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Divorce Marriage SpouseDivorce
What is divorce

Divorce or dissolution of marriage defines as the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse. It can also be defined as an ending of a marriage by an official decision in a court of law. Nowadays, divorce no longer considered as a big deal compared to last generation especially in Western Europe. They never take it seriously though there are kids with them. In short term, they can get married easily just a little bit of romance and got divorced just a little bit of bore ness.

My recent research found that in many developed countries, divorce rates increased surprisingly during the twentieth century. Among the states in which divorce has become commonplace are the United States, Canada, South Korea, and members of the European Union, with the exception of Malta. All these actually indirectly influence by their modern culture and wide open minded socialism. For example, a city, world known as Las Vegas, there are a lot of places for anyone to get married on the spot. Well, different world different culture.

For Chinese, this means you are ruining your family honor. In addition, the single-parent family has resulted in many women deciding to have children outside marriage. However, there is a developed and wealthy country call Japan retains a markedly lower divorce rate, though it has increased in recent years. In some jurisdictions and countries, a divorce must be certified by a court of law and a legal action is needed to dissolve the prior legal act of marriage. The terms of the divorce are also determined by the court, though they simply ratify terms that the spouses have agreed on privately.

In some other countries, like Portugal, when the spouses agree to divorce, it can be certified by a non judiciary administrative entity. For extra information, in Islam, known as the biggest religion in my country, divorce is allowed, though discouraged. A commonly mentioned Islamic ruling is that divorce is the least liked of all permissible acts. Islam considers marriage to be a legal contract.

After three divorces, the man and the women are not allowed to remarry, the man or the woman have to marry another person to test the causes. If the couple agrees that they were happier with their old spouses they are allowed to remarry. That’s all for my information of divorce. In this essay, I will discuss the causes and effect of divorce and divorce advice and briefly touch the issue of why divorce is getting so common in this modern century.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divorce

Causes of divorce
Extramarital affair

For a lot of outsiders who don’t know there is a lot of reason that causes this unhappy situation. Refer to a 2006 survey by DivorceMagazine.com that asked readers what had caused their separation or divorce, I found out that infidelity or extramarital affair is the strongest factor. Other than that, it can be also include family strains, emotional or physical abuse, mid-life crisis, addictions, e.g. alcoholism and gambling, work holism.

Well, it can say 8 families out of 10 that having a divorce are almost because of their spouse having an affair. In my deeply book research, I found that 40 % of Shanghai’s divorced men and women say their ex-spouses’ extramarital affairs caused the breakup of their marriages. So why that is so commonly happen to our society now? Actually, most people don’t intend to have an affair and most people don’t think it will happen to them but it does anyway. The answers they come up with are usually based on personal blame.

They blame themselves, their partner, their relationship, or the third party. They see it strictly as a personal problem, a personal failure of the people involved. In my point of view, this is a very simple explanation for a very complex question. Participants present affairs as arising by chance and based upon love and mutual adoration. The relationship advances from flirtation to infatuation. This can happen quickly or over considerable time. Eventually there is an expectation that the affair advance to sexual behavior. The participants then claim each other as true love partners who understand each other better than their own spouses. It sounds so romantic and so beyond their control.

The relationship normally comes in secrecy. For further information, affairs are secretive by nature and represent a betrayal of fidelity. Hence they contribute to marital turmoil and demise. Because of these factors, affairs also diminish personal integrity. It is hard to feel good about oneself entirely in this situation. If one does feel good about oneself, it may be through a psychological process of disassociation or splitting.

In addiction, Forces within the individual that pull them toward affairs normally are attraction: sex which it become a “culture” for Western Country for instance Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. This couple is always being flatter by fans or people around but who know it end up with divorce because of having extramarital affair with Angelina Jolie. Well, that’s their ‘culture’ of Hollywood star. However they still can handle it easily and steadily. That’s what I so curious about.

http://www.china.org.cn/english/10701.htm

Causes of divorce
Financial problem

The next issue I like to touch is financial problem in a family is also one of the serious factor that cause divorce. In this point, I can hardly understand the situation because of the reality had happened several of time passing me through. Money is such a powerful thing that enables people to buy many things, unfortunately, it can’t buy happiness, love or a lasting relationship.

However, surprisingly, money turns out to be 1 of the leading cause of today’s divorces. 57 percent of divorced couples in the United States cited financial problems as the primary reason for the demise of their marriage, according to my survey conducted by Citibank. Actually People aren’t discussing finances. For all of us, money is such a taboo subject. People associate bad things with money. In my personal advice, if you’re in a serious relationship, just talk about this with courage. If you don’t, it will cause a huge gap between you and your spouse.

In addiction, the unequal division of money causes problems because control isn’t equal which means one person will have control and more money than the other. When there is a gap between both of their salary, so there will be different kind of spending and from there the problem of unsatisfied is about to occur. Further more, in a case like that, if a guy is having a salary less than his wife he will definitely feel useless or starting to look down at himself. Divorce is usually come from a small problem like that which we don’t take it seriously.

Also it, if one person is mismanaging funds, the strain comes when it doesn’t benefit the other party. It puts a strain on who will be the person to handle the finances. Other than that, problems also occur within a marriage when a spouse ego gets in the way. I found that in today’s society women are not only contributing to the family, but, in many cases, are the breadwinners, which don’t sit well with all men.

lf a man isn’t completely comfortable with his wife being the breadwinner, that could cause him to feel less secure than if he were the breadwinner. It could put a strain on both in the marriage and that’s what happened to my uncle and his wife as a breadwinner in the family, that always hardly wanted to control every single thing of my uncle so much especially his financial. So for me, it’s still quite a complicated thing to be solved.

http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=28627

Effect of divorce

The change in children

Most often people decide to get a divorce before they really think about the effects of divorce. They usually decide to get a divorce based on emotion rather than logic which can hinder their long term happiness. Still, there are those that make their decision about getting a divorce by taking into account the effects that divorce can have on everyone involved. Some effects of divorce can be positive depending on your situation even though divorce is usually seen in a negative light.

The effects of divorce are too much to list here so let’s concentrate on effects of divorce that seem most apparent. For a very widely common sense, an effect of divorce that some people need to consider is the change that children will need to go through if a divorce occurs. So much research has gone into the effects of divorce on children. Some have tried to say that if you do it right, divorce will not affect the kids. I think that is a load of self serving crap. Divorce will effect the kids, and effect them in ways that are painful. Children can be strong during this time, but it is up to the parents to make sure the transition is as painless as possible.

Some people actually stay in unhappy marriages solely and stressful because of the fact that there are children involved. The change children go through as an effect of divorce is complex that we would never understand unless we felt the same situation before. For instance, they will worry that their parents don’t love them anymore and they feel abandoned. They feel like the parent who left has divorced them too. Different kind of negative thinking will directly appear in their mind. In other hand, they feel powerless and helpless because they can’t get their parents back together which they felt the happiness when they be with their parent.

Or what I can describe with, they can’t speed up or slow down the process. They will get lost and totally screw up when firstly involve in this kind of dilemma. In more serious case that rarely be seen, they experience a grieving process very similar to mourning a death. When there is over depress on them, something scary is going to happen. Such as, some of them will go insane cause of cant stand the sadly incident.

For some, even worse, might suicide. Every single those sadly feeling may get them into bad behaviors such as include problems in school, nervous habits, repetitive physical behaviors, and regressive behaviors such as bed-wetting, fears, and use of comfort items. Children may become clingy and whiny and they may need greater understanding of their moods and behavior. With that, they will have a greater need to be nurtured.

So there is no way we all can blame them if they started to think they have to “take care” of their parents. Giving up one’s childhood to care for emotionally troubled parents is a widespread characteristic. Sending them to old folk home when parent’s age getting older is the final action for them normally. As a parent there is the saddest thing that happens to us. Isn’t it?

http://www.womenbrands.com/divorce/after-the-divorce.htm By Jeff Herring

Causes of divorce
Sex

Here, I like to give 1 more factor that causes divorce which is quite sensitive topic, sex. Sex is very important in any marriage, in any country at any time. There is no denial that marriage without sex is meaningless. Some people might think that sexless marriage always hints a divorce which is quite similar with my opinion. People are working longer hours and harder than ever before which I called them workaholic.

This does not limit to men only, more and more women have full time employment, even after marriages in this era. When both husband and wife work in long hours, the work stress and work schedule make them hard to have meaningful and loving sex. Work schedule for both husband and wife are often not parallel, both do not have the same deadline or the same workload.

When there is lack of contact or always spending time alone, sexual frustration will indirectly build up. In my deeply research, I found that when sexual needs are not met, either one will feel frustrated. Another common scenario is when the husband works and the wife stays at home though this situation is getting decrease all over the world. The wife gets frustrated with husband who stays out late after office hour and easily suspects something which is not true. Staying at home all the time is boring and frustrating. They will feel lonely and victimized.

However, lack of understanding from both sides and no action taken will worsen the case. Another reason is boredom, because of spending too much time on work and with the kids, there is no way sex will be fun if accomplished in such a short time span. After a few routines, it became a task. Slowly, they will become lazy and both no longer make efforts. However, sexless marriage doesn’t always end in a divorce. It could be just a phase. Everything can be improved and settle down. There are some ways to solve this problem which like try to talk things through with your spouse.

You can try to have fun in bed cuddling. Lovers have to always remind each other how much you love each other. I strongly suggest that take a holiday and go for a trip because I found that many couples renew their love and feelings for each other after a trip away. Whatever it takes, there are hundreds of ways to improve your marriages and it only take a few minutes in a day if you really take the effort.

Effect of divorce
The change in parent and impact on emotionally and economically

As the research shown, also, divorce affects the couple economically, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Because of the political and policy implications of the economic situation associated with divorce, much attention has focused on its economic impact. There is no doubt that after the divorce you may find you have mixed emotions about your ex – spouse. While you may know that the divorce was for the best, you may find that some days you hate your ex – spouse, and, surprisingly, there will be a day that you are going to miss him or her.

You may wonder why you feel any fondness for someone you are divorcing. It is perfectly normal, and most divorced people report these mixed emotions as shown in internet. When a couple divorces, the bad times they shared may be a recent memory, but there are times when each person feels vulnerable, lonely, or scared of the changes taking places. Actually all of us realize that every divorce brings about a lot of changes and change is not always easy. We are all human being. There is no way that we will stay calm if there is a huge sudden change on us.

However, there are times we are tempted to look back, because it is easier than facing the fact that you now have to rebuild your life. For female mostly, they normally can’t handle their emotion easily that might cause some minor problem like facing fear and nervous all the time or start to be sensitive to marriage. In the other hand, for those housewives that just rely on their husband income, they will face the economic impact seriously. They will hardly find a good job if they got no firm education foundation or financial background.

Finally, they end up with working stuff like being a waitress in restaurant or pub with low pay. With this case, I found that they starting to get ‘closer’ to customer to get more money to cover their daily expenses. For some, will rather become prostitute to earn more because it is easier for them. Different background family normally ends up with different of mind thinking. They actually should always be strong whether in own self or in religion to avoid we step in wrong position. However that’s what reality always shown in this cruel society. So, for me, we should always appreciate of what we have now and don’t always envy at other people. Otherwise, we will suffer for the rest of our life.

http://family.jrank.org/pages/413/Divorce.html Arditti, J. A., and Keith, T. Z.

Conclusion

In conclusion, having a divorce is the saddest thing in everyone meaningful and loving marriage so we must try the best we can to avoid this unhappy incident happen on us. Divorce usually becomes a situation when two people who were once very close, perhaps even soul mates, have become separated. Perhaps not separated physically, but separated in terms of being mentally on the same page with the same goals and the same objectives.

Overall, the root cause is almost always communications, or rather, a lack of communication between the two of you. You have to make an effort to save some of your energy to communicate with your spouse after a long hard day at work. It may actually help you to unwind. However, for those who are already get divorced, please don’t give up. What you should actually do is when divorce occurs, and you feel your life has been shattered, the first thing you should do is start leading the life of a single person immediately according to an expert.

You should force yourself to make a date at least once a week or start noticing other people, join in the activities of the singles crowd, and get back into the swing of things. Regardless of the pain, the bitterness, or exasperation, it’s essential that you remember your children and continue to be a good parent. In fact, you should do all within your means to be a better parent than you may have been before the separation. Just remember, time and people will cure all your ills, and you will be happy again

Reference

http://www.freeessays.cc/db/39/pnl171.shtml

Reference Bridgeman, W. N., & Alvon, K. C. (1991)

Marriage and divorce. Family Studies, 16, 133-150. Lowen, B. G., & Mill, A. (1998)

Separation and divorce in contemporary society. Marriage Studies, 5, 145-152. Carry, L. (1989).

http://www.womenbrands.com/divorce/after-the-divorce.htm

By Jeff Herring

http://books.google.com/books?id=lGBl92yxjF0C&dq=effect+of+divorce+on+children+parent+&pg=PA200&ots=8iCIr-zafl&sig=FmUmUV7TWFhLPVFhXEKgE7GyLAw&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fsourceid%3Dnavclient%26ie%3DUTF-8%26rlz%3D1T4ADBF_enMY236MY242%26q%3Deffect%2Bof%2Bdivorce%2Bon%2Bchildren%2Bparent%2B&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=2&cad=legacy#PPA85,M1

By Joseph Guttmann

http://blog.worldvillage.com/family/the_hidden_effects_of_divorce_on_children.html

By Charlotte Kamman

http://www.dearpeggy.com/affairs.html#2

by Peggy Vaughan

http://www.childadvocate.net/divorce_effects_on_children.htm

By Sara Eleoff

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divorce

(1991-05-21) “Advance Report of Final Divorce Statistics, 1988” (PDF). Monthly Vital Statistic Report 39 (12 (supplement 2)).
^ Divorce Magazine Poll Results. DivorceMagazine.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
^ Extra-marital affairs remain biggest cause for divorce as major increases in family strains and emotional/physical abuse also cause more splits – new survey. Grant Thornton. Retrieved on 2006-09-10.

http://searchwarp.com/swa44220.htm

Submitted by: Jonathan Brown

http://www.ay4web.com/marriage-divorce-avoid-counseling.html

http://hubpages.com/hub/CAUSES_OF_DIVORCE

By Jeff Herring

Nowadays, divorce is considered as one of the most important issues that we face in our modern society where it deeply affects the social and financial structures of the country. Our religion has always considered the stability of the marriage as one of its main goals; in other words, marriage should be held in high regards. In addition, the sanctity of marriage must be protected forever unless there are problems that come across a couple’s life for which there is no solution beside divorce.

