Author: Andre Coleman

Introduction

Infidelity is perhaps the most complex issue faced by spouses in the marital relationship. Usually, when the discovery of an affair is done, it can be very annoying for the person on the receiving end of the case. Obviously the blame on oneself is the primary response after the information and facts are understood and then the person must be willing to understand that he / she has failed to respect the other person to take this step. This results in a lot of pain, confusion and emotional problems for people that are involved in such a relation. This can affect the person and make him very depressed and even become suicidal. A person may lose confidence in future relationships and also the ability of having faith in people because of the enormous injustice caused by infidelity. Maybe this can lead to a process of divorce and custody battles cruel and endless tension.

Barta and Drigotas (2001) defined infidelity as “a partner’s violations of norms regulating the level of emotional and physical relationship with people out side the relationship. Moreover, it is a breach of trust or an act of disloyalty in a committed relationship. In this modern era where a lot of facilities are available in the shape of mobile telephone and Internet chatting, it is greatly accessible and easier to make any kind of relationship and stay in regular contact with them. Hence, it may result in shortage of time for one to spend with his or her spouse and greater contact with outsiders. In short, it can occur abruptly and unexpectedly by intention, incidence or chance or can extend over a long period of time. They can proceed for a very short time or a life span. This is one of the key reasons for enhance in extra marital affairs and its following adverse impact on the rate of divorce and suicide.

Types of Infidelity

Buss and Shackelford (1997) report that there are two types of infidelity exist: sexual infidelity, emotional infidelity or both. Sexual infidelity is consisting of sexual contact such as kissing, touching, oral sex, or physical contact. on the other hand, emotional infidelity includes the creation of emotional affection or warmth for another individual, and can involve the actions as flirting, dating, lovely talk, feeling interest towards some one else, or falling in love.

Pittman (1989) marriage includes the hope of primariness and assurance of both partners to remain loyal with each other and keeping each other the most significant person for life time. Generally couples agree that primaries will contain the probability in which partners guarantee to have physical contact only with each other. Despite of this marital infidelity is very common across world even though, society is not permitted or accepted it. Knowingly or unknowingly, Most of marriages are now victim of this serious issue almost couples are experiencing it either being of a betrayed receiver or being of disloyal one. Even many famous persons have done marital infidelities, presidents, such as John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton and other public figures, such as Prince Charles, Marion Barry, and Princess Diana was strongly rumored to have had an extra marital affair. Actors and actresses have long presented continual material to the tabloids on affairs and infidelity.

Gender Difference and Infidelity

Gender based studies divided into two parts. The first group of researches focused on sex differences in reaction to a partner’s infidelity. Shackelford and Buss (2002) sex differences in reaction to a partner’s emotional and sexual infidelity are well documented and hypothesized adaptive problems (Buss et al., 1992) Due to adaptive problem of parental uncertainly, men are more upset than women by a partner’s sexual infidelity. Also, adaptive concern with parental investment and resources diversion makes women feel more upset than men by a partner’ emotional infidelity (Shackelford et al., 2000).

Another part of literature about sex differences and infidelity refers to different rates of men and women involvement in infidelity. Some researchers strongly assert that men are more engage in infidelity than women (Allen & Baucom, 2004). They have significantly more sexual partners outside of their primary relationship (Blumstein & Schwartz, 1983) and they have more permissive attitudes toward sex outside of marriage (Thompson, 1984) and also have a strong desire to engage in infidelity (Prins, 1993) . At the same time, other studies suggest that men and women’s rate of infidelity are becoming increasingly similar (Oliver & Hyde, 1993) and they are not differing in terms of behavior (Prins et al., 1993).

Betzig (1989) infidelity is a core base cited when pleading for divorce and those who are disloyal likely to be vigilant discussing such activity. It is neither only a male behavior while the ratio of infidelity among female is going to equal the proportion of males. Not surprisingly a third of all marriages now a days dealing with this issue. However, no doubt it is anticipated responsible of dissolution of a marriage bond cruelly. Most notably, females role have been change now they are not simply responsible for maintaining home work while working outside of home. Both male and female have almost equal opportunities due to rapid change in living structure of modern aged societies and late night travels, work related activities, and meetings these all responsible to some extent for significant increasing rate of divorce as regardless of gender no one is remain dependent on their partner for life accessories.

Causes of Infidelity

Thompson (1983) infidelity can exist in marital, or in any committed relationships. Therefore it considered an illegal or wrong act. The clarifications people often make regarding their illegal sexual terms are several and varied. Whatever the reason of an act of infidelity but it is certainly varies between and within cultures. Presence of sexual behavior is not must or always the case of infidelity. Ideas and perceptions of infidelity are might be different among people of same culture or between the people who have close relationship with each other.

Sptizberg and Cupach (1998) infidelity provides a means of exploring the darker and more problematic side of human experience with out having to examine actual criminal offending. Affairs come in diverse forms. All affairs are not surely same: they supply unusual purposes, are done by several types of persons, fueled by a range of motivations and having dissimilar effects. One of the most obvious weaknesses in infidelity research is the shortage of discrimination between types of affairs. This has often lead to erroneous, confusing and unsupportive generalizations or stat averages about the nature, implications and what constitutes effective intervention with affairs. Considerate the individual, biographical, domestic, marital and cultural-anthropological reason of affairs is vital to planning successful intervention.

Guerin et al. (1996) in a study reported that Spouse often involves in infidelity in order to protect themselves from taking responsibilities or adopting new roles. They want to escape from discomfort and pain which comes from boring and difficult marital life. With out disturbing marital life or other spouse an infidel person have has relation with person other than committed relationship. This betrayal provides him/her temporarily calmness.

Psychologist Allen (2001) in a study based on Bowlby attachment theory reports that comparatively to secure attachment a person with dismissive attachment style is probable to have one infidelity atleast to his/her spouse because he/she wants self affirmation.

Chen (2001) noted in his research findings that it is considered as a symbol of respect and privilege for a wealthy and influential personality to have has relations with the person of other than his/her spouse. Many times, these relations are secret in nature and based on long term and seldom have these affairs disturbed their primary marital life and relations.

Prevalence of Infidelity

Ninety-nine percent of married persons surveyed expect their spouse to be faithful after they are married, and 99% assume their partner expects sexual exclusivity of them (Treas & Giesen, 2000). Despite these expectations, the actual occurrence of marital infidelity is much higher. According to a survey of over 1000 Americans, done by the National Opinion Research Center in 1991, eleven percent of the female respondents and 21% of the males surveyed admitted to engaging in extramarital sex (Greeley, 1994). Thus, marital infidelity is a perplexing phenomenon and research indicates that this is also true for other types of infidelity, such as infidelity occurring in dating relationships.

Blow and Harnett (2005) report that rates of infidelity are vary across universe due to types of infidelity. Although, the prevalence of sexual infidelity is higher than emotional one and most of the infidelity researches have focused on sexual infidelity rather than emotional infidelity and almost result are drawn by non random sample. Further more the issue of infidelity is very sensitive and personal so, individual may show some kind of reluctance to disclose it or admit it openly. In Pakistan the rate of infidelity reported by private TV channel in a program among male is 45% and among female is 32% but these rates are not specifically for marital infidelity however, these rates are may be overestimated or underestimated at some point because there is no researches or official data is available in Pakistan.

Allen et al. (2005) found that 25% committed relationships are experiencing infidelity. 22% to 25% male and 11% to 15% females are unfaithful to their partners. Other less conservative reviews reported that 25 to 50% male and approximately 10% to 25% females are engaged in infidelity during the course of their marriages. An estimated figure shows the adverse effects of infidelity that almost 50% married couple across the universe are experiencing in their marriages. Moreover, these responses of infidelity can also be varied depend on individual difference or level of affection and these response can be also extremist in nature or less extremist and threatening.

Glass and Staeheli (2003) almost every marriage is suffering with the issue of infidelity regardless of love, arrange and forced marriage and status of marriage such as happy or unhappy marriage.mid life crises and other factors are responsible for trigger anyone towards infidelity (Cole, 1999).

Consequences of Infidelity

Brown (1999) found that discovery of spousal infidelity is always being distressing for both concerned spouses. Usually, sudden encounter of infidelity make them unable to behave normally. The disloyal person feel gloomy, desperate and victim of many doubts regarding his/her future marital life either it may remain joyous as it was before, he/she really feel the pain of that third person with whom he/she had extramarital affairs. Sexual life affected of a disloyal spouse in his/her marriage but despite of confession being wrong they tried ever to minimize their guilt by blaming others for the responsibilities of their infidelities (Chen, 2001).

Bergcross (1997) in a study concluded that many probable risk factors including suicidal thoughts, homicidal, health issues, are the result of infidelity. Many others responses are noted such as violence, divorce, dissatisfaction, flirting behavior, revenge, angry, jealous, shame and so on.

Some studies showed that only a small percentage of couples who experience infidelity can save their marriage after an affair (Hansen, 1987) and all marriage with infidelity do not end with divorce (Charny & Parnass, 1995). Studies about consequences of infidelity showed negative outcomes like: rage, lost of trust, decreased personal and sexual confidence, suicidal behavior, depression, damaged self esteem, fear of abandonment and surge of justification to leave the spouse (Charny & Parnass, 1995).

Spanier and Margolis (1983) concluded that partners who divorce because of their spouse’s infidelity experienced less depression than those who end their marriage for other reasons. The unfaithful spouse has initiated the divorce but the faithful spouse is more likely to develop depression. When a person discovers a partner’s infidelity, he should decide about forgiving the partner and remain together or end the relationship. Shackelford et al. (2000) found that men and women who face different adaptive problems over evolutionary history related to various types of infidelity have different reaction to partner’s infidelity. It is more difficult for men to forgive a sexual infidelity than an emotional infidelity and they are more likely to end a current relationship following a partner’s sexual infidelity (Shackelford et al, 2002).

Evolutionary theory

Evolutionary theory (Nannini & Myers, 2000) supported the view that gender difference present in response to partner’s infidelity (Sheets & Wolfe, 2001) and provides one explanation for gender differences in reactions to infidelity. According to this theory, a man is jealous about his female partner’s sexual infidelity, because if his partner has intercourse with another man, there is no guarantee that offspring he raises with her are his genetic children. The uncertainty of paternity gives rise to excellent reasons for a man to be intolerant of adulterous sex in his partner. A male in this position may contribute resources to this offspring, as well as squander opportunities to reproduce elsewhere (Buss, et al., 1992). Using this same model, a woman is concerned about her partner becoming emotionally attached, lest he abandon her for the new partner, leaving her to rear their offspring without resources or assistance from the father. If her partner is investing more assets into another woman’s offspring, whether in a monogamous or polygynous relationship, it is to the detriment of her children.

This theory is consistent with results wherein women overwhelmingly selected emotional infidelity as more distressing, and more men selected physical infidelity (Harris & Christenfeld, 1996; Whitty & Quigley, 2008). Additionally, physiological studies support this perspective, finding that men demonstrate greater autonomic arousal response to sexual infidelity and women have a greater response to emotional infidelity (Buss et al., 1992).

Buss (1995) and other evolutionary psychologists argue that men and women differ in their responses to infidelity in ways that has resulted from different adaptations to different reproductive problems. The evolutionary perspective does not dispute that both forms of infidelity, emotional and sexual, are disturbing to both sexes. Instead, evolutionary perspective argues that “men and women put different ’emotional weighting’ on the different aspects of infidelity” (Buss et al., 1999).

The theory is consistent with a good deal of research data. However, there are some noteworthy shortcomings inherent in this perspective. Firstly, the core premise of the standard evolutionary model is that sex differences in mating behavior exist as a consequence of the differential costs for each sex to reproduce their genes (Buss & Schmitt, 1993). Infidelity can be efficiently explained this way by advocates of this theory in the light of higher rates of male infidelity historically (Allen et al., 2005). The theory acknowledges that members of both sexes pursue extra-pair/short term strategies; however, recent research findings show that rates of female infidelity are rapidly closing the gap (Allen et al., 2005) and the theory at present does not appear to adequately address this. In two studies (Harris, 2002; 2003) of responses to actual infidelity, men and women showed no difference in the degree to which they were distressed by emotional vs. sexual infidelity. Furthermore, both males and females reported focusing slightly more on emotional than sexual aspects of their partner’s infidelity.

Roscoe et al. (1988) significant differences have not been found in several studies of ‘actual’, as opposed to ‘potential’, extradyadic behavior (Feldman & Cauffman, 1999; Seal et al., 1994). Further, studies including aspects of infidelity apart from sexual behaviors are another example where significant differences between the sexes have not generally been found. Wiederman (1997) for example, found that there were no differences in the type of infidelity entered into or in the incidence of infidelity for men and women under the age of 40. Clear gender differences in the incidence of infidelity are difficult to determine in the light of such inconsistent research.

Divorce

Buss and Shackelford (1997) infidelity leads to divorce and is most likely the single most harmful thing that can occur to a marriage. Divorce refers to the often messy and painful dissolution of a marriage. Either for good or for bad, divorce is a very ordinary incident in recent days. Most everyone has been experienced it, either by going through it themselves as a spouse or a child, or knowing someone who has gone through it as a spouse or as a child. Regardless of recognized understanding with the sound effects of divorce.

Waite (1995) good psychological and physiological health of both spouses can be achieved by stable and satisfied marriage; it also contributes to marital wealth and children wellbeing. But the fact is these all advantage only possible when marriage protective from high conflicts. Severe mental and emotional health problems can be protected by a sound marriage. a part of knowing this well known realities some marriages still suffer from problems and endless issues and spouse their selves are responsible for that issues which causes marriage beak downs. Surely, an unstable marriage is responsible for adverse outcomes for all family members and even upon other concerned relation.

Rate of Divorce

Vaus et al. (1997) most young adults when surveyed about relationships indicate that they want to marry and have a committed, trusting, respectful relationship for themselves and for any children they may have Any attempt to explain the reasons couples separate and divorce must take into account both the nature of marriage as an institution within a given social and cultural context, and its particular meaning for the individuals involved. It’s remarking that the dramatic increase in the lifetime divorce probability from 10 percent to more than 50 percent in the United States and to 25 percent in Pakistan since the 1960s cannot be explained only at the personal or micro level.

