of bias, but data were hard to come by. Bias doesn’t happen once or twice; it happens day after day, week after week. To explore the aggregate impact of routine gender bias over time, I teamed up with Kenny Joseph, a computer science professor at the University at Buffalo, and a graduate student there, Yuhao Du, to create a computer simulation of a workplace. We call our simulated workplace “NormCorp.” Here’s how it works.

NormCorp is a simple company. Employees do projects, either alone or in pairs. These succeed or fail, which affects a score we call “promotability.” Twice a year, employees go through performance reviews, and the top scorers at each level are promoted to the next level.

NormCorp employees are affected by the kinds of gender bias that are endemic in the workplace. Women’s successful solo projects are valued slightly less than men’s , and their successful joint projects with men accrue them less credit . They are also penalized slightly more when they fail . Occasional “stretch” projects have outsize rewards, but as in the real world, women’s potential is underrecognized compared with men’s, so they must have a greater record of past successes to be assigned these projects. A fraction of women point out the unfairness and are then penalized for the perception that they are “self-promoting.” And as the proportion of women decreases, those that are left face more stereotyping .

We simulated 10 years of promotion cycles happening at NormCorp based on these rules, and here is how women’s representation changed over time.

Simulation of Normcorp promotions over 10 years, with female performance undervalued by 3 percent

Simulation results over time

These biases have all been demonstrated across various professional fields. One working paper study of over 500,000 physician referrals showed that women surgeons receive fewer referrals after successful outcomes than male surgeons. Women economists are less likely to receive tenure the more they co-author papers with men. An analysis at a large company found that women’s, as well as minority men’s, performance was effectively “discounted” compared with that of white men.

And women are penalized for straying from “feminine” personality traits. An analysis of real-world workplace performance evaluations found that more than three-quarters of women’s critical evaluations contained negative comments about their personalities, compared with 2 percent of men’s. If a woman whose contributions are overlooked speaks up, she may be labeled a self-promoter, and consequently face further obstacles to success . She may also become less motivated and committed to the organization . The American Bar Association found that 70 percent of women lawyers of color considered leaving or had left the legal profession entirely, citing being undervalued at work and facing barriers to advancement.

Our model does not take into account women, such as Lenore Blum, who quit their jobs after experiencing an unmanageable amount of bias. But it visualizes how these penalties add up over time for women who stay, so that by the time you reach more senior levels of management, there are fewer women left to promote. These factors not only prevent women from reaching the top ranks in their company but for those who do, it also makes the career path longer and more demanding.

Small change, big difference

Even a tiny increase in the amount of gender bias could lead to dramatic underrepresentation of women in leadership roles over time..

Women’s performance is valued 3 percent less

Women’s performance is valued 5 percent less

Half as many women at level 7 and

only 2 percent of women at C-suite.

Half as many women at level 7 and only 2 percent of women at C-suite.

Women’s performance is valued 3% less

Women’s performance is valued 5% less

When we dig into the trajectory of individual people in our simulation, stories begin to emerge. With just 3 percent bias, one employee — let’s call her Jenelle — starts in an entry-level position, and makes it to the executive level, but it takes her 17 performance review cycles (eight and a half years) to get there, and she needs 208 successful projects to make it. “William” starts at the same level but he gets to executive level much faster — after only eight performance reviews and half Jenelle’s successes at the time she becomes an executive.

Our model shows how large organizational disparities can emerge from many small, even unintentional biases happening frequently over a long period of time. Laws are often designed to address large events that happen infrequently and can be easily attributed to a single actor—for example, overt sexual harassment by a manager — or “pattern and practice” problems, such as discriminatory policies. But women’s progress is hindered even without one egregious incident, or an official policy that is discriminatory.

Women’s path to success might be longer and more demanding

Career paths for employees that reached level 7 by the end of the simulation..

successful projects

“William”

started at the entry-level and reached level 7 in 4 years.

It took “Jenelle”

8.5 years to get

to the same level.

Entry level

1 year of promotions

started at the entry-

level and reached level 7 in 4 years.

8.5 years to get to the same level.

It took “Jenelle” 8.5 years to get to the same level.

Gender bias takes on different dimensions depending on other intersecting aspects of a person’s identity, such as race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability and more. Another American Bar Association study found that white women and men of color face similar hurdles to being seen as competent, but women of color face more than either group.

Backlash, too, plays out differently for women of different racial groups, points out Erika Hall, an Emory University management professor. A survey of hundreds of women scientists she helped conduct found that Asian American women reported the highest amount of backlash for self-promotion and assertive behavior. An experimental study by the social psychologist Robert Livingston and colleagues, meanwhile, found that white women are more penalized for demonstrating dominant behavior than Black women. Our model does not account for the important variations in bias that women of different races experience.

So what’s to be done? Diversity trainings are common in companies, educational institutions and health care settings, but these may not have much effect when it comes to employees’ career advancement. The sociologists Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev found that after mandatory diversity trainings, the likelihood that women and men of color became managers either stayed the same or decreased , possibly because of backlash. Some anti-bias trainings have been shown to change behavior, but any approach needs to be evaluated, as psychologist Betsy Levy Paluck has said, “on the level of rigorous testing of medical interventions.”

We also explored a paradox. Research shows that in many fields, a greater proportion of men correlates with more bias against women . At the same time, in fields or organizations where women make up the majority, men can still experience a “glass escalator,” being fast-tracked to senior leadership roles. School superintendents, who work in the women-dominated field of education but are more likely to be men, are one example. To make sense of this, we conceptualized bias at work as a combination of both organizational biases that can be influenced by organizational makeup and larger societal biases.

What we found was that if societal biases are strong compared with those in the organization, a powerful but brief intervention may have only a short-term impact. In our simulation, we tested this by introducing quotas — requiring that the majority of promotions go to women — in the context of low, moderate, or no societal bias. We made the quotas time-limited, as real world efforts to combat bias often take the form of short-term interventions.

Our quotas changed the number of women at upper levels of the corporate hierarchy in the short term, and in turn decreased the gender biases against women rising through the company ranks. But when societal biases were still a persistent force, disparities eventually returned, and the impact of the intervention was short-lived.

Quotas may not be enough

In the presence of societal biases, the effect of a short-term program of quotas disappears over time..

Societal bias has moderate effect

100% of executives

Quotas are introduced. 70% of all promotions go to women.

Majority of executives are men

YEARS OF PROMOTIONS

Societal bias has no effect

Equal representation

representation

What works? Having managers directly mentor and sponsor women improves their chance to rise. Insisting on fair, transparent and objective criteria for promotions and assignments is essential, so that decisions are not ambiguous and subjective, and goal posts aren’t shifting and unwritten. But the effect of standardizing criteria, too, can be limited, because decision-makers can always override these decisions and choose their favored candidates.