Statistical reports show that the divorce rate is quiet high in the gulf region which proves that governments are not finding sufficient solutions for this problem. However, the United Arab Emirates governments realized the seriousness of this phenomenon on the families and society and began working on the problem especially in the recent years since divorce rates have increased radically and continue to rise; Divorce has become a vital issue as it affects the lives of families, causing pain, damages and destroying relationships. In other words divorce aftermaths are so serious that it could change your life drastically. These are some of the reasons that made me choose this sensitive topic. Why is divorce happening nowadays more commonly, even in the first years of marriage? What will happen if divorce rates continue to rise? Are there new reasons for divorce which are related to the country development?

In this research paper, I will analyze this problem while searching for answers to

such questions that will help to find solution in order to decrease the rate of divorce and to improve people lives. In addition, I will examine each part of this problem and the different views from the parents, the children and the family. Moreover, I will suggest some methods that may help avoid this problem.

Literature Reviews:

Abdualrazeq Maliki(2001) states that divorce phenomenon in the UAE society has interacting factors that may vary in their severity and impact on divorce problem. Maliki believes that some of the factors which help increased the divorce rates were changes that have taken place in the social and economic field; modernization. He Points out that modernization created a new side in our society which made a divergence between its members, especially member of a Family as husband and wife.

Halim Barakat (1993) agrees with Maliki as the modernization has a deep effect in our society as he says “Old patterns of marriage and divorce are being slowly replaced by new ones. Different sets of relationships are developing between family and society”. He adds “However, young men and women show less alienation from the family than from any other social institution, is it religious, political, or social”.

2-Divorce Reasons:

In our modern time statics proved that divorce is increasing year by year although the rates didn’t reach the highest registered rate in the last 30 years, but in recent years it is increasing rapidly. For example, the first graph shows the total divorce rates as a percentage of marriages in Gulf countries, where United Arab Emirates has a 34.84% in 1995 which is one of the highest percentages in gulf. While in 2006 it recorded 18.88% which was a great development in almost 10 years, but unexpectedly it shoots up to 25.62% in 2007 and continues to rise in 2008 to 25.74% as the second graph shows.

Such an increase made us search for eligible reason for it although the reasons may vary from every individual but the main common reasons are different background, arranged marriage and early marriage, modernization.

Different Background:

One of the most common causes of divorce that the people are not aware of is the different backgrounds of the married couple this is due to their belief that love can conquer all obstacles. “The Emirates Economist also reported that mixed marriages (i.e., marrying a foreigner) are considered as one of the causes of high rate of divorce in the UAE” ( ). In other words, people who are different in culture, economic class and religious believe, in addition to social status.

The culture background is a big hurdle in every marriage and essentially itaa‚¬a„?s the first reason for disputes, this comes from the difference of opinion between the couple were each one think they are right because of the way their parents raised them which ultimately affected the way the behave and think, for instance, when an emarati marries a woman from Europe they would often fight about cultural matters like how she should dress, be more conservative towards strangers and many more problems arises which finally can lead only to divorce.

Although the wealth of a person is usually said that it’s not important in front of love but the sad truth is it’s an important factor that can make life easy or hard, this often is present when two different person with different lifestyles marries, where one partner can’t keep with the other financially satisfied and starts to complain about it which in turns will lead to many disagreements where money is involved and a situation of unrest follows. Also this difference may affect their children, for instance,

“If the husband came from a poor family which had to struggle for everything, and the mother came from a wealthy family, then they might have different ways that they want to raise their children. The father may want to be tougher on the children and enforce strict rules on them. This is the way he was raised by his parents. The mother may be less strict and have completely different views on how to raise children. As a result, each parent may struggle to have their own way over the children. It would turn into a fight over power. It could eventually lead to divorce”(). Some may argue that parents from different background will have a good effective on their children since they get to know more than one culture. However, if the parents have a good communication they will able to avoid problems that may end with divorce.

Religion plays a vital role in everyone’s spiritual and mental health, where faith can make a person strong to face the difficulties of life and continue to accept the challenges presented to them, this being said a couple with different religion can cause lots and lots of various problems mainly the faith of the child or even the certain necessities of a religion like wearing hijab for women, if such problem were not resolved in time the marriage would definitely collapse and a family would break with divorce.

The difference in social status between the couples is a major problem which often leads to family complications where both families donaa‚¬a„?t accept the marriage that will occur or even after marriage, where the family decides to cut all relations between the couples, this will leave the couples with a big challenge because no matter who you love nothing can beat the love of your family and losing it will make you resort to the last solution to return your family ties which is divorce.

Arranged Marriage:

Marriage is

Early Marriage:

One of the important causes of divorce in the United Arab Emirates is early marriage, which remains as one of the country’s tradition. Although the education level has risen in the UAE, but this didn’t prevent the practice of early marriage in the country. However, Many researches disagree as they say “Universal, early marriage is no longer the Standard it once was in Arab countries: The average age at marriage for both men and women is generally rising, and more Arab women are staying single longer or not marrying at all” ( ). It’s true that early marriage is on decline but it still continues to occur and contribute in raising divorce , according to booz&co journal, ” Our society is partly responsible for the high divorce rates as a lot of couples marry quickly without any chance to know each other, so in reality they are like strangers and there is no communication between them” Furthermore, early marriage can affect couples life causing divorce for many reasons such as, the lack of communication and experience, also lack of independence.

Early marriage is one of the reasons that lead girls to leave school and start a new life in which they don’t have enough responsibilities in addition to limited awareness of what marriage is and how to deal with it, which lead to miscommunication with the other partner. Many researches agree that lack of communication is the main cause of divorce, “communication is the revealing of thoughts or ideas and is an important aspect of all relationships”().As in our society the reason of the bad communication between the couples is that” many boys and girls need to interact with the opposite sex, since their upbringing and schooling have in most instances been strictly gender segregated”(booz&co). Furthermore, marriage in a young age may lack the experience that is required in dealing with problems that couples may face, since these young couples don’t have a lot of things to experience and learn from it before getting married.

In addition, in our region many families support their married sons financially which will encourage them to depend on their parents without realizing that marriage represent independence. Also it will reduce their responsibility award their new life. In contrast other families may not help their sons with money, which will leave the new couple facing debts in a very early age. “Consequently, money problems resulting from premature marriages can also cause divorce”( ).

Modernization:

Modernization is the “Transformation of a society from a rural and agrarian condition to a secular, urban, and industrial one” ( ). In other words, modernization means the great development that happened suddenly to change a country from many ways. For example, the United Arab Emirates witnessed a huge improvement in many sectors such as economy, education and medication fields. Although these changes have a positive impact on the society, but it also have a harmful influence that can contribute to high divorce rates. According to ( ) ” Modernization and economic development have been cited as one of the factors leading to divorce in Western societies (Heaton, Cammack, & Young). Similarly, the economic boom in the UAE, which is associated with rapid modernization and globalization has affected individual lifestyles and family values as well”. So the impact of modernization has been proofed through the increasing numbers of families that have changed their lifestyle to have more urbane life than traditional one. Furthermore, this changing affects the society as it adds new reasons for divorce like women seeking independence in addition to the increase of demands of a marriage.

First of all, the greatest change that occur through modernization is the female education and

Conclusion:

In conclusion, there are many reasons for getting divorce but the most common one is the lack of communication between the married couples; lack of communication can destroys any kind of relationships in which will impact the socity as a whole.

According to Craib the division of labour is “the way in which different tasks are allocated to different people”. (Craib, 1997: 279) However it is not as easy to define modernity because Marx, Durkheim and Weber all had different interpretations of what modernity meant and whether the division of labour was a central feature of it, however the basic definition of modernity is simply the historical transition from feudal societies to modern ones, as a result of industrialisation. Some people argue that we still live in modernity.

Durkheim argues further that the forces of industrialisation and urbanisation led to a growing division of labour that forced the breakdown of mechanical solidarity. The specialisation of jobs and growing social differentiation in higher developed societies would lead to a new order characterized by organic solidarity (Giddens, 2001). The high level of specialisation in the division of labour is a significant outcome of modern industrial production (Giddens, 1971). This was held together by people’s economic independence and acknowledgment of other people’s contributions. As the division of labour grows people become increasingly dependent on others because each person needs goods and services that those in other professions provide (Giddens, 2001). Societies held together by organic solidarity have a well-developed division of labour. The conscience collective remains but becomes less and less important covering a smaller proportion of our lives and concentrating on the individual (Giddens, 1971). The success of organic solidarity is dependent upon the fading significance of the conscience collective (Giddens, 1971). Social integration becomes less significant, the customs and values of society begin to break down. However, people become dependant on society because we are dependent on everybody else doing their jobs. For example in contemporary society people become dependant on others, many whom live half way across the world to grow my food and make my clothes (Craib, 1997). The division of labour arises because it is the natural result of population growth and the following decline of segmented societies. Therefore, for Durkheim the division of labour is fundamentally a central feature of modernity.

Durkheim’s argument however is debatable because arguably Durkheim “vastly understated the degree of interdependence and reciprocity in pre-industrial societies” (Craib 1997:68). For example, the idea that we are all interdependent on one another is debatable because there is class conflict present in modern society. Nevertheless, Durkheim continued to argue that the division of labour was a central feature of modernity because he found a solution to this problem. Durkheim argued that class conflict was a characteristic of the incomplete development from mechanical to organic solidarity through industrialisation. (Craib, 1997) Durkheim called it the forced division of labour. For instance, people might be given positions in the division of labour which they are not suited by their talents or skills, for example, a manager of a business who got given the job due to family connections, rather than through managerial ability and experience. Therefore real organic solidarity cannot develop if this is the case. (Craib 1997) Therefore, Durkheim successfully argues that the division of labour is a central feature of modernity.

According to Marx, although the division of labour is an important feature of modernity, it is certainly not central because the division of labour is a product of capitalism (Giddens, 1973), therefore it is capitalism which drives modernity. For Marx capitalism is a system of commodity production, where maximise exchange value is the top priority (Giddens, 1973). In a capitalist system, social change is driven by changes in the productive forces and the slow change from Feudalism to Capitalism which brings about a new mode of production which was different because it brought about the rise in exchange value. Use value is the “value of good to the person who possesses it” (Craib, 1997:282), for example the enjoyment of drinking a bottle of wine, whereas exchange value is the “value at which a commodity sells on the market” (Craib 1997:279) so what the bottle of wine would exchange for. A commodity is what is created for the purpose of exchange rather than the use by the person who made it and the exchange value is what is determined by the amount of socially required labour spent on the production of a commodity. However for a worker what they sell is their labour power which is a commodity, which has use value and exchange value. The exchange value of labour power is what is needed to enable workers to live comfortably on, to enable them to buy food, clothe and educate children. However for an employer, the only reason in employing workers would be if their use value, in other words the value of stuff they produce is greater than what the employer has to pay them, so the exchange value of their labour power. The difference between the two is surplus value which is what the employer chooses. At the same time workers are working for their own wage, workers are working for their employers profit; workers are producing surplus value, and therefore they are being exploited (Craib, 1997). “This sets the scene for permanent conflict between workers and employers”(Craib, 1997:94).

Marx argues that this conflict between workers and employers is what Capitalism is founded upon; a class division between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, in other words the working class and the capitalist class (Giddens, 1973). Marx believed that the working class were denied the individual wealth which could be derived from the division of labour (Craib, 1997). The idea of class conflict leads to Marx’s theory of alienation. “Alienation is a state in which the situation we create takes on real solidarity, comes to seem unchangeable”. (Craib, 1997) The system we created acts back on us which forms and control us, and alienate us from our own collective nature. Workers are alienated from their own products, for example, if a worker’s job was in a factory producing cars, the worker has no control or decision making over what they produce, and it becomes impossible to differentiate the work they have done from what anybody else has produced. The worker’s labour becomes an external quality, not something that comes from their inner life, the worker is alienated from their product, and it becomes a matter of satisfying another’s desires. There is nothing of the worker in the work and consequently the work becomes a burden. This theory of alienation is a product of capitalism (Craib, 1997). Therefore, although Marx agrees to an extent that the division of labour is a fundamental feature of modernity, he argues that the whole system of capitalism which creates a rise of exchange value is the central feature of modernity.

For Weber, the division of labour was not a central part of modernity but due to the process of rationalisation. Weber understood this by looking at the origins of modernity by looking at the motivations of the early capitalists. Weber discovered that in modern Europe business leaders and owners of capital were overwhelmingly protestant, (Giddens, 1973). Weber turned to the doctrines of John Calvin who created the idea of predestination, the idea that we are already chosen for eternal life or eternal damnation, and we cannot do anything about it (Craib, 1997). Their belief in predestination meant that they experienced an inner loneliness, profits were reinvested in to the business and business success bred business success (Craib, 1997). Weber argues that ‘worldly success’ was interpreted as a sign of salvation. This was a rational instrumental action involving a means-end form of action, in other words an activity directed towards practical ends rather than the means. For Weber this was a basis for his further discoveries. Once he looked at Christianity he began to look at other religions, it was here Weber found the key features of modernity and although the division of labour was an important part of modernity it was not the central feature.

