HDFS 220 indiv assignment

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Sociology

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Feb 20, 2024

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Go over the topics in the syllabus (pgs. 6-8) covered each week in this class and choose one that you consider to be the most interesting or important. Describe the topic/issue in detail, be specific, and provide examples if appropriate. Be sure to explain your reasoning for selecting this topic (i.e. why is it important). (5 points) The topic I have chosen is promoting gender equality. Gender equality is one's fundamental right. No one is born choosing what gender they are, so why is there inequality in treatment of the genders. Today, despite an improvement in gender equality, discriminatory laws and social norms remain pervasive and women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of political leadership (United Nations, n.d.). Despite possessing the same, if not better, qualifications than their male counterparts, females are often overlooked from promotions and positions and are dismissed in the workforce. Males are given more and better opportunities based merely on their gender. In 18 countries, husbands can legally prevent their wives from working (United Nations, n.d.). Without working power, females are constantly reliant on males for money needed to purchase daily necessities. This reliance ensures that males hold power over females. Promoting gender equality is important because society has much to benefit from giving females equal opportunities. By overlooking females, there is a large potential for growth that has not been explored. This includes a growth in a country’s economy if females are given an equal opportunity to prove themselves. Women have much to bring to the table with their knowledge and difference in perspective. Women are just as capable as men. By promoting gender equality, it also allows a country to maximize their work labor force and be more efficient, especially in today’s world where there is a decrease in reproduction rate, resulting in a lack of replacement for members of society who retire from the workforce.

Discuss the topic you have chosen in the context of the United States and compare to other countries (choose at least one). Consider how families are affected by this topic/issue across countries in your comparison. You may use the textbook and/or any other resources to answer this prompt. (8 points) The other country I have chosen to talk about in comparison to the United States is India. In the United States, there is significantly more visible gender equality as compared to India. In India, females are not given the luxury and privilege of receiving education. In comparison, everyone in the United States, regardless of gender, is given an opportunity to have basic education, it is their right to have access to free public education. According to estimates by the World Bank, the female labor force participation rate in India had fallen to 20.3% in 2019 (Kumar, 2021). In comparison, the female labor force participation rate in the United States was 57.4% in 2019 (“Women in the labor force: a databook”, 2021). This shows that females have significantly less employment opportunities than men in India as compared to the opportunities females have in the United States. Without employment opportunities, females are constantly reliant on men for income to help support the family as they lack spending power. They are unable to be independent. Families also suffer from a lack of equal employment opportunities as it means that families have less income than they could have if there were equal employment opportunities for both genders. This could result in them being constantly stuck in poverty, especially in India where poverty is more prevalent than in the United States.

Even when women are able to access employment, their pay is lesser than their male counterparts. On average, women in India earn up to 30% less than their male counterparts (Domingo, 2019). However, in the United States, women are earning 84% of what men earn as of 2020 according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers (Barroso & Brown, 2021). This difference in pay gap puts females at a disadvantage as females would have less spending power to support herself and potentially her family. As such, it creates a reliance on men to help support the family. 3. Choose one of the following prompts (8 points) : Policy Question: What kind of program or policy would you implement in the U.S. to address your chosen topic/issue in order to improve the well-being of families? If there is an existing program or policy in place, how would you improve or replace it? I would implement a policy that requires companies to be transparent about their employees salary. I understand that this could be confidential information. However, without transparency, no one would be holding companies accountable for paying males a higher salary compared to females despite them having the same job scope and qualifications. This helps to ensure that females have just as much spending power as males, balancing out family dynamics. Females would also be better able to support their families, increasing the well-being of families. Females would also be less reliant on males to help support the family, helping to decrease family violence as they would no longer have to bow down to males as they would have the power and ability to not only support themselves but their families as well. Males would also benefit with their families receiving a higher source of income, allowing for a better standard of living.

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Under the current leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris, they are pushing for policies that involve working towards gender parity and diversity in leadership roles. They are also implementing policies that dismantle the barriers to equal opportunity in education that undermine the ability to compete on a level playing field. They are also looking to ensure that people have equal access to good jobs, addressing persistent gender discrimination and systemic barriers to full workforce participation (“Fact sheet: National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality”, 2021). Similar to the policy I would want to implement as mentioned above, I would want to improve the policy regarding one’s access to good jobs. Other than having the same job opportunities, females should also not be underpaid compared to their male counterparts. They are contributing to just as much as their male counterparts, they have the same qualifications and abilities to be as successful at their jobs as their male counterparts. Their gender does not play a role in hindering their ability to deliver quality work.

References Barroso, A., & Brown, A. (2021, May 25). Gender pay gap in U.S. held steady in 2020 . Pew Research Center. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/25/gender-pay-gap-facts/. Person, & Kumar, M. (2021, August 3). India's female labour participation rate falls to 16.1% as pandemic hits jobs . Reuters. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-female-labour-participation-rate-falls-1 61-pandemic-hits-jobs-2021-08-03/. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021, April 1). Women in the labor force: A databook : BLS reports . U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-databook/2020/home.htm. United Nations. (n.d.). Gender equality and women's empowerment – United Nations Sustainable Development . United Nations. Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/. The United States Government. (2021, October 22). Fact sheet: National strategy on gender equity and equality . The White House. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/22/fact-s heet-national-strategy-on-gender-equity-and-equality/.

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