Ultimately, I found in my research for the book, the mindset of leaders plays an enormous role. Interventions make a difference, but only if leaders commit to them. One law firm I profiled achieved 50 percent women equity partners through a series of dramatic moves, from overhauling and standardizing promotion criteria, to active sponsorship of women, to a zero-tolerance policy for biased behavior. In this case, the chief executive understood that bias was blocking the company from capturing all the available talent. Leaders who believe that the elimination of bias is essential to the functioning of the organization are more likely to take the kind of active, aggressive, and long-term steps needed to root out bias wherever it may creep into decision making.

Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Discrimination and Prejudice — Gender Discrimination

Essays on Gender Discrimination

Gender discrimination is a pervasive issue that affects individuals in various aspects of their lives. As such, it is a crucial topic for discussion in academic settings. When selecting a gender discrimination essay topic, it is important to consider the significance of the issue and the potential impact of the chosen topic. This article will provide advice on choosing a topic and offer a comprehensive list of recommended essay topics, categorized for ease of selection.

Gender discrimination is a social injustice that has far-reaching implications for individuals, communities, and societies as a whole. By addressing this topic in essays, students can raise awareness, provoke critical thinking, and contribute to the ongoing dialogue about gender equality and human rights. Moreover, exploring gender discrimination in essays can help students develop a deeper understanding of its complexities and challenges, ultimately fostering empathy and advocacy for positive change.

When choosing a gender discrimination essay topic, it is essential to consider personal interests, relevance, and the potential for in-depth exploration. Students may also want to consider the specific aspects of gender discrimination they wish to focus on, such as workplace inequality, gender-based violence, stereotypes, or LGBTQ+ rights. Additionally, it may be beneficial to select a topic that aligns with current events, social movements, or areas of academic interest.

Some Gender Discrimination Essay Topics

If you are looking for gender discrimination essay topics, you have come to the right place. Here is a list of over 15 different topics that you can use for your essay. These topics are structured by categories to make it easier for you to find the perfect one for your assignment.

Workplace Inequality

• The gender pay gap: Causes, consequences, and solutions
• Glass ceiling effect: Barriers to women's career advancement
• Gender discrimination in hiring and promotion practices

Gender-Based Violence

• Domestic violence and its impact on women and children
• Sexual harassment in the workplace: Legal and ethical considerations
• Human trafficking and exploitation of women and girls

Stereotypes and Media Representation

• Portrayal of gender roles in advertising and popular culture
• The influence of social media on gender stereotypes
• The role of media in perpetuating harmful gender norms

LGBTQ+ Rights

• Challenges faced by transgender individuals in healthcare and legal systems
• Discrimination against LGBTQ+ youth in educational settings
• Intersectionality and the experiences of LGBTQ+ people of color

Legal and Policy Perspectives

• Impact of gender discrimination laws on social change
• The role of international organizations in addressing gender inequality
• Legal strategies for combating gender-based discrimination

Global Perspectives

• Gender discrimination in developing countries: Challenges and opportunities
• Intersectional analysis of gender inequality in different cultural contexts
• Women's rights movements and activism on a global scale

By exploring these diverse gender discrimination essay topics, students can delve into critical issues, engage in meaningful research, and contribute to the advancement of gender equality. With careful consideration and thoughtful selection, students have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact through their essays.

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• v.54(Suppl 2); 2019 Dec

Gender discrimination in the United States: Experiences of women

Gillian k. steelfisher.

1 Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston Massachusetts

Mary G. Findling

Sara n. bleich, logan s. casey, robert j. blendon, john m. benson, justin m. sayde, carolyn miller.

2 Research, Evaluation, and Learning Unit, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton New Jersey

Associated Data

To examine reported experiences of gender discrimination and harassment among US women.

Data Source and Study Design

Data come from a nationally representative, probability‐based telephone survey of 1596 women, conducted January‐April 2017.

We calculated the percentages of women reporting gender discrimination and harassment in several domains, including health care. We used logistic regression to examine variation in experiences among women by race/ethnicity and sexual orientation/gender identity.

Principal Findings

Sizable fractions of women experience discrimination and harassment, including discrimination in health care (18 percent), equal pay/promotions (41 percent), and higher education (20 percent). In adjusted models, Native American, black, and Latina women had higher odds than white women of reporting gender discrimination in several domains, including health care. Latinas’ odds of health care avoidance versus whites was (OR [95% CI]) 3.69 (1.59, 8.58), while blacks’ odds of discrimination in health care visits versus whites was 2.00 [1.06, 3.74]. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) women had higher odds of reporting sexual harassment (2.16 [1.06, 4.40]) and violence (2.71 [1.43, 5.16]) against themselves or female family members than non‐LGBTQ women.

Conclusions

Results suggest that discrimination and harassment are widely experienced by women across multiple domains of their lives, particularly those who are a racial/ethnic minority or LGBTQ. Further policy and programmatic efforts beyond current legal protections for women are needed to meaningfully reduce these negative experiences, as they impact women's health care and their lives overall.

1. INTRODUCTION

The prominence of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have heightened public awareness of discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment against women in the United States. 1 While this is an important step in bringing visibility to these issues, these movements were popularized largely by anecdotal experiences of celebrities, with an emphasis on the impact for their careers. In order to identify appropriate policies that address discrimination for the larger public and to support related health outcomes, it is critical to examine and document experiences of discrimination among a broader swath of women and across a broader spectrum of life domains, including health. It is particularly important to examine the experience of women at risk for multiple types of discrimination, including racial/ethnic minority women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) women.

Evidence about the negative health effects of gender discrimination is grounded in a strong body of literature, showing that the gender‐based discrimination and harassment that women experience in the workplace affect their physical and mental health, as well as their economic opportunities. 2 , 3 , 4 Such discrimination and harassment further contribute to gender inequalities in health. 5 , 6 Research has also shown there is gender‐based discrimination against women in health care interactions and gender bias in medicine, which can have negative health impacts. 7 , 8 , 9

Evidence about the health impact of gender discrimination is supported indirectly by literature documenting the relationship between racial/ethnic discrimination and negative health outcomes. 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 These studies suggest that the experience of discrimination—be it institutional (eg, health care) or interpersonal (eg, microaggressions)—increases the body's stress response over time, and that discrimination is linked to a range of poor health‐related behaviors, mental health outcomes, and physical health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and mortality. 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 Experiencing gender discrimination may negatively impact women's health through parallel mechanisms, that is, through both psychological and physiological stress responses and health behaviors that lead to worse health outcomes. 15 , 16 Research in the field also suggests that women who are racial/ethnic minorities are disproportionately exposed to discrimination and are also more likely to experience health effects of discrimination. 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 Similarly, women who identify as LGBTQ are at higher risk for experiencing discrimination than their non‐LGBTQ counterparts. 20 , 21

While older studies document gender discrimination in discrete areas of women's lives (eg, the workplace), increasing evidence about the health risks of discrimination suggests an updated examination across a broader range of areas is warranted. 2 , 6 , 14 , 22 The purpose of this specific study is twofold: (a) to document the prevalence of gender discrimination against women across multiple institutional and interpersonal domains, including health care, education, employment, housing, political participation, police and the criminal justice system, slurs, microaggressions, harassment, and violence; and (b) to examine the variation in discrimination experiences of racial/ethnic minority women and LGBTQ women. This study brings a public health perspective to the complexity and pervasiveness of discrimination in the United States today alongside complementary articles in this issue of Health Services Research . It was conducted as part of a larger survey fielded in 2017 to understand nationally representative experiences of discrimination against several different groups in America today, including blacks, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, women, and LGBTQ people.

