Is there gender equality in the labor market?

There have been going around the world talking about gender equality. Unfortunately, rational ideas are often overshadowed by persistent myths that prevent true progress and entrenchment of equality.

I think that in terms of wage negotiations, it is important to stimulate women’s determination, self-confidence and ambition. However, the wage is mostly determined not by the lack of ambition. Still enough often women for the same or similar work are paid lower wages simply because they are women. Another reason – it is difficult for women to reach high-paying management positions because on the tops