Topic > Gender hierarchies, stereotypes and the fight for equality

While women have made great strides in fighting traditional social standards, gender hierarchies continue to repress them socially and economically today. Gender relations are hierarchical in that men and women are not neutrally distinguished from each other, but rather differentially valued according to a standard of social norms and accepted behaviors. Society as a whole is fundamentally hierarchical. It is vital that people recognize the inequalities that exist in our society and the small changes that have occurred to develop social norms beyond the traditional stereotypes that have existed for centuries. Some may believe that women and men are treated equally, however this is not true because ___. Gender hierarchies are evidently present in our societies as women continue to fight wage gaps and traditional social stereotypes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayFor decades, a notable wage gap has existed between women's and men's salaries. According to a study conducted by the Institute of Women's Policy Research, “[women] receive more college and graduate degrees than men. Yet, on average, women continue to earn much less than men” (Childers). Women working full time earn 82 cents for every dollar men earn, an 18% gender wage gap, and women won't reach equal pay until 2058 (Hayes). Some deny that the gender wage gap exists, but they are wrong. Even after accounting for variables that might have an effect, such as experience, age and education, the gender pay gap remains a clear reality. It exists at every level and in every industry around the world. Although women earn approximately 56% of all bachelor's degrees in the United States, as an increasing number of women seek higher education, women continue to earn less than men with the same level of education. One explanation for this phenomenon is that jobs done by women are valued less than those done by men. When women enter a field, wages decrease. For example, when large numbers of women worked in the fashion industry, wages fell by 34%, while when they worked in the biology industry, wages fell by 18% (Levanon, England, Allison). These patterns clearly illustrate how society trivializes the importance of women and their contribution to the workforce compared to men, and this can be linked back to gender hierarchy and how women are seen as less important than men in society. If women were valued with the same importance as men, the influx of women entering an industry would not have created a drastic effect on the wages of people working in that industry. For decades, women have been trying to escape the constraints of traditional gender stereotypes. Gender stereotypes create expectations about how we should act, talk, dress and behave based on our gender and have the ability to suppress the potential of individuals who want to separate themselves from society's norms. According to the article, “A depressing study finds that gender stereotypes have not changed since the 1980s,” one study, “…found that college students studied in 2014” now perceive strong differences between men and women on components of stereotypes, as they did in the past." Although all this has changed... gender stereotypes have remained stable for over three decades" (Dahl). This study shows that little has been done