Gender stratification in the workplace; should women go back to their traditional

roles?

I choose the “gender stratification in the workplace; should women go

back to their traditional roles?” as my issue for this social studies coursework.
Critically, I strongly disagree with the topic stated above. Gender stratification
slowly becomes a serious issue among the women in some country nowadays.
They were being discriminate especially in the job profession. Although women
might do some jobs and men others, a distinction between men as breadwinners
and women as homemakers characterized gender inequality at the workplace.
Gender stratification refers to the hierarchical distribution of social and economic
resources according to gender. Although now is not an ‘ice age’ era anymore, the
discrimination is still happening not only in Malaysia specifically, but also in some
parts of the world. Why this is happening?

Some women are discriminated because it is against their religions and

cultures, which perpetuate stereotyped gender roles, protectionist, and
patriarchal attitudes towards women. It is an old believed where people feels that
women were born just to do their traditional roles such as cooking, laundry,
cleaning and take care of their kids. They not allowed having higher post in the
job sector because that was only for men. Several of the religions including
Catholicism, Buddhism and Hinduism, deny women access to interpreting and
implementing their sacred text. That practice encourages negative attitudes
against women, including disrespect, inferiority to men and demeans the status
of women. School curricular, religious teaching material and media images
continue to stereotype women as homemakers when nowadays women started
to work and pursue their careers. This will lead to the bad image of society
towards the women and the discrimination will occur even in the workplace.

Besides that, the factor of glass ceiling is one of the reasons why there is
discrimination in the hiring. Glass ceiling refers to a set of invisible barriers that
prevent the women from advancing. It is common related with the job hiring. A
small number of this, women were at the top; fewer than 3 percent of top
executives were women. The women will not able to get the higher post
compared with the men that always be given opportunity and chances to success
in their career. This case is called glass escalator, which mean an
unacknowledged discriminatory barrier that prevents women and minorities from
rising to positions of power or responsibility, as within a corporation. In particular,
women report feeling excluded from informal leadership and informal leadership
and decision-making networks, and they sense hostility from their male co-
workers, which makes them feel uncomfortable and unwanted. The men always
get the opportunity to success from their career because they are men. They get
an opportunity that discriminate the women. This explains why men dominate
higher post in most company.

The other topic I want to critic is should women go back to their traditional
roles? The term traditional roles mean a pattern of behavioral expectations that
produced what we now know as family. Though society has changed throughout
the ages, and the roles reversed in many instance, the tasks established as
being male and female are still significant ones in the development of a society.
For an example, the women traditional roles are the home-maker, the nurturer of
children and the backbone of what goes on in the home, while the men’s
traditional roles are become the provider of food, provider of a home, the worker,
the disciplinarian and the protector.

Some narrow-minded people agree that women should go back to their

traditional roles. They are too superstitious and think that they need to follow their
believed and religions. For an example in a marriage, the wives are not allowed
to work and are forbid to do any job involving the outdoors. Their work is to take
care of their family affairs although they are well-educated person. It is a waste
for the country. The husband thinks that his wife might cheat with another man. If
women are gave the choice to work, many are forced to give their salaries to
their husbands. Many women who work before have been ordered to give up
their jobs when marry. This should not be happen anymore. This millennium era,
the gender inequality should not be practice. Gender inequality refers to
adversities between women and men. It is not one homogeneous phenomenon
but a collection of disparate and interlinked problems of different kinds of
disparity. Men and women have their own right and should be treat equally.

Besides that, there is some opinion that says women who work are one of
the reasons for a divorce. I quite agree with this one because career women
have no time for their kids and family besides often to neglects their family affairs
and rather concentrates to their work. A woman often deprives herself of luxury in
order to provide something for her offspring, but sometimes in a wrong way. This
will lead to a fight between husband and wife because the husband feels that the
wife did not do the job as a homemakers well, and as we expected, the children
are the one who suffers. They are innocent enough to be in that situation. It is so
cliché to think about the children might do stupid stuff by entering the dark side of
society like clubbing, taking ecstasy and drugs, prostitution and many more. This
will be a big waste to the country. Many of parents did not realize about this.
They are too selfish to think that in no way their children will affect because of
their problems. People do not take marriage seriously anymore, no matter what
their preferred role in that marriage.

However today, women had changed. They are capable to do any job.
Women are no longer considered capable of doing small and unimportant tasks
within the home. With job opportunities opening up, women take their place in
society and bring in much of the income that is needed to sustain the financial
stability of the home. At this moment, women can juggle their time wisely. Most of
the women now have at least three roles in their life, which are being a mother,
wife and worker. Nevertheless, they still have time to spend with their family even
though with all the work that needs to done at the office. Some of the women
start to work at home so that they cannot separate with their children besides
neglected their family. This is call as ‘Mommy Tracks’; a career path determined
by work arrangements offering mothers certain benefits, such as flexible hours,
but usually providing them with fewer opportunities for advancement. Datin
Paduka Mazlina is one of the examples of successful women. She had made a
world record by being the first women in Asia ever to reach the Antarctica.

Personally, I think that women really should be given a chance especially

in their career. This is because they deserves it after all the hard work they have
put in. women become so educated nowadays. It is good for our country besides
proved that women can success too. Nevertheless, the women should be wise in
managing their career and family life. Without the balance between work and
family, it means nothing.

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