Social Justice Issue

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Nov 24, 2024

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Running head: SOCIAL JUSTICES ISSUE 1 Social Justices Issue Student’s Name Institution

SOCIAL JUSTICES ISSUE 2 Social Justices Issue: Gender Inequality Introduction Social justice issues affected women for many years in America and one of them was inequality. Women were subjected to gender inequality and lawlessness as compared to men. They were seen as lesser beings compared to their male counterparts. They were not allowed to participate in significant functions and reforms, including being part of political life (Roediger, 2019). Women were assigned homemaker roles and other significant activities left to men. It is noted that women were not allowed to participate in politics and even joining the army was a significant concern. However, women did not accept such treatment and started their movement, where they organized themselves and started fighting for more rights. Their role in the social justice history in America was only based on qualities such as modesty, virtue, and industriousness. This image of women made people interpret their role as being in the house and that of men in public (Tickner & True, 2018). However, women did not stop there but continued to fight for their rights and thus, different gender movements were formed in the country. Therefore, the struggle for gender equality is still an issue in America and it needs urgent address, women’s social movements need to be supported to continue fighting for their fundamental rights, political representation, and combating of violence. Background of Gender Inequality Issues According to history, women were subjected to social injustices like political representation, gender inequalities, job discrimination, and voting rights in the past. The fight against such inequalities has been different from time to time, depending on what Issue is at hand at each moment (Tickner & True, 2018). Several feminist issues have affected women over time,

SOCIAL JUSTICES ISSUE 3 and recognizing them led to the rise of women in various ranks. The women's movement contributed to women accepting their identity and putting aside their ethnic differences to address the common enemy of gender discrimination. Women found common ground in the 19 th and 20 th centuries to demand their right to vote. This movement forced the whites and upper- class women to join forces with others to fight for their rights. Concurrently, working women of different colors were initially not part of the movement for fear of the unknown but later organized themselves to face reality and address their everyday issues. Over the 20th century, women's groups strained the agenda of feminism and started working for the greater good of all. In the current century, the women's movement has gained momentum in different parts of the world, explaining its reach through various platforms, including the internet, to create awareness of new reforms to women's issues. Therefore, women are now more organized than before and participate in the world's politics and other functions. The movements for women’s welfare have been on the front line of fighting for their rights, and in the 18th century, they were involved in a collective action that saw them claim their rights (Brewer & Dundes, 2018). This movement was driven by ideas such as individual freedom and intellectual development. Mary Wollstonecraft and Olympe de Gouges led the movement during this time, ensuring that women's rights were defended and protected. They believed that women were born free and had the same rights as men. This made them stand firm as they claimed their rights, a movement known as the "Claim for the rights of women." The women-led activists argued that women are as rational as men and should have the same rights. This movement was fighting for women to access education as freely as men. Therefore, like other citizens, women should enjoy the same privileges and freedom (Tickner & True, 2018). Other women who led the movement include Elizabeth Stanton, one of the organizers of the

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SOCIAL JUSTICES ISSUE 4 Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. She took part in the discussion of women's rights, which led to the publication of an essential article on the "Declaration of Rights and Feelings," which denounced the inferior status of women and listed resolutions to achieve by women. Stanton claimed that the right to vote was fundamental for all and that women should be treated as men. In the years that followed, many women joined Stanton in the fight for their rights, leading to many conferences in the country (Tickner & True, 2018). When World War I (WWI) ended the role of women in America’s history changed. They were allowed to vote, and outsiders supported their rights. The suffragettes took part in the fight for the country's well-being, and the result saw women taking part in voting successfully. However, working-class women were not involved, leading to national demonstrations for their rights. The achievement was seen when women organized themselves into unions and associations to help them fight for their rights. This movement separated them from men as they demanded a better working environment. In women's social justice history, the first achievement can be termed as the protection and promotion of women's rights with democratic and liberal folks, where their rights to education, to vote, and access to free professions were granted. Later, the socialist movement also fought the idea of differentiation of roles based on biological features of the two sexes, which led to the historical process that helped structure families and society. Women continued to fight, and their perseverance bore the fruits they enjoy today in the country. The Current Ramification of Gender Inequality Issues Women in America have been in the front line in fighting to achieve gender equality and social justice for all. The U.S. came up with different strategies to achieve this by 2025, and most

