Ways Women Still Aren’t Equal to Men

Slide 1Overview
In actuality, most feminists consider men also at a disadvantage because of the
inequality between men and women. When we socialize men to not show sadness
and fear, to provide financially and not emotionally, and to not seek mental health
help, to name a few examples, we contribute to a culture that harms both men and
women. At the same time, men, particularly cis white men, are statistically at an
advantage when it comes to earning power, career progression, and a multitude of
other factors. Feminism is the hard work that both men and women have to do to
level the playing field—even more so now that the COVID-19 pandemic has
exacerbated existing inequalities between men and women and for women of color
especially.
items than
men do
Shampoo, deodorant—even a 10-pack of socks—are among the many products
that cost more for women.
Ladies are
always on
dish duty
Women of all ages still tend to do more household chores than their male
partners.Women do around 16 hours of household chores every week, while men do
closer to six. Women also did the bulk of the domestic duties in 93 percent of the
couples analyzed. When both the man and woman were employed full time, the
women were found to be five times more likely than men to spend at least 20 hours a
week doing household chores.
caregiving
Upwards of 75 percent of unpaid caregivers—mostly to children or elderly
relatives—are women. And women spend as much as 50 percent more time
providing care than males.
items
Although things like razors and shampoo are the most egregiously upcharged items,
the so-called pink tax meant that all kinds of items geared at women cost more:Toys
and accessories for girls were found to be 7 percent higher. Women pay more
for clothes and protective gear like helmets (not to mention bigger-ticket items
like mortgages). They even pay more for senior home healthcare products, meaning
they pay more for common items from the beginning to the end of their lives.
Women make
less money
than their
male
counterparts
Although the pay gap is narrowing, women in the U.S. working full- and part-time
make 85 percent of what their male counterparts earn. In other words, women
would need to work an extra 40 days a year to make as much as men. It's an even
grimmer picture overseas: Women worldwide make 77 percent of the amount paid
to men, according to a report from the United Nation's International Labor
Organization.
government
Although women make up nearly 51 percent of the U.S. population, only 27 percent
of Congress is comprised of women, which—fortunately or unfortunately—makes
the current Congress the most diverse in American history. Worldwide, just 25.5
percent of all national parliamentarians were female as March 2021
Women are
also the
minority in
the news
media.
Though women comprise 41.7 percent of the overall news media workforce, they
aren't being compensated appropriately; gendered pay disparities are still observable
in newsrooms of major outlets like the Associated Press,The New York Times,
andThe Wall Street Journal,with men earning substantially more than women.
Women are
attack
Heart disease is the leading killer of all Americans, regardless of gender or race,
according to the American Heart Association. Yet, even though women and men tend
to get heart attacks in roughly equal numbers throughout their lifetime, women are
slower to get diagnosed, less likely to get treatment, and more likely to die of a heart
attack.
pay
decreases
As women make the cross over into workspaces mostly occupied by men, often in
search of higher salaries with more benefits, the opposite actually happens—the
average pay for the industry tends to drop significantly over time
Female
entrepreneurs
investments
Getting funding for a startup is hard enough, but sexism and gender inequality often
complicate starting one's own business even further. A nonprofit organization
dedicated to the success of female entrepreneurs, only 11 percent of venture
capitalists are women (and other sources actually have that number as even lower). Of
the existing VC firms, 71 percent don't have a single female partner, and only 7
percent have equal gender representation.
Women still
shoulder more
of the
household
burden
Despite the fact that women are more educated and more employed than ever before,
they're still tasked with the majority of household duties. 54 percent of women take
maternity leave, while just 42 percent of men take time away from their jobs.
Additionally, women are taking 10 times as much temporary leave to be with their
newborns than men do, often saddling them with additional financial burdens. Women
are also more likely to work from home, look after sick kids, or even quit their jobs
completely to be caretakers.
legal
protections.
In fact, only 10 countries scored a perfect 100 percent in terms of legislation
ensuring equality: Belgium, France, Denmark, Latvia, Luxembourg, Sweden,
Canada, Iceland, Portugal, and Ireland. The U.S. scored a 91.3 percent, right
alongside Taiwan, Cyprus, and Albania.
Women are
car crashes
Women were 47 percent more likely to be injured in car crashes because the safety
features were—you guessed it—designed for men. In 2021, a new study by the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that women are still much more
likely to be injured, despite men driving more and exhibiting more reckless behavior
behind the wheel. Women are three times as likely to get a moderate injury and
twice as likely to be severely injured.
Women are
far more
human
trafficking
In a 2019 article, NPR reported on the disturbing recent uptick in human
trafficking. Using data from an annual report conducted by the United Nations
Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the study found the number of girls forced
into trafficking has risen exponentially, most frequently for sexual exploitation.
Female
In a Smithsonian study conducted in conjunction with American military
newspaper Stars and Stripes, 66 percent of female service members reported
experiencing sexual harassment or sexual assault—and that number is way up from
the 27 percent that the Defense Department reported in 2015.
Retired women
poverty
As women make less money but live longer, a clear issue presents itself: The longer a
woman is on earth, the more money she needs to have in order to survive. Around three
out of seven women who want to retire by age 67 will seriously struggle with saving.
Survey results from Aon, a global risk, retirement, and health consulting company, show
that most women have an average of about 7.6 times their salary saved by that age when
they really need to save 11.6 times what they make yearly.
Women
outspend
by almost 2:1
Women can expect to spend nearly half a million dollars on medical care over the
course of their lifetime while men can expect to spend about $350,000 (adjusted for
inflation).Why? Most insurance companies consider women a higher “risk” because
they tend to visit the doctor more often, they live longer, and, of course, they have
babies.
below the
poverty line
Across the U.S., 15.5 percent of women live in poverty compared with 11.9
percent of men, according to a report from the Institute for Women's Policy
Research. That number worsens for Black, Hispanic, and Native American women.
Worldwide, the majority of the more than 1 billion people living in poverty are
women.
chronic hunger
It's estimated that 60 percent of chronically hungry people around the world are
women and girls, and it can be a statistic that's a trickle-down effect of larger
problems of gender inequality like lack of education, lack of job opportunities, and
violence against women.
higher rate
than men
According to the National Coalition of Domestic Violence, one in three people who
identify as women have been victims of physical violence from their partner whereas
one in four people who identify as men have been affected, and one in five women
have been raped, while only one in 71 men have.
Worldwide, one
married
Although it certainly varies from country to country, child brides are still common
all over the world. In Guinea, for example, 61% of girls under 18 are married. In
Chad, that percentage is 68%. One in three girls in the "developing world" are
married by age 18.
States
Out of 41 countries, the United States is the only country that doesn’t offer paid
maternity leave to all new mothers as a government mandate. Here, this means
women can struggle to get the time off they need to recover from childbirth and to
bond with their new baby, and often adds an extra financial strain to starting a family.
It's hard to believe, but women simply aren't on an equal playing field with men yet
… and it's even less equal for women of color, trans women, and women of other
marginalized groups.
And it's not just the wage gap — there are lots of ways that people who identify as
women are not treated equally to people who identify as men.This needs to change,
but the first step is always recognizing the problem. Many deny that women's rights
have any relevance in the present day, and that the problems of western women are
obsolete, but just because particular issues sometimes linger out of sight does not
mean they are