2.1. Study design and sample

Data were obtained from a nationally representative, probability‐based telephone (cell and landline) survey of US adults, conducted from January 26 to April 9, 2017. The survey was jointly designed by Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and National Public Radio. SSRS administered the survey. Because Harvard researchers were not directly involved in data collection and de‐identified datasets were used for analysis, the study was determined to be “not human subjects research” by the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health Office of Human Research Administration.

The full survey sample included 3453 US adults aged 18 years and older, and this paper examines the subsample of 1596 US women. The completion rate for this survey was 74 percent among respondents who answered initial demographic screening questions, with a 10 percent overall response rate, calculated based on the American Association for Public Opinion Research's (AAPOR) RR3 formula. 23 Because data from this study were drawn from a probability sample and used the best available sampling and weighting practices in polling methods (eg, 68 percent of interviews were conducted by cell phone, and 32 percent were conducted via landline), they are expected to provide accurate results consistent with surveys with higher response rates 24 , 25 and are therefore reliably generalizable to the broader population of US women, within a margin of error of ± 4.6 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence interval. See Benson, Ben‐Porath, and Casey (2019) for a further description of the survey methodology. 26

2.2. Survey instrument

Polling questions were developed using AAPOR best practices for survey research, after conducting a review of available survey questions on discrimination. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 10 , 11 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 27 The questionnaire was reviewed by external experts for bias, balance, and comprehension, and it was pretested in the field before it was conducted among the full sample. 26 The poll asked about women's experiences of discrimination, including harassment. We conceptualized gender discrimination as differential or unfair treatment of individuals based on their self‐identification as a woman/female. We include discrimination that is “institutional,” meaning propagated by social institutions (based on laws, policies, institutions, and related behavior of individuals who work in or control these laws, policies, or institution) or “interpersonal,” meaning propagated by individuals (based on beliefs, words, and behavior). 11 , 27 , 28 We analyzed 17 questions from the survey, covering six interpersonal and six institutional areas of discrimination that women may face (question wording in Appendix S1 ). Institutional areas included employment, education, health care, housing, political participation, and police and courts. Interpersonal areas included gender‐based slurs, microaggressions, sexual harassment, being threatened or nonsexually harassed, and violence. We also examined two areas in which concerns about discrimination might prevent women from taking potentially needed action: seeking health or police services. We examined discrimination in domains previously demonstrated to be associated with health (eg, health care interactions), 8 , 9 as well as domains outside health services research (eg, police interactions), to capture a wide range of possible discriminatory experiences across women's lives. Questions were only asked among a random half sample of respondents in order to maximize the number of questions (and thus dimensions of discrimination considered) while limiting the survey length and time burden for any individual respondent. Questions were only asked of relevant subgroups (eg, questions about college only asked among women who had ever applied to or attended college). Questions about harassment, violence, and avoiding institutions for fear of discrimination were asked about yourself or family members because of the sensitive nature of the topic and prior literature demonstrating that vicariously experiencing stress (eg, through discrimination experienced by family members) can directly and adversely affect individuals. 29

2.3. Statistical analyses

We first calculated the prevalence of all women who reported that they had ever experienced gender discrimination in each of the domains. Second, we generated bivariate statistics to assess whether women in racial/ethnic minority groups or women in a sexual and/or gender minority (LGBTQ) were more likely to experience gender discrimination. For race/ethnicity, women self‐identified with one of the following mutually exclusive groups: white (reference group); Hispanic or Latina; black; Asian; American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native American; or Other. If respondents identified as Latina and another race, interviewers asked if they identified more with being Hispanic/Latina (coded as Latina) or more with the other race (coded as the other race). For sexual orientation and/or gender identity, women were classified as LGBTQ if they identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer, or if they identified as transgender or genderqueer/gender nonconforming. Women were classified as non‐LGBTQ if they self‐identified as heterosexual/straight and female gender, and did not identify as transgender or genderqueer/gender nonconforming. Using pairwise t tests of differences in proportions, we made uncontrolled comparisons of the percentage of women reporting discrimination between racial/ethnic minority and white women, as well as between LGBTQ and non‐LGBTQ women. Differences achieving statistical significance at P  < .05 are discussed in the results.

To give further consideration as to whether race/ethnicity or LGBTQ status is a driver of these associations, we then conducted logistic regression models to assess whether reporting discrimination remained significantly associated with race/ethnicity or sexual orientation/gender identity after controlling for the following possible confounders: age (18‐29, 30‐49, 50‐64, 65+); self‐reported household income (<$25 000, $25 000‐<$50 000, $50 000‐<$75 000, $75 000+), education (less than college degree or college graduate), and, for health care questions only, current health insurance status (uninsured, Medicaid insured, non‐Medicaid insured). Finally, we examined whether each sociodemographic variable was significantly associated with experiencing discrimination across domains in order to consider other possible drivers of gender discrimination.

To compensate for known biases in telephone surveys (eg, nonresponse bias) and variations in probability of selection within and across households, sample data were weighted by household size and composition, cell phone/landline use, and demographics (age, education, race/ethnicity, and Census region) to reflect the true population distribution of women in the country. Other techniques, including random‐digit dialing, replicate subsamples, and random selection of a respondent within a household, were used to ensure that the sample is representative. All analyses were conducted using STATA version 15.0 (StataCorp), and all tests accounted for the variance introduced by weighted data.

Socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of this nationally representative sample of women are displayed in Table ​ Table1. 1 . A majority were white (65 percent), 15 percent were Hispanic/Latina, 13 percent were black, 6 percent were Asian, and 1 percent were Native American. About nine in ten women (89 percent) identified as non‐LGBTQ, 7 percent identified as LGBTQ, and 4 percent refused to answer sexual orientation/gender identity questions.

Weighted characteristics of a nationally representative sample of women in the United States, overall and by race/ethnicity and sexual orientation/gender identity a

Sizeable fractions reported personally experiencing institutional discrimination across all domains of life examined. For example, about one in five women (18 percent) reported gender‐based discrimination when going to a doctor or health clinic, while more than four in 10 (41 percent) reported such discrimination in obtaining equal pay or being considered for promotions, and 31 percent reported discrimination in applying for jobs. Approximately one‐fifth experienced discrimination in applying to or while attending college (20 percent), and a similar fraction experienced discrimination trying to rent a room/apartment or buy a house (16 percent) or in interacting with the police (15 percent).