Weber discovered that the emergence of modern society came about as a result of two practices in the world which he argued led to the rise of modern western society, bureaucracy and disenchantment which means as capitalism spreads, there is a decline in magic and religion across the world. Bureaucracy for Weber was the “rational form of organisation which dominates the modern world” (Craib, 1997:278). “The conduct of rational capitalism in turn entails unavoidable consequences in the sphere of social organisation and inevitably fosters the spread of bureaucracy” (Giddens, 1971). This was important as a rational rather than traditional means of organising affairs. For Weber these two features were very important features of modernity, Weber believed that people were moving away from traditional beliefs such as religion. For Weber the development of modern technology and bureaucracy was described by Weber collectively as rationalisation (Giddens, 2001). For Weber the term rationalisation meant the process by which nature, society and individual action are increasingly mastered by an orientation to planning, technical procedure and rational action. Weber thought that all the spheres of society, including the economic, political and legal spheres underwent the process of rationalisation and it was this he believed was the central feature of modernity (Morrison, 1995). According to Weber, “The bureaucratic specialisation of tasks is treated as the most integral feature of capitalism” (Giddens, 1971: 234). Therefore, for Weber the division of labour is a fundamental feature of modernity because there is a specialised division of labour within a bureaucratised structure, for example in hospitals and universities (Giddens 1971).

Weber had a very pessimistic view of society. He was fearful of modern society as a system that would crush the human spirit by attempting to regulate all spheres of social life. Weber was particularly troubled by the potentially suffocating and dehumanizing effects of bureaucracy and its implications for the fate of democracy. Weber characterizes the modern west as dominated by the secular growth of instrumental rationality (Whimster and Lash, 1987). Instrumental rationality is an activity directed towards practical ends and the easiest way to get to the precise ends (Craib, 1997). It is what allows bureaucracy to grow and become the dominant way of organising things. For example, the holocaust could only be done bureaucratically in an instrumental rational way. Substantively rational questions are ignored. There is no emphasis on why people are doing things; the emphasis is on how people will achieve the exact end. For example, Bauman argued that during the holocaust the Nazi soldiers who killed Jews did not think about why they were doing it they just looked at the end, the wages they would receive, it was simply their job (Bauman, 1989). Therefore, this idea of instrumental rationality was a central feature of modernity for Weber.

To conclude, it is evident that the division of labour was an important feature of modernity for Durkheim, Marx and Weber. However the division of labour was only a central feature of modernity for Durkheim, whereas for Weber and Marx it was not the central feature because for Marx the central feature of modernity was capitalism and for Weber rationalisation was the central feature.

In these studies of topic to observe diversity of race and ethnicity that are described by the authors as well as it will try examining each of these dimensions of them to describe common them across dimensions and to develop an integrative model of race and ethnic diversity.

Within the article, journal, newspapers and other resources that are based on race and ethnic diversity of race theory issues focus on positive predictions or possible positive outcomes of racial and ethnic diversity. Besides, it demonstrates that although authors tended to see race or ethnicity as important and significant in their research, they rarely defined or operational the concepts adequately.

Besides, it briefly explores how race became a part of our Sociological and Philosophical and argues that in this article we analyze the impact of multicultural ideology on struggles for equality in the spheres of gender, race/ethnicity and sexuality. It argues that multiculturalism has permeated theory, policy and action in these areas and that this has resulted in divisions and conflicts between movements for human rights.

It briefly explores how race became a part of our culture and consciousness and argues that it disconnects cultural features and problems and issues of identity from biological traits and study how “race” eroded and superseded older forms of human identity. It suggests that “race” ideology is already beginning to disintegrate review of empirical research and theory on the relationship between workforce diversity and organizational performance and outlines practical steps HR practitioners can take to manage diversity initiatives successfully and enhance the positive outcomes

The last, Reviews based on differences between whites and blacks have examined differences in values, motivation, socioeconomic background, and intelligence. Research in this area has focused on issues of biculturalism as a management skill and how it affects access to informal networks to superiors, and to receiving respect, appreciation, and encouragement from them.

Grouping reviewed studies according to the effects of race-ethnicity on perceptions of leadership, the effects of race-ethnicity on leadership enactments, and actors’ move toward to the social actuality of race-ethnicity. The analysis reveals a gradual resemblance of ideas of leadership and ideas of race-ethnicity as their comparison dimensions are progressively more emphasized. A shift in the conceptualization of race-ethnicity in relation to leadership is reported, from a constraint to a personal resource to a synchronized thought of its constraining and releasing capacity.

Organizational behavior to ensure that leadership, staff, and the culture of the health services organization represents and values the communities they serve. Based on our evaluation of health services and common management organizational behavior and racial/ethnic diversity literature, we offer an agenda for future investigates in this area. Factors that will make easy or reduce the detection of the future research agenda are also recognized and discussed.

Introduction

The effectiveness of a fire department is influenced by many factors including its culture and Leadership. Individually, the associated characteristic of each may generally maybe identifiable and understood. However, not understanding how one influences the other can lead to a disconnect leaving the organization unable to meet its mission or honor its value. It is true that we live in an era of significant and constant change. From the technology we rely upon daily to the attitudes we currently embrace regarding social, environmental, and a host of numerous other issues, what exists now may not have been the order of the day a half century ago. Diversity is such an issue. Most of the legislation regarding diversity has surfaced within the last few decades, as have many diversity-oriented rules, policies, and practices in companies and several current positive attitudes regarding diversity. There are six dimensions of diversity (race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, and national origin) to determine how these literatures have evolved.

We then analyze some of the theoretical, practical and philosophical reasons why a movement engaged in the struggle for racial/social justice can operate in oppressive ways. These include approaches to the analysis of power, the adoption of unitary definitions of oppression, the material context of capitalism and the logical, sociological and philosophical problems that are inherent in the concept of multiculturalism itself.

Problem Statement

Research has found that racially diverse environments are associated with positive intellectual and social outcomes. Racial diversity in the in different situations is linked to the possibility that a people will interact with other of a different race or ethnicity and engage in discussions of racial or ethnic issues. Frequent interaction across racial lines and discussion of racial and ethnic issues positively predicts society retention, intellectual and social self-concept, and overall satisfaction. My problem statement will help me to face with solutions that address the root of the cause not just the symptoms. The situation is observed in different type of society which they are organization, specific type of people which Black and white races in the society as they are facing this problem.

It is experienced situations when populations are very diverse in ethnic, cultural and religious terms there are no doubt that reaching a balance or consensus is very difficult, as is established by the different approaches to multicultural populations taken by Western European states. Besides contrasting examines on Black and white versus diversity , when the result have been rather consistent, there is still much to be learned in studies of race and ethnic differences in leadership style and effectiveness.

White and Black versus situations happened where it acted from in relation to it in Civil Rights Acts in the US. It was paying attention on whether there was discrimination and bias present in collection, preparation, performance evaluations, promotions, and other important human source functions.

The positive point of view is that there are benefits to the team by having increased

Diversity, and ethnically diverse work group makes better decisions than homogeneous teams.

That it found a fairly equal number of studies reporting positive or negative effects for race and

Ethnicity diversity across three outcomes types performance, process and affect, attitude.

Besides we can analyze diversity problems and issues which it is two broad categories of problems can be acknowledged as follow: the first having to do with how people of diverse teams get along with one another and it is the problem of how individuals and groups perceive who they are the problem of “identity.”

Race and ethnicity effect that those persons who are different from the majority in a society tend to be more likely to leave, to be less satisfied and less psychologically dedicated. This connection that diversity of racial and ethnic as well as group and organizational perspective outcomes is complex, with suitable variables of exhibiting a strong principal influence on diversity’s impact.

3.0 Definition of race and ethnic diversity

“Race” is described as the differences based on skin color or biological characteristics. Besides there has not been any believable realistic evidence that indicates that common psychological, moral or academic features are described to people on the basis of their skin color or looks of face (Donald and Rattans, 1993)

“Race” identity took significance over religion, ethnic origin, education and training, socioeconomic class, career, verbal statement, principles, beliefs, morals, lifestyles, geographical location, and all other human attribute that up to this time provided all groups and individuals with a sense of who they were (Conrad 1969).

A number of theories have been used for studying race/ethnicity as a central changeable of attention. Most of these theories come from a micro-theoretical view and attempt to explain conduct from an individual, or within work group insight (Tajfel, 1981). Most of these theories come from the fields of social psychology or cognitive psychology and stem from our cognitive and social need to classify ourselves and others based on surface-level or readily perceivable personality such as race(Phinney,1992). These theories often have been used to establish or defend hypotheses that have focused on pessimistic outcomes or guesses as a consequence of race/ethnicity differences. Some of the basic assumptions made about community and individual nature contained in many of these theories are that:

Humans critic each other on surface-level individuality, such as race or gender, in the absence of further information (Davis & Watson, 1982; Schein, 1973).

Group connection based on these features implies true similarities or differences between groups which then constructs the formation of in-group and out-group differences (Alderfer 1986;Tajfel & Turner,1986)

These judgments lastly result in outcomes that may have unhelpful effects for alternative or out-group members or group efficiency (Kanter, 1977).

Surrounded by the text on race and ethnic diversity, there also are some theories that center on affirmative forecasts or likely positive outcomes of racial/ethnic diversity. This comes from a “value in diversity” viewpoint (Cox, 1993; Cox, Lobel & McLeod, 1991) which argues that diversity creates value and help for group outcomes. The common theory that causes these theories is that a raise in racial/ethnic diversity means that a work group will practice achievable positive outcomes such as: improved information, better problem solving facility, practical argument and dispute, increased creativity, higher feature decisions, and increased understanding of diverse ethnicities/cultures. Any more essential theory is that surface-level diversity such as race is indicative of deeper-level differences, such as thinking processes/schemas, difference knowledge base, different sets of experiences, and diverse views of the world.

3.1Antecedents and outcomes of racial/ethnical diversity

In earlier research from 1960 to 1980, it was mentioned in relation to it in Civil Rights Act in the U.S. it was paying attention on whether there was discrimination and bias present in collection, preparation, performance evaluations, promotions, and other important human source functions (c.f., Cox &Nkomo, 1990). There also has been some explore conducted on differences among subdivisions in terms of job agreement and other attitudes, incentive, and leadership.

According to Kraiger and Ford’s (1985) meta-analysis, race/ethnicity clarified 3.7% of the difference in job performance ratings. Rates tended to accept higher ratings from raters of the same race. Other results (Moch 1980; Williams& O’Reilly, 1998) for race/ethnicity effects recommend that those persons who are different from the majority in a society tend to be more likely to leave, to be less satisfied and less psychologically dedicated.

By the 1990s, Johnson and Packer made examine on diversity begun to focus on work teams, or the business case for managing and utilizing a gradually more diverse workers. Two conflicting views appeared that about it Milliken & Martins, 1996 explained as follow .The positive point of view is that there are benefits to the team by having increased diversity. Group performance is thought to be enhanced by having broader resources and multiple views (Hoffman, 1959).

Particular to race, some studies (McLeod, Lobel& Cox, 1996; Watson, Kumar & Michaelsen, 1993) have found that ethnically diverse work group makes better decisions than homogeneous teams. Joshi and Roh (2007) found a fairly equal number of studies reporting positive or negative effects for race/ethnicity diversity across three outcomes types (performance, process and affect/attitude). The most stimulating finding, however, was that there were more null findings than positive and pessimistic effects put together. For example, race/ethnicity diversity effects in relation to show were seven positive, eight negative and 20 null findings.

3.2 Diversity of Race Sociological and Philosophical Content

The implementation of totally developed multiculturalism raises basic questions about the nature of social relations and culture itself. About it, Mitchell and Russell said: “. . . the. Right to be diverse can never be unrestricted. . . No society can reserve a position in which ‘anything goes’ at the cultural level within its different communities” (Mitchell &Russell, 1994, p. 153).To agree with this report is not to slip into ethnocentrism or racism. It is, however, to state the sociologically clear: that there are limits to the amount of diversity that any society can accept without destruction, if not total disintegration. In Britain, for example, calls for the application of Islamic law to Muslim British citizens have thus far been rejected, as have demands for female genital harm on the NHS. On the other hand, as noted above, a high court judge has justified by reference to cultural custom his lenient sentencing of men who murdered a female relative, and state funding for Islamic denominational schools has been approved. Human social being implies at least a minimum level of compromise, or commitment to shared norms (Macey, 1995b) and in democracies there is a need to balance the rights discussed by citizenship of a society with the responsibilities that this demands (Marshall & Bottomore, 1992). When populations are very diverse in ethnic, cultural and religious terms there are no doubt that reaching a balance or consensus is very difficult, as is established by the different approaches to multiethnic populations taken by Western European states. France has adopted a stance of “ethno centric assimilations,” Germany has” institutionalized precariousness” and Britain has taken the path of “uneven pluralism”(Melotti, 1997). All these approaches are difficult, mainly in relation to achieving equal opportunity of conduct and opportunity for members of minority groups who wish to preserve a typical culture. All raise basic, and potentially conflictual, questions about minority in contrast to majority, individual versus group rights and, finally, the very nature of the liberal democratic project.

On many issues there may be little or non-conflict between majority and minority cultures and values, as appears to be implied in Ben-Tovim’s suggestion that multiculturalism be seen: “. . . not as an end in itself, but as a component of the resist for social equality, justice and freedom within the non-relativistic framework of secular liberal and social democracy” (1997, p. 220).