SOCIAL JUSTICES ISSUE 5 of its institutions are effecting the same. The key actions of this strategy are to fight violence against women, to see women reach top government positions in both work and politics, and adoption of a gender perspective in all regulatory measures. This is aimed at protecting women today from the issues they suffered in the past, and the United States has taken the front line so that other countries of the world can imitate the same. For instance, America has never had a women president, but Biden set this record straight by allowing his deputy to act as president for a while. However, this does not mean a woman has won the presidency in America because Democrats tried to present a woman, but still, she lost to a man. Women are slowly rising in ranks, and currently they are holding the second most powerful office in the country, vice president (Olcott, 2017). If women can actively participate in work or politics, they can easily reach the number of men, and their current participation remains substantially different from the past. Women are now recognized at their places of work, and pay is the same as men at the same position or level of education. This achievement has taken many years, and the world is moving in the same direction in the near future. Historically, it is clear that women struggled to enter the labor markets, and their role was not recognized, which led to the 1st Feminist Wave. However, such struggles were mainly carried out by the whites, and upper-class women as blacks and other women were left behind. Poor women were assigned low incoming earning jobs such as caregivers, domestic workers, and other related occupations inherited from slavery. It is, therefore, imperative to understand women's history in detail for us to understand what is happening in the world today. Some countries have created women's roles in government to support their movement, but still, there are issues of the sexual division of labor, and most men are preferred in some roles over women. The historical situation has been brought to the present

SOCIAL JUSTICES ISSUE 6 times, and most women are left behind in some families regarding careers that men have occupied over time as security, aviation, and even politics. Therefore, the situation is better in the current times but still there issues to do with gender in the country that needs to be addressed for America to achieve gender equality (Tickner & True, 2018). The world is still a long way from achieving equality and America is nit exceptional. This is supported by the evidence that women are less in government than men. Currently, female governors are very few compared to male governors. Women occupy a minuscule percentage of the seats in Congress, which does not seem to change any time soon. Most of the major companies are run by men, and most of the top affluent families in America are led by men. Men lead most institutions, and women head only a few. Men are still paid higher than women; to achieve equilibrium, women will have to work more hours than men. Women are still fighting for their rights in various sectors of the country, unlike men, who are seen as superior in most cases. Therefore, achieving gender equality is not easy, but I believe that with time, America will get there (Junn, 2017). Conclusion In a nutshell, the history of women's movements marked the start of the fight for social equality. This led to the rise of the most important figures, such as Stanton, in the fight for gender equality in the United States. Nevertheless, the Issue of liberation remains a challenge of conquering individual rights and not that of claiming social duties. Most issues are seen as individual because not all women want to achieve the same. America is an individualistic country, and most of the actions are seen to benefit a few people rather than all. Despite women being allowed into politics in 1908, their participation was still limited. There is no any value of

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SOCIAL JUSTICES ISSUE 7 being a member of a political party when you cannot even take part in voting. Women’s membership in political parties was insignificant because they were not allowed to take any active or passive role. This was only achieved after WWI and women's voting rights were promoted. Women's struggle for more opportunities still remains an issue and needs to be addressed. Women took part in the revolutionary year and fought for their rights, but still, they were prevented from uniting their rights of association and assembly. Slowly, the movements were making significant changes, and the first achievement was for women to be elected at the federal level. However, the struggle continues several years later, and no woman has ever made it to the presidency. For women to achieve social equality, a lot need to be done and they should be encouraged to be in the front-line of the struggle. The laws of the country provide for equal rights for both men and women and this need to be reflected in all government institutions. Therefore, women should have the same access as men to responsibilities and opportunities.

SOCIAL JUSTICES ISSUE 8 References Brewer, S., & Dundes, L. (2018). Concerned, meet terrified: Intersectional feminism and the Women's March. Women's Studies International Forum (Vol. 69, pp. 49–55). Pergamon. Jung, J. (2017). The Trump majority: White womanhood and the making of female voters in the U.S. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 5(2), 343–352. Olcott, J. (2017). International Women's Year: the greatest consciousness-raising event in history . Oxford University Press. Roediger, D. R. (2019). How race survived U.S. history: From settlement and slavery to the Obama phenomenon. Verso. Tickner, J. A., & True, J. (2018). A Century of International Relations Feminism: From World War I Women's Peace Pragmatism to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. International Studies Quarterly , 62(2), 221–233.

Social Justice Issue

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