Sizable fractions of women reported experiencing interpersonal discrimination personally or within their family: 37 percent reported that they or female family members have experienced sexual harassment, and 29 percent said they or female family members have been threatened or nonsexually harassed. More than a fifth (21 percent) said they or family members experienced violence because they are women.

Concerns that they would experience discrimination also prevented some women from taking action to protect themselves: 9 percent reported that they have avoided the doctor or seeking health care for themselves or their family, and the same percentage (9 percent) reported that they have avoided calling the police or other authority figures, even when in need.

Looking at uncontrolled comparisons across racial/ethnic groups, black, Native American, and Hispanic/Latina women were more likely to report discrimination than white women in several domains (Table ​ (Table2). 2 ). In particular, Native American women were dramatically more likely to than white women to report sexual harassment (62 vs 42 percent, P  < .03), threats or nonsexual harassment (58 vs 31 percent, P  < .01), and gender‐based violence (58 vs 21 percent, P  < .01) against themselves or a female family member. They were also more likely to avoid health care because of concerns about gender‐based discrimination or poor treatment (27 vs 7 percent, P  < .02). Asian women, and in a few cases Hispanic/Latina women, were less likely to report discrimination than white women in some domains.

Differences in percent of women reporting gender discrimination, by race/ethnicity and sexual orientation/gender identity a

There were also differences between LGBTQ and non‐LGBTQ women's experiences of discrimination and harassment. LGBTQ women were more likely than non‐LGBTQ women to report gender discrimination when it comes to being paid equally or considered for promotions (61 vs 40 percent, P  < .01). When it comes to interpersonal discrimination against themselves or female family members, they were more likely to report sexual harassment (65 vs 36 percent, P  < .01), being threatened or nonsexually harassed (48 vs. 28 percent, P  < .01), and experiencing violence (42 vs 20 percent, P  < .01).

After we controlled for potential sociodemographic confounders in logistic regression models, many of the racial/ethnic and sexual orientation/gender identity differences persisted, and six emerged (see Tables ​ Tables3 3 and ​ and4 4 for detailed results). Notably, the odds of Native American women reporting discrimination were significantly higher than white women across nine domains, while the odds of Latina and black women were higher than whites in two and three domains, respectively. Notably, Asian women had lower odds than whites for reporting discrimination in seven domains, and all racial/ethnic minority women had lower odds of reporting sexual harassment compared to white women (Table ​ (Table4 4 ).

Odds of reporting personal experiences of gender discrimination across institutional domains among a nationally representative sample of US women

Abbreviations: CI, Confidence Interval; OR, Odds Ratio.

Odds of reporting interpersonal experiences of gender discrimination across domains among a nationally representative sample of US women

As in uncontrolled comparisons, adjusted models showed that LGBTQ women had higher odds of reporting gender discrimination in obtaining equal pay and promotions, sexual harassment, and violence compared to their non‐LGBTQ counterparts.

Several additional sociodemographic characteristics in the models were associated with discrimination. In both health care domains, uninsured women also had significantly higher odds of reporting gender discrimination than women with non‐Medicaid insurance. College‐educated women had significantly higher odds of reporting discrimination across both health care domains and all interpersonal domains compared to women without a college education. Women ages 18‐29 had significantly higher odds of reporting discrimination in most interpersonal domains compared to women 30 and over.

4. DISCUSSION

This study presents strong evidence that US women report widespread discrimination and harassment. This continuing evidence of reported systemic institutional and interpersonal discrimination against women suggests that additional policies and programs are needed to eliminate discrimination at the population level beyond legal protections already in place (eg, through the 19th amendment and Title IX ) and, subsequently, address negative health consequences associated with these experiences. Several findings are particularly relevant to consideration for those working to develop, implement, and evaluate policies addressing gender discrimination in the United States.

First, results confirm that many women experience interpersonal and institutional gender discrimination not only within the workplace, but also across a wide spectrum of other domains, including health care, higher education, housing, and the legal system. Our findings raise a host of concerns not only about gender discrimination within these individual domains, but also across them. While it is beyond the scope of our results to promote specific policies or practices to end gender discrimination in the United States, these results make clear that future work needs to consider the interrelated experiences of discrimination across multiple facets of women's lives.

Second, findings related to the experiences of gender discrimination within the health care arena suggest focused attention is needed here. It is alarming that one in five women report discrimination in their clinical experience and one in ten report avoiding care. It may be important to develop policies specific to the complexities of medical decision making, with recognition that gender inequalities in the underlying clinical evidence base may play a role in how decision making occurs in the clinical setting. 30 Further, given that both Latina and black women report higher odds of gender discrimination in health care, policies may need to account for the needs of these groups of women particularly. 9

Third, the evidence points to persistent experiences of gender discrimination and harassment against women in racial/ethnic minorities even outside health care. Our findings of discrimination and harassment among Native American women in particular were striking, as a majority reported personally experiencing gender discrimination in obtaining equal pay or promotions and that they or female family members had experienced both sexual and nonsexual harassment, as well as violence. These results are consistent with other findings of high incidence of violence, sexual violence, abuse, and assault against Native American women. They are especially troubling given further evidence that the high prevalence of historical and current trauma that Native American women experience has resulted in substantially worse health outcomes. 31 , 32 Findings are also consistent with prior evidence that Native American women avoid health care systems they do not perceive as culturally safe. 32 These findings raise important concerns about relevant gender discrimination policy for Native American women specifically, as well as broader considerations of policy support for women who are at risk of multiple and compounded types of discrimination based on their race/ethnicity and gender.

Fourth, we note that women who identified as LGBTQ were more likely to experience gender discrimination in work and more likely to experience (directly or through family) interpersonal discrimination including sexual harassment and violence. This adds to existing evidence that LGBTQ women experience high rates of sexual violence 33 and provides additional evidence about the experience of discrimination across multiple dimensions of their lives. Policies to guard against anti‐LGBTQ discrimination may need to consider the multiple and potentially compounded types of discrimination that LGBTQ women specifically face in these arenas.

Notably, our findings of greater reported interpersonal discrimination among college‐educated women are consistent with other literature showing positive associations between socioeconomic status and reported discrimination among racial/ethnic minorities. 27 , 34 However, it is unclear whether this relationship is driven by unequal exposures (eg, greater contact with institutions where women may experience discrimination/harassment) or differential reporting (eg, higher likelihood of recognizing and/or self‐reporting discrimination/harassment).