Poulter’s study, like that of Mitchell and Russell (above) places of interest the potential conflict essential in widely opposed philosophical views on human social existence, mainly the question of universal versus particularistic rights. We need to acknowledge the reality of such differences, the fact that some may not be reconcilable and thus that decisions have to be taken on the basis of value decisions.

3.3 Problems and Issues of Identity: Ethnicity and Race

All of this demonstrates to the fact that inter-ethnic inter face has a long history. We humans are not new to the dispute of trying to get along with “unfamiliar” others. What strategies were used in early times to accommodate or transcend differences? How did inherited societies recognize and deal with humans who differed from themselves, both culturally and physically? In existing times many areas of the world are supporting a way with “ethnic” conflicts, and “ethnicity” seems to be a fairly new notion about human identities stopped with elements of exclusivity, opposition, competition, and antagonism. Some groups define themselves in conditions that appear rigid and unyielding and in disagreement always to “the others.” In many belongings we have seen populations state an almost lasting addition an ethnic or religious identity, as if such features of our social selves are determined by our DNA and cannot be transformed or diminished by any social mechanisms. In some cases, populations that were once deemed generally ethnically homogeneous are now unambiguously and irrevocably multination.

The media represents a popular idea of these phenomena as if they were something new in the human practice, and many scholars in the social sciences care for multi ethnicity as not only a modern phenomenon or a novel condition, but one that inevitably creates problems and potential, if not real, conflicts. Two broad categories of problems can be accepted:

The first having to do with how people of diverse teams get along with one another;

The second is the problem of how individuals and groups perceive who they are the problem of “identity.”

The sets of troubles are clearly interrelated but not the same. In the first class, there seems to be a fundamental principle or guess that people of diverse ethnic groups are in opposition with one another so that difference and opposition are inevitable. Another related and often unstated statement is that different ethnic groups can have no common benefit which makes any form of unity or even good relations not possible.

It is the second difficulties that this paper addresses, the one concerning individuality, an arena of troubles that may be more strange to Americans, in terms of their individual conceptions of who they are, than to peoples of other nations. There seems to be a psychologically based theory in our society that people must know who they are, that a concrete and positive sense of one’s individual selfness (or “identity”)i n a wider world of other” selves” is a necessary condition for good psychological health. We humans are actually the only animal that sufferings over the question, “Who am I?” Perhaps the question get up because in manufacturing societies we lack a sense of bonding to a relationship group, a village, or other more limited territorial entity and because our heavy focus on eccentricity disconnects us from others and fosters an abiding sense of separation and in safety. Whatever the reason, some les-sons from history might provide a broader context in which to understand the dilemmas of human identity that we experience in the modern world.

Mullin and Cooper in 2002 presented a six-factor model to assist the delivery of culturally competent discussion.

It involves an in-depth awareness of self, the consultee, and the consultee system as cultural beings.

That relates to possessing the mechanical and professional skills required to work in a manner congruent with the consultee or consultee systems’ cultures.

It focuses on understanding the factors beyond culture- together with economics, racism, intercontinental relations, organizational health, sexism, and agism- that affect the consultee and the consultee system.

It identifies the need both to understand one’s own culture and its impact on one’s personal and professional beliefs,

Involving to the extent that one’s own culture and the culture of the consultee or the consultee system is multicultural or monoculture and the difficult effects this has on interactions between persons, groups, and organizations.

The development of knowledge, attitudes, and skills that assist in focusing non-judgmentally and helpfully on the culture of the consultee and consultee system. In the end, this entails advancing from awareness to acceptance to valuation of macro- and micro cultural, racial, and ethnicity differences.

Whaley and Davis (2007) defined cultural capability as “a set of problem solving skills that includes

The ability to identify and understand the dynamic inter play between heritage and adaptation dimensions in culture in shaping human behavior;

The ability to use the knowledge acquired about an individual’s heritage and adaptation challenges to maximize the effectiveness assessment, diagnosis, treatment; and

Internalization of this process of recognition, acquisition, and use of cultural dynamics so that it can be normally applied to diverse groups”

The main conclusion of their analysis is that “a compelling case can be made on socio-demographic, clinical, ethical, and scientific grounds for cultural competence in the delivery of services”

The goal of this particular issue is to offer more theoretical and useful resources that will add to greater efficiency of consultations when consultants, consultees, and client systems occupy diverse culture, race, and ethnicity. Specifically, this particularissue consists of five articles by P. Romney, D. Sue, F. Leong and J. Huang, S. E. Cooper(with contributions from K. Wilson-Starks, A. M. O’Roark, G. Pennington, and D.Peterson), and R. Thomas.

3.4 Whites versus Non-whites diversity race

Study on the leadership styles of black and white supervisors has created that black

Supervisors tend to use more consideration with both black and white subordinates than do White supervisors (e.g., Adams, 1978). White supervisors were found to use a more instruction leadership style, especially with black subordinates. Kipnis, Silverman, and Copeland (1973), for example, found that white supervisors in mixed situations reported using coercion (such as suspensions) more frequently with black subordinates than with white subordinates.

Some research on outranked satisfaction has found no differences among black- and white-led groups (e.g., Adams, 1978), but other study has found that black supervisors are rated more positively than white supervisors, by both white and black subordinates, on administrative support, emphasis on goals, and facilitation of work (Parker, 1976). In general, investigate on differences in notes of subordinate satisfaction and insights of efficiency are scarce and in conclusive. Contrasting examines on women and men, where the result have been rather consistent, there is still much to be learned in studies of race and ethnic differences in leadership style and effectiveness.

A learn by Cox, Lobel, and McLeod (199 l), the behavior of Anglo-Americans compared to diverse groups (defined as one Anglo-American and three minority members) in solving the Prisoner’s Dilemma. The minorities included African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asian-Americans. Cox et al. (199 1, p. 840) established that the all-Anglo groups selected “the cooperative choice only 25 percent of the time compared to over 70 percent for the ethnically diverse groups.” These outcomes propose that leading ethnically diverse groups may place different demands on leaders than leading homogeneous, Anglo-American groups.

3.5 Effects of race and ethnicity on perceptions of leadership

The first set of study focuses generally on the questions of how the race-ethnicity of the leaders and/or of the groups influence absolutely or negatively perceptions of leadership. Most of these studies try to identify how the race-ethnicity of either the perceiver or the objective affects who is authorized to be a leader, as well as how leaders are evaluated or treated. In general, in this group, scholars view race-ethnicity as an independent changeable that helps explain how leaders are viewed or experienced. Some studies investigate how the race-ethnicity of the leader impacts the way he or she is viewed by followers, while others investigate how the race-ethnicity of followers (or of a general audience that represents potential followers) impacts their view of the leader, given his or her race-ethnicity.

Studies in this class then respond to this context by focusing on how those discriminations translate into constraints placed on individual leaders of color. (The majority of research has compared whites and African-Americans; however more recent study has investigated Latino/a, Asian and Native American leaders as well.) Some studies have been paying attention solely in establishing that these obstacles exist, while others have also investigated diverse explanations for the drawback, as well as the influence of particular contextual factors that may moderate the effect of race.

In addition to, Bartol, Evans and Stith in 1978 noted that the dominance of evidence from field studies showed black managers was rated more disapprovingly than white managers. However, other studies showed no difference or even, in one study, that African Americans were rated more completely than whites. The authors also point out that there seemed to be a diversity in what leadership features were given more weight: “across the studies, there does appear to be a tendency to estimate blacks in leadership positions more heavily on interpersonal factors than on content or task-related factors” though little research at that time investigated why this might be the case.

In 2003, Knight, Hebl, Foster, and Mannix compared white and black managers in an experimental study and found that participants tended to give lower ratings to black leaders and white subordinates, and higher ratings to white leaders and black subordinates, “thus affirming these workers in their conventional public positions”

Furthermore, Rosette, Leonardelli, and Phillips 2008 also compared white and black “business leaders” in an experimental study, finding that whites were seen as more effective leaders and as having more leadership prospective. In an extensive study of white and black women managers (Bell &Nkomo,2001), a number of the African American participants described incidents of outright racism as well as more subtle challenges to their authority as well as being held to a higher standard.

A lot of these studies also examine or think about why these obstacles exist. Bass (1990) cites early studies to propose that “stress created by marginality” is likely to be a constraining effect for black leaders, even as he allows that marginality in some situation can be quite useful. He specifies that African American managers may lack contact to important networks and “appreciation and encouragement” from their superiors. Bass (1990), on the other hand, speculates that racial prejudice, a “cultural background that stresses modesty” and the stereotype of Asians as “passive and retiring” may all contribute to the reasons they are not found in management in higher numbers, despite their relatively larger presentation in technical and professional fields. Knight et al. (2003), state aversive racism, a modern form of racism that avoids complete white supremacy while more insidiously rationalizing white dominance. They argue that it is “perhaps the most difficult barrier for black managers to conquer “While Rosette and her colleagues (2008) recognize the presence of negative racial bias and stereotypes, they believe another mechanism may also be at play: that “being white” (that is, race itself rather than stereotypes about race) is part of the business leader sample and then whites are more likely to be seen as leaders.

Others have identified extra factors that could influence how race influences subordinates’ assessments of superiors. In one early study, more liberal white subordinates rated their black managers more favorably than less liberal subordinates. Ellis, Ilgen, and Hollenbeck (2006) investigated another possible contingent influence on ratings of black vs. white leaders:

They found no direct outcome of race on performance ratings. Instead, team performance and whether assistants attribute performance to internal or external factors, influenced the performance ratings of black and white leaders. Rather, influenced by social identity and social categorization theory (e.g.,Brewer& Gardner, 1996), they dispute that most work on leadership overlook the fact that “leaders not only lead groups of people, but are also themselves members of these groups” (Van Knippenberg and Hogg, 2003). They suggest that groups authorize those most ideal of the group to be their leaders, particularly when group members have strong group identification.

3.6 Racial and Ethnic Diversity management and organizational-level outcomes

The correlation between racial and ethnic diversity and group and organization-level outcomes is complex, with appropriate variables exhibiting a strong prevailing influence on diversity’s impact.

In 2000 year, Hartenian and Gudmundson studied of small business presented conclusions that linked helpful change in financial performance from the prior fiscal year with workforce diversity, defined in terms of the percentage of people of color employed by the firm.

In addition, Richard (2000) in a firm-level study of the banking industry using a sample drawn from California, Kentucky, and North Carolina found no generally support for the theories that racial diversity will be positively associated with firm financial performance.

A lately published survey explore study (Hopkins, Hopkins, &Mallette, 2001) shows that organizational diversity initiatives may well recover the commitment and agreement of all employees, irrespective of race and ethnicity. They found that, for both white male managers and managers of color, organizational commitment to diversity is absolutely associated with the managers’ perception that their organization has satisfied its commitment to them and with the managers’ self-reported commitment to the job. Organizational obligation to diversity was considered by a scale that consisted of seven diversity practices, which were rated by the respondents on a seven-point scale for the extent to which the item describes their organization.

Diversity management and its relationship to racial and ethnic disparities in access, treatment, and outcomes remains an unused area of study. This gap in the literature, united with the lack of engagement in diversity management practices by HCOs, irrespective of service area demographics (Muller &Haase, 1994; Maldonado et al., 2002), makes the link between diversity management practices and racial and ethnic differences largely hypothetical.

4.0 Conclusion

In conclusions, compare to a popular belief on ethnic diversity, the positive effect of ethnic diversity on work group performance has not been supported conclusively. Instead, null and negative results have been more common. Therefore, more study is certainly needed to specify different possibilities such as length of time together as a group, task personality, and a variety of mixtures of ethnicity in which ethnic diversity may have differential effects on performance. In other words, other than research result that report lower work attitudes for Whites in diverse settings (e.g., Riordan, 2000), There is little research that provides experiential evidence explaining the reasons for these findings or that sheds light on the characteristics associated with being White or the White experience of diversity.

By repeating the sociologically clear that human social being implies at least a minimum level of compromise or commitment to shared norms. What establishes this “minimum level” and the extent of possible difference from it is a matter for discuss (Macey, 1995b). However, if we continue to allow the politicization of the dissertation to stop the asking of fundamental, complex questions we put at risk the uncertain gains inequality and human rights that have been won at huge cost to women, black, white and working-class people. If we choose not to question our own assumptions and practices and fail to challenge oppression from whatever source, we must accept that we, like the men referred to above, are

The purpose of this learning and development plan is to understand the importance of equality, diversity and human rights in the practice of social work. I aim to indentify, recognise and respect diversity and equality using theories and ideas that will relate to why oppression, discrimination and prejudice occur in today’s society. I will also write about how I am aware of my own personal prejudices and dilemmas and how I aim to challenge oppression/discrimination with the use of anti-discriminatory practices.

“Language is legislation, speech is its code. We do not see the power which is in speech because we forget that all speech is a classification and that all classifications are oppressive”.

The word Oppression in the English language means;

the act of subjugating by cruelty

a feeling of being oppressed

kept down by unjust use of force or authority; “the tyrant’s oppression of the people”

(Hyperdictionary, 2000- 2009)

It is viewed differently by Feminists and by Marxists. Marxism believes that it is a class issue. They suggest women, gays or people of non-white skin should be subordinate to the Bourgeoisie, that Capitalism shapes and depends upon oppression for survival and the struggles of the oppressed cannot be carried out across all classes. The Bourgeoisie has various means to keep down the lower class (poor) by squeezing more profits from then. The working class are the oppressed class; they often have bad housing, education and therefore poor job opportunities than the middle or upper class of the Bourgeoisie. (D’Amato, 1999)

Marxists argue that the eradication of racism, sexism or homophobia will mean that a capitalist government will have to be overthrown; however, they will never tell the oppressed this, but will advice them that the revolution is coming and they need to wait. They see the struggle against all forms of oppression is essential to the struggle of socialism.

