Women are the only biological beings in the world that are portrayed

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Women are the only biological beings in the world that are portrayed as second-class citizens in their own environments in spite of having minor biological differences when compared to their opposite sex. They are faced with multiple obstacles every day and many of these are linked to how they are perceived in society, which brings them a disadvantage that cannot be overlooked, known as gender inequality.In order to understand the inequalities in between genders, we need to have a little bit of background as to how the different gender roles developed. In order to do this we need to divide gender roles into societies in two periods; pre-industrial and post-industrial. In the pre-industrial societies, labor force was a significant part of livelihood as the main source of income and resources came from agriculture. The family structure of this era was the extended family, where those from the same blood lived together in one household and those who were older looked after the younger. ‘The most common family type in pre-industrial society was the extended family and that this extended unit was ‘multifunctional’. It was responsible for a number of functions, such as the economic function of production, which involved producing its own food, clothing, housing, education, health care and welfare.’ (Parsons) Despite of some division of labour between genders the expectation was the same for both men and women when it came to fulfilling the needs of the household.(‘The sexual division of labor was broadly associated to two technological regimes: shifting cultivation, where the majority of agricultural work was done by women, and plough cultivation, a system mostly dominated by men.’)The fundamental changes in family structure and functions were the principal of division of labour according to gender. Due to the demands of the early industry (geographically mobile workforce to work in the factories, opening in urban areas.) There was stratification of the nuclear family from the extended one; the new dynamics of society led to structural changes resulted in sharp distinctions between work and home. Long working hours, poor working conditions, limited work opportunities and lower wages based on gender led to less women receiving education and more taking the role of homemaker and the men to take on the role of the breadwinner. The wife and mother either is exclusively a “housewife”” or at most has a “”job”” rather than a ‘career.’(Parsons)It was only after WW1 where women took over industrial production after the men left for war. Women’s role became important in the continuation of the economy and the livelihood of their families. They provided work in industries previously considered as male work and as nurses. These factors led to the expansion of what was defined as a women’s work and encouraged more women to be involved in the work force. The confidence of economic independence encouraged more women to progress to higher education.During the mid-20th century with the arousal of the feminist movement and the first women’s rights convention held in Seneca Falls