Women are People, Too

In 2016 you would think as a society, we would be beyond gender inequality. Unfortunately, we are not.  As a result, the second Action project in my MDGs & You class will focus on gender equality in the USA and abroad. The purpose of this action project was to see gender inequality in a whole new light.

Bug_girl_mi. (2011)  Mind the gender gap. Web:Globalgendercurrent.com

Around the world, many individuals do not think women are equal to men. Many countries, including the USA, have gender inequality and sadly, there is not a direct way to measure it. When looking at gender inequality, there are many different factors.  Two examples are marriage choices and equal pay for women. Places abroad such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and here at home in America,  struggle with gender inequality.

First, let's talk about marriage in the USA. Between 1995 and 2012, in the state of New Jersey alone, 3,499 children were married. Most of the New Jersey child brides were 16 or 17. (NPR.org) Even though the legal marriage age in most states is 18, how are kids 16 and 17 getting married? Most of the time in these types of marriages the male is controlling the female, and she cannot get an education, cannot work, or do other things especially when the groom is much older than the bride. Secondly, equal pay is a major problem in the USA. The gender pay gap is mainly led by the fact that people think women cannot do a job as well. But, if we thought of each other as equal, this would not be a problem. In 2015, female full-time workers made only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 20 percent.(iwpr.org) This is apparent even in Hollywood. Actor Jennifer Lawrence wrote an article about the gender pay gap in Hollywood, and it’s rather significant.

Now let's take a look at the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  One of the main problems with marriage in the DRC is that they are forced. There is growing attention to the problem, however, for many women and girls in the DRC, marriage can be slavery. It can begin with abduction and rape or can be arranged by fathers to repay debts. These brides enter marriage against their will. They are forced to provide labor without compensation and cannot pursue their own life goals because they cannot escape (freetheslaves.net).   So in general females can be forced into marriage by the father or be obliged by other circumstances and cannot live their lives on their own terms.  Equal pay is a major problem in the DRC as well.  In 2013, women represented 49% of the total labor force (wikigender.org),  yet, they do not get paid as much. They are underrepresented in government and upper-level jobs and paid less.  In addition, once married, women have to ask for permission to work from their husbands (peacewoman.org).

Even though America seems more technologically and culturally advanced, both countries share the issues of wage inequality and undesirable marriage situations. The DRC can learn some things from the USA in terms of giving married women freedom to work and live their lives without first seeking their husband's permission.  Unfortunately, America still has some work to do with curbing underage marriage and closing the wage gap. Both the DRC and the USA have work to do.  Women are a viable workforce and are the backbone of our communities, therefore it's time the world recognizes their contributions.

Works cited
"Children Get Married In The U.S., Too: #15Girls : Goats ..." Insert Name of Site in Italics. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2016 <http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/10/28/452540839/children-get-marri>.

"Gender inequality in the DRC [2010][English]." Insert Name of Site in Italics. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2016 <http://peacewomen.org/assets/file/Resources/NGO/hrinst_genderinequalityinthedrc_>.

"Pay Equity & Discrimination ? IWPR." Insert Name of Site in Italics. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2016 <http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination>.

"Wives in Slavery - Free the Slaves." Insert Name of Site in Italics. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2016 <https://www.freetheslaves.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ForcedMarriage-ExecSum_>.