Carl Marx the founder of Marxism ignored and downplayed oppression as he came from a privileged background. (D’Amato, 1999)

Radical feminists believe that women are oppressed within the patriarchal system (males are viewed as superior to females), that marriage and family are a result of capitalism. Women have a common bond with each other no matter the age, race or class. Women need to take control of their lives; they need to separate themselves from the things that have oppressed them. (Zieber, 2008)

Socialist feminists say that women are oppressed because of dominance and economic inequality that every form of oppression is a feminist issue and women are a subordinate class by the power positions males have in society. (Holmstrom, 2003)

I myself have experienced being oppressed by males. I live with my partner on a farm and we have people (mainly men) come to work there. Some men do not think I should not be working in a male environment, that I cannot be driving a tractor, working out in the fields or when I am quality controlling their work with the livestock. If their work is not up to the right standard I tell them, they often tell me I am wrong and try to speak to another person (a male), who then will often relay the same as what I have already said. If it persists I will speak to my manager, who then speaks to them. Culture also comes into the equation at work as they often come from a different country; therefore they have different beliefs on what work women should do. I feel disempowered and start to question myself about my work, but I carry on with my work as it is the end product which counts and people who buy the products are happy.

Prejudice means a hostile attitude towards a group of people or a person, pre-judging them based on a stereotype (Billingham et al, 2008), for example a prejudice of mine is that since being made redundant from a previous job and it went over to India, I now assume that each job I have it will eventually be taken over by a person in another country. I know this may not be the case in the future.

Some psychotherapists believe that prejudice is a learnt process (nurtured), an indirect view of this is an experiment by Barrett & Short (1992) found that young English children aged between – and 10 years had a clear preference for different European people in countries e.g. the Germans were liked the least and the French were one of the most liked. The children had decided this even if they did not know much about the people, culture or the country.

Sherif (1961) researched at how prejudice is caused in society between different groups. Their aim was to investigate if intergroup conflict happens when a group competes with each other over resources which are scarce. They looked at twenty-two 11 year olds, who were well adjusted and came from a middle class home environment. The boys who were selected to take part in the experiment were sent to a summer camp in America, where they were divided into two groups not having any knowledge of the other group and were given group names; Eagles and Rattlers. The boys would then create a group bond and identity in the first week. The second week experimenters set up competitions with between the two groups, where prizes were offered to members of the winning group.

The experimenters found that there were strong feelings developed between the two groups, which lead to hostility and fighting towards each group. The conclusion to this experiment was that conflict can arise from competition over prizes as these were the scarce resource (only the winning group received them). (Sherif, 1961)

In 1979 Tajfel & Turner developed the Social Identity Theory to understand the psychological basis of discrimination in a group. What they found was that a person can have several ‘selves’ and depending on the social context it may trigger an individual to act differently, that individuals will categorize themselves, then will seek to get positive self-esteem within the group. An example of this from my past is when I was younger I used to hang out with a group, if a higher ranking group member fell out with someone of a lower rank then I would often side with the person who was higher even if I knew they were wrong, making ourselves feel good we would put the other person down, making our self-esteem greater than theirs, that way I would still be in the ‘in-group- and not in the ‘out-group’ being ostracised.

To make the best of a workforce people need to know about equality and diversity, how to act within the laws of society. Everyone has the right to equal opportunities no matter their religion, sexual preference or culture at work, home or whist on the street. Equality protects people that can be discriminated against. Diversity, however, is a range of conditions or characteristics in today’s society e.g. race, people need to respect individual differences. When a workforce or person embraces equality and diversity they comply with anti-discrimination legislation and they can emphasize the positive benefits e.g. they can draw on a wider talent of resources. (Skills for Business, n.d)

In 1950 the European Convention on Human Rights was written to prevent the repeat of the oppression of individual rights after the 1st world war, it stated that everyone has a right to have enough food and a shelter, the United Kingdom signed the convention in 1951. Since then there have been many laws and legislations come into force against discrimination, some of which are;

Equal Pay Acts 1970 & 1983

Prohibiting discrimination of people on the grounds of sex to pay and their terms of contract

Sex Discrimination Act 1975

Prohibiting discrimination of a person’s sex or their marital status. This applies to males & females or if they have had gender reassignment surgery.

Race Relations Act 1976

Prohibiting discrimination of race, colour, ethnic origin or nationality of a person.

Amendment in 2000

There is a duty on public authorities to have due regard to eliminate unlawful discrimination and to promote equality.

Disability Discrimination Act 1995 & 2005

Prohibiting discrimination against a disabled person. Authorities have a duty to promote equality with disability.

(Bayne et al, 2010)

How do I aim to challenge discrimination and promote equality my personal life and within my job role as a social worker?

As a social worker I would try to empower the service user by focusing on their strengths, guiding them to reach a solution, give them the correct advice, be honest and reliable no matter what kind of background they come from.

If I come into contact with someone who discriminate against another, I aim to challenge them, ask them why they feel that way, find out if there are any reasons as to why they feel that way and try to get them to think about their views and try to change them for the better.

I will also think about the impact a service user will have on being excluded from a community or group, I will try to get them included back within their community by arrange for them to help out/volunteer on a local project, by being included back into the community it may help if they have any mental health issues.

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In Max Weber’s “Distribution of Power within the Political Community”, he discusses three concepts: class, status and parties. Weber begins by arguing ‘power’ is the fate of men that try to grasp their will, even against that of others within the same society. He discusses two types of power: economic and social. Economic being the ability to determine what is to be done with materials and commodities, regarding production, consumption, etc. Social power overlaps with economic power, but also includes legal and political power. This concept, however according to Max Weber means, “the way in which social honor is distributed in a community between typical groups participating in this distribution.”(247). Therefore, the distribution of power within a community is based on three important aspects: class, status, and parties. This paper will summarize Weber’s main points; include a comparison of ideas with an author previously discussed in lecture, and my interpretation of what Max Weber is arguing in his 1914 excerpt.

Sociologist Max Weber first begins his article by discussing class. When identifying class there are three points Weber outlines. These points consist of 1) a specific casual ingredient of people’s fate (in terms of living conditions, materialistic possessions to see the level of power and wealth one has) among various actors, 2)is based on economic interests and wealth, and 3) is represented under the conditions of the labour market. Therefore, ‘class situation’ ultimately signifies a situation where people are found with the same characteristics in regards to class. According to Weber, in society, there are two types of people, property owners and property-less. Quite apparent would be the fact that property owners are of course privileged, while the property-less live day-to-day trying to sell their services in the market. Wages and skill level are dependent on the service being provided. This depends on communal action (oriented on basis of shared belief or affiliation). In opposition, societal action deals with adjusting one’s interests-not to sense a shared purpose, but to recognize shared interests. In order for either action to occur, everyone has to be familiar with the differences between wealth and opportunity, but must be seen as a result of property distribution and economic power. In the excerpt it says something along the lines of “class antagonism is a simple state of affairs that has frequently been decisive for the role of class situation has played in formation of political parties”.

The second aspect Weber argues is status. Status, according to him means communities, unlike class. Status is defined as the likelihood that your fate is determined by social honor, also known as prestige. The common link of status group is a similar life style which is established based on wealth and income. According to Weber, there are social restrictions that are reflected in prestige-marriage patterns and residence.

Rituals are a big deal within a caste. Members are prohibited from having any contact with any other group that is considered ‘lower’ than that of their own-especially when the differences are ethnic. “In caste structure, ethnic distinctions have become ‘functional distinctions’ within the political association.”(253) Weber also touches upon social stratification, which according to him, “goes hand in hand with a monopolization of ideal and material goods or opportunities” (253) Of course those stratified above others are more privileged and oppose the distribution of power that is regulated through the labour market and based on wealth. When economic stratification barely changes, changes regarding status tend to increase.

Thirdly, Max Weber discusses parties. Parties as said by him are organized power. They are a mixture of both class (economic order) and status (social order). Parties aim to influence social action and aim to enforce their goals within both a legal and political realm. A party is never just associated with a class situation or status. A party puts in a great effort in order to achieve political control, and it all depends on how a community is classified-by status or class.

Though this paper is about Max Weber, it is important to compare sociologists to one another based on their concepts and ideas. One author discussed in lecture was Karl Marx. Marx and Weber’s theories are not quite different from one another. Marx also believed that classes refer to economy but in a different sense. Marx saw class as being connected with means of production, in contrast Weber linked class to the factors previously discussed: prestige, wealth, and most importantly power. Both men had agreed that the more skills one has, the higher there wage is. Weber however, supposed that the differences in people’s wages suggested one’s material conditions, hence why there are different types of social action. Also, Marx saw the divisions of class as an important source in society in regards to social conflict unlike Weber.

In his article, “Distribution of Power within a Political Community”, one may accept as true what Max Weber had to say. In order for a political party to be formed, one must be wealthy, therefore prestigious, and ultimately have the power to dominate. Though one may face obstacles due to the fact that there are others competing for the same position who share the same status, or class, also known as communal action. Weber does an excellent job in distinguishing the differences among class and status, though when mixed may influence the formation of a political party. Unlike other authors discussed in lecture, Max Weber, I have found to be the easiest to comprehend and definitely agree with.

Tad William once said “We tell lies when we are afraid… afraid of what we don’t know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But every time we tell a lie, the thing that we fear grows stronger.” In relationships and marriages, dishonesty is a love buster. But sometimes honesty is worse, like the article dishonesty it says: “When a wife first learns that her husband has been unfaithful, the pain is often so great that she wishes she had been left ignorant. When a husband discovers his wife’s affair, it’s like a knife in his heart — and he wonders if it would have better not known. In fact, many marriage counselors advise clients to avoid telling spouses about past infidelity, saying that it’s too painful for people to handle. Besides, if it’s over and done with, why dredge up the sewage of the past?” (Harley, 1976) They look at it as just a mistake and want to be forgiven.

People are dishonest because they believe that the others can’t handle the truth, which for most cases its true because the truth most of the time is bitter. But i think that no matter how hard the truth is you should just be straight up and honest. Mark Twain once said “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” Just like Dishonesty article says: “It’s this sort of confusion that leads some of the most well-intentioned husbands and wives to lie to each other, or at least give each other false impressions. They feel that dishonesty will help them protect each other’s feelings. But what kind of a relationship is that? The lie is a wall that comes between the two partners, something hidden, a secret that cannot be mentioned, yet is right under the surface of every conversation.” (Harley, 1976) If you think about it you’re going to have to take a lie and keep adding on to it more and more and you can’t even remember what you said in the beginning so even though telling the truth is difficult it’s the easiest. With a lie you’re always going to get caught up. Just like karma- what goes around comes around. And depending on the lie you can be holding all this unnecessary weight on your shoulders and be stressing about it.

A Russian proverb states “With lies you may get ahead in the world – but you can never go back.” Just like the article Dishonesty states: Dishonesty strangles compatibility. To create and sustain compatibility, you must lay your cards on the table. You must be honest about your thoughts, feelings, habits, likes, dislikes, personal history, daily activities and plans for the future. When misinformation is part of the mix, you have little hope of making successful adjustments to each other. Dishonesty not only makes solutions hard to find, but it often leaves couples ignorant of the problems themselves.” (Harley, 1976) So along with lying not only would you be feeling guilty and stress, you may even regret what you have lied about which makes it even more difficult to confess what you have lied about. A lie can take care of the present and solve what you are going through momentarily, but it does not have a good future.

Bill Copeland once said: “When you stretch the truth, watch out for the snapback.” Once you have become a liar, people cannot believe you no matter how hard you try. They will immediately develop an instinct to question the words that are coming out of your mouth. For instance, we have all heard of the tale “The boy who cried wolf.” The little boy would entertain himself by tricking villagers that a wolf is attacking his flock of sheep. When they came to help him, they found out that it was a false alarm and he just wasted their time. They thought he was just a little boy that was playing around. However, when the boy was actually confronted by the wolf and cried wolf, none of the villagers believed him. In other words, the moral of the story was even when liars tell the truth, they are never believed.

Some people even lie because they feel desperate, like they steal because they are desperate and in need of money. They do not know where to turn to so they see this as their only way of getting away. Also another example is academic dishonesty. Some students feel really desperate to cheat or plagiarize because they want to pass or earn a decent grade. Other People basically lie sometimes just so they can get straight to what they want, like in the movie sisters keeper, the girl who had Leukemia told her 11 year old sister to lie to her mom saying that she didn’t want to donate her kidney to her, but really it was because the girl with the Leukemia didn’t want everyone to suffer with her. So it was a lie because the daughter didn’t want to hurt her mother.

Kids start learning to lie from their parents, especially when the kid is afraid of the parent. On Feb 10 2008, Po Bronson wrote an article in the New York Magazine it was a study that A doctor in a University made, this is what the article said: “For a study to assess the extent of teenage dissembling, Dr. Nancy Darling, then at Penn State University, recruited a special research team of a dozen undergraduate students, all under the age of 21. Using gift certificates for free CDs as bait, Darling’s Mod Squad persuaded high-school students to spend a few hours with them in the local pizzeria.

Each student was handed a deck of 36 cards, and each card in this deck listed a topic teens sometimes lie about to their parents. Over a slice and a Coke, the teen and two researchers worked through the deck, learning what things the kid was lying to his parents about, and why.

“They began the interviews saying that parents give you everything and yes, you should tell them everything,” Darling observes. By the end of the interview, the kids saw for the first time how much they were lying and how many of the family’s rules they had broken. Darling says 98 percent of the teens reported lying to their parents.