4.1. Limitations

Our results should be interpreted considering several limitations. First, although we assessed perspectives across a broad range of settings, we only examined a subset of types of discrimination and harassment that women may experience, and thus, we cannot speak to the full scope of discrimination. Second, we assessed whether women have or have not experienced any types of discrimination, without regard to timing or severity. This limits the ability to detect current levels experienced and instead focuses on lifetime experiences. However, lifetime experiences remain valid measures of discrimination, as discriminatory experiences may have long‐term effects on behavior or health. 3 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 Third, we note that many forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment and violence, are often under‐reported—particularly on surveys administered by an interviewer, such as in this study. 35 Prior research has also found that women are often reluctant to label offensive experiences as “harassment.” 22 To overcome the challenge of sensitive topic areas, we asked whether “you or someone in your family who is also female” had experienced gendered harassment or violence. Nonetheless, respondents may have not been comfortable answering these questions over the phone and also may have interpreted questions differently based on varying backgrounds and expectations. Women may also face multiple types of discrimination simultaneously based on intersecting parts of their social identities (eg, based on both gender and race). 17 It is not always possible for women to disentangle the reasons they face discrimination, so restricting analyses to only gender‐based discrimination may result in underreporting of discrimination by some respondents, and this may be different across women of different racial/ethnic or LGBTQ identities. Questions about discrimination based on race/ethnicity and LGBTQ identity are examined separately in other articles in this issue. Fourth, nonresponse bias is a concern in public opinion surveys, though evidence suggests that low response rates do not bias results if the survey sample is representative of the study population. 24 , 25 Recent research has shown that such surveys, when based on probability samples and weighted using US Census parameters, yield accurate estimates in most cases when compared with both objective measures and higher response surveys. 24 , 25 , 36 , 37 For instance, a recent study showed that across fourteen different demographic and personal characteristics, the average difference between government estimates from high‐response rate surveys and a Pew Research Center poll with a response rate similar to this poll was 3 percentage points. 24 However, it is still possible that some selection bias may remain that is related to the experiences being measured. Finally, we note that this survey was conducted before the viral October 2017 #MeToo movement, catalyzed by 80 women accusing film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and abuse. 38 This movement may have increased the salience of issues and increased subsequent self‐reported sexual harassment, so results from this study may be considered lower bound estimates of self‐reported gender‐based sexual harassment. 1 , 39

Despite these limitations, this study design was strengthened by its probability sampling design and by the breadth of questions asked on gender discrimination across institutions and interpersonally. It allowed us to examine reported experiences of gender discrimination and harassment among women. Most of the limitations suggest that our findings may underreport the experiences of discrimination and harassment, and thus, our results can be considered a lower bound estimate of gender discrimination and harassment in the United States today. We may also underreport the added burden of discrimination against women who are racial/ethnic minorities or LGBTQ. In the end, our findings further support the need for policy and programmatic efforts beyond current legal protections for women to reduce gender discrimination and harassment in order to improve women's health and well‐being.

5. CONCLUSIONS

Far beyond isolated cases, women report experiencing widespread discrimination across many areas of their lives with public, private, or governmental institutions—including in health care, the workplace, and higher education, as well as in personal interactions through gender slurs, microaggressions, and harassment. Women's experiences of discrimination vary widely by racial/ethnic background, LGBTQ identity, and other sociodemographic factors, with Native American women experiencing particularly high rates of gender discrimination and harassment across multiple areas of their lives. Evidence here amplifies findings from other papers in this journal issue on the multidimensional nature of gender discrimination in the United States, which impact women's health care and their lives overall. Major institutional changes in policy and programs should address these issues on a larger scale to combat systematic gender discrimination in the United States in all its facets.

Supporting information

Acknowledgments.

Joint Acknowledgment/Disclosure Statement : This work was supported by Grant #73713 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Dr. SteelFisher's husband has done work for Eli Lilly in the past five years and has minority ownership in a company that does work for Eli Lilly. Some readers may wish to know all healthcare‐related financial relationships of the authors.

SteelFisher GK, Findling MG, Bleich SN, et al. Gender discrimination in the United States: Experiences of women . Health Serv Res . 2019; 54 :1442–1453. 10.1111/1475-6773.13217 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

Gender Equality

Combating gender stereotypes and sexism.

Gender stereotyping presents a serious obstacle to the achievement of real gender equality and feeds into gender discrimination. Gender stereotypes are preconceived ideas whereby males and females are arbitrarily assigned characteristics and roles determined and limited by their sex.

Sex stereotyping can limit the development of the natural talents and abilities of boys and girls, women and men, their educational and professional experiences as well as life opportunities in general. Stereotypes about women both result from and are the cause of deeply engrained attitudes, values, norms and prejudices against women. They are used to justify and maintain the historical relations of power of men over women as well as sexist attitudes which are holding back the advancement of women.

Combating Gender Stereotypes and Sexism in and through Education

Combating Sexist Hate Speech

Combating and preventing sexism

Women in Media and artificial intelligence

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Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies (Print ISSN: 1078-4950; Online ISSN: 1532-5822)

Review Article: 2023 Vol: 29 Issue: 1

Gender Discrimination: An Overview of Historical and Contemporary Issues

Kendall Oswald, University of Warwick

Citation Information : Oswald, K. (2023). Gender discrimination: an overview of historical and contemporary issues. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, 29 (1), 1-2.

This research article provides an overview of gender discrimination, including its historical roots and contemporary manifestations. Discrimination based on gender has been a pervasive issue throughout history, with women facing barriers to education, employment, and political participation. Although progress has been made towards gender equality, gender discrimination still persists in many forms today. Gender-based violence, workplace inequality, legal barriers, and poverty are among the contemporary issues that disproportionately affect women. This article highlights the importance of addressing the root causes of gender discrimination and working towards the creation of a society that values and respects individuals regardless of their gender identity or expression. Education, policy reform, and advocacy efforts aimed at promoting gender equality can help create a more just and equitable world for all.

Gender Discrimination, Contemporary Issues, Gender-Based Violence, Workplace Inequality, Legal Barriers, Human Rights, Gender Equality, Policy Reform, Advocacy Efforts.

Introduction

Gender discrimination has been a prevalent issue throughout history, and despite progress towards gender equality, it still persists in many forms today. Discrimination based on gender refers to the unequal treatment of individuals on the basis of their gender identity or expression. This research article examines the history of gender discrimination and how it manifests in contemporary society.

Historical Overview of Gender Discrimination

Gender discrimination has been a significant issue throughout history. Women have been denied the right to education, employment, and political participation based solely on their gender. For example, in the United States, women were not allowed to vote until 1920, and it was not until the 1960s and 1970s that women began to achieve greater social and economic equality. In many parts of the world, gender discrimination is still prevalent. Women continue to face barriers to education and employment, and they are often paid less than men for performing the same job. In some countries, women are not allowed to drive, own property, or even leave their homes without male supervision ( Dilli et al., 2019; Kirton & Greene, 2005 ).

Contemporary Forms of Gender Discrimination

Despite progress towards gender equality, gender discrimination still manifests in many forms in contemporary society. One of the most significant forms of gender discrimination is gender-based violence, including sexual assault and domestic violence. Women are disproportionately affected by gender-based violence, with an estimated one in three women experiencing some form of violence in their lifetime ( Risman, 2018; Robeyns, 2003 ).