Dagatan (2012) investigated there is a significant raise in the rate of divorce universally on the account of everyday. Day by day Marriage is losing its worth especially in some specific societies. Many reasons are attached to failure of stable marriages such as infidelity, violence, financial crises and so on. Russia is standing on top for highest divorce rates with 5.30% while panama with 3.80% is on 4th ranking of highest divorce rate due to infidelity. Similarly, there is surprising increase in the rate of divorce in Pakistan from few decades. Currently 10 to 15 divorce cases are being filed by females per day in Pakistan. However, divorce rates are varying in different status it’s higher among upper class while middle class takes divorce as a stigma and comparatively to other classes its prevalence is low in lower class.

Effect of Globalization on Divorce

Mansfield et al. (1999) the degree to which family law reform may influence rates of divorce is debatable. In many perspectives, especially for women marriage is not only remaining the source of financial security, social status in the community, sexual activity and social companionship. Globalization has affected the thought and living structure and values across culturally. Now almost every sphere of the world people have different and more liberal attitude regarding divorce while it’s not consider stigma as it was. Now men and women both talk about it openly. Across the entire main reasons for divorce, women more than men tended to initiate the separation and be more likely to have sought counseling advice prior to separation. The perceived reason for divorce did not appear to influence whether men or women made preparations for living without their partner.

Gender, Attitude and Divorce

Differences between men and women emerged mainly in relation to specific spousal behaviors. Women were significantly more likely than men to mention abusive behaviors their spouse’s drinking and drug use and being the victim of physical and emotional violence as the main reason for divorce. Although ending a marriage can never be easy and may be traumatic or have detrimental consequences for either or both partners and any children involved the majority of women and men, whatever the perceived reason for divorce, claimed that in retrospect they still would have separated and felt they never wanted to get back with their former spouse. Again, women who mentioned abusive behaviors as a reason for divorce were most emphatic in their agreement with this statement (Waite et al, 1995).

Impact of Divorce

Bowlby (1969) a broken Marriage always left highly significant consequences. As one grow older, build new relationships with numerous important figures throughout one’s lives. It is natural to form affection with the people who care for them most, in regards to their physiological and emotional needs. However, marital relationship is considering the most respective way to form relationship with people of opposite sex. In marriages there are some obligations which should be followed by both spouse and it’s obligatory on them to respect each other values and expectation but if any spouse doesn’t care these values then marital dissatisfaction can come in existence and divorce or marital conflict occur in result which impact badly on physical, emotional and psychological health.

Walsh (2008) reported that marriage is source of getting respect, status, and recognition in a society. Psychological satisfaction can be got through marriage by which individual get kids, companion for life and completeness of home structure. As it is truly said man is a social animal therefore, man cannot survive in isolation for goodness of life one need to be remain with others. Marriage is regarded as a best source of getting all these things it provides peace and emotional support on individual level. Both concerned partner sooth each other by providing their support in all situation of life. But at the same time it’s a very weak as well as strong one. Divorce shelters all of these and affected must feel hopelessness and experience high emotional torture that sometime intend a person suicidal.

Suicidal Ideation

Suicidal ideation, attempts and completed suicides are all referred to suicidal behavior. Weather suicidal ideation refers to any thought, intention which is readily made to harm one self or its any self inflicting behavior in which one is thinking to take his/her life. It happens most often in reaction to a crisis such as the loss of a relationship, death, inevitable life situation where one’s feel extremist level of hopelessness, worthlessness and infidelity in highly affiliated relationship. Usually, people experience a variety of feelings during the time of crises, and each person’s shows different response towards crises even in same crises. It is common to feel scared or worried or depressed. If a person feels overwhelmed or unable to cope, he or she may try to commit suicide. Thus far researchers have been unable to predict potential suicidal consistency so effectively (Goldstein, 1999).

Causes of Suicide

Suicide is defined as the act of intentionally taking one’s own life. It happens most often in reaction to a crisis such as the loss of a relationship, death, inevitable life situation where one’s feel extremist level of hopelessness, worthlessness and infidelity in highly affiliated relationship. Usually, people experience a variety of feelings during the time of crises, and each person’s shows different response towards crises even in same crises. It is common to feel scared or worried or depressed. If a person feels overwhelmed or unable to cope, he or she may try to commit suicide. Thus far researchers have been unable to predict potential suicidal consistency so effectively (Prokorny, 1983).

Overall it is on 8th number cause of death through out the world, it’s a major, preventable public health problem. Psychological causes may be one factor of it like unable to cope depression, it may be due to lack of others supports, or burden of guilt, to examine the feelings and love of other people, relationship failure, shock on incident like infidelity or divorce. It may have also origins from cultural and social pressure often in case of isolation, although, the act of suicide is varied in distinctive cultures and ages.

Foster (1999) various risk factors have been studied with suicide like divorce, financial issues, marital conflicts, life satisfaction, depression, unemployment, parental deprivation and many others. Researches claim that emotional instability, psychotic disorder, major depression, personality disorder, substance dependence, marital status and affairs are usually responsible as a major cause of suicide. Despite of these known causes many other reasons can be responsible for this act. Actually, suicidal ideation or suicide is usually an individual act. There may be individual causes present for such act. However, the more common causes associated with suicidal ideation are marital affairs among married and parental or other factors are related to unmarried persons.

Suicide in Pakistan

In past, official statistics for suicide in Pakistan was un-available. Nevertheless, there was some evidence suggested by NGOs, newspaper reports, police that the suicide ratio has slowly been raising in Pakistan from the last few years. The increasing inclination has been very theatrical with almost 3,000 cases of suicide being reported in 2001 nationally, “Even this is considered to be an underestimation, as it is well known that in many developing countries suicide tends to be grossly under-reported.” In the month of Ramadan of 2012 a private news channel surveyed that near about 300 people attempted suicide during Ramadan and this rate of suicide is very alarming and surprising.

Particularly, “many factors are associated with the phenomena of suicide which cannot be treated in isolation from the societal and emotional factors compelling a person to think about this act”. Like other developing countries, Pakistan, too, faces the dilemma of increasing cases of suicide. Suicide is view different in every society depending on its culture and religion. For instance, Islam, Judaism, Christianity and some western cultures take it negative and sin. Its wrongly consider as a result of mental illness. Even in some societies it is considered a crime. But on the other hand, in certain situation it’s regarded as a symbol of honor like suicide bombers, in battle, etc.

Larsson et al. (1998) reported that the probability of suicidal attempts in course of an individual life could be assessed by the history of suicide in one’s family members or other social network like friends etc and also by considering the level of suicidal ideation. Suicide is considered as a major preventable public health issue and ranked on 8th leading cause of death world overall. It may have also origins from cultural and social pressure often in case of isolation, although, the act of suicide is varied in distinctive cultures and ages. Many decades back suicide was understood the issue of only western countries. Since 1960’s somewhat suicide cases reported in under develop countries including Pakistan but in Pakistan no official statistic data record were available. Nevertheless, reported cases are considered under estimated.

Khan et al. (2008) a study conducted in Karachi, reported that risk factors of suicide include, negative and desperate or stress full events, marital status (marriage), unemployment, and psychiatric disorder are considerable indicators of suicide. There was some other evidence suggested by NGOs, newspaper reports, police that the suicide ratio has slowly been raising in Pakistan from the last few years. The increasing inclination has been very theatrical with almost 3,000 cases of suicide being reported in 2001 nationally, “Even this is considered to be an underestimation, as it is well known that in many developing countries suicide tends to be grossly under-reported”.

Bertolote and Fleischmann (2002) every year near about one million people die due to suicide universally. According to a report by WHO less number of suicide cases are reported by outside of western countries especially from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. These less reported cases of Pakistan may be the result of unavailability of official record of suicide in earlier decades and secondly, it is an understudied subject in Pakistan. Many factors including religion, legal and social issues make it difficult to collect data regarding suicidal behaviors. However, in the month of Ramadan of 2012 a private news channel surveyed that near about 300 people attempted suicide during Ramadan and rate of suicide is very alarming and surprising. This proportion is very threatening especially an underdeveloped country with lesser reporting record of suicidal cases globally.

Khan et al. (2000) numerous hurdles are present in open discussion of phenomenon of suicide in predominantly Muslim country Pakistan. However, suicide is view different in every society depending on its culture and religion. For instance, Islam, Judaism, Christianity and some western cultures take it negative and sin. Its wrongly consider as a result of mental illness. Even in some societies it is considered a crime. But on the other hand, in certain situation it’s regarded as a symbol of honor like suicide bombers, in battle, etc. Particularly, “many factors are associated with the phenomena of suicide which cannot be treated in isolation from the societal and emotional factors compelling a person to think about this act”. Like other developing countries, Pakistan, too, faces the dilemma of increasing cases of suicide.

Hassan et al. (2009) two years based research an analysis of suicide findings shows more than 300 suicides were committed in different cities of Pakistan. It reported that mostly men who commit suicide were unmarried and men 2:1 0utnumber of females. While in case of women a quite opposite result of men has found. Majority of suicidal committers were under the age of 30 the most prominent reason for suicide was domestic problems such as health issues, poverty, social pressure, forced marriages, marital conflicts. On the other side the most common adopted method of suicide were firearms, insecticides and hanging.

Anonymous (1989) a cross national research on 71 nation result showed that an independent effect of Islam in lowering the rate of suicide is considerable when others factors like economic imbalance and social injustice are controlled. However, study showed Muslim countries as compare to non Muslim countries have considerable less suicidal ratio. Nevertheless, suicides occur on regular basis in Muslim countries also because some remarkable evidence has met by many Muslim countries like Bangladesh, Iran, and Turkey.

Mahmood (1989) study evidence showed the underestimated death by suicide perhaps due to legal procedure by which one is subject of convicted and financial penalty. Analyzing the report of 17 Islamic countries reports experts say that this is due to cultural and religious impact that in many Islamic countries suicide is culturall

Is Inequality in Education Being Reduced? What Effect Does This Have on Other Aspects of Women’s Lives?

Throughout history, women have been repressed in many different ways by patriarchal systems within society. In Western society, women have gradually gained more power in many aspects of their lives and some (including many post-feminists) would even go so far as to say that equality has been achieved. However, in certain developing countries feminism is a relatively new idea and women may still have very few or limited rights. A common issue with patriarchal societies is gender discrimination in regards to schooling.

In Europe, women have been discriminated against in education as far back as the medieval period. Girls were not formally educated, but rather learned from their mothers. Female role models within their community showed them how to perform household tasks, care for children and enforced the importance of feminine behaviour in order to attract a husband. It was in the mid to late 19th Century that formal education became available to females, in the form of same-sex colleges.

Women’s education started to be considered more seriously following the Representation of the People Act 1918, which allowed some women to vote in Parliamentary elections. WWII also changed attitudes to girl’s education, as women had been put to work while their husbands were abroad and realised that they had the potential to be more than ‘just’ housewives and the Education Act of 1944 ensured “free education for all from primary to secondary”, including females. In 1975 the Sex Discrimination Act was passed, and women were legally required to be given the same occupational opportunities as men. Legally, education was finally balanced between the genders, which was definite progress towards equality when compared with the uneducated females of previous centuries.
However, once legal barriers preventing women from achieving in education were removed, feminists began to focus on issues of socialisation. What a patriarchal society expected and approved of in females was harder to combat than legislation. Sue Sharp (1976, pg 132) interviewed girls in Ealing schools, and one said that “I think men should [have careers]. If they [girls] want to they can, but I think it suits men really. Once men start on something, I suppose they go ahead, but women they always change their minds”. The girls in Sharpe’s 1976 study showed limited career aspirations, and put more emphasis on their desire to marry and raise a family. This attitude was reflected in the fact that in the 1970s there were twice as many males in higher education than females (Major).
However, when Sharpe repeated her study in 1994 the results were different. Although girls were still likely to aspire to “Women’s Work” such as childcare and beauty therapy, some showed interest in fire-fighting or mechanics. They also showed a desire to have a successful career so as not to be financially dependent on a husband in case of breakdown of a marriage, and expected husbands to help with household tasks. Also, as of 2009 Major claimed that “there are now more women than men in higher education – 51% to 49% is the average”. Parents often encourage or even expect their daughters to attend university and find careers for themselves, and Darla Shine goes so far as to argue that women do not have professional careers are sometimes negatively stigmatised as being “slobs”.
The number of qualifications girls get could thoroughly affect many aspects of their adult life. One of the most obvious differences education makes to an individual’s life is their possible income. Graduates with the highest level of qualification earn, on average, more than twice the wage of employees with no qualifications and are also half as likely to be unemployed (Careers Scotland, 2009). Poverty can lead to health issues (due to a poor diet or low quality of heating or sleep in cheaper housing) and depression and stress. Crime is also more prevalent in low-income areas, so uneducated females may be either victim of a crime or be arrested for crimes themselves, leading to imprisonment. It is, therefore, clear that refusing women this one right to education, or somehow limiting it, can contribute to gender inequality in almost all aspects of later life.

In conclusion, steps have most definitely been made towards a less male-orientated system of education. Recognising that most girls perform better in coursework than the end of term exams, many establishments have altered the assessment style to cater towards both genders. Girls are performing better than boys in school, but “gendered subjects” are still criticised as they reinforce gender stereotypes. Some organisations, such as CC4G are trying to help girls branch into male-dominated areas such as computer technology. Sharpe’s study and Major’s article show the differences that 20 years can make, so who knows what the result of two more decades of feminist activism will be?

Sociological Theories on Gender Inequality in Education

Most types of feminism are based on the idea that gender is a social construct which a child is labelled with at birth depending on its sex. Therefore, any ideas of male dominance in cultures are seen to be a consequence of socialisation and not a natural and biological state of being. This leads to the conclusion that men and women can potentially have the same sets of skills, and can learn all subjects equally well in education establishments if patriarchal socialisation does not interfere.

Feminists recognise that girls often choose to pursue subjects such as English, social sciences, healthcare and childcare or beauty therapies in colleges and university, whereas males opt for more technical fields of study or manual labour. Although they accept that females make this choice themselves, some feminists are concerned that this choice is subconsciously made due to a “hidden curriculum” within schools which channels the two sexes into particular roles that are expected of them by society. The subjects picked by girls rely more on emotions and femininity, whereas technical subjects lead to well-paid executive occupations or “macho” physical labour.

Radical feminists argue that men consciously exploit women in society by limiting them to subjects that are seen as feminine in order to prepare young girls for their intended role as wife and mother. Oakley (1974) noted that men might approve of women who are moderately successful in their occupation, as long as they are willing to run the home as well. This is known as a “triple shift”, where the woman provides financial support by working, emotional support for the family, and keeps the home in order.