Out of the 36 topics, the average teen was lying to his parents about twelve of them. The teens lied about what they spent their allowances on, and whether they’d started dating, and what clothes they put on away from the house. They lied about what movie they went to, and whom they went with. They lied about alcohol and drug use, and they lied about whether they were hanging out with friends their parents disapproved of. They lied about how they spent their afternoons while their parents were at work. They lied about whether chaperones were in attendance at a party or whether they rode in cars driven by drunken teens.

Most parents hear their child lie and assume he’s too young to understand what lies are or that lying’s wrong. They presume their child will stop when he gets older and learns those distinctions. Talwar has found the opposite to be true-kids who grasp early the nuances between lies and truth use this knowledge to their advantage, making them more prone to lie when given the chance.

Although we think of truthfulness as a young child’s paramount virtue, it turns out that lying is the more advanced skill. A child who is going to lie must recognize the truth, intellectually conceive of an alternate reality, and be able to convincingly sell that new reality to someone else. Therefore, lying demands both advanced cognitive development and social skills that honesty simply doesn’t require. “It’s a developmental milestone,” Talwar has concluded.” (Bronson, 2008) Basically kids learn how to lie from fear.

One lie that we will never stop having is, lying to ourselves. Lying to yourself maybe to build some confidence, or even maybe to understand something. The article The Human Thing to Do: Lying to Yourself by Vanessa Gilbert says: As humans, we perform a lot of acts we wish we had never done, and we spend a lot of our time on earth regretting what has already been done, something we can’t change. Whether it was that bad breakup, or smoking for twenty years, or even wishing we would have gone out and exercised on those Sunday mornings, we all worry about them and we all lie to ourselves to pretend that it wasn’t our fault, and that we couldn’t have prevented it anymore than what we did. In fact, it seems we lie to ourselves so much we can’t piece the truth apart from the false things we have told ourselves for months on end. If there is one fact I have learned in my thirteen years of life, it is that everything in this world is corrupt in one way or another. That certain aspect, religion, club, organization, or mindset didn’t even start out pure because it was most likely made by humans, who are dirty, selfish, and continually seeking the solace they find in having a solution for everything. I guess you could say that lying to yourself has always been something we have done. You can’t blame this one on popular culture, teenagers, or the failing economy. Humans have lived this way for thousands and thousands of years, and we’ve made it this far thinking the same exact way. Is it okay to be delusional and far from the truth? Is it worth knowing the truth just because it is the truth? Furthermore, would we be better off if we were up front with each other and ourselves?
It may hurt to face the truth in the beginning, but in the long run, you are guaranteed to be happy. You will be happy with yourself, with the people you love, and with the cold, hard truth, and nothing else. In the process of opening your eyes, you see a lot more than just what’s around you. You see what you missed, what is real, and what is to look forward to. Not everything that is true is harsh. If we do not come to realize what is real, we will continue to be let down, and we will always make the same mistakes. All our energy will all be put into something that is not helping us any. We will neither advance nor go backward. Instead of staying stagnate, why not move forward?” (Gilbert, 2009)
In conclusion, dishonesty isn’t the best thing, and also sometimes it isn’t the worse thing. Society is filled with liars and dishonest people. But there are also people that had only told a few lies. Baltasar Gracian once said “A single lie destroys a whole reputation for integrity”. A single lie might just ruin one’s whole life. So one must watch out and think before talking or doing, so no one can get into lies.

Resources:

Harley, Dr. “Dishonesty.” Marriage Builders ® – Successful Marriage Advice. 1 Jan. 1976. Web. 30 July 2010. .

Bronson, Po. “Are Kids Copying Their Parents When They Lie? — New York Magazine.” New York Magazine — NYC Guide to Restaurants, Fashion, Nightlife, Shopping, Politics, Movies. 10 Feb. 2008. Web. 31 July 2010. .

Gilbert, Vanessa. “The Human Thing to Do: Lying to Yourself – DivineCaroline.” DivineCaroline: Relationships, Health, Home, Style, Parenting, and Community for Women – DivineCaroline. 07 June 2009. Web. 30 July 2010. .

Alienation is the idea that a working class man “is ‘alienated’ from his essential nature and individuality, economic and spiritual being” Churchich (1990).This essay will outline what alienation is and examples given by Marx and his view on who is to blame, the four main concepts of alienation will be discussed as well as support and criticism.

Marx puts alienation down to the divide in labour and private property which is seen as dehumanizing society. Marx based his ideas on Hegel and Feuerback however also criticized their views. He agreed with Hegel’s idea that people can become alienated from themselves but doesn’t believe people alienated themselves. Feuerback’s views from ‘The Essence of Christianity 1814’ were that people view of god is the means of how people view themselves and when people worship god they in fact worship themselves. He believes when people place something higher than themselves they consequently become alienated from their being. Marx believed religion tries to divert people’s attention away from the truth about alienation.

Marx’s view of alienation in labour can be interpreted as the way a worker feels a sense of foreignness to products of their own labour. This is experienced by working class people in factories who were put into long and awful conditions of work to survive. They were uneducated, in unfortunate positions, treated badly and poorly paid. Due to these conditions the workers started to underbid one another to get a day’s work in order to support their families. Marx thought the working class factory workers need to join hands to make an improvement on their working conditions. He suggests that workers need to obtain their rights and require more pay and better working conditions. Marx, in his “Estranged Labor” from Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts believed a worker becomes similar to a alienated animal. He believes the workers labour belongs to someone else so a man only through his animal functions can freely express himself. These functions are everyday tasks in their own house, drinking and eating, reproducing and so on. Marx believes a worker feels more like an animal in his human functions so eventually animal functions become human functions and vice versa.

Marx alienation notion is in theory quite influential and powerful because it gives an account of how human life is degraded however it makes clear that it is not expected or natural. It provides a detailed explanation of the experiences of labour. Marx’s theory of alienation shows the results of capitalist production on the physical and psychological state of people and on the social situations they engage in or are part of. This was Marx method of seeing his contemporaries so he could understand and explain how they interact and relate to each other.

Marx proposed 4 types of alienation based on a regular factory worker under capitalism. There are two divisions in the private ownership system; workers with no property and owners of property. Due to this divide in society workers not only are the workers poor but they also have to suffer ‘alienation’ from the world. The first type of alienation is the concept of what a person produces or makes does not belong to them. The idea that everything produced by a person only benefits the world which they do not fit into. Rubin (1990) outlines a quantitative and a qualitative part to how goods are produced he said the worker doesn’t really get paid for the amount of labour put in so is exploited This benefits capitalism as the more alienated the worker becomes the more work he does. Qualitatively, the worker puts creativity into the product he creates however is not given creative labour to replace it. He believes that with capitalism, work doesn’t inspire or introduce workers to new things; instead it takes away a person’s energy and wears them out. An individual helps to make all these objects that he does not own himself which makes them feel and look smaller compared to this world. They may help create an expensive car, build houses or make expensive clothes which they cannot afford.

The second form of alienation is the work process. It is separation of the worker from the work itself for example the job performed does not belong to them instead it is a way of survival in the world. They are not doing the job for themselves but for someone else. This kind of work does not allow a person to become creative as it does not come from his own accord as they are following instructions from others, instead indicates a loss of self worth for the worker. For example when a person works at a call centre doesn’t create anything, follows the same method, copies a script and doesn’t get to make any important decisions. It becomes dull and automatic so the mind doesn’t have to be used. The worker doesn’t have control over the conditions and organization of work nor do they have any control on how it influences them psychologically or physically. This reduces a person’s ability to be creative.

The third type of alienation is the alienation from other humans. Instead of spending time with people you want you have to work with people whether you do or do not like them. In society there is some resentment or dislike between the different class structures which is partly to blame for this type of alienation. People become alienated from people who take advantage of their labour. According to Cox (1998) Marx said if the worker is tormented by his work then it must give delight to another. If a man views his activity as unfree and not something they wish to do then he views it as under the order, force or oppression of another person. Workers are linked to people through the products they produce however don’t personally connect to them. Each day people may wear clothes, eat food, live in houses, use tools created by people who have worked to make them however they are not known personally instead they are known only through the products brought and consumed. Man doesn’t see his fellow man as equal instead as higher or lower than them in society. People don’t know each other individually but as products of capitalism however the capitalist society is more individual and independent compared to the working class.

According to Korkotsides (2007) People take things for their own use irrespective of how it was produced and under what conditions or circumstances. As Marx supposed that people in working class are generally the most alienated, the liberation from alienation will have to begin with liberating the working class. Marx believed production of goods frequently makes new desires to use human powers for money and benefit instead of improving the abilities of humans. People see each others as rivals and as inferior or senior to them.

The fourth type of alienation is a person’s alienation from “species-being,” or human individuality. Humans base their life around work it is an essential part of life for the working class. Human identity is formed by doing work without thinking for example when doing the same job day in day out a person becomes lifeless in terms of personality and identity and becomes more like a robot. In the private ownership system a worker is alienated from their purpose of life and individuality essential for a human being. What makes a human is the skill to shape the world around by thoughts, abilities and actions however under the capitalist society this is not always the case. Labour is pressured and forced and does not relate to a person’s personal preference or interests. According to Cox (1998) Marx suggests workers benefits capitalism by constantly producing for them however even though he helped make them successful and wealthy doesn’t get much recognition or benefit from it. In his manuscript he said that capitalists make palaces for the rich but hovels for the working class. It throws some workers into cruel ways of labour and makes some workers into machines. It gives them brainpower but makes stupidity and cretinism at the same time. Humans have socials skills so they can work together to develop on their interests however capitalists divide humans and put all their effort and interests into labour. When a capitalist is bettering production in their factory, without knowing they can be reducing profit rates for their own class by slowing down the profit rate. A company may produce to accomplish a sharp demand, however when the products are in store they may find other companies have already done it first. Sometimes more than what is required is produced and is not needed. Recessions in capitalism means labourers ‘consume less as more then what’s required is produced this is down to their work being too productive.

Marx view of a content person was not someone with many material possessions but someone who is happy in their life in terms of good emotional contact with other people, education, and a person who may not have many possessions but is not scared to say what he feels. An unproductive worker who dosent wants to contribute to political processes in Marx eyes is a victim of alienation. He highlights what a person can be and how they should be independent and not concentrate on what they possess. Marx view is supported by Kant and Fiche who thought workers should stop being inactive like the workers were in history and start becoming active producers of their own future.

Marx alienation concept is influenced by Hegel therefore there are similarities with both theories. “Hegel thinks self-alienation is to be conquered with the advance and development of history” Sayers (2003). They both agree that the spiritual and social parts of alienation and their how they can be defeated are combined. On the other hand Hegel believed alienation is defeated in society at present which Marx disagreed with. According to Sean Sayers (2003) Kierkegaars also backed Marx view he believed man today is alienated from one self and in mankind due to prejudice and lack of individuality.

According to Churchich (1990) alienation was seen as mainly religious and it had more of a psychological meaning linked to the soul however Marx disagreed believing alienation is down to man not nature or god. Marx disagreed with Hegel’s idea that alienation is originated in nature of human life and says he reduced history to just thoughts, observing real events and objects merely as manifestations of spirit. A Humans contentment and needs have to be linked to the forms of production in order to be measured. “Humans are different to animals in terms of their needs because nature decides an animal’s natural needs are and a humans needs are essentially social and historically established by themselves. He believed creativity separated humans from animals. Marx argues a person’s consciousness of the requirement for certain things is a product of concrete historical situations and can’t be decided by just thoughts.

Marx and Smith had a similar thought as they worked on putting an end to capitalists exploiting the working class and believed society and economy ought to centre their attention on making people’s lives better. Despite this they do differ on the means of economy. Both Smith and Marx see labour as divided and see it as the key feature of capitalism. According to Meek (1977) While Smith views capitalism as an advantage to not only society but on a person too. He believes a person sees power as a natural need; their wish is to stand out, elevate themselves and obtain a source of wealth. Marx sees capitalism purely as unnatural and a disadvantage to a worker.

Marx believed capitalists have a strong social and economic foundation and the only way to conquer alienation is when this changes. Support for Marx idea that alienation is dividing a person from their labour is for example a person works to earn a living and will get paid but ultimately the company profits from this. The worker won’t earn as much money compared to the amount of work put in therefore the company will get more profit by underpaying the worker causing the worker to disconnect.

A criticism of Marx’s alienation theory is it’s seen as not scientific and can’t be used for experimental research. The problem with this criticism is Marx’s alienation concept is centred on historical tests and it studies labour when it is not controlled by authority. Another criticism is Marx states that nearly all work is alienated and the worker does not benefit from their work however this may not always be the case for some. If a mechanic fixes a car he may not have one himself however he will learn a skill which can be useful for him in the future or may have personal satisfaction from doing the job to the best of their ability. Another example is that of a blacksmith may own a shop working the hours he wants, deciding any important decisions as well as setting his own working environment, creates his own product and makes the decision of how they sell. Most importantly the communication with customers is more of a personal nature than professional.

There are many examples of modern alienation for example when a worker doesn’t get enough from capitalist work he may take out loans from banks to buy the products they create, for example a big house or a car. They are exploited by mortgages and loans however if they become unemployed it is all taken away from them. The resolution to alienation isn’t to look back at history but to recognize what can be done in today’s society and how it can be transformed. A book by Oliver James describing the Affluenza virus supports Marx where he blames capitalism for creating alienation. The ‘Affluenza virus’ is sets of principles that makes people more open to emotional distress. This is done by putting importance on obtaining wealth, goods and fame. He suggests changing the way people live their life to conquer this which isn’t always easy for people to do. Alienation isn’t that easy to solve when oppression and exploitation exist in society.

To summarize Marx early works was influenced by Hegel and Feuerbach. His alienation theory is the debate that the life of work in a capitalistic society disadvantages them of enjoyment or creativeness of labour. He saw creativity as a vital aspect of living and this kind of labour not only alienates them from their work but also from their independency in effect causing dehumanization. The example of factory workers supports Marx’s view that capitalists exploit the working class and the four concepts of alienation workers go through describe how they are alienated. According to Marx alienation will continue to exist along as capitalism is around.

References

Churchich, N, (1990). Marxism and Alienation. 1st ed. U.S: Associated University Presses.

Sean Sayers. (2003). The Concept of Alienation in Existentialism and Marxism. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/philosophy/articles/sayers/alienation.pdf. [Accessed 22 November 12].

Ronald L. Meek. (1977). Smith, Marx & After. [ONLINE] Available at: http://cas.umkc.edu/econ/economics/faculty/henry/courses/Econ506/Readings/Meek.SmithMarx.pdf. [Accessed 23 November 12].

Women constitute almost half of the population in the world. But the prevailing masculine ideology made them suffer a lot as they were denied equal opportunities in different parts of the world. The rise of feminist ideas have, however, led to the tremendous improvement of women’s condition through out the world in recent times. India being a developing nation and having huge tussles among its political, religious and administrative organs resulting into blocked development and the worst effect of that we can witness into women condition .They do not have proper chance to learn and grow and access to education has been one of the most pressing demands of women’s rights . Women education in India has also been a major preoccupation of both the government and civil society as educated women can play a very important role in the development of the country.

History of Women Education in India(4,6):Although in the Vedic period women had access to education in India but as the time grew they lost this right to avail education and academic exposure. However, in the British period there was revival of interest in women’s education in India due to Britisher’s strong influence to the core Indian education system. During this period, various socio religious movements led by eminent persons like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar emphasized on women’s education in India. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Periyar and Baba Saheb Ambedkar were leaders of the lower castes in India who took various initiatives to make education available to the women of India. They also ensured about their participation in the social gatherings and events by introducing them into polity and administration at all levels. However women’s education got a fillip after the country got independence in 1947 and the government has taken various measures to provide education to all Indian women. As a result women’s literacy rate has grown over the three decades and the growth of female literacy has in fact been higher than that of male literacy rate. While in 1971 only 22% of Indian women were literate, by the end of 2001 54.16% female were literate. The growth of female literacy rate is 14.87% as compared to 11.72 % of that of male literacy rate and is on growing path.

Government has taken a step forward by making education compulsory and free to girl child till the age of fourteen. They are getting reservations in public sector exams and private sectors like Banks, Transport Services, Hospitality and Tourism, Healthcare etc. (4. Freedom Struggle By- Bipin Chandra Pal)

Table – The Literacy Rate in India 1901-2011
———————————————————————————————————————
Percentage of Literates to total population
Year Persons Males Females

1901 5.3 9.8 0.7

1911 5.9 10.6 1.1

1921 7.2 12.2 1.8

1931 9.5 15.6 2.9

1941 16.1 24.9 7.3

1951 16.7 24.9 7.3

1961 24.0 34.4 13.0

1971 29.5 39.5 18.7

1981 36.2 46.9 24.8

1991 52.1 63.9 39.2

2001 65.38 76.0 54.0

2011(Recent data) 74.04 82.14 65.46

———————————————————————————————————————

The above table shows that there is an improvement in women literacy in India during the years. But when we compare it with male literacy it becomes a concern area. (9. Censusindia.gov.in)

Importance of Women Education in India(7):Women education in India plays a very important role in the overall development of the country. It not only helps in the development of half of the human resources, but in improving the quality of life at home and outside. Educated women not only tend to promote education of their girl children, but also can provide better guidance to all their children. Moreover educated women can also help in the reduction of infant mortality rate and growth of the nation.

Education is a potent tool in the emancipation and empowerment of women. Its true that greatest single factor which can incredibly improve the status of women in any society is education. It is indispensable that education enables women not only to gain more knowledge about the world outside of her shell and home but helps her to get status, positive self esteem, and self confidence. It imparts necessary courage and inner strength to face challenges in life. Apparently it also facilitates them to procure a job and supplement the income of family and achieve social status. Education especially of women has a major impact on health and nutrition as an instrument of developing a sustainable strategy for population control. Moreover educated women can play an equally important role as men in nation building. Thus there is no denying fact that education empowers women. For example the different organs of the United Nations and experts on women’s liberation argue for women’s education as the basic step to attain equality with men. ( 7. Saraswathi Mishra, Status of Indian Women,Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi, 2002)

Obstacles:As we have discussed earlier to improve women education and condition in India various initiatives and corrective measures have been done but still a lot is expected to be accomplished.

THE ROOT CAUSES FOR LOW LITERACY AMONG WOMEN IN INDIA

Women education is a multi-dimensional phenomenon. No single factor or cause can be held responsible for very low literacy rate of women in India. Subsequently it is associated with combination of many factors including social, cultural, economic, educational, demographic, political and administrative and so on. The following are the some of the important factors which could be attributed for the present poor state of affairs of womenfolk in education.

The Lower Enrolment: The lower enrolment of girls in schools is one of the foundational factors which stand as stumbling block for women empowerment in India. Reliable sources indicate that more than 50 % of the Non-Starters (those who have never been to school) are girls. According to the latest statistics, two out of every ten girls in the age group of 6-11 are still not enrolled in schools. (1)

Higher drop-out rate among girls from schools: The incidence and prevalence of drop -outs among girls especially in rural, tribal and slums areas seem to be quite high. According to available sources, occurrence of drop-out and stagnation amongst girls is nearly twice that of boys all over India. (1)

Girl Child as Second Mother:In many families girl children play the role of second mother by shouldering the responsibilities of household work such as looking after the sibling, fetching water, collecting firewood, bringing fodder for cattle, cleaning and cooking etc. In rural India especially in poor families this traditional sex role makes girl child handicapped and conditioned by the attitude of mother and the family and discourages girl child to go school as it becomes secondary and unimportant. Hence girl child is getting deprived of her basic and fundamental right of education and freedom. (8)

Bonded Labor System: This social evil is a quite discouraging phenomena which stand as barrier for girl’s education in rural areas for the underprivileged families of washer men and agricultural labor , scheduled caste and scheduled tribes.

Caste System as a Barrier : Children belonging to low caste families are forced to learn skills and work ways and not encouraged to go to school due to various factors. Strict instruction /threat from high caste communities for their selfish motives of keeping them as domestic servants and child laborers in the farms or factory. We can witness this through the stories of various factories and farm houses in industrial cities of India. Media is also playing a crucial role here in promoting as well as resisting these mishaps. (8)

Bane of Dowry:Dowry system and other social practices act as main causes of the neglect of the girl child and discrimination against girl child including the deprivation of right of education. In many families especially poor and down-trodden think that if their daughters are educated more, they have to accumulate more assets and properties to provide as dowry in large proportion at the time of marriage, so prefer rather to either stop their children with average education and so on but never higher education. This prevails more in underprivileged families and communities. (1)

Child Labour Practice:A large segment of child population in India is engaged in child labour practices. According to UN sources India is the most child labour populous nation in the globe with more than 50 million child labourers indulged in beedi works , carpet making , bricks, mining , quarrying ,glass, bangles, match and fireworks, gem polishing ,handloom works. zari, embroidery ,coir industry, domestic works, construction etc. In most of these industries girl children are preferred for high productivity and low cost. (8)

Poor School Environment for girls: In general the school environment for girls in India is not really interesting and encouraging. The subjects taught in schools are also not related to the environment of girl children. The methods of teaching are mostly out – dated, rigid and uninteresting. There are still hundreds of schools with poor basic amenities such as drinking water, latrine and toilet facilities, improper building, and inadequate number of teachers’ especially female teachers preferable for any parents for safety of their girl children from different types of exploitation and abuse. (7)

Female age at marriage: There is high association of female literacy with female age at marriage. By and large the female age at marriage of 18 ( recently 21 years ) as prescribed by various legislations not at all followed in India .It is very much ignored and neglected by the families of parents with low literacy and illiteracy background. This obnoxious practice discourages female children to continue their schooling and higher education as they enter into family life at the early age which is not advisable from the physical and mental health point of view and also of social development. (7)

Inferiority, subservience and domesticity:The female child in Indian culture especially in rural, tribal and poor families is expected to develop the qualities of inferiority; subservience and domesticity which place sever limitations on her education and development. They are considered to be lesser important for getting knowledge of outside world and exposure to education and liberty. (6)

Poverty as a Barrier: In many poverty stricken families, children especially girls are considered as economic assets as they bring income for livelihood as well to save from economic crises due to death or incapacity of parents (sick/ handicapped/aged).

Ineffective Law Enforcing Machinery:Indian constitution and various legislations pertaining to education to children assure free and compulsory education all children of this nation but unfortunately the enforcement machinery fail to discharge its duties and responsibilities to the satisfaction of the public interest and welfare of women. Due to this wrong implementation of right policies also women of our country is getting severely affected. (5)

Demographic Factors:The high population growth rate, rapid urbanisation, migration etc also attribute immensely for the poor literacy level of women and girls in India. In these frequent transition girl Childs and women are getting neglected, uncared and unheard. (5)

Poor Political Will and Conviction: Government officials, policy makers, politicians etc of our country have neither political will nor conviction for the empowerment of women in general. The only think about their personal benefits and money making ignoring the welfare of the community for whom and by whom they have reached to that position. It is a very sad and disappointing aspect of India’s democracy. (5)

Gender discrimination:It still persists in India .Male are still dominating and commanding the social structure of the nation and lot more needs to be done to improve women’s participation in this regard e.g. women’s education. The gap in the male-female literacy rate is just a simple indicator. While the male literary rate is more than 75% according to the 2001 census, the female literacy rate is just 54.16%.Prevailing prejudices, low enrollment of girl child in the schools, engagements of girl children in domestic works and high drop out rate are major obstacles in the path of making all Indian women educated. (6)

Poor Academia:Another reason for poor quality of women educationhere is the poor quality of teachers ingovernment schools .Government schools are unable toattract good quality teachers due toinadequate teaching facilities and low salaries. The government currently spends only 3% of its GDP on educationwhich is inadequate and insufficient. Toimprovethe quality of education, the government needs tospend more money from its coffers on education. (4)

Steps to improve their Participation:

A – A significant development in recent years has been the mushrooming of community-based organizations and initiatives at the local level for women. Reports indicates that self-help programs, often in the form of savings and credit or micro credit schemes, have succeeded in changing the lives of poor women, enhancing incomes and generating positive externalities such as increased self-esteem.

“Micro credit is about much more than access to money. It is about women gaining control over the means to make a living. It is about women lifting themselves out of poverty and vulnerability. I is about women achieving economic and political empowerment within their homes, their villages, their countries.” (5)

In this whole paper we have discussed about women condition in India in terms of access to education, opportunity to learn and grow and problems in achieving the same and at last some of the measures to rectify the errors and making things happen.

B-One more initiative taken by the government is the voucher system. Under the voucher system, parents are allowed tochoose a school for their children and they get full or partial reimbursement for the expenses from the government. But however, the voucher system has also a draw back because it will further aggravate the problem of poor quality of educationingovernment schools. Such a system will shift resources from government schools toprivate schools. This will worsen the situation of government schools which are already under-funded. Moreover, if the same amount given as vouchers can be used tobuild infrastructure inschools then the government can realize economies of scale. (6)

C-The government of India has also felt the need to put in place an appropriate institutional mechanism to look after the Education Rights of Women and thus instituted the formulation of All India Women’s Conference, National Women’s Commission and State Women’s Commission. At the same time government has approved special grants and allowances to NGO’s working for the cause of women upliftment and social mobility. Self Help Groups have also been constituted at Panchayat level to provide a platform for the rural women to discuss issues such as family planning, child marriage, widow remarriage, Sati, domestic violence. Mother Teresa’s Women Universityhas greatly helped in the cause of women empowerment who received Noble Peace Prize for her genuine social work. (6)

D -India is getting a great help from World Bankfor the betterment of women education and their empowerment in the country .It has approved funding for Andhra Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction Programme (APRPRP) thus garnering international supportfor the upliftment of women. Women’s reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha has gained momentum with Govt. of India promising the reservation of one-third seats in Parliament for the women. (8)

E -One of the recommendations of National Policy on Education (1986) by the Government of India is to promote empowerment of women through the agency of education and it is considered to be a land mark in the approach to women’s education of illiterate. The National Literacy Mission is another positive step towards eradication of illiteracy in the age group of 15-35 years. Women’ education has assumed special significance in the context of India’s planned development, as it is incorporated in every Five-year plans as the major programme for the development of women. Universalization of elementary education, enrolment and retention of girls in the schools, promotion of balwadies and crutches, raising number of schools and colleges of arts , science, and professional for girls , Politechniques, girls hostels, multipurpose institutions and adult education programmes are some of the steps being taken by both central and state governments in India to boost-up women’s education. (5)

F – Since the prevailing situation of poor or less enrolment of girls in schools closes the doors for development and prosperity of future generation of women, concerted efforts must be initiated jointly by the government, parents and civil society to achieve universal enrolment for girls without any compromise. The enrolment can be made even mandatory for every girls by the government in the realm of compulsory education. (5)

G -The Ministry of Education both at Centre and State level should work out strategic steps to stop firmly the ongoing high drop -outs among girls especially in rural, tribal and slums areas with the serious involvement of voluntary organisations in every locality to realize zero drop-out among girls. (7)

H -The poverty stricken families can be identified through proper research and necessary poverty alleviation services be provided to strengthen the income thereby to enable the families to send their children to schools and colleges without much financial difficulties

I -Bonded Child labour and Child labour practice must be abolished with strict administrative measures and the relieved children form bondage should be integratedinto schools with suitable defence social mechanism.

