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The Ongoing Reality of Inequality

Hannah Spinda

DuBois Area High School

Honors English 12

Ms. Rankus

December 6, 2021
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In a poll completed by Pew Research, 45% of the people say society favors men over

women and 67% of the people say changes still need to be made in the difference between men

and women.When the Gallup Organization asked societies views on the issue 23% had said men

and women are equal and 62% had said men are favored over women (Pew Research Center,

2013). There is a strong gender gap in the question whether more needs to be done for equality,

however even men agree to this statement that more changes need to be made. The Universal

Declaration of Human Rights says that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and

rights” and “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration

without distinction of any kind such as race colour, sex, language, religion,... birth or other

status” (United Nations, n.d.). This declaration was made in 1972 and even after this women still

were made property up until the 1980s. In 2021, women are still often struggling to feel equal to

men. In America today, there is still gender inequality based on the price of everyday products,

charges pressed against certain crimes and wages in jobs.

No one wants to spend more than they have to on everyday products such as shampoo,

deodorant, razors, etc., let alone be a woman and have items be purposely made more expensive.

In a study conducted by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, basic necessities

like shampoo and conditioner marketed to women cost more 42% of the time than mens.

Oftentimes manufacturers often will market female products higher while the male version of

that product would be so much cheaper (Mendez, 2018). This is referred to as the pink tax which

is the idea of gender based pricing, where women pay more for the same item compared to the

male version (Turbo, 2020). Not only do women's products cost more, but they also contain less

product and are usually smaller in size. Manufacturers do this to make the product more feminine

looking so the female is more likely to purchase it (Taylor, 2016). Prices on items have created
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much controversy around the world, but women are also taxed on pads and tampons. These

products of course do not have a male version, but this is just another example of how

corporations and manufacturers target women and how they pay more. Stepping back and taking

a look at the larger picture, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs found that the

pricing disparity results in women paying $1,351 more every year for the same products as men.

This pricing also carried over to larger priced items, not only hygiene products but women also

pay more for cars, interest rates, and even car insurance. For example, when getting a car

repaired, a study at Northwestern found that women are often quoted a higher price (Mendez,

2018). The inequality carries over from not only paying more, but also not getting paid the same.

In today's world there are many underlying stereotypes about what a woman should be

doing and about what a man should be doing (Mendez, 2018). For example, some may say that

women are more suitable for childcare or household jobs. In all reality, this is not fair to assume

nor put this stereotype on women. According to Insight Into Diversity, women earn 80% of

men’s wages as a study showed in 2015. This price difference has been an ongoing issue for

centuries (Mendez, 2018). Even before 1970 women made less than 59 cents compared to a

man's dollar (Research Sharing Project, n.d.). Additionally, a study was conducted in a

workplace using sensors and data from both men and women who work there. The data of the

sensors found no perceptible differences in behavior of the men and women. Women had the

same contacts as men, sent the same amounts of emails, they allocated their time well, and they

both had identical work patterns. However, men were advancing in the workplace and women

were not. This study concluded that gender inequality was due to bias not due to behavior

(Turban et al., 2017). Women often receive lower salaries and lower bonuses compared to men
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and it is often difficult for them to succeed and move ahead in the workplace compared to men.

Marie Claire states that women would need to work an extra 40 days a year to make the equal

amount as men (Friedman & Hollander, 2021). This pay gap is not fair to women, especially

since they work the same and do the same things as men. Women are treated unfairly and are

looked down upon still to this day in so many aspects of life, while for men it is a slap on the

wrist and they get things more easily.

Some may say that women do not put in as much work as men which is why there is a

pay gap. However, based on the study conducted in a workplace, the results proved to show that

women and men both work similarly and they both make the same amount of calls, emails, and

hours and effort (hbr). The underlying issue is the gender of each person. Men seem to succeed

easier than men because there is a stereotype that men are hard workers or deserve it more.

Women have to work harder than men oftentimes to prove themselves to people. Women should

not feel like they have to prove themselves in order to move up in a workplace or make equal

pay as a man.