Liberal Feminists also believe that society is still discriminatory against women, yet trust that progress is being made towards equality and males are generally cooperative to the cause. They believe that males have been socialised to act in certain ways which discriminate against women, but do not necessarily exploit females consciously and that some of the problems lies within women’s own attitudes. They refer to the studies of Sue Sharpe, which show that girl’s opportunities and ambitions are improving, and are optimistic that over time equality will be achieved. Sharpe (1976, pg 66) states that “It is in the media that the most conventional and exaggerated stereotypes are found, parodying the ways in which people are supposed to live”. It is thought that because education establishments are usually run by males, with women in pastoral positions such as teachers and learning assistants, girls do are not shown that it is men who hold executive positions.

New Right theorists believe that gendered subjects can have positive effects, as the traditional gender roles which they prepare young people for can strengthen nuclear families so that they are self-sufficient both economically and emotionally.

Functionalists take a ‘march of progress’ view and say that joint conjugal roles are becoming more common in Western homes. Ferri and Smith (1996) observed that in dual full-time earner households, fathers were more likely to share in child care and domestic work. This is allowing women to pursue professional careers more easily, so young females are expected to do well in education from an early age in preparation for their adult working life. Functionalists say that a school is a positive form of socialisation which teaches females skills that will aid them in the future.

Socio-biologists on the other hand, believe that gender is inherent to sex and behaviour is controlled by your DNA. They point out that the male and female hormones cause different behaviour which would explain why males and females choose different paths of education. Oestrogen creates more emotional behaviour, which links to childcare or social sciences, and testosterone creates competitive personalities which cause men to choose professional subjects which will in future help them provide for their mate and offspring. Dawkins (2006) states that “behaviour is genetically programmed according to sex and genetic differences underlie men’s dominant position in society”. This theory thinks that gender roles are a product of evolution, as males and females which followed this pattern of behaviour could reproduce and raise offspring in a stable environment to pass on their genes, making gender roles a product of evolution. They note that other animals have gender roles, and it is, therefore, the natural state.
In summary, most theories agree that much progress has been made towards equality for the sexes in education. The theories do however disagree on whether gendered subjects are harmful or beneficial to society. Feminists also draw attention to the fact that even if equality is gained within education, the workplace is still male dominated, and the “glass ceiling” discriminates and prevents women reaching their full potential. Equality in education is just one stepping stone on the way to completely equal rights, in all aspects of life.

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According to the Women’s Commission (Woc) Survey on Community Perception of Gender Issues (2009), it finds that gender stereotyping is still prevalent in Hong Kong and gender inequality still persists in society. Moreover, the Chairperson Ms Sophia Kao also said “The survey findings reflect that the concept that ‘women are to take care of the family while men are to work outside’ is still deep rooted in society, leading the majority of the respondents to believe that women’s contribution was confined to the family setting and understate their contributions to society in other areas. This affects women’s development opportunities in different aspects such as employment and community participation. And under the long-term influence of traditional values, women themselves might also endorse some of these gender stereotypes.” Besides, the survey also found that the public generally consider that women should focus more on family than their careers, while taking care of the family is the most important among the contributions of women. More women than men consider that women play a more important role in the family than men do. And educating and taking care of children was perceived by most women as the most significant aspect that undermines the development of their potential to the full.

Above this survey, the conscious of gender perception about the different aspect had seemed to increase than the before. But I find it very interest point that female seems trend to accept and identify the role which contribute the family work and child care work. These stereotyping limit the development of the female. So the survey reflects interviewed female recognize housework limit their development. I feel that the reason why the female accept these stereotyping is due to the long term socialization and culture construction. These guide and control the female how to do the right expectation in society under invisible.

Chinese traditional culture and value how to construct inequality of female

Before five thousands year age in China, the period of patriarchy had begun to budded, the status of females were decrease. Moreover, since slavery society prevailed, the females become no autonomy and status. They lost their freedom and controlled by male. They become slave for man property. They also accepted the system of polygyny. When feudal system was formed, more regulation oppressed to the female and advantages to male. Then, Confucian though become social mainstream for discipline people how to do the right things especially control female behavior. Such as female, some discourse is “starve to dead is small things but virginity is very important( e¤“?­»a?‹a°?, e?zc?ˆa?‹a¤§), it emphasize pure virginity is very important. If female can keep pure their virginity, they will be respected and appreciate. Besides, cripple feet (c??e¶?) was constructed a beautiful model and standard, it control female to go a step further. These regulation and discourse construct inequality but female are willing to follow because of moral standard. Chinese female tasted no end of bitterness in their short, mostly poverty ridden lives.

In fact Chinese family life was marked by a shocking degree of brutality. The Confucian emphasis on filial piety and loyalty was a euphemistic prescription for absolute subordination of young to old and, more important for our purposes, female to male. Indeed, the structure of the Chinese family looks very different depending on which gender’s perspective you choose to view it from. The dominant male perspective conjures and unbroken lineage with power, property, and esteem passing in orderly and gradual fashion from generation to generation. From the female perspective, family life appears dramatically opposite. During her lifetime a Chinese female lived in two distinctly different families respectively her natal and marital homes. Instead of an unbroken lineage, the woman was never in her lifetime fully a member of any family. Her name was not even recorded in her father’s genealogy, and when she died only her family name surname was entered in the genealogy charts of her husband’s family. In this system and discourse characterized by filial piety, woman’s life was described by the three obedience(a?‰a?z) respectively “to her father during childhood, to her husband during marriage and to her son during widowhood”. Above these traditional cultures, systems discourse, they construct people how to do the right things related the gender role. These constructions have oppression of the female.

Some post-modernism scholar’s theory explain why people accept discourse and moral standard under invisible

According to West and Zimmerman (1987), most people find it hard to believe that gender is constantly created and re-created out of human interaction, out of social life, and are the texture and order of that social life. Yet gender, like culture, is a human production that depends on everyone constantly” doing gender”.

Based on these assumption, we also find more discourses are recognizing man has power of domination, female should believe in her role as the subordinated being in the process of socialization. Then, Horrocks (1997) states ideological and cannot be neutral as it claims. In other words, there is no objective truth since science is still constructed within political parameter. However, we still have not discussed why these discourses work so effectively that most of us do not attempt to challenge them. That would be answered by Michel Foucault’s explanation about the reign of power. According to Madan Sarup (1993) quotes from Foucault that power produces reality, it produces domains of objects and rituals of truth, so it is not possible for power to be examined without knowledge, it is impossible for knowledge not to produce power because the exercise of power constructs the new object of knowledge too.

Moreover, according to Foucault (??Sa¤§???1995), power is not as centralized, authoritarian and organized as the sovereign one. However, it regulates the most intimate and minute element through multiple processes from different locations. It formulates the production of docile bodies through discipline which made possible the meticulous control of the operation of body including its movement, gesture and attitude. It also assumes the constant subjection of the force of the body and imposed upon them a relation of docility-utility. In addition, it produces subject and practiced bodies, docile bodies that may operate as one wishes with the techniques, the speed and the efficiency that one determined.

The above disciplinary practice of power is epitomized in Foucault’s description of an architectural device called the Panopticon by Jeremy Bentham. According Foucault “In Discipline and Punish” (Foucault, 1977), he makes the following explanation about Panopticon. “Each Individual, in his place, is securely confined to a cell from which he is seen from the front by the supervisor; but the side walls prevent him from coming into contact will his companion. He is seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information, never a subject in communication”. Thus, as Foucault (Foucault, 1977) remarks in detail, the whole design has the effect to induce innate state of consciousness and prevent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power. The power is visible but unverifiable because the inmate will constantly have before his eyes the tall outline of the central tower from which he is spied upon. However, he/she never knows whether he/she is being looked at in any particular moment. From this one side effect, he/she must assume that he is always under surveillance. Thus, surveillance is everywhere wherever inside or outside the panopticon thereby homogenous effect is producing for innate to discipline them.

Besides, a poststructuralist Judith Butler (Butler, 1990) applies Foucault’s emphasis into the field of gender representations. She illustrates from Foucault that the juridical system produces the subject that are represented and constituted through discourses. As we have remarked that discourses are naturalized as a belief through the practice of power which cannot be challenged, it will be concretization as a foundational promise to exclude those who fail to conform within the normative requirements.

Then, Butler (Butler, 1990) also argues that gender is a cultural means by which the biologically determined sex is produced and established as pre-discursive, prior to culture, a politically neutral surface on which the culturally constructed gender acts. Butler (Butler, 1990) also says in the later part of her book Gender Trouble that the notion of identity and coherence is not a logical and analytical feature, but rather it is socially instituted norm of intelligibility. Thus, we believe that our identity is a core that sustains through temporal change. Illusion of being and substance cultivated by that the grammatical formulation of subject and predicate reflects the prior ontological reality of substance and attribute. The metaphor of substance leads people to believe that one can be a sex or gender.

Furthermore, Butler (Butler, 1990) explains that there is no gender identity that underlies the expressions of gender. The apparent identity is performativity constituted by the very expression that is said to be its result. Thus, Butler (Butler, 1990) said, there is no being behind doing, effecting, becoming; the doer is merely a fiction added to the deed – the deed is everything.

Hence, the idea of gender is relational and contextual since it is a repeated stylization of the body, a set of repeated acts within a highly rigid regulatory frame that congeal over time to produce the appearance of substance, of a natural sort of being that the acts, gestures, enactments in gender performance are performativity in the sense that the essence or identity that they otherwise purport to express be fabrications manufactures and sustained. So, it becomes what one puts on his or her body, how one behaves and presents in front of people are only the gestures based upon the regulations under gender division in a particular cultural context with regardless to any ontological truth.

From the Foucault theory, we know that the complex differential power relationships extend to every aspect of our social, cultural and political lives. In the analysis of gender identity of Butler, we also see that power also extends to the aspect about the construction of our gender identity. The whole process of power relationship involves the manner of subject-position, and securing our asset not only by the threat of punitive sanctions, but also persuading us to internalize the norms and values that prevail within the social, or in the theories of Butler, the patriarchal order.

How to increase gender sensitivity of social work practitioners in Hong Kong

Firstly, according to Foucault (1991), he said that Penopticon like as a metaphor for social control. Discipline’s success is due to its simplicity, hierarchical observation, normalizing of judgments, and their combination such as prison, penitentiary, rehabilitation center, hospital, social worker, school, etc. It was combining punitive system with normalizing practices. It forces people fulfill the social expectation and make the right things through punishment, surveillance and reinforcement under invisible. So, we need to understand us may be one of the surveillance institutions causing this phenomenon. So, we need to aware of gender sensitivity of social work practitioners. As a gender sensitivity of social work practitioners, the worker need to become aware of and take an objective look at the belief system, reflect the gender biases and judgmental convictions. Moreover, the worker realizes how the culture has influenced the belief system and recognizes that gender and sexual definition do not have to conform to societal norms. Besides, the worker facilitates self-actualizing behaviors for clients rather than socially prescribed conduct.

In the counseling aspect, we need to be aware of the dangers inherent in conforming to social stereotypes and to recognize our own, possibly unhealthy, rigid, gender beliefs and behaviors. If gender biased by cultural definitions of male and female roles, counselors may facilitate social conformity, rather than individual growth and self-expression, with their clients. Moreover, Gender stereotyped intervention negatively impact clients. As a result, the counseling process may turn into oppression imposed on the actual client. Most unfortunately, those who deviate from the cultural norm tend to be denigrated and discriminated against. So the counselors may employ different clinical techniques and make disparate diagnoses and treatment plans based on assumptions about gender. The clients may disclose certain information based on the therapist’s gender. Counselors who also ascribe to rigid definitions of “appropriate” gender roles and sexual conduct may tend to help clients conform to culturally acceptable behaviors and practices rather than helping them to define individually appropriate roles. Besides, the goal of gender-sensitive psychotherapy is helping clients to become aware of and confront limiting gender-role stereotypes and creating a more equalitarian and empathetic society by expanding choices for both sexes.

In the advocacy, based on the Women’s Commission (Woc) Survey on Community Perception of Gender Issues (2009), the stereotyping of gender is still serious. The social worker still educates public through community work for deconstruct the role of gender and spread both equality of gender. Moreover, the social worker also organizes some groups for man and women. They are educated to become leadership and increase their gender awareness. As a result, they similar the seeds continuous spread to others even though to participate social affairs about the both equality of gender. I believe that through the different aspect to increase people gender’s awareness, the both equality of gender will achieved in future.

Conclusion

Several thousand Chinese culture and system is the deeply socialization construct the gender role. It makes the inequality of gender till today. Although many research reflects the equality of man and women had improved. But the gender awareness is not still enough. If we are thoroughgoing to change this inequality, we will make more and more effort in gender affairs.

Gender inequality means inequality between men and women in accessing the existing resources. In the view of Krammara Treicehr any kind of behavior, policy, languages, and other actions that represents a fixed, comprehensive, and institutionalized view in regard to women as inferior beings, means gender inequality. (1985:185). Therefore, gender inequality refers to the differences between men and women in receiving social and economic advantages which is often to the benfit of men at the expense of women, which means men take superiority over women.

Men and women experience the world of work quite differently. Wage disparities, occupational sex segregation, and gender differences in authority, for example, are well recognized (e.g., Padavic and Reskin 2002). Despite distinguished changes in work, meaningful differences in these areas remain persistent features of contemporary society (England 2006, 2010).

While there are certainly other factors at play, this paper focuses on discrimination in a variety forms, including in hiring (Gorman 2005; Goldin and Rouse 2000), promotions (Olson and Becker 1983), wages (Meitzen 1986), glass ceiling, and as well as sexual harassment (Welsh 1999).Of course, documenting the contemporary occurrence of gender discrimination in employment is only a first step. As Reskin (2000, 320) argues, “We need to move beyond demonstrating that employment discrimination exists, and investigate why it persists in work organizations.” We must look at processes that lead to unequal outcomes for women and men. The real challenge is to uncover how discrimination unfolds in actual work settings.

1.2 Background

The issue of gender inequality can be considered as a universal feature of developing countries.One of the areas of disparity between males and females is related to the difference in their employment status which is present through occupational segregation, gender-based wage gaps, and women’s disproportionate representation in informal employment, unpaid work and higher unemployment rates (UNFPA, 2005). As women in developing countries have low status in the community, the activities they perform tend to be valued less; and women’s low status is also perpetuated through the low value placed on their activities (March et al., 1999).

In the case of Mauritius, even though there has been a rapid change in the society where women have reached a high level and hold status such as Judges, Directors, Engineers which were unconceivable to be the fields where women could emerged; there are still some occupation where women are entangled in the culture norms and could not take the lead. For example, there are some sectors such as Fire Men at the Fire Services where there are no female officers.

There are less women who work as Electrician, Plumber or even Carpenter, as these occupations do not allow women to perform well due to their physical strength. Besides there is no doubt that there are organisations which are gender biased. Most of the organisations are entirely rules by male managerial culture as when organisations were first performed; only males were in the paid workforce.

Despite there has been an increased in the education field at all level and the increase of women in the workforce, there has been a minor change to the men dominated culture in the workplace where women are still treated as inferior agents. Our study focused on how gender inequality still has an impact on the Mauritian female within the workplace.

1.3 Problem statement of the study

An ultimate matter of social scientists has been why women continue to lag behind in men salary, promotion and authority. Gender inequalities in the labour market have received considerable attention by researchers over the past twenty years. Since the colonial period, Mauritius has been regarded as a patriarchy society with a high rate of marriage. Overwhelming evidence suggests that gender segregation exists in more occupational categories and the number of women segregation is greater than the number of male segregation.

Gender socialization is one of the factors responsible for the reinforcement of gender inequality since childhood. The society continues to transmit the traditional gender roles to the individual through the various agencies of socialization. Despite many Acts of discrimination, many workers are faced with sex discrimination which affect them.

Gaps in wages, organizational power and employment opportunities have narrowed somewhat but disparities remain. According to the gender statistics in 2011, it has been found that a lesser proportion of men in employment and for female activity rate it was 43.7% against 75.5% for men. Even though women are higher than men in terms of population, they are still at the disadvantage of the corporate ladder. Studies in Mauritius on the labour market have laid much emphasis on gender equality. Therefore, this study will shed light on the other side of the coin where gender within the workplace is ignored.

1.4 Aim of the study: The study aim to analyse gender inequality within the workplace of Mauritius.

1.5 Objectives of the study:

To find out how gender socialization process reinforces gender inequality.

To discuss the different components of gender segregation.

To analyse how sex discrimination affect workers.

To identify which gender is more prone towards inequality at the workplace.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Gender inequality and occupational segregation

Gender can be identified as set roles, and behaviour patterns that differentiate women from men in socially, culturally and relations of power (Women Information Centre, 2005). From Hirut (2004) standpoint, these roles, behaviour models and power relations are active and vary over time and between different cultural groups. Gender inequality is the inequity of opportunity, right, role, and access to and control over resources and is the outcome of socialization Almaz E (1991).

Occupational gender segregation continued from era to era and is apparent in lands of the globe (Grusky and England 2004; Moshe and Frank 1999; Preston 1999; Rosenfeld and Spenner 1992). Anker (1997) distinguished two main explanations for why occupational gender segregation should is a continuing concern: first, it is a major foundation of labor market inflexibility and economic incompetency. Second, it is detrimental to women in the sense that segregation brings about harmful views of both men and women as a result, affecting women’s status, income, education, skills (Anker 1997).

The important outcome related with occupational gender segregation is the segregation of the payment methods and the continual sex discrepancy in earnings with women on the inferior edge. The proportion of the gender wage gap is to 5 to 40 percent attached to workplace segregation is seemingly advanced than the amount by career break 15 percent and equivalent worth wage upgrading 5 percent (Hakim 1992; Preston 1999).

There are two types of segregation: horizontal segregation, which occurs when there is a concentration of women and men in a determined ¬?elds and occupations, and produces disparity in terms of career, pension and vertical segregation, which take place when there is a focus of women and men in determined degrees and levels of responsibility or positions, and produces disparity on salaries.

2.2 An Overview of Gender Inequality in Developing Countries

The issue of gender inequality can be considered as a universal aspect of developing countries. Unlike women in developed countries who are, in relative terms, economically empowered and have a powerful voice that demands an audience and positive action, women in developing countries are generally silent and their voice has been stifled by economic and cultural factors.

Economic and cultural factors, together with institutional factors state the gender-based division of labour, rights, responsibilities, opportunities, and access to and control over resources. Education, literacy, access to media, employment, decision making, among other things, are some of the areas of gender disparity.

One of the areas of disparity between males and females is related to the difference in their employment status which is manifested by occupational segregation, gender-based wage gaps, and women’s unequal representation in informal employment, unpaid work and higher unemployment rates (UNFPA, 2005). As women in developing countries have low status in the community, the activities they perform tend to be valued less; and women’s low status is also perpetuated through the low value placed on their activities (March et al., 1999).

In-depth analysis of DHS by Hindin (2005) showed that only 17% of women in Zimbabwe, 12% in Zambia and 4% in Malawi have higher status job than their partners. The respective percentages of women whose partners have higher status jobs are 52, 43 and 53.

Women are also overrepresented in the informal sector. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 84% of women’s non-agricultural employment is informal compared to 63% of men’s. The figure is found to be 58% and 48% for women and men, respectively in Latin America (UNFPA, 2005). Studies generally show that women are more likely to be engaged in work which is for longer hours than men. For instance, in 18 of the 25 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, greater than 50% of women were employed and even in six of these countries the percentage of employed women was greater than 75% (Mukuria et al.,2005).

However, as most of the employed women work in agricultural and other activities which are mostly considered to be having limited or no financial returns, their employment does not contribute much to their status in the workplace. Thus, women in those countries are dependent on their partners in most aspects of their life. In spite of its importance in enabling women to get access to information about personal health behaviours and practices, household, and community, the percentage of women exposed to different types of media is limited in most developing countries.

Women’s limited access to education, employment opportunity, and media, attached with cultural factors, reduces their decision making power in the society in general and in a household in particular. Regarding their participation in decision making at national level, though the number of women in national parliaments has been increasing, no country in the world has yet achieved gender parity.

According to the millennium indicators data base of the United Nations, cited in the UNFPA (2005), the percentage of parliamentary seats held by women in 2005 was 16% at world level, 21% in developed countries, and 14% in developing countries. This low representation of women in national parliaments could be due, among others, to type of electoral systems in

different countries, women’s social and economic status, socio-cultural traditions and beliefs about women’s place in the family and society, and women’s double burden of work and family responsibilities (UNFPA, 2005).

Women are underrepresented in the formal sector of employment. The survey conducted by the Central Statistical Authority (CSA, 2004) showed that women account for less than half (43%) of the total employees in the country. Considering the percentage of female employees from the total number of employees by employment type, the highest was in domestic activities (78%) and followed by unpaid activities (59.3%). In other types of formal employment (e.g. government, NGOs, private organizations), the percentage of female workers is less than 35.

On the other hand, the survey showed overrepresentation of female workers in the informal sector. About 58% of working women work in the informal sector whereas the percentage of working men in the informal sector was 37.7 % (ibid).The breakdown of the federal government employees by occupational groups also indicated gender disparity. From federal government employees found in the clerical and fiscal type of jobs 71.3 % were female, while the percentage of females was slightly more than half (51%) in custodial and manual type of jobs.

Women make up 25% and 18% of the administrative and professional and scientific job categories, respectively, indicating that upper and middle level positions are overwhelmingly dominated by men (Federal Civil Service Commission, 2005). This concentration of women in the informal sector and low level positions has implication on their earnings. In this regard, the survey showed four out of ten women civil servants earn Birr 300 a month compared to two out of ten for men (Federal Civil Service Commission, 2005).Ethiopian women’s access to mass media is one of the lowest. In their DHS comparative report, Mukuria et al. (2005) show that, among 25 Sub-Saharan African countries,

2.3 Gender socialisation as a medium for encouraging gender inequality

Crespi (2003) see socialisation as a logical route with its objective is to construct gender personality. The gender socialization process is a further composition of socialization. It is how children of different sexes are socialized into their gender roles (Giddens, 1993, p. 165) and learn what is male or female character (Morris, 1988, p. 366). According to many sociologists, there exists difference between sex and gender. Sex is the biological classification and gender is the outcome of social construction of separate roles of males and females.

According to Lorber (2005), masculinity and femininity is not inborn that is children are taught these traits. As soon as a child is identified as being a male or female, everybody start treating him or her as such. Children learn to move in gendered ways through the support of his environment. As the child grows up, he develops his identity, know how to interact with others and learn the role to play in the society. There are many drivers involved in the socialization process which transmits the traditional gender role to the children and henceforth leading to occupational segregation later on.

One set of gender socialization occur between parents and the offspring. Parents are considered to be the primary agency in the process of socialization. They are inclined to interact with boys and girls in discrete styles. For example, a one year old baby is considered to have no sex difference however; parents are likely to act with boys and girls in dissimilar ways. They react to boys, when they seek interest by being aggressive and girls when they use gestures. As such interaction have long term effect on girls and boys communication styles, leading boys to more assertive styles and girls with more emotive styles in adulthood.

Ann Oakley (1974), studies mention four central avenues in which socialization into femininity and masculinity roles occur. Firstly, apply diverse physical and verbal manipulations to the child. For example, dress up children according to their sex, girls in pink and boys in blue color clothes. Secondly, draw the child concentration towards gender-identified toys. This is known as canalization whereby, boys and girls are given certain toys, clothing and other objects often culturally identified more with one gender than the other. The games of the boys tend to advance physical interest whereas for the girls it leads to physical closeness and mother-child talk.

Thirdly, employ different verbal explanations to similar behavior. In professional careers, women might find that they might are identified with different standards for the same behavior, being called “assertive,” for example, for behavior at work that in men is admired for being “aggressive.” In childhood it is the same case, a boy is cheered for being “active,” where as a girl is reprimanded for being “too rough.” Or a girl is complimented for being “gentle,” but a boy is criticized for not being “competitive enough.”

Finally, encourage or discourages certain stereotypical gender-identified activities. For example, girls are asked to help mother with sewing, cooking, ironing, and the like. Boys are to help dad to do yard work, shovel snow, takeout the trash, and so on. The classification of girls with indoor domestic chores and boys with outdoor chores becomes training for stereotypical gender roles. According to Oakley (1974), the socialization route aid to the preservation of male domination and female subservience. The roles learn through the above process shape adult behaviour and hence, contribute to the reproduction of differences in behavior of males and females.

School is the agency where conscious socialization happens. The education system is the main part of gender socialisation process. Looking through books from the very beginning gender stereotypes is present and reinforced. The small kids see women being represented in pictures in their books as with babies in their hands or women in domestic chores or at the high end – women nurses, women teachers. At the same moment, men are usually soldiers, playing some prestigious physical games and leaders. These images often direct to further divisions between man and woman.

The hidden curriculum is known for reinforcing the traditional model of how girls and boys look and act through the use of course material. For example, teachers strengthen gender roles by encouraging boys and girls to develop different skills. According to Thorne (1993), children also split themselves along gender lines in the lunch room, declaring different space of the playground and often sanction individuals who go against gender roles.

The school location can be strong context for gender behaviors. For example, the cafeteria is a strong context where boys and girls separate tables if given choice. Likewise, on the playground, boy and girl groups take over spaces. The children of Different World project found that in societies where all the boys and girls go to school together, identical gender interaction was very high during free play, thereby follow-on in more gender segregation than was generally found in homes and neighborhoods (Whiting & Edwards, 1988).

Generally the mass media are one of the most influential instruments of gender socialization because television, magazines, radio, newspapers, video games, movies, and the Internet are present in almost everywhere around the globe. As a social institution, the mass media reinforce traditional gender roles. Magazines pointing towards females bring light to the importance of physical appearance as well as finding, pleasing, and keeping a man. While boys’ and men’s magazines focus on significance of physical appearance, financial success, competitive hobbies, and attracting women for sexual encounter.

These supposed ”masculine” and ”feminine” characteristics and behaviors are reinforced across the media system, from video games and movies that show athletic heroes rescuing thin and busty damsels in distress, to television programs that depict women as housewives, nurses, and secretaries and men as lawyers, doctors, and corporate tycoons.

Print media also play an important role in socialization. In children’s literature, for example, boys typically are the protagonists, who use strength and intelligence to overcome an obstacle. Girls are included in stories as being naturally passive followers of the male leader or helper’s eager to support the male protagonist in his plan. This state of affairs is undergoing change, however. An increasing number of television shows, movies and books have crafted new visions of masculinity and femininity. It remains to be seen if these images take hold and affect gender socialization processes.

2.4 Theories of gender inequality

Theories explaining the existence of occupational segregation by gender can be categorized into three broad groups: the neoclassical and human capital theories, institutional and labour market segmentation theories, and non-economic and feminist (or gender) theories.

2.4.1 The neoclassical human capital model

Neoclassical economics believes that workers and employers are normal and that labour markets function efficiently (Anker, 1997). The neoclassical economic view explains occupational segregation between individuals or groups by different human capital investment, or by different choices in the tradeoff between pecuniary and non pecuniary job rewards. According to the human capital theory, men are paid more than women because men usually have more human capital. The term human capital refers to qualities of individuals that employers consider useful, like level of education and years of experience. Females are considered to have a lesser experience than males due to careers break up in effect of motherhood.

Some economists who support this theory put forward that women’s are not dedicated towards their jobs and hence, they have to undergo through a series of difficulties. For example, they have less chance to have a permanent job, be promoted to superior and better paid occupation. In this model, wage gender inequality is maintained because men collect more human capital in the competitive free market. Opponent of this theory like Witz (1993) contends that even when female work constantly with no professional rupture, they still terminate in inferior and poor-grade employments.

2.4.2 Institutional and labour market segmentation theories

The initial point of Institutional and labour market segmentation theories is the notion that institutions, such as unions and large enterprises, join in determining who is employed, fired and promoted, and how much employees are paid. Institutional theories are also based on the belief that labour markets are divisional in certain ways. The famous institutional theory is the dual labour market approach.

Dual labour market theory was initially employed by Barron R.D. and Norris G.M. (1976). From their viewpoint, there are two labour markets. The primary labour market consists of high wage, job security and better chance for promotion. The secondary labour market includes lower paid occupation with little job security and poor working condition. According to this theory, women earn less than men because they are disproportionately employed in secondary labour market. Dual labour market is the outcome of the strategies used by company boss to get hold to the varieties of workforce they necessitate Barron and Norris (1976). Companies are ready to propose superior rewards to retain primary sector workers.

It is somewhat a short step to become accustomed to the model of dual labour markets to occupational segregation by gender, with one labour market segment consisting in “female” professions and the other in “male” occupations. This segmentation entails moderately low wage rates in “female” occupations because many women workers are “overcrowded” into a small number of “female” occupations. On the other side of the coin, “male” occupations, benefit from reduced competition within a broad set of occupations and, consequently, tend to enjoy relatively high wage rates. If females, but not males, are crowded into low earnings jobs only due to discrimination, then the gender composition of a job becomes an index of labour quality for males and, to a small degree, for females (Hansen and Wahlberg 2000).

Veronica Beechey in 1986, identified some limitations of this theory, firstly, certain women in blue-collar employment are given low salary even if their occupation is alike to primary area males employment. In addition, this model cannot clarify the reasons why women are less promoted than men, even when employment in same occupation.

2.4.3 Gender theories

The central image of the gender theories is that women’s disadvantaged status in the labour market is mainly due and is an evidence of patriarchy as well as females subordinate position in the society and in the family. In many societies, men are regarded as the sole breadwinner and women are accountable for household chores and child care. Anker (1997) explains, this division of responsibilities and male domination are vital for influencing females to accumulate less fewer human capital in contrast with men prior the labour workforce. That is, why girls receive less education than boys, and is less likely to pursue fields of study such as sciences, but is more talented for literature or languages study.

The same influences are also instrumental in explaining why women acquire less labour market experience, on average, because many of them withdraw from the labour force earlier, and many others have discontinuous labour experiences.This theory further show how female occupations mirror common stereotypical roles. For example, women’s caring nature, skill and experience in household work, greater manual dexterity, greater honesty and attractiveness can qualify her for occupations such as nurses, doctors, social worker, teacher, maid, housekeeper, cleaner, etc. while women’s lesser physical strength, lesser ability in math and science, and lesser willingness to face danger can disqualify her for occupations such as engineer, mathematician, driller, miner, construction worker (Anker 1997; Anker and Hein 1985)

2.5 Component of gender inequality-horizontal and vertical segregation

Jonung (1984, p. 45) defines the presence of occupational gender segregation as when women and men are differently spread across occupations than is consistent with their overall shares of employment, irrespective of the nature of job allocation. Gender segregation mean when the percentage of one gender is higher than that of males and females in an occupation. It reflects the gender differences in employment opportunity. The number of occupation with segregation against women is far greater than the number of occupations with segregation against men. Occupational gender segregation consists of two main component dimensions known as horizontal and vertical segregation (Blackburn et al, 2000).

Horizontal segregation is known as under or over representation of certain group in the workplace which is not ordered by any criterion (Bettio and Verashchagina, 2009). According to Anker (1998) horizontal segregation is an absolute and universal characteristic of contemporary socio-economic systems.

It focuses mainly when men and women possess different physical, emotional and mental capabilities. Such discrimination occurs when women are categorized as less intelligent, hormonal and sensitive (Acker 1990). Women are labeled as unreliable and dependent workers when they are pregnant. They are less competent as they will not work as long and hard as others. They become more stressful and sensible to tiny issues happen in the workplace. Martin (1994) declared that in masculine management style, most of the time women possess ‘soft skills’ and men possess ‘hard skills’. It is this concept which creates gender segregation in the workplace.

Vertical segregation referred to the under or over representation of a clearly identifiable group of workers in the workplace at the top of an ordering based on ‘desirable’ attributes such as income, prestige, authority and power.

Huffman (1995) finds that women do not possess enough supervisory authority at work, in education, occupational experience and prestige. One reason that women lack authority is because most women are more concentrated in female-dominated occupations which comprise fever position of authority than male-dominated occupations. Moreover, it is viewed that men’s have greater status value, that is men’s personality are more valuable than women’s and they are much more competent. (Broverman et al. 1972; Deaux and Kite 1987; Eagly 1987).

Men possess more powerful position in the workplace (Bridges & Nelson 1989). Women’s wage rates are lower than men’s even when their qualifications are similar. As women enter an occupation, this reduces the amount of prestige associated with the task and men leave these occupations.

2.6 Sex discrimination-discrimination, harassment and glass ceiling

In many parts of the world, women have experienced breakthroughs in their rights in employment. Despite these advances, women from every country and culture continue to face sex discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. The international community has recognized both discrimination based on sex in the terms and conditions of employment and sexual harassment as violations of the fundamental human rights of women (Gudrun and Danya, 1998).

Although sex discrimination is prohibited by law, it continues to be a widespread problem for working women. There are three forms of sex discrimination that have an effect on women in organizations: overt discrimination, sexual harassment and the glass ceiling. Each has negative effects on women’s status and ability to perform well at work.

Overt discrimination

Overt discrimination is defined as the use of gender as a decisive factor for employment-related decisions. This type of discrimination was targeted by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited making decisions based on sex in employment-related matters such as hiring, firing, and promotions. It consist such behaviours as to refuse to hire women, to pay them inequitably or even to steer them to “women’s jobs”. Overt discrimination also led to occupational sex segregation where jobs are classified by low pay, low status and short career ladders (Reskin, 1997).

Sexual Harassment

MacKinnon (1979:1) defined sexual harassment as “the unwanted imposition of sexual requirements in the context of a relationship of unequal power”. As in overt discrimination, sexual harassment is a persistent gendered problem for women in the workplace around the world. Sexual harassment, a form of sex discrimination, is but one manifestation of the larger problem of employment-related discrimination against women. It now appears obvious that sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination.

There are three psychological dimensions of sexual harassment that continued to persist worldwide: sexual coercion, gender harassment and unwanted sexual attention ((Fitzgerald et al., 1995; Gelfand et al., 1995). The case of sexual harassment in the workplace is mainly due to obtain more power and status than the opposite sex (e.g., Baugh, 1997; McKinney, 1992; Piotrkowski, 1998; Riger, 1991; Welsh, 1999)

Statistical discrimination is another form of sex discrimination in the workplace, it consists of sex-typed job assignment (i.e. “error discrimination”-Aigner & Cain 1977, England & McCreary 1987, Bielby & Baron 1986a). For example, employers segregate men into jobs with physical demands and women into jobs demanding social skills (Bielby & Baron 1984, Farkas et al 1991). However, employers’ use of sex in job assignments exceeds technical or economic justifications: within the “mixed-sex” occupations that either sex could presumably perform, small differences in job requirements were accompanied by large differences in sex composition (Bielby & Baron 1986a:782).

The Glass ceiling

The term ‘the glass ceiling’ refers to invisible or artificial barriers that do not allow women from advancing past a certain level (Federal Glass Ceiling Commission -FGCC, 1997; Morrison and von Glinow, 1990). These barriers reflect “discrimination … a deep line of demarcation between those who prosper and those left behind.” The glass ceiling is the “unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements” (Federal Glass Ceiling Commission 1995b:4; emphasis added). This official description suggests that the definition of a glass ceiling m

According to the 2010 census, African Americans are less likely to marry or even graduate from college than Caucasian Americans, and black households on average earn $18,094 less per year than white households. The profound income and educational inequalities between African Americans and Caucasians in America today are strongly associated with the country’s history of slavery and racial discrimination. Though slavery was eliminated over 145 years ago, its practice, along with ensuing racial discrimination has had a direct influence on African American culture and opportunity throughout the past century. Multiple social institutions such as Jim Crow Laws, segregation, intimidation and discrimination have created cumulative disadvantages for many generations of African Americans. There has been a domino effect to the extent that despite great strides in racial equality, the lasting consequences of slavery and racism are still apparent today. Although legal barriers to equality have been eliminated with the civil rights movement and affirmative action, the lingering social, economic, and educational effects of earlier discrimination have been difficult to overcome because of the numerous disadvantages compounded through history that African Americans must face.

Due to a long history of unequal educational opportunity, African Americans still lag behind other groups in their academic success. For example, only 20% of all African American students leave high school ready for college, compared with 37% of Caucasians (Noonan 40). When the slaves were freed in 1865, almost none of them had any formal education and therefore were at an extreme disadvantage to the generally educated whites at that time. When these slaves were freed, they did not know how to read or write. Due to extraordinary racism

and the immediate need for money, education was unattainable and manual labor became their priority. This situation changed very little in the decades following emancipation. This was noted by the Richmond Planet, an African American newspaper, in 1936. It stated that “In the United States today there are one million Negro children of school age that are not attending, because of the inaccessibility of schools” (Richmond Planet). This is significant because several generations of African Americans missed out on education just as the country was becoming increasingly industrialized and education increasingly important. Essentially, they were set back many years, remaining stagnant while the rest of the country progressed.

Although many people recognized the need for a thorough education to attain a higher quality of life, this was not possible considering most African American’s need to work following emancipation. People such as W.E.B. Du Bois recognized the unfortunate contradiction in this situation, noting, “here is a race transplanted through the criminal foolishness of your fathers. Whether you like it or not the millions are here, and here they will remain. If you do not lift them up, they will pull you down. Education and work are the levers to uplift a people. Work alone will not do it unless inspired by the right ideals and guided by intelligence” (W.E.B. Du Bois). This statement is extraordinarily insightful as the impact of educational disparities can be felt by society as a whole. Du Bois’ statement still holds true today as educational disparities impact all areas of society.

Since emancipation both formal and informal segregation has also greatly impacted the educational opportunities of African Americans. Perhaps the most unfortunate Supreme Court ruling in African American history was Plessy vs. Ferguson, which allowed for “separate but equal” schools. However, this was never the case. John Ogbu’s article in the Journal of Negro Education states that before 1954, “Schools for Blacks were characterized by inadequately Trained and overworked teachers; by different and inferior curriculum; and by inadequate funding, facilities, and services. In the south, the school terms for black students were shorter than those for whites” (Ogbu 50). This impacted not only the current generation of African Americans but all following generations as a student’s academic success is correlated with their parent’s academic experience.

Not only did African Americans have to fight the law in order to gain equal education, but they also had to deal with racial violence and intimidation. For example, after Brown vs. Board of Education ruled that segregation is illegal in 1954, a group of students in Arkansas nick-named the Little Rock Nine had to be escorted by guards when attending a white school. This can be seen in Figure 1. The threat of physical violence most certainly impacted these and other African American students pushing the boundaries of segregation, ability to perform in a classroom setting.

The informal segregation that still exists to some degree today is just as harmful. Many inner city schools have a much higher percentage of African American students. These schools tend to be larger and perform worse in comparison to other schools. In one Harvard study it was discovered that “a majority minority school was five times as likely to have weak promoting power [graduation rate] as a majority white school” (Orfield 36). In these neighborhoods there is a concentration of poverty that greatly impacts a school’s performance. If the majority of students are dealing with poverty or personal issues many are not focusing on education. In addition many students must work in order to help out their family, leaving less time for school work. It is obvious that economic and educational inequalities are extremely interrelated. Not only did the educational disadvantages African Americans faced hurt their chances of gaining economic equality but they also faced many other purely economic obstacles.

The fact that African Americans were thrown into a money economy without any resources following emancipation put them at an immediate disadvantage. In order to make ends meet, they were forced into low paying and often exploitative jobs such as sharecropping. Sharecroppers were taken advantage of and usually accumulated prodigious debts. Merchants then took advantage of the in debt farmers and made it harder and harder for them to make money and pay off their debt.

African Americans have also faced disadvantages in job opportunity due to outright discrimination, violence and intimidation. African Americans received intimidation by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK “employed extensive violence and terror to thwart reconstruction and undermine black freedom.” In addition, black codes specified what jobs African Americans could hold and outlined strict conditions of their employment. These unrealistic conditions can be seen in the Texas 1866 Black Codes which state, “In case of sickness of the laborer, wages for the time lost shall be deducted, and, when the sickness is feigned, for purposes of idleness and also, on refusal to work according to contract, double the amount of wages shall be deducted for the time lost and, also, when rations have been furnished, and should the refusal to work continue beyond three days, the offender shall be reported to a Justice of the Peace or Mayor of a town or city and shall be forced to labor on roads, streets and other public works, without pay, until the offender consents to return to his labor” (GWU). Though these African Americans were technically free their employment conditions often bordered those of slavery. These strict rules which do not even permit one to get sick made it practically impossible for African Americans to gain any sort of economic stability for many years. In the past century social mobility has been excruciatingly hard for African Americans because they started at the very bottom of the economic ladder and had little opportunity to move up. While many people argue that the decrease in income inequality since the turn of the century means that African Americans are catching up economically there still exists a large gap in wealth by race. There is an important difference between income, which has risen among African Americans, and wealth which mostly has not. Wealth is accumulated over time and consists of valuable assets people own and control, not necessarily money. While most whites start out adulthood with some sort of inheritance or property ownership, “Right now almost 80 percent of black kids begin their adult lives with no assets whatsoever” (Oliver). Since the majority of African Americans are entering adulthood without financial stability they are less able to grow wealth to pass along to their children. African Americans are less able to take financial risks in order to grow wealth such as investing or purchasing a house. In addition, it has also been proven that blacks are less likely to have a home loan application accepted, and that blacks are given higher interest rates. (Oliver 17)

African Americans have been disadvantaged in business, which is another way to grow wealth. Black run businesses and entrepreneurs could not thrive in the poor socioeconomic conditions in inner city African American neighborhoods. “While whites and other ethnic groups could do business with blacks, whites, and whomever else they pleased, black business was prohibited from entering into any but all – black markets”(Oliver 46). Since most African American businesses were restricted to poorer neighborhoods their ability to make a profit was reduced. These poor neighborhoods have made it very hard even to today for African Americans to move up socioeconomically. Clearly a large part of African American economic struggle today has stemmed from reduced opportunity to grow wealth through investments, home ownership or business.

Despite apparent advances in racial equality there has been a decline in economic equality in recent years. “In 2004, a typical black family had an income that was only 58 percent of a typical white family’s. In 1974, median black incomes were 63 percent of those of whites” (msnbc). The increase in the economic gap between Whites and African Americans can easily be explained. In general, there has been a growing gap between the higher class and the lower class. Since African Americans often are lower on the socioeconomic scale, they have been the victim of a generally more impoverished lower class. Due to their poverty, in places like Detroit where the economy got very bad, blacks couldn’t afford to move out of these cities where there was little job opportunity. In addition, since the 1970’s, our economy has evolved in such a way that higher education is more important than it ever has been in order to achieve success. This has hurt blacks because they have always had lower education rates and as society changed it became much harder for them to attain success without higher education. As msnbc puts it, “Black families have also been hurt by the decline of manufacturing jobs – the same jobs that helped propel many white families into the middle class after World War II” (msnbc).

In recent history, other societal forces have impacted gains in economic and educational equality such as increasing numbers of single parent households, trouble with the criminal justice system, and different expectations in American society. More African American households are run by single parents, and since marriage has been proven to give many economic benefits, blacks are at an economic disadvantage due to their lower marriage rates. (Oliver 122)

In addition, African Americans are more likely to be incarcerated than whites are. Ginwright shows that African Americans are unfairly treated in the justice system. He found that in Los Angeles County during 1990’s, “When charged with the same violent crime, blacks were nine times more likely to be sentenced; for drug offenses they were sent to prison 48 times more often than whites charged with same crimes”(Ginwright 4). Jail time and criminal records certainly make it harder for the African American to get a good job and often criminal offenses cause them to get fired from their job.

Lastly, there have been other attempts to explain differing motivations in education. One theory proposed by John Ogbu is that some African Americans in society simply feel defeated by history and that, “Black Americans, in particular, have witnessed many events in their history that have left them with the feeling that they simply cannot trust White Americans and their institutions” (Ogbu).

These societal problems compound upon each other. There is a vicious cycle where educational inequalities lead to economic inequality which holds back educational achievement. The simple truth is that this starts long before a child even enters school and “children in low-income housing hear fewer words than children in more affluent households” (Noonan 19). Though some have managed to escape this cycle many have not. The lingering question is what can be done?

Perhaps it is simply a matter of time and that slavery was such a disruptive force that it may take much longer to reverse the damage done by slavery and many years of racial discrimination. Despite the many disadvantages they have faced, specifically unequal educational opportunity, segregation and outright discrimination, limited opportunities to accumulate wealth along with other societal forces; African Americans have been extremely resilient, managing to attain an impressive level of equality. However, there is much work to be done and tracing these compounded disadvantages through history allows us to analyze and understand the barriers facing African Americans in society today.

Figure 1:

Unknown “Little Rock Nine.” Photograph. 1957. Accessed Feburary 22, 2011. http://www.ipelf.com/jefferson-thomas-of-the-little-rock-nine-dies/221424/

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“Can We Help Liberia.” Richmond Planet. January 20, 1934. University of Virginia Archives. Http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/saxon/servlet?source=/xml_docs/rp_news/raceplace_news.xml&style=/xml_docs/rp_news/raceplace_news.xsl&level=single&order=none&item=va.np.reflector.01.20.34 . Accessed February 22, 2011.

“Census Report: Broad Racial Disparities Persist.” Associated Press. Last modified November 14, 2006. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15704759/ns/us_news-life/ Accessed February 19, 2011

Du Bois, W.E.B. “The Talented Tenth.” The Negro Problem: A Series of Articles by Representative Negros To-day. New York, 1903. http://www.yale.edu/glc/archive/1148.htm. Accessed February 19, 2011.

“FACTBOX: Racial inequality in the United States” Reuters.com January 18, 2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/01/18/us-usa-obama-race-inequality-factbox-idUSTRE50H0EC20090118. Accessed February 11, 2011.

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“Income gap between black and white families grows.” Associated Press. Last modified November 13, 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21759075/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

Noonan, Kathleen, Hilary Rhodes, Katherina Rosqueta. “Pathways to Student Success: A Guide to Translating Good Intentions into Meaningful Impact” The Center for High Impact Philanthropy. School of Social Policy and Practice. University of Pennsylvania. December 2008. http://www.impact.upenn.edu/ Accessed February 28, 2011.

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Oliver, Melvin L. and Shapiro, Thomas M. Black Wealth / White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality. New York: Routledge, 1995.

Orfield,Gary.”Why Segregation Matters:Poverty.” The Civil Rights Project: Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. January 2005. Accessed March 8, 2011. http://bsdweb.bsdvt.org/district/EquityExcellence/Research/Why_Segreg_Matters.pdf

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Unknown “Little Rock Nine.” Photograph. 1957. Accessed Feburary 22, 2011. http://www.ipelf.com/jefferson-thomas-of-the-little-rock-nine-dies/221424/

U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011

The nature of inequalities between men and women dates back to the sociologist view of Emile Durkheim, and the idea of social facts and the essence of an individuals ability to act independently of the obstacles that deter from their personal right of achieving social equality (Ferrante 5). As Durkheim lay the groundwork for gender inequalities in society, the inequalities in leadership roles in the workplace are also in turn modeled by a society’s hierarchical structure or choice of social agency. Furthermore, the patriarchal social structure in the workforce in which women are seen as inferior is perpetuated by the collective social belief of female inferiority and a male dominance of power, as created by a mutual interaction between men and women. Since the women’s rights movement, the presence of women in the workforce has been increasing greatly, but discrimination and inequality in earnings is still prevalent in leadership positions. The nature of gender inequalities in society have laid the foundation for a structured system of inequality in the workforce while simultaneously reinforcing the social construct of male dominance and the psychological belief of self inferiority in females.

The nature of gender inequalities in leadership positions can be partially attributed to the viewpoint of Emile Durkheim in relation to social facts and the effect of a social structure that invests most power in males. Werner J. Cahnman and Joseph Maier’s article on sociologist, Emile Durkheim, in the Encyclopaedia Judaica, highlights Durkheim’s inquiries on social inequalities that are still prevalent today. Durkheim’s legacy was partially created by the connection he made between a social fact and it’s affect on societal structures, such as occupational status. According to Durkheim, because society “is above man and penetrates man [at the same time], it is ultimately the only thing that has the power to [. . .] submit them to rules of conduct, to privations, and to the kind of sacrifice without which society would be impossible” (Cahnman and Maier 63). Durkheim suggests that the individual of society experiences an indirect dependence “by focusing his attention on everything essential to the maintenance of society: its principle norms, values, institutions, its sacred symbols”, and as a result, they are subject to obey the popular belief of a hierarchical structure. This in turn leads to a distinct gender inequality between men and women (Cahnman and Maier 63). The opposing force of an authoritative societal structure is agency. According to writers Terri Apter and Elizabeth Garnsey of the Women’s Studies International Forum, the sociological debate of structure and agency emphasizes “the individual’s capacity to act independently of structural constraints” (20). Whereas Durkheim suggested that society maintains stability and structure through the individual’s submission to structure, agency advocates for the individual to be an active participant in society and face the constraints of society head on. As women are constantly perceived as inadequate active citizens in their society, they have learned to internalize the social constraints and reinforce the perception of females in society as the inferior counterpart of males.

The nature behind this hierarchical social structure that gives way to gender inequalities in the workforce is partially affected by psychological constraints that women experience through the structural constraints of society. Apter and Garnsey explain that social actions refer to the interactions and “mutuality of experiences” between the participants of society to formulate a common belief stemming from “constructional constraints in society” (19). Furthermore, as the belief of male superiority and female inferiority is formulated as a common conception, the “woman’s failure to act independently of social constraints prevents [her] from asserting their rights and successfully challenging the status quo in which [she] has an unequal share” (Apter and Garnsey 21). Women have been socialized to accept social constraints, causing an overall lack of agency that is essential to obtaining positions at the top of the hierarchical social structure. Societal gender inequalities were first formulated centuries ago, with causes stemming from social constraints working against women as enforced by the male dominance and the female’s submission to the society’s structural hierarchies. The American Psychological Association released the article, “Role Congruity Theory of Prejudice Toward Female Leaders” in the Psychological Review in July of 2002, to highlight the blatant prejudices toward women in leadership positions, as well as the obstacles women face in their endeavor to reach the top. Researchers Alice H. Eagly and Steven J. Karau state in this article that “leadership has been predominantly a male prerogative in corporate, political, military, and other sectors of society” and although women have, indeed, gained “increased access to supervisory and middle management positions”, they continue to “remain quite rare as elite leaders and top executives” (575). While women have come far from the times before the Women’s Rights movement, there is still room for improvement, as societal constraints continue to hinder a woman’s occupation of a leadership role in the workforce.

The causes behind workforce gender inequality is undoubtedly a product of societal constraints that inhibit a woman’s upward strive to leadership. The belief of male superiority in the workforce is reinforced as the “terms of male power rest on the assumption that society is structured to support male interests” (Apter and Garnsey 19-20). This belief of male superiority has perpetuated a distinct gender segregation that has been a long acting force in nearly every aspect of a woman’s life, as “prejudice against women causes and continues job segregation at work, while directly and indirectly men maintain that power in the home” (Apter and Garnsey 21). Because women often are expected to stay home and help create a family unit, “women are viewed as largely powerless when faced with such structures as the educational system and job segregation, which appear in crucial ways to embody male power” (Apter and Garnsey 20). As a result, a female’s worth is often determined by the male population, and the possibility of success is limited.

As social constraints block upward mobility, women have become socialized to psychologically limit themselves as a gender in their vocations, allowing the male gender to take on the role of superiority. This is emphasized by Apter and Garnsey in the Women’s Studies International Forum suggests that “women are seen from this perspective to take a shrewd measure of the cost of success in male terms in a male world and, accordingly, to choose different goals and other means of achieving them” (20). This viewpoint suggests that the inequalities in gender are not only enforced by powerful male figures, but also by the female population instead. According to this perspective, “if women freed themselves psychologically, if they changed their outlook, they could take action to remedy inequalities” (Apter and Garnsey 20). As society has formulated a belief of female inferiority, the possibility – in both a woman and man’s mind – of a woman reaching an elitist position of leadership in the workforce is seen as completely unattainable.

The main reason that perpetuates the job inequalities between men and women in the workforce can be attributed to the blatant discrimination of women’s entrance into previously male dominated jobs. The article, “Gender Inequality Across Local Wage Hierarchies” by Matt L. Huffman explains this gender discrimination and the limitations of female workers. Huffman states that the explanation behind “gender inequality jobs include a cultural devaluation of work done by women” as well as the fact that “hiring discrimination restricting women’s access to some jobs” inevitably results in “occupational crowding that drives down pay in female-dominated jobs” (324). Huffman accordingly inquires that another mechanism in perpetuating this inequality is “in the ability of powerful groups (such as men) to monopolize the most powerful positions in organizations” which can be found in jobs that ensue “the highest skill requirements, opportunities for advancement, and/or chances to exercise authority” (325). Huffman furthers his argument by conceptually calling his claim a “social closure process” in which “gender inequality is created and sustained through the allocation of women and men into positions that differ along key pay-related dimensions” (325). Huffman argues that societies “function to maintain the dominant group’s interest by sustaining existing inequalities in workplace through power and rewards” (325). This social closure process coincides with the sociological term the “glass ceiling effect” of which “blocks women’s social mobility into the upper levels in organizational hierarchies” as it explains the constant limitation experienced by women in climbing the ladder of success when in competition with male authoritative figures. Accordingly, studies have shown that within the presence of the glass ceiling effect, “increased inequality at high levels of an outcome, such as earnings and authority” are often present as well (Huffman 326). The inequalities in the workforce can be best understood by the wage discrepancies between equal paying jobs of men and women, primarily in leadership positions.

The findings from research in this particular area of study on gender inequalities show that there is a noticeable inconsistency between the earnings of men and women not only in equal job statuses, but primarily in positions of leadership as well. Two sociologists, Steven Sweet and Kimberly Baker, designed two learning modules to increase college student’s understandings of gender and racial inequalities in their intended vocations. The study supplied students with information and data from the census of that particular year, showing that the gender inequalities do exist in today’s society and are extremely prevalent. The data show that women under-earn men in 94.1 percent of the student’s chosen occupations, in 91.1 percent of all occupations, and in 92.4 percent of upper tier occupations (Sweet and Baker 7). Accordingly, it is only found that within 5.5 percent of the student’s chosen careers, 8.4 percent of all careers, and 7.1 percent of upper tier careers that men and women make equal earnings today in America (Sweet and Baker 7). As shown in these statistics, it is nearly impossible to escape gender inequalities in the workforce throughout America. Furthermore, The Psychological Review shows research that coincides with this phenomenon as they collected an array of statistics pertaining to major leadership roles that consistently show inequality, namely: “women constitute 4% of the five highest earning officers in Fortune 500 companies and 0. 4% of the CEOs (Catalyst, 2000); 13% of senators, 14% of congressional representatives, and 10% of state governors (Center for the American Woman and Politics, 2001); and 2% of military officers at the level of brigadier general and rear admiral or higher (U.S. Department of Defense, 1998)” (Eagly and Karau 573). As the preceding statistics show, women representation in the elite power jobs is highly limited; despite the fact that the number of women in the workforce has been steadily increasing. According to the New York Times, “throughout the 1900s and 2000s, and until this recession, women occupied less than 49 percent of the workforce. However, that percent has now crossed the 50 percent threshold for the first time” (Mulligan). Yet despite this achievement, “women make only 77.5 cents for every dollar that men earn” and to further these facts, statistics show that as the amount of education a woman has increases, the greater the disparity will be that she will have to accommodate for; stating that “women in specialty occupations were found to earn just 72.7 percent of what men in the same occupation were earning” (Mulligan). Although women’s rights have come a long way since the predating times of the Women’s Rights Movement, there is still a blatantly obvious discrimination towards women in the workforce, hindering the gender from attaining the success that society has strictly deemed achievable for the male species only.

Industrialization is a period in time in which economic and social changes lead a pre-industrial agrarian society into an industrial one. During this period, both economic and social changes are paired with technological innovation, leading to a massive manufacturing growth, where the economy itself, is organizing for the purpose of manufacturing. [1] Industrialization is also defined as the replacement of farming and resource extracting by manufacturing and the growth of the service industry. [2]

Industrialization started with the industrial revolution, around 1760, in Britain. It is considered to be a huge turning point in history; Daily life of everyone around the world changed because of industrial revolution. Average income and population underwent a sustainable growth that was never seen before. Nobel Prize winner Robert E. Lucas, Jr. said: “For the first time in history, the living standards of the masses of ordinary people have begun to undergo sustained growth … Nothing remotely like this economic behavior is mentioned by the classical economists, even as a theoretical possibility.” [3]

I believe, along with literature evidence, that industrialization impacted the society and economy of the countries in which it occurred in so many ways. Industrialization caused or at the very least heavily participated in the shift from rural to urban our current society is a result of, it also changed the family structure as argued by many scholars, along with many other changes. I will first discuss the different views on the social impacts resulting of industrialization, before moving on to the economic ones.

The most widely agreed upon social impact of industrialization is urbanization; urbanization is the increase (both in population and in size) in the urban area. It is caused by rural migration, which is itself caused by the increasing concentration of labor into factories. [4] I personally believe that industrialization is the direct cause or urbanization. Since most of pre-industrialization societies were only based on subsistence, where each country would produce what it needed to “survive”, and that was mainly food, which made most of these countries rural; based on their own agriculture to create their means of survival. This is what we call subsistence agriculture. But with industrialization, a lot more goods were able to be produced and traded, so less and less subsistence agriculture was needed, and more people to work on the factories were needed. [5] Those workers needed houses to live in with their families, shops to buy the goods needed for their well-being and that of their families, etc. These needs caused large towns to be created as the number of workers needed to operate factories kept on increasing as industrialization started setting its roots deeper and deeper within the societies it started in.

Along with urbanization, industrialization caused the family structure to change heavily. In the pre-industrialization era, extended families used to live together in the same place for generations (uncles, grandparents, etc.), but with industrialization, men had to go work in the factories far away from home, so their nuclear families (parents with their growing children) eventually had to move depending on where work was available, making the extended family bonds less and less significant. [6] Talcott Parsons also argues that in the modern industrial society, individuals gain more by rejecting extended families relationships than by holding on to them, as an evidence of this, he shows how the only families maintaining kinship relationships are from the upper-class, where such connections have direct economic benefits, while in lower classes, nuclear families lived by themselves, as their extended families did not bring anything to them but obstacles.

Another social impact of industrialization has to do with women’s place in the society. It is argued in the literature that industrialization is the “real” beginning of women’s participation in the labor force; however, women were always expected to work, some of them were working on farms in agricultural oriented societies, else they were either heavily involved in textile work, or they were working alongside with their husbands in their shops, this while giving birth, raising children, and running the house. These kind of jobs could be done from home, since they did not require any heavy kind of equipment. Maxine Berg quotes an observer in Scotland: “Here as in all semi-barbarous countries, is the woman seen to be regarded rather the drudge than the companion to the man. The husband turns up the land and sows it – the wife conveys the manure to it in a creel, tends the corn, reaps it, hoes the potatoes, digs them up, carries the whole home on her back, when bearing the creel she is also engaged with spinning with the distaff” [7] With industrialization, women were expected to work outside of their homes, with completely different conditions. With strict work hours, women could no longer pace themselves, and find that balance between running the house, raising the children and doing work. Plus, the conditions under which they worked were a lot tougher, even dangerous. But they were still earning less than men even working equal hours. Due to these new conditions, women were no longer able to raise their children, so they were sending them to be nursed in the countryside: “”close to one third of all babies born in Lyons (some 2,000 of 5,000-6000) were carted off to the countryside” to be nursed.” [8] Based on the different opinions in the literature, I came to the conclusion that women’s working conditions changed with industrialization, for the worst during the industrial revolution (considering the fact that women now work outside their homes for the “first” time, and the fact that they were working in terrible and dangerous conditions), but as conditions got better with time, industrialization’s effect on women’s work conditions definitely became positive. One might even argue that the only reason women are now working in the same condition as men is industrialization.

Industrialization also had a direct impact on income and income distribution; a perfect example is the increase in income observed especially in Europe directly following the industrial revolution. The following graph describes those increases in income levels:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Maddison_GDP_per_capita_1500-1950.svg/350px-Maddison_GDP_per_capita_1500-1950.svg.png

The graph is showing the gross domestic product per capita starting from year 1500 till 1950. The unit used is 1990 International dollars. [9] We can clearly see that following the industrial revolution, which started during the second half of the 18th century, income levels skyrocketed to the roofs in the countries that took part in the industrialization process.

Ronald Hsia and Larry Chau discuss in their journal article how industrialization in Hong Kong affected income and income distribution. Unsurprisingly, income levels rose as industrialization set foot in the country, but the authors argue that the increase was far more important for “the poorest” of the country, this is explained by the fact that a lot more jobs were created for those who were looking, and getting a job in a factory at that time only required to be physically capable to do the work. [10] With this disparity in the increase of income levels, income distribution got significantly narrowed as the poor are making “a lot” more money, while the rich are only making “a little bit” more. I believe this to be true in all countries affected by industrialization, while this might not hold for every single industrialized country; it is at least a direct consequence of a rapid industrialization.

It is also heavily discussed how much industrialization impacted the economy of the societies it reached, and even the world economy. Pollard argues in his article that the major economic impact of industrialization is time-space compression, which is something I agree with. Time-space compression means that with industrialization, it now takes a lot less time to travel the same distance compared to the pre-industrialization era. [11] One might wonder how is travel time relevant to the economy, it is pretty simple, since it now requires less time to travel, it also takes less time to trade, which directly makes the global economy more active. With this reduced “trade time”, countries no longer have to be subsistent, they can produce what they excel at and sell what is left, while buying other goods they need and don’t produce. Another thing time-space compression allowed was the access to previously unavailable regions; some of these regions had many resources to be used to expand the economy, plus the population growth could be better managed with the increased available space.

Industrialization impacted the society and the economy of the countries in which it set foot in so many ways. Industrialization caused the massive urbanization we can still witness today, it caused the family structure to be changed (dominance of nuclear families), it had to do with how women’s place in the society changed. Industrialization was also a catalyst for the income levels increase, and arguably for the decrease in the income level distribution, and it also, among other things, cause the time-space compression that now allows trade to be such an important part of the economy. To put it in a nutshell, industrialization had many impacts in the societies in which it was introduced, although some impacts seemed negative at first (like the working conditions in the factories along with the child labor with all the dangers involved in such conditions), it was all for the best in the end.

Sociology is defined as the study of social life of human beings. It helps social analysts to understand the working of human beings and society (Moore Kelly, 2008). Relationship between the individual and society has formed the major basis of sociological principles.

George Ritzer’s Integration model:

Ritzer’s model is a good example of sociological theory based on integrationist approach. It combines both macro and micro level theories in it. According to him, there are four highly interdependent elements in the society which are a macro objective component, a micro objective component, a macro subjective component, a micro subjective component. This theory is beneficial in understanding the society in both objective and subjective levels. It also aims at understanding the society norms and individual benefits from the society (Ritzer et al., 2003).

Adapted from (Ritzer et al., 2003)

According to this theory, all the four components are distinct and interdependent to influence the society. It emphasizes that individuals can change cultural norms and society according to their behaviour.

Behaviour of the individual doesn’t essentially influence the society. However certain habits may create positive or negative effect on the society. When a individual tries and modifies their bodies away from the knowledge of the society, it makes no difference. However, when individual tries to modify the society by habits and behaviour, it creates a social impact.

According to Ann swindler, ideology is a determining factor for influencing empowerment in the society and body modification is one such ideology. Body modification increased rapidly in the western countries over the years and slowly spreading to other countries as a trend of fashion. Body modification refers to changes to the external appearance of the body by using devices or fashion to change the body rapidly or gradually. Some of the body modifications include tattooing, piercing, cutting, branding, inserting rings or studs to ears, navel, nose, eye brows (Featherstone, 1999). Body modification can also be extended to the practices such as gymnastics, dieting and physical exercising techniques to alter the existing body structure. These modifications are gradually occurring and take a period of time to get noticeable (Featherstone, 1999).

Use of technology in body modifications is another additional practice, and this includes wearing spectacles for clear vision, using hearing aids and various body implants at heart, kidney and skin surfaces. Use of these modifications is necessary in normal functioning of a body in absence of regular controlled physiological process. When the body tends to become weak or unable to resist changes, these technological devices and nano technological products are used within or over the body to improve health condition and reduce pain in human beings (Featherstone, 1999).

Science and fiction influence body modification procedures indirectly by fascination and intention to follow or copy. Films are the major sources of science fiction and some of them include Robocop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987), Blade runner (Michael Deeley and Ridley Scott, 1982). Some of the films also emphasized on cyberspace and its influences which markedly improved fashion sense of human beings (William Gibson, 1986).

Media and magazines are alternatively cheaper resources to human beings which influence fashion. These resources create a cultural impact on human beings to adapt very commonly to makeovers and changeovers. Cultural aspects of the society have been gradually changing through media (Featherstone, 1982, 1991). Society tends to copy the fashion culture and adapts to it rapidly. Clothing is one such example, which changed over the years from extensive heavy clothing to lighter loose clothing exposing the skin (Bourdieu, 1978; Featherstone, 1987). However, these changes could create a wrong social and cultural impact on the society when wrongly used and interpreted in certain circumstances (Lloyd, 1996).

One of the major body modifications noticed almost everywhere is body building in men and dieting practices in women to change their body pattern to an entirely different look. According to Lee Monaghan, Males tend to in habitat the culture of musculature increasingly and depend on gym and training centres to shape out the body. They tend to adapt these changes to gain the attention of women and society. Females, on the other hand are in a trend of zero-size and slim versions and depend drastically on gym and dieting centres to shred the extra fat away (Featherstone, 1999). These attempts by the society although improves the heath and physique of an individual, it also brings some deleterious changes in the human body. Some of the changes include unimaginable body shapes after rigorous work outs and change in the feminine body structure in females. According to Roberta, not every body reacts in the similar manner to technology and exercise. Some bodies tend to improve and some tend to become abnormal in look and sense. In certain women, changeovers and makeovers could lead to deleterious effects such as change in feminine features (Doug Aaoki, 1996). She describes the use of lipsticks and feminine aids to restore the lost feminity. Regardless of all these attempts, it appears as ‘gender crossing dressing’ to the society (St Matin and Gavey, 1996). Many of the body modifications are irreversible and hence care should be taken in order to adapt to them.

Many of the body modifications are based on changing culture and fashion. Improving with fashion is different from complete transformation. Many of the body modifications cannot be reversed and irreversible body modifications are a risk to try (Paul sweetman). Sweetman describes that fashion trends vary from person to person and permanence of fashion depends on the type of body modifications he is willing to adapt. According to Polhemus and Procter (1978), body modifications are anti-fashion trend followed in modern days and is a means of escapism to avoid the traditional attire. Giddens (1991) supports the context by description of ‘body project’ whereby tradition is dissolved in modern times with relevant excuse of fashion trends.

Positive influence of body modifications on the society:

Body modifications are seen as positive phenomenon by various sociologists. Many of them describe it as growing modern with the changing world. Shildrick describes that society tends to change rapidly and body modification is an enhancement procedure to individualise and identify ones own self separately and uniquely. The positive aspect of modifying body according to the latest trends to inculcate modernity in the system is appreciated by many modern sociologists.

In addition, Society has gained a lot from using certain body modifications to ease their lifestyle (Featherstone, 1999). Use of spectacles and hearing aids has improved style of living with betterment. Adventures in surgical and clinical field by body implants of heart, kidney and artificial limbs have created a milestone. Use of these clinical modifications reduced mortality rate and improved longetivity of life (Featherstone, 1999). Use of artificial limbs has paved an ease of lifestyle for the physically challenged people. This improved their lifestyle and increased chances of competition and survival in complex modern life.

Body project as described by Giddens (1991) is complex and scrutinising the body projects by individuals for their own benefit has become a common practice in modern times. Use of clinical, scientific body modifications for the individual benefit is encouraged by many socialists and has become a common practice in all the places of the world. According to Virilio, body modifications are part of third technological revolution (Armitage, 1999).

Negative influence of body modifications on the society:

Some sociologists have rightly said that great inventions or developments are always followed by potential risk to the society. The modern society has incorporated many body modifications as a part of their lifestyle. Many sociologists discuss that although human beings neglect the fast pace of time, time is always reflected in the body change (Featherstone, 1999).

Society has imbibed the craze of fashion and body modifications to the maximum and these changes tend to be irreversible and deleterious in certain conditions. One of the most objectionable body modifications is cutting and piercing. Insertion of studs and rings to various parts of the body has become a common practice in modern days. Victoria Pitts argues that body modification is seen as factor of mutilation by the media and severely leads to certain mental disorders. Irvine Walsch (1993) describes the body modification as a craze and addiction to the society.

Conclusion:

In the modern era, body modification and fashion have become a common trend. Society has reacted to the new change increasing over the period of time. Although there is a positive impact of the new change in the society, the negative phenomenon is also associated along with it. Sociologists have mixed reactions to the change. The positive factor considered is reformation in medicine and improvement of human beings. The negative impact associated with it is craze, addiction and racism associated with the new fashion trend.

The media role in informing society about the surrounding world is imperative. Media has the influencing power of decisions both for what is news and what gets to be published, and the capacity to signify, events, places, people and situations in definite ways. Accordingly, media is considered as a dynamic stakeholder in giving significance to issues and events as they come up in the public sphere. Considerable levels of discussions are in progress about the effects of the media; a core assumption of media analysis is that the making of news has the prospects of influencing readers or audiences (Street, 2001).

Indigenous people’s representation in mainstream media of Australia is vital; as the media has the potential tools of describing indigenous people to non-indigenous Australians. The media present a baseline regarding what to think about Indigenous Australians, which has an impact on their mind-set afterwards. The media role of reporting race related issues was discussed in the report of The National Inquiry into Racial Violence 1991 (NIRV) stating that the perpetuation and encouragement of negative racial stereotypes, a propensity towards conflictual and sensationalist reporting and an inattentiveness towards, and often unawareness of, minority cultures can all add to build a social climate which is tolerant of racist violence (HEORC, 1991).

I found that Yolanda Walker’s article “Aboriginal family issues” which effectively enlightened the problems of Aboriginal people in contemporary Australia. This essay inline with Yolanda’s findings provides an analytical brief account of how mainstream Australian media portrays the Aboriginal family issues. This essay is focused on the removal of aboriginal children from their families, its effects on their development and

the reporting of these issues in the media.

2. Media – Positioning public opinion and perceptions

The role of the media in shaping public perceptions and opinions about significant political and social issues has long been the subject matter of much speculation and debate (Wilson & Wilson, 2001). Generally, it is acknowledged that our knowledge, thinking and beliefs about the happenings in the world, outside of our personal first-hand experience, is shaped, and some would say orchestrated, by how all these events are reported in print media and communicated through the electronic media.

Bernard Cohen stated “the press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about” (Cohen, 1963, p.13).

Explanations of the media’s influence describe, to some extent, what actually happens. The media can and often does decide what is reported, and these stories, in whole or in part, are assimilated and accommodated into the emotional fabric and cognitive

structures of individual readers and viewers.

3. Aboriginal: the concept of family

The expression “family” necessitates for brainstorming for finding its meaning for different cultural setups. The family is a social unit made up of father, mother, brothers and sisters. All these members play an important role while living together. The family has to fulfill some primary roles in respective cultures. Children in their early age of dependency are nourished and looked after by their families. A family passes on to their children the communication skills such as language providing a code of dealings with others enabling them to play an active role in the society.

And the family inculcates values and norms, the feeling of what is essential, what is worth protecting, defending and, if essential, fighting for. For Aboriginal people kinship and family are of particular importance. The concept of family is very strong among them in a sense that they give more importance to the members in their families such as more respect to their elders; respect their decisions, great love for their younger ones (Working with ATSI, n.d.).

Envisioning, the grief that develops when families consider themselves inadequate to fulfill their liabilities, or the child dies, or is taken away through state intervention, never to return. In public hearings of HREOC (1997) frequently, it was heard from Aboriginal presenters the assertion that “Our children are our future” and almost as often the lament “We have lost our parenting skills”.

4. Aboriginal Children removal from family

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission’s national inquiry for separation of indigenous children from their families in its final report (‘Bringing Them Home’) has exposed the level to which Aboriginal families have been disrupted since the entrance of Europeans on these coasts (HREOC, 1997).

It is hard to regard the level of impact on the Aboriginal families as result of removing children from them but the report (‘Bringing Them Home’) has recognised the fact that in 1910 until between one in three and one in ten indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families and communities. This forceful removal of children has affected most of the families for one or more generations (HREOC, 1997).

Since 1937, the removal of indigenous children from their families on such a large scale depicting it as national policy. Therefore, the Human Rights Commission said that official strategy and law for indigenous families and children were opposing to recognise lawful rule introduced into Australia as British common law and from late 1946, constituted an offense against civilization. It violated the accepted values and principles of the times and was the focus of dispute and confrontation. The officials and other contributors are to be held responsible for the imposition of such biased legislation which was harmful of vulnerable and needy children whose parents were incapable to inquire and know their children’s situation and defend them from misuse and mistreatment (HREOC, 1997).

Genocide is the forcible transfer of children from one group of national, ethnic, racial or religious to another group and to destroy them in whole or in part. At the height of the strategy of disconnecting Aboriginal children from their families is `genocide’ (HREOC, 1997, p.270.) The colonisers of this continent have thought that the best way to make black people act like white people was to get control of the children who had not so far learned aboriginal lifeways.

The removal policies have severely affected every concerned individual – where worst lives were lost. A little known but the most astonishing fact that 43 out of the 99 Aboriginal people had died in custody were separated in childhood from their natural families by the involvement of the State, Mission organizations or other institutions’ was exposed by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC, 1991).

5. Child Removal: Effects

Aboriginal children removed from families often suffer from or demonstrate

Mostly isolation from others.

Low self-esteem and thoughts of worthlessness.

Mistrusting everyone including state functionaries who maintain to shape community relationship to them.

Loss of identity: A former Aboriginal footballer Sydney Jackson’s exact age cannot be assured because the birth of Sydney Jackson can’t be verified by reference. July 1, 1944 was simply understood to be his birthday. Thus, people like Sydney have problems applying for lawful credentials such as passports (The Stolen Generations, n.d.).

Difficulties to find their religious beliefs: Since they were brought to many different missions or homes where they were taught different kinds of religions.

Inner guilt: Because Aboriginal children often blame their families for not caring and loving for them, based on incorrect information communicated by caregivers. However, later they often find out that their powerless families were frequently trying to bring them back to home.

Psychological problems.

Inspite of living parents most children (particularly boys) were told that their parents were dead, caused many to suffer severe Psychological problems… some just wanted to end their lives. -Bill Simon, taken away aged 10 (The Stolen Generations, n.d.).

Difficult to administer associations: Because they have never had a role representation to be taught from. Many interactions are vicious and abusive which left affecting and bodily scars so deep they would have a permanent impact on victim life and all his future relationships.-Bill Simon, taken aged ten (The Stolen Generations, n.d.).

Loss of cultural affiliation and language: Since they were deprived of traditional knowledge, therefore, Aboriginal children cannot take a part in the educational and religious life of their own communities. “I don’t know nothing about my culture. I don’t know nothing about the land and the language,” says Cynthia Sariago whose mother has died. “It’s hard going back to your native traditional setup because you’re not really accepted by your mother’s traditional people”

(The Stolen Generations, n.d.).

6. Negative Exposure: A Snapshot of Aboriginal Family issues in Australia’s
Mainstream Media

Since the white settlement in Australia, Meadows (2001) outlined the growth of media and journalistic practices in Australia. According to him, earlier the media coverage of Indigenous people mostly composed of conventional reflections that have been obviously racist (Meadows, 2001). His idea includes instances a subtitle from news publication The Bulletin in May 1908 that state publicly below its masthead: Australia for the Whiteman, a subtitle that practiced till 1960 when the magazine changed ownership (Meadow, 2001, p.41). The Moreton Bay Courier, an early newspaper of Queensland, incorporated a regular section titled The Blacks, which transmitted to its readers the most recent news of disagreement between settlers and Indigenous Australians. Even recently, exposure of Aboriginal proceedings and issues has sustained to place Indigenous people in a specific way, but has carried out this through a continuing structure of mind-sets and inferential racism, relatively than the previously overtly racist coverage. Meadows concluded that “… overall, Indigenous people remain largely excluded from mainstream media processes, their interests ignored, and their voices seldom, if ever, heard” (Meadow, 2001, p.163).

Elliott Johnston QC in his reports to the Royal Commission recognised that usually the Aboriginal people complain that they have had an extremely bad deal from the media, experiencing discrimination in access and presentation. We all accept that and know the pain and suffering that has been caused by the lies and distortions, negative stereotypes that the media often uses when reporting on Aboriginal issues (RCIADIC, 1991).

Sweet (2009) quoted Stanley (incharge of The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research) that “the more that the dominant culture reports negative stories about Aboriginal people, the more that Aboriginal children feel bad about being Aboriginal”. She says that the positive stories have better impacts at many levels. Academic articles published for years about the benefits of swimming pools for Aboriginal children’s health, with comparatively little impact. But in the media just one positive front-page story “resulted in swimming pools being put in all over the place.” Says Stanley: “I have these fantasy conversations with Rupert Murdoch and say, ‘you could Actually turn around Aboriginal people if you could change the way you report, even if you just made just 50 per cent of your articles positive, you could reduce suicide rates’” (Sweet, 2009).

Some Positive Stories: However, on the other hand media has some positive stories as well on its credit like Elliott Johnston QC in his reports to the Royal Commission recognised the positive role of the media.

The media played a significant roleaˆ¦in the establishment of this Royal Commission. By its coverage of the issues, from the death of John Pat to that of Lloyd Boney, by placing them in their broader social and moral context, and by its presentation of the campaign of the Committee to Defend Black Rights, the media has acted as one of the protagonists in the process of achieving greater justice for Aboriginal people that is the goal of this Commission (RCIADIC, 1991).

Therefore, in recommendation 208, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody states:

That, in view of the complaints of Aboriginal people about portraying them prejudicially by the media, the media industry stakeholders should develop and promote formal and informal contacts with Aboriginal people through Aboriginal welfare and media organisations. The objectivity of such contacts should be the creation of more improved understanding on all sides, of issues relating to the media management behaviours of Aboriginal affairs (RCIADIC, 1991).

The media, though – for all its faults – is merely a mirror of Australian society. Certainly their production is based on the wishes of their consumers. Thus, one can argue that Australians allow their media to be languid and imprecise. It is also recognizable that rarely media as a whole attained the high moral standards that it imposes on other segments of the society. This unfair attitude is criticized by people and organization and deems it as oafish, bureaucratic, egotistical and occasionally utter dishonesty (Graham, 2005).

7. Conclusion

Media outlets make decisions about what to report, and what not to report. Similarly, they make decisions regarding what makes front page, and what does not. It is evident from the demographic information that Aboriginal family issues did not feature prominently in mainstream media. Only stories that involved controversy made it to the front page. This suggests that journalists and editors believed that newspaper readers had only marginal interests in the political and social affairs of Indigenous people. Given this, it is possible to argue, as stated by Molnar (2001) ‘that bad news is good news, and good news is no news’ (p.320).

Perspectives on Nursing Health, Culture And Society. This essay will discuss Indigenous health as an important issue to the Australian community and the problems that Indigenous Australian may experience within the current health care system. This will firstly analysis in depth the historical, cultural, social and political factors that have affected the healthcare for the Indigenous Australians. Secondly, some strategies that may improve the health care system.

Indigenous Australians culture is complex and diverse. The indigenous culture of Australia is the oldest living cultural history in the world dating back at least 50,000years. The reason why it’s survived this long is their ability to adapt and change over time. Aboriginals keep their cultural heritage rich and alive by passing their knowledge, arts, rituals and performances the passing from one generation to the next. The fundamental wellbeing of the Aboriginal people is their land, its environment that sustained by the people and culture, full of spiritual wellbeing. Aboriginal people were hunter-gathers who foraged for uncultivated plant and wild animals. The traditional diet was high in carbohydrates, proteins and nutrients and low in fat and sugars. However, modern Aboriginal diet are heavily westernised and tend to be high in fat and sugar but low in carbohydrate, fibre and nutritional value.

The World Health Organisation, social determination of health (SODH)are defined as ‘the fundamental structures of social hierarchy and the socially determined conditions these structures create in which people grow, live, work and age.” The structural organisation for the Aboriginal people is to settle them with housing, employment, educations and health services so they can live in a well presented environment. Health interventions have a clinical focus on individual behaviours such as diet, condom use, exercise, alcohol, etc despite the fact that when structural issues such as poverty is not addressed. Poverty, as represents most Indigenous people as lower socio economic status shows unhealthy behaviour, smoking, poor diet and physical activity which put a risk for numerous health problems. Indigenous people have been victims of societal and racism since colonial times. The dominant culture promotes exclusion, inclusion, inferior conditions or assimilation (loss of individual, unique culture). Though education is available it is often unmet to the needs of the indigenous children resulting to have low enrolment rate, poor school performance and high dropout rate which increase the vulnerability to child labours. It is important to have tradition Indigenous education to be acknowledged and valued. Literacy for the Indigenous must be proficient in their own languages but also to the nation language. Also education should include the land establishment forms of livelihoods that usual involve the land to understand the tradition competencies. The underinvestment in health care in areas in which Indigenous people live is due to rural/remote nature. There are a number of cultural barriers that prevent access to health care. Indigenous languages are often difficult leading to poor communication between nurse and patient. The may experience discrimination by the staff. The traditional land is vital source of material and spiritual well being serving a crucial resource for their reproduction. The loss of land due to polices of dominant culture creates a social problem. The restored relationship to the land is central to restore sense of identity, social status and political power as well as economic, food security, rehabilitation of land. It is important for health care workers to have a degree of cultural competence and work with traditional healing modalities to make cultural safety.

In 1788 European settlers colonised Australia. Upon settlement, the aboriginal people lost their land, their social and economical structure and in general, their way of life. Since colonisation Indigenous Australians have experienced extreme levels of loss, grief, disempowerment, cultural alienation, and loss of identity (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2002, 2003; Hunter, 1993) The trauma suffered by the stolen generations as a result of the assimilation policies of the Australian Government has direct relevance to the psychological adjustment of indigenous Australians when considered within the framework of attachment theory. Attachment theory is the quality of early parent-child bonding, as well as the infants actual experience of the relationship with their parents has important implications for psychological and emotional adjustment later in life. (Strahan, 1995).

There is enough evidence to suggest that Aboriginal people do not have the same degree of access to many of the health services as other Australians. This implies negative implications for the outcomes of Indigenous health. The access of primary health care is compromised or obstructed as they are more likely to present care later stage meaning more unhealthy state. “I was shocked by the poverty, disadvantage and a medical model of care working “downstream” patching local people up and sending them home again without any longer term, preventative care. The issues are not only health services offering primary health care but also acute care providing in hospitals and specialist’s services. Issues such as distance, transport, affordability, availability, language, and cultural stability are all potential hindrances to access health services. Transport, long waiting time, cost to be some of the most commonly cited barriers. Indigenous people also feel disempowered and are less likely to use health services. It is also very important to note that communication difficulties come from those living in remote areas. However the presence of an Aboriginal health worker can be a strong determinant in whether an Indigenous person will access health services. It is important that primary health care services are run by Aboriginal communities to aim to offer health care in a culturally appropriate setting. This causes to a major source of providing education and training for staff. Indigenous health workers and nurses are to provide primary care services based to interlinked with a holistic Indigenous specific definition of health that states: ‘Aboriginal Health is not just the physical well being of an individual but is the social, emotional and cultural well being of the whole community in which each individuals is able to achieve their full potential thereby about the total well being of their community. It is a whole -of- life view and includes the cyclical concept of life- death-life” (NAHS, 1989) It is also important to build a shared understanding of how community input will inform policy or decision making processes. Numerous attempt to define Indigenous mental health concepts, the common theme has consistently been the holistic nature of health and wellbeing. The word punyu (Ngaringman) encompasses both person and country. In fact caring for the country has been associated with improvements in wellbeing. Suggesting that for Indigenous people ‘our identity as human beings remains tied to our land , to our cultural practices, our systems of authority and social control, our intellectual traditions, our concepts of spirituality, and to our systems of resource ownership and exchange. Destroy this relationship and you damage- sometimes irrevocably-individual human beings and their health'(cited in Burgess et al.,2008,p.2).

On February 13 2008, the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Kevin Rudd, offered an apology to members of the ‘stolen generation’. The apology attracted words and gestures of gratitude, relief, pride and sorrow. Also for some closure to a painful emotional wound. This let the healing begin it was an act of hope, dignity and respect acknowledging the existence and impacts of past policies and practices of forcibly removing indigenous children from their families. The apology represented that the ‘past of mistreatment and blemished chapter in our country to reconcile indigenous and non indigenous people to a better future. The Prime Minister and opposition leader Brendan Nelson both pledged to close the 17 year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non- Indigenous Aboriginals by 2030. Promising that Indigenous Australians to have access to same quality health services. As Mr Rudd said “he is determined to make a difference.” Curtin’s University professor of health economics, Gavin Mooney said “it is important that Aboriginal people are involved in the process” It is important to involve the indigenous and ask what they want. As it is important to ensure that the voice of ordinary Aboriginal people to be heard and what it is that they want.

In conclusion aˆ¦.. the services of Aboriginal health aˆ¦.. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health disadvantage needs to be considered in the broader context of social disadvantage, inequality and exclusion, political marginalisation and the historical currents of colonialism. In order to find strategies for health services for the Indigenous Australian need to take account of historical, social, cultural and political factors in order to understand the health disadvantage faced by Aboriginal peoples in contemporary society. This enhances our knowledge of unequal health outcomes between Aboriginal and non – Aboriginal people by focusing on the impacts of social structures and cultural appropriateness of health care services.