J – Appropriate steps should be taken by the educational authorities with the participation of communities in order to bring the girl children to the main stream of education and development at every level including family and community.

K -The female child in every Indian family irrespective of socio-economic status should be moulded to overcome the challenges of inferiority; subservience and domesticity which place sever limitations on her education and development. Every family irrespective its socio-cultural and economic background can take it a challenge to bring up their girl children as dignified human being with empowerment in physical , mental, economic and social dimensions of life. (7)

L – The Midday meal scheme and other educational supportive services like free text books, Note books , Fee uniforms , Free Bicycles, Free bus , scholarships Free bus pass and so on as done in the state of Tamil Nadu can be provided in all states and union territories to lift up the literacy level among girls. (6)

M -As social evils like dowry, child marriage , caste system and other practices deprive rights of education for children belonging to poor and underprivileged families and communities, they should eliminated through well-designed packages of mass awareness programmes and social welfare measures with full support of public, political parties, NGOs and government agencies. (7)

N -The electronic and print media can play significant role in building a good and positive image about girls and women in general in the society by giving no focus for such advertisements and news fetching commercial gain at the cost of depicting women as an object. This would help in changing the society ‘s attitudes towards girls and their roles to treat every girl or woman as human being with self respect and dignity. (7)

O -Government, voluntary sector and philanthropic organisations and individuals should come forward to provide free education for poor girls and provide free hostel facilities for girls studying in schools and colleges in every state of India. This will certainly encourage children of poor families to pursue good and higher education without much impediments. (6)

P -The schools of social work, departments of women studies, Women Universities and other educational institutions in hand with NGOs and social service organisations such as Rotary Clubs , Lions Clubs , women lib organisations associations can work together to improve the educational status of the womenfolk in this country on mutual respect and understanding. (7)

Q -The parents of children belonging to poor, underprivileged families must be specially educated with proper social formula to help them to understand the significance of education for their girl children as foundation for empowerment. (1)

R -Government, NGOs and public should work hand in hand to implement the minimum age at marriage (21and above) Awareness should be created to institutionalise it as a traditional practice cut acrossing castes, religions, community etc. (5)

S – Government officials, policy makers, political parties and others should have adequate political will and conviction to empower women in India without double standard mind

T -The law enforcing machinery should be made really effective with efficient monitoring vigilant system to implement the constitutional and legislative provisions and administrative measures to assure free and compulsory education for all children of this nation without any gender discrimination. (7)

Its true that there is great deal of requirement to uplift women education in India at the grass root level because majority of the female population live in the rural areas .They do not avail the basic things in their life and to get education is still a distant dream for them. However Indian government is coming up with various scheme in their five year plan to make the situation healthy and encouraging for these women. In 1990s, grants from foreign donor agencies enabled the formation of new women-oriented NGOs(3). Self-help groups and NGOs such as Self Employed WomenHYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEWA”‘HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEWA”s Association (SEWA) have played a major role in women’s rights in India. Many women have emerged as leaders of local movements. For example, Medha Patkar of the Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Companies like NIIT Ltd. (2) has come up with the project called Affirmative Action where they are taking girls from the down trodden areas and training them about English language, basic computer knowledge and after that helping them to get jobs in Retail, BPO ,Hospitality sectors. In this way the are educating them and by providing jobs women are getting empowered in taking decision, participating in family income and by helping their kids to make the future bright and opportunity oriented. (2 , 3)

There is no doubt about the fact that development of women has always been the central focus of planning since Independence. Empowerment is a major step in this direction but it has to be seen in a relational context. A clear vision is needed to remove the obstacles to the path of women’s emancipation both from the government and women themselves. Efforts should be directed towards all round development of each and every section of Indian women by giving them their due share.

The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the bad phases of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been on better track. In modern India, women have acquired high offices in India including that of the President, Prime minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Leader of Opposition, etc. The current President of India is a woman. (5)

A review of government’s various programmes for women empowerment such as Swashakti, Swayamsidha, Streeshakti, Balika samrudhi yojana and another two thousand projects reveal that little has been done or achieved through these programmes. The discrepancy in the ideology and practice of the empowerment policy of women in India constitutes its continued social, economic and social backwardness. Women make up 52% of our country’s population. Hence there can be no progress unless their needs and interests are fully met. Empowerment would not hold any meaning unless they are made strong, alert and aware of their equal status in the society. Policies should be framed to bring them into the mainstream of society. It is important to educate the women. The need of the hour is to improve female literacy as education holds the key to development. (2 , 3)

There is no doubt about the fact that development of women has always been the central focus of planning since Independence. Empowerment is a major step in this direction but it has to be seen in a relational context. A clear vision is needed to remove the obstacles to the path of women’s emancipation both from the government and women themselves. Efforts should be directed towards all round development of each and every section of Indian women by giving them their due share.

I believe with the likes of Pratibha Patil, Sonia Gandhi, Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kochar etc. bagging the top jobs, it would not be long when India would be boosting of its Gender Equality Index (GEI) and Gender Development Index (GDI).Lesser will be the social stigma of women exploitation which have haunted it for many years gone by.

Summary:

Empowerment can be defined as the totality of the following or similar capabilities:

Having decision-making power of their own

Having access to information and resources for taking proper decision

Having a range of options from which you can make choices (not just yes/no, either/or.)

Ability to exercise assertiveness collective decision making

Having positive thinking on the ability to make change

Ability to learn skills for improving one’s personal or group power.

Ability to change others’ perceptions by democratic means.

Involving in the growth process and changes that is never ending and self-initiated

Increasing one’s positive self-image and overcoming stigma

Conclusion: From these discussions we can say that the most common explanation of ‘women’s empowerment’ is the ability to exercise full control over one’s actions. The last decades have witnessed some basic changes in the status and role of women in our society. There has been shift in policy approaches from the concept of ‘welfare’ in the seventies to ‘development’ in the eighties and now to ‘growth’ in the nineties and now trumpet of ’empowerment’. This process has been further accelerated with some sections of women becoming increasingly self-conscious of their discrimination in several areas of family and public life. They are also in a position to mobilize themselves on issues that can affect their overall position.

Lesbianism and the problems of identification in contemporary Britain

In Britain, lesbian women may not have had to campaign to have their sexual activities decriminalised, as homosexual had needed to do; yet their lives were not free of problems. However, men even homosexual men had more social, economic, and political power and status than British women did as a whole have. Men had a greater control of and over their own bodies than either heterosexual or lesbian women had in the immediate post-war period, and indeed before then as well. British lesbian women would have to campaign for greater rights as both women do, and as lesbians to challenge the discrimination and expected gender roles from a patriarchal and heterosexual dominated society. In other words, British lesbians had to counter sexual discrimination as well as orientation discrimination before they were able to feel fully secure in publicising their sexual orientation and identification. Changing public perceptions of their different gender roles and sexual orientation was, as the main lesbian rights groups realised was not going to be easy, as their experiences during the 1970s proved.^[8]

In Britain the 1960s was a decade that brought about some wide-ranging social changes and promised further changes for the future. Lesbian women could certainly regard the availability of the contraceptive pill and the legalisation of abortion as being an improvement for the choices that all women were able to make in relation to their own bodies. During the 1960s expectations about the gender roles of women began to change, as feminism meant that fewer women were prepared to become wives and mothers without having a career first. Lesbian women also realised they did not have to put up with marriage and children just because it was expected of them to do so. The decriminalisation of male homosexual acts at the end of the 1960s could also be viewed as a demonstration that British society was slowly becoming less illiberal in its attitudes towards people that embraced alternative lifestyles. For the more radical lesbians the social changes in the 1960s were the start of the process of fighting discrimination, rather than the end of the process. British lesbian women and gay men were encouraged to start gay pride movements by the apparent success such groups in the United States were having in altering social attitudes, especially in cities like New York and San Francisco.^[9] British lesbian and gay pride organisations began in earnest during the early 1970s with the objectives of enabling their members to have pride in their orientation identification, as well as aiming to reduce the level of social discrimination which their own members had to endure. The hope was that reduced social discrimination and reduced fear of such prejudices would allow all lesbian women to readily admit their sexuality with pride. These lesbian pride organisations as a whole found that changing social attitudes towards them and their sexual orientation was a slow process, after all generations of social prejudices could not be expected to vanish overnight.^[10]

The effectiveness or otherwise of lesbian and gay pride movements since the 1970s has been an area of much debate. Depending on which criteria are used to judge the gay pride movements the achievements of these organisations will alter.^[11] If judging the achievements of the lesbian and gay pride movements solely in terms of their ability to have anti-discrimination legislation passed these movements were undoubtedly a failure before the election of the New Labour government in 1997.^[12] The only lesbian women to gain from anti-discrimination legislation between the early 1970s and 1997 did so because they also came under gender equality, race relations and disability legislation. Governments from the early 1970s did not believe that legislation was needed to prevent homophobic discrimination, leaving lesbian and gay pride organisations on their own to lower such prejudice aimed at their members. New Labour has taken more steps than any previous governments to pass legislation to reduce homophobic prejudices and promote the rights of all lesbians and gays. New Labour legislation has included passing legislation to end discrimination upon the grounds of sexual orientation to enhance the opportunities for all lesbians and gays to be openly identified as such without fear of homophobic discrimination. Besides specific legislation to protect lesbian and gay rights, lesbians can also use the Human Rights Act of 1998 to make sure that their orientation being publicly identifiable is not detrimental to their rights or their safety.^[13] Under New Labour, lesbian women have finally received legal equality with heterosexual men and women. For instance, lesbian women and gay men are no longer dismissed from Britain’s armed forces if they openly admit their sexuality. Lesbian women and gay men now also have the right to ‘marry’ each other in civil partnerships. The introduction of civil partnerships means that lesbian women in long term partnerships have the same rights as married and co-habitant heterosexual couples in terms of property, taxation and inheritance rights, as well as the same benefit and pension entitlements. Lesbian women now have the same rights as heterosexual women when it comes to the custody or adoption of children.^[14]

In respect of the lesbian pride movements they probably had a more immediate impact on changing social attitudes towards them than they did in influencing governments to pass legislation which tackled discrimination against them. Lesbian and gay pride organisations did not use the same tactics to publicise their sexual orientation. The more radical lesbian and gay pride organisations were happy to shock heterosexuals in British society with the tone and the methods in which they demonstrated their identifications of sexual orientations. More radical groups were even prepared to ‘out’ famous people to make headlines and raise public awareness of lesbian and gay issues.^[15] Other more moderate lesbian and gay pride groups were less keen on showing their sexual orientation and identification in such an ostentatious manner. The more moderate lesbian pride groups would have preferred to be open about their sexual orientation and identification without using over the top publicity stunts. Moderate lesbian groups would have fitted in with insider pressure groups, which attempt to achieve their objectives behind closed doors, rather than in public. Radical lesbian and gay pride groups are examples of outsider groups that have little influence with governments and rely on publicity to bring their objectives to public attention.^[16]

The campaigns of lesbian pride groups were not as successful in changing public perceptions of lesbian women as a majority of those groups would have hoped from the early 1970s. This was especially the case during the period of Conservative governments between 1979 to 1997. The Conservative party more than the Labour and Liberal/Liberal Democrats parties like to represent traditional family values instead of promoting the rights and the lifestyles of lesbian and gay pride groups. When in office the Conservatives prevented lesbian and gay groups’ form educating school pupils about their sexual orientations and identification through the infamous section 28. Lesbian and gay groups lobbied New Labour to have the section removed as soon as possible. The media did not always help lesbian and gay groups convey the messages to the public that they wanted to be sent out, especially right wing newspapers did not want to change public perceptions of lesbian women. The right wing newspapers often portrayed the objectives of lesbian and gay groups in the most negative perspective possible.^[17] Despite the efforts of some politicians, religious groups, and parts of the media the number of people who happen to be publicly prepared to be known as being lesbian and gay in Britain has increased noticeably since the 1970s. It is harder to argue out right that such a situation is entirely due to the attempts of lesbian and gay pride groups to alter the attitudes of British society. After all changed reactions towards their orientation and gender identification could have resulted from the campaigning of such groups, or alternatively could just have been a continuation of increasing indifference to how other people chose to live their lives.^[18]

Thus in conclusion, lesbian women in Britain have not always felt comfortable or able to openly display their sexual orientation, and their gender identification due to the nature of British society. The immediate post-war society in Britain has remained predominantly patriarchal and heterosexual in terms of social and gender relationships as well as expected behaviours, roles, and identifications. That situation meant lesbianism did exist in Britain, it was just well hidden. The 1960s were a decade that kick started the process of altering British society, and provided the stimulus for lesbian and gay pride groups to emerge during the early 1970s. The legacies, influence, and success of such groups are highly debatable. Although these groups certainly raised the profile of lesbians and gays in Britain they actually had little affect on the mainstream political agenda prior to New Labour gaining office in 1997. Lesbian and gay pride groups may have attempted to increase acceptance of their lifestyles and their alternative identifications, yet changing public perceptions of lesbian women has not been universal or overwhelmingly favourable. The way in socialisation operates in such a haphazard way means that the predominantly heterosexual and patriarchal nature of British society will continue for a considerable amount of time, even if the acceptance of lesbian women should continue to improve, and more fluid gender roles should develop further.

Bibliography

Abercrombie N, Hill S & Turner B S (2000) Penguin Dictionary of Sociology 4^th edition, Penguin, London

Eatwell R & Wright A (2003) Contemporary Political Ideologies 2^nd Edition, Continuum, London

Hobsbawm, E (1994) Age of Extremes, the Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991, Michael Joseph, London

Whitaker’s, (2007) Whitaker’s Almanack – today’s world in a single volume, A & C Black, London

Young H, (2003) supping with the Devils – Political writing from Thatcher to Blair, Guardian Books, London

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