In 2018, a movie was released on Netflix called ‘Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa

Mcvey’ the movie is about Lisa Mcvey who was abducted and raped in 1984. Lisa was forced to

move to Florida with her grandmother after her mother could no longer take care of her. Lisa was

raped at home by her grandmother’s boyfriend and she worked late nights at a local diner. On her

way home one night from work she got abducted and she got glimpses of her kidnapper and

created her own evidence of her situation. She left fingerprints in the bathroom, hair clip under

the bed, and left blood from her finger on his car seat. After 26 hours of torture and rape, Lisa

surprisingly convinced her kidnapper to let her go and she immediately went to the police.

However, the police did not believe her. Through the tears and screaming, she was told she was
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lying and trying to get attention. Out of all the police officers that spoke to her, one ended up

believing her finally. They were able to track the man and collect the evidence Lisa left and he

was arrested. The man was Bobby Joe Long and he has been kidnapping women, raping them,

and then killing them for years (Ransom, 2021). This movie is not just a movie, but it is a true

story. Lisa is just one example of how many women are not believed or often turned away from

the police and she is not alone. This case did work out in her favor by one police officer

believing her, but most women are not getting a second look at the case or believed at all.

According to The Conversation, sexual assault is the most unreported crime against a person. A

shocking 80% of survivors never report to the police in fear of disbelief or by being let down by

the justice system (McCarthy-Jones, 2018). Survivors also may be accused of lies in court and

detailed questioning may recreate the feeling of powerlessness from the original assault which

this is known as the second rape. Some other barriers of coming forward come from the police,

they discourage victims from filing a report and prosecutors are reluctant to prosecute cases

(McCarthy-Jones, 2018). In 2019, prosecutors dropped 49% of sexual assault cases (Ransom,

2021). Almost half of the cases reported were dropped and most women do not even report their

case. Females are scared to come forward because of these statistics and how many cases are

often dropped. It was not until after 1970 that women began the speak out about rape. The anti

rape movement that began in the 1970s changed the world and still does so today. Before this

movement there were no speak outs about rape, there were no shelters for battered women,

women made less than 59 cents to a mans dollar, women could not play in sports such as

basketball and baseball, the list even goes on from there (Research Sharing Project, n.d.). The

few cases that do get taken to trial are also often not punished. There is an estimated US

conviction rates of two to nine percent of total rapes (Whisnant, 2009). For this illegal act, men
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are often getting a slap on the wrist for this crime. They get to return to normal life while

oftentimes the female experiences ptsd and mental health problems from the event. There should

be a standard charge on rape cases no matter the age and it should stick no matter what.

Some may argue that there should not be a standard punishment for this crime because of

the varying severity and ages of victims and rapists. If a man can rape a girl no matter the age

they deserve to serve a standard punishment. There should not be a way for a man to escape a

punishment even if he is a minor. If he is able to commit the crime he is able to receive the

punishments. This happens all the time and it is often seen by so many peers. It is in no way fair

to let a man off the hook for this crime and it happens in everyday life where this crime is

committed and the young man returns to school and the whole situation is ignored and acted like

nothing had happened.

Even today, there is such a gap between the equality of men and women. The price of

common items is so much more expensive for women. Charges against men are often down

played and women are often scared to come out and talk about their assaults based on this.

Nearly everyone has known someone that has gone through seeing a rapist get off the hook. One

quick google search shows you that more than 250,000 rapes happen in the United States.

Gender inequality in work settings is also apparent based on income and promotion

opportunities. There needs to be light shown on this and more to be done to make women and

men equal. Changes could be making a standard price for products that companies sell whether it

is for men or women and no tax should be put on women hygiene products. It should also be

made equally available in workplaces for women to get promoted as easily as men and there

should be no pay difference if they are completing the same job. Lastly, there should be a

standard law for rapists no matter the age and there should be a standard way of how cases are
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handled and processed into court. Victims should not be made as the liars in the situation and

they should offer support. Overall, women and men need to be made equal and there should not

be these gender issues and differences.

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References

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