Gender discrimination also manifests in the workplace, where women often face barriers to career advancement and are paid less than men for performing the same job. Women are also underrepresented in leadership positions, with only a small percentage of CEOs and board members being female.

In many countries, women still face legal barriers to equality, such as laws that prevent them from inheriting property or require them to have a male guardian. Women are also disproportionately affected by poverty, with many working in low-wage jobs without access to basic benefits such as healthcare and paid leave ( Zhu & Chang, 2019 ).

Gender discrimination has been a pervasive issue throughout history, and while progress towards gender equality has been made, it still persists in many forms today. Discrimination based on gender is a violation of human rights and has significant social and economic consequences. To achieve gender equality, it is crucial to address the root causes of gender discrimination and to work towards the creation of a society that values and respects individuals regardless of their gender identity or expression. This can be achieved through education, policy reform, and advocacy efforts aimed at eliminating gender-based violence, promoting workplace equality, and ensuring legal protections for all individuals. By working towards gender equality, we can create a more just and equitable world for all.

Dilli, S., Carmichael, S. G., & Rijpma, A. (2019). Introducing the historical gender equality index . Feminist Economics , 25 (1), 31-57.

Indexed at , Google Scholar , Cross Ref

Kirton, G., & Greene, A. M. (2005). Gender, equality and industrial relations in the ‘New Europe’: An introduction . European Journal of Industrial Relations , 11 (2), 141-149.

Risman, B. J. (2018). Gender as a social structure (pp. 19-43) . Springer International Publishing.

Google Scholar , Cross Ref

Robeyns, I. (2003). Sen's capability approach and gender inequality: Selecting relevant capabilities . Feminist Economics , 9 (2-3), 61-92.

Zhu, N., & Chang, L. (2019). Evolved but not fixed: A life history account of gender roles and gender inequality . Frontiers in Psychology , 10 , 1709.

Received : 20-Dec-2022, Manuscript No. JIACS-23-13433; Editor assigned : 23-Dec-2022, PreQC No. JIACS-23-13433(PQ); Reviewed : 06-Jan-2023, QC No. JIACS-23-13433; Revised : 13-Jan-2023, Manuscript No. JIACS-23-13433(R); Published : 20-Jan-2023

69 Gender Discrimination Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best gender discrimination topic ideas & essay examples, 🔎 interesting topics to write about gender discrimination, 🎓 good essay topics on gender discrimination.

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• Gender Discrimination in the Workplace and Better Management Skills All complexities and worries including gender discrimination and violence at the workplace are the domain of management for which skilled management is an asset par excellent.
• Racial and Gender Discrimination in the Workplace and Housing Job discrimination is that discrimination which arises at the places of work Factors that include the presence of a high population of the unemployed create room for the vice.
• Ethics of Gender Identity Discrimination at Work Besides, ethical theories such as virtue ethics facilitate an understanding of the ethical impasse of whether to terminate the contract of transgender employees or embrace their sexual identity in the workplace environment.
• The Problem of Gender Discrimination In so doing, it has determined that the number of women in the workforce has systematically and continually risen over the course of the past two decades while the number of men in the workforce […]
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• Gender Discrimination and Shared Responsibility Therefore, it is of great importance to address the mentioned challenge, and one of the solutions lays in the education of women.
• Gender Discrimination in History and Nowadays In literature, especially in the works of Greek philosophers, there is a striking discrepancy in the perceptions of women’s place and homosexuality. Women were regarded as the devil’s seed, and the criteria to classify a […]
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What does gender equality look like today?

Date: Wednesday, 6 October 2021

Progress towards gender equality is looking bleak. But it doesn’t need to.

A new global analysis of progress on gender equality and women’s rights shows women and girls remain disproportionately affected by the socioeconomic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, struggling with disproportionately high job and livelihood losses, education disruptions and increased burdens of unpaid care work. Women’s health services, poorly funded even before the pandemic, faced major disruptions, undermining women’s sexual and reproductive health. And despite women’s central role in responding to COVID-19, including as front-line health workers, they are still largely bypassed for leadership positions they deserve.

UN Women’s latest report, together with UN DESA, Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2021 presents the latest data on gender equality across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The report highlights the progress made since 2015 but also the continued alarm over the COVID-19 pandemic, its immediate effect on women’s well-being and the threat it poses to future generations.

We’re breaking down some of the findings from the report, and calling for the action needed to accelerate progress.

The pandemic is making matters worse

One and a half years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, the toll on the poorest and most vulnerable people remains devastating and disproportionate. The combined impact of conflict, extreme weather events and COVID-19 has deprived women and girls of even basic needs such as food security. Without urgent action to stem rising poverty, hunger and inequality, especially in countries affected by conflict and other acute forms of crisis, millions will continue to suffer.

A global goal by global goal reality check:

Goal 1. Poverty

In 2021, extreme poverty is on the rise and progress towards its elimination has reversed. An estimated 435 million women and girls globally are living in extreme poverty.

And yet we can change this .

Over 150 million women and girls could emerge from poverty by 2030 if governments implement a comprehensive strategy to improve access to education and family planning, achieve equal wages and extend social transfers.

Goal 2. Zero hunger

The global gender gap in food security has risen dramatically during the pandemic, with more women and girls going hungry. Women’s food insecurity levels were 10 per cent higher than men’s in 2020, compared with 6 per cent higher in 2019.

This trend can be reversed , including by supporting women small-scale producers, who typically earn far less than men, through increased funding, training and land rights reforms.

Goal 3. Good health and well-being

Disruptions in essential health services due to COVID-19 are taking a tragic toll on women and girls. In the first year of the pandemic, there were an estimated 1.4 million additional unintended pregnancies in lower and middle-income countries.

We need to do better .

Response to the pandemic must include prioritizing sexual and reproductive health services, ensuring they continue to operate safely now and after the pandemic is long over. In addition, more support is needed to ensure life-saving personal protection equipment, tests, oxygen and especially vaccines are available in rich and poor countries alike as well as to vulnerable population within countries.

Goal 4. Quality education

A year and a half into the pandemic, schools remain partially or fully closed in 42 per cent of the world’s countries and territories. School closures spell lost opportunities for girls and an increased risk of violence, exploitation and early marriage .

Governments can do more to protect girls education .

Measures focused specifically on supporting girls returning to school are urgently needed, including measures focused on girls from marginalized communities who are most at risk.

Goal 5. Gender equality

The pandemic has tested and even reversed progress in expanding women’s rights and opportunities. Reports of violence against women and girls, a “shadow” pandemic to COVID-19, are increasing in many parts of the world. COVID-19 is also intensifying women’s workload at home, forcing many to leave the labour force altogether.

Building forward differently and better will hinge on placing women and girls at the centre of all aspects of response and recovery, including through gender-responsive laws, policies and budgeting.

Goal 6. Clean water and sanitation

In 2018, nearly 2.3 billion people lived in water-stressed countries. Without safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and menstrual hygiene facilities, women and girls find it harder to lead safe, productive and healthy lives.

Change is possible .

Involve those most impacted in water management processes, including women. Women’s voices are often missing in water management processes. 

Goal 7. Affordable and clean energy

Increased demand for clean energy and low-carbon solutions is driving an unprecedented transformation of the energy sector. But women are being left out. Women hold only 32 per cent of renewable energy jobs.

We can do better .

Expose girls early on to STEM education, provide training and support to women entering the energy field, close the pay gap and increase women’s leadership in the energy sector.

Goal 8. Decent work and economic growth

The number of employed women declined by 54 million in 2020 and 45 million women left the labour market altogether. Women have suffered steeper job losses than men, along with increased unpaid care burdens at home.

We must do more to support women in the workforce .

Guarantee decent work for all, introduce labour laws/reforms, removing legal barriers for married women entering the workforce, support access to affordable/quality childcare.

Goal 9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure

The COVID-19 crisis has spurred striking achievements in medical research and innovation. Women’s contribution has been profound. But still only a little over a third of graduates in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics field are female.

We can take action today.

 Quotas mandating that a proportion of research grants are awarded to women-led teams or teams that include women is one concrete way to support women researchers. 

Goal 10. Reduced inequalities

Limited progress for women is being eroded by the pandemic. Women facing multiple forms of discrimination, including women and girls with disabilities, migrant women, women discriminated against because of their race/ethnicity are especially affected.

Commit to end racism and discrimination in all its forms, invest in inclusive, universal, gender responsive social protection systems that support all women. 

Goal 11. Sustainable cities and communities

Globally, more than 1 billion people live in informal settlements and slums. Women and girls, often overrepresented in these densely populated areas, suffer from lack of access to basic water and sanitation, health care and transportation.

The needs of urban poor women must be prioritized .

Increase the provision of durable and adequate housing and equitable access to land; included women in urban planning and development processes.

Goal 12. Sustainable consumption and production; Goal 13. Climate action; Goal 14. Life below water; and Goal 15. Life on land

Women activists, scientists and researchers are working hard to solve the climate crisis but often without the same platforms as men to share their knowledge and skills. Only 29 per cent of featured speakers at international ocean science conferences are women.

 And yet we can change this .

Ensure women activists, scientists and researchers have equal voice, representation and access to forums where these issues are being discussed and debated. 

Goal 16. Peace, justice and strong institutions

The lack of women in decision-making limits the reach and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergency recovery efforts. In conflict-affected countries, 18.9 per cent of parliamentary seats are held by women, much lower than the global average of 25.6 per cent.

This is unacceptable .

It's time for women to have an equal share of power and decision-making at all levels.

Goal 17. Global partnerships for the goals

There are just 9 years left to achieve the Global Goals by 2030, and gender equality cuts across all 17 of them. With COVID-19 slowing progress on women's rights, the time to act is now.

Looking ahead

As it stands today, only one indicator under the global goal for gender equality (SDG5) is ‘close to target’: proportion of seats held by women in local government. In other areas critical to women’s empowerment, equality in time spent on unpaid care and domestic work and decision making regarding sexual and reproductive health the world is far from target. Without a bold commitment to accelerate progress, the global community will fail to achieve gender equality. Building forward differently and better will require placing women and girls at the centre of all aspects of response and recovery, including through gender-responsive laws, policies and budgeting.

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How Gender-Role Salience Influences Attitude Strength and Persuasive Message Processing

When women are exposed to female gender role information, the strength of their attitudes is reduced and they are more susceptible to persuasion. however, when men and women are exposed to male gender role information, they process messages more thoughtfully..

Cite this Article

Eaton, Asia A., et al. "How Gender-Role Salience Influences Attitude Strength and Persuasive Message Processing." Psychology of Women Quarterly , vol. 41, no. 2, 2017, pp. 223-239. DOI: 10.1177/0361684317696257.

Eaton, A.A., Visser, P.S., & Burns, V. (2017). How gender-role salience influences attitude strength and persuasive message processing. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 41 (2), 223-239. DOI: 10.1177/0361684317696257.

Eaton, Asia A., Penny S. Visser, and Vicki Burns. 2017. "How Gender-Role Salience Influences Attitude Strength and Persuasive Message Processing." Psychology of Women Quarterly 41 (2): 223-239. DOI: 10.1177/0361684317696257.

Asia A. Eaton

Penny s. visser, vicki burns.

• Introduction
• Methodology

There are common stereotypes that women are “wavering,” “naïve,” and “easily influenced,” whereas men are “intelligent,” “rational,” “consistent,” and “stubborn.” Such traits are part of broader generalizations that women are more susceptible to persuasion than men. Although such stereotypes are widespread, research about gender differences in persuadability has produced conflicting results. In order to make sense of these unclear research findings, scholars have conducted meta-analyses of various studies on the topic of persuadability, finding that women may appear more susceptible to persuasion than men—although the extent of these effects remains ambiguous.

In addition, there is a growing field of research that looks at how being exposed to information about a certain social group—also known as “priming”—can affect the thoughts and behaviors of the people who are “primed.” Studies show that this effect can occur even when people are primed with information about a social category that they don’t belong to. For instance, university students who are primed with stereotypes of professors do better on general knowledge tests than university students primed with stereotypes of “cleaning ladies.”

This study investigates whether being primed with information about female and male gender roles affects how susceptible people are to persuasion with regard to their attitudes on public transportation discounts, changes in university curricula, and capital punishment within the context of three experiments performed on women and men in the US Midwest.

When women were exposed to priming female gender role information (including words such as “she,” “skirt,” “lipstick,” “flower,” “jewerly”), the strength of their self-reported attitude-relevant knowledge, certainty, and importance was reduced and ambivalence toward a topic was increased. Furthermore, women primed with the female gender role were more susceptible to persuasive arguments on capital punishment, and demonstrated less differentiation between strong and weak arguments, indicating the stereotype of female persuadability reduced their cognitive ability to distinguish among these arguments. However, when women and men were exposed to male gender role information, they processed messages more thoughtfully and changed their attitudes more in response to a strong argument about capital punishment compared to a weak one.

• Study 1 revealed that when the female gender role was made salient, women demonstrated weaker attitudes, which tended to be more susceptible to change.
• Study 2 found that reminders of the female role led women to demonstrate reduced cognitive processing of persuasive messages.
• In Study 3, women and men responded to gender-role salience with assimiliative behavior: female gender role primes caused both women and men to process persuasive messages less carefully, and male gender role primes led both women and men to process messages thoughtfully.

These results have important implications for daily life, where it is difficult to eliminate reminders about gender roles. The study suggests that women and men should be vigilant about carefully processing the information they receive, so as not to be unintentionally susceptible to persuasion. The authors recommend researchers be wary of inadvertent gender salience in the research context, as reminders of any social identity, role, or category stereotypically associated with high or low levels of thoughtfulness or persuadability may automatically influence cognitive processing and attitude strength.

In this study, researchers conducted three experiments to assess the impact of receiving gender role information on the ability of women and men to be persuaded in their attitudes.

In the first study, they asked 50 college-aged women from the Midwestern United States to participate in a “vigilance task,” during which they were asked to stare at a crosshair that appeared on a screen and to use keyboard responses to identify whether a “flash” appeared on the right or left of the crosshair. Based on random assignment, the “flashes” were words that conveyed either female gender role information, such as “she” and “skirt,” or gender-neutral information, such as “carpet” and “glue.” This process is referred to as unconscious priming, as the words were shown for 80 ms followed by a masking image shown for 80 ms. The specific words that appeared for each participant were randomly sampled from a standard list used for the entire experiment. Immediately after priming, participants’ attitudes toward two campus issues – transit authority discounts for university students and changes to the university’s core curriculum – were assessed. They were also asked to rate the strength of these attitudes, based on how knowledgeable they considered themselves to be on each issue (attitude-relevant knowledge), how certain they were about their opinions on each issue (attitude certainty), how important each issue was to them (attitude importance), and how conflicted they felt about each issue (attitude ambivalence) on a 5-point Likert scale. At the end of this trial, participants were asked a series of “suspicion check” questions to verify whether or not they had guessed the true intention of the experiments. (No participants guessed the study’s hypothesis or purpose.)

In the second study, 104 female adults from a large city in the Midwestern United States were recruited from public locations such as restaurants, bowling alleys, and fast food courts. They were first assessed on their existing attitudes towards the death penalty on a 7-point scale (strongly opposed to strongly in favor). These questions were embedded in a series of other questions they were asked about their opinions towards tax cuts, immigration, free trade, etc. In order to “prime” the participants, the researchers asked them to unscramble a series of words to form a coherent sentence. Based on random assignment, the sentences either contained information related to the female gender role, such as “her woman lipstick kept the in purse her,” or were gender neutral, such as “banana breakfast had pancakes for they.” Participants were then given strongly and weakly persuasive arguments about the death penalty, and asked to rate how strongly persuasive the arguments were on a 5-point scale. (A suspicion check was also administered, and none of the participants guessed the intention of the study.)

In the third study, 185 women and men, recruited from the psychology subject pool at a Southeastern Hispanic-serving institution and who were either in favor of the death penalty or neutral to it, were randomly given information that either was gender-neutral or primed them about the female gender role or the male gender role. Participants first reported their attitudes toward a variety of social and political issues, including their attitudes toward capital punishment, on a 7-point scale. As in the previous study, participants were then shown weak and strong arguments for the death penalty and asked to assess the strength of the arguments and their attitude toward capital punishment.

One limitation of the study is that it focused on participant opinions relating to the specific issue of the death penalty. If the results were to be more broadly generalized, the experiments should also be replicated using other gender-neutral issues.

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Redesigning résumés reduces discrimination against female jobseekers with child-related employment gaps and overall improves hireability of applicants with and without employment gaps. , reducing discrimination against job seekers with and without employment gaps.

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The psychosocial value of employment: evidence from a refugee camp.

7 Reasons Why Gender Equality Is Good For Everyone

Research shows that the world has a long way to go to achieve gender equality . Despite decades of progress, millions of women and girls still deal with violence and discrimination. Steps like closing the gender pay gap and promoting girls’ education make a huge difference. While most believe that gender equality is a worthy goal, why is it good for everyone? Why should it be such a high priority?

Gender equality gives everyone equal opportunities

Education is the key to equal opportunities. In today’s world, more boys than girls are educated. According to UNICEF , around 1 in 4 girls between 15-19 years old don’t have a job and are not getting an education or training. For boys, that ratio is 1 in 10. Right from the beginning, this gives boys better opportunities than girls. Without many options, girls are often forced into marriages or human trafficking . It is also much harder to leave dangerous relationships and situations without education to fall back on. When gender equality starts with education, everyone has the opportunity to improve their lives.

Gender equality is good for children

Reproductive rights are a key part of gender equality. When women make their own reproductive choices, their lives improve. They are then able to better care for the children they do choose to have. Having equal pay with men, women can provide better healthcare, better food, and better opportunities for their kids. Even if a mother chooses to stay at home with her children, the effects of gender equality (like equal pay and education) provide a safety net in case she does need to go to work. Studies also show that infant mortality rates decrease as a woman’s education level increases. In a world with gender equality, children are set up for success and happiness.

Gender equality is good for marginalized racial groups

Gender-based discrimination has a close relationship with racial discrimination. In most places, women belonging to marginalized racial groups are treated less equal than other women. The gender pay gap is a prime example. In the United States, Asian and Caucasian women earn more than Hispanic, black, and native women. White women are also more likely to get better healthcare and better job opportunities. That’s why gender equality must be intersectional. This requires an acknowledgment of different experiences, identities, and the unique discriminations women face. Striving for intersectional gender equality can help reduce racial discrimination and inequality wherever it’s found.

Gender equality is good for men

Gender equality doesn’t only benefit girls and women; it benefits men, as well. There are a few key reasons. A man who is perceived as “feminine” is not a “real man” when gender inequality exists. This leads to toxic masculinity, which is destructive and harmful to everyone. When there’s gender equality, men have more freedom about how they express themselves. This extends into the career field , as well, since no job is considered “for women only.” Men receive parental leave and family time without discrimination. Increased freedom of expression and flexible work choices leads to happiness. With gender equality, men don’t face as much pressure to fit a stereotype.

Gender equality is good for business and the economy

When girls and women get equal education and job opportunities with men, all of society benefits. Studies reveal that a diverse workplace is a more productive workplace . That diversity includes gender diversity. There’s research that shows specifically that businesses that put some women in the top leadership roles do better than businesses with only men in leadership. That success translates into the economy as a whole. Closing up gender pay gaps saves a country money. Equal education and jobs also significantly reduce poverty rates, lifting an entire nation and improving its GDP.

Gender equality fosters peace

Violence disrupts society at every level. Gender inequality is the source of a lot of violence including human trafficking and a lack of legal protections for abused women. Improving equality for girls and women can reduce the amount of violence and provide security for those who are vulnerable. Research also shows that gender equality is a better indicator of a country’s likelihood to deploy military force than its GDP. As gender equality improves, a country’s peace improves. In turn, this is important for gender equality because war disproportionately affects women.

Gender equality: it’s good for everyone

Children, women, and men benefit from gender equality. It also addresses racial discrimination and improves business and the economy. While it will be some time before gender equality is a reality around the world, we’ve made enough progress to see its benefits in action. The goal now is to keep promoting gender equality while replacing old systems based on discrimination and outdated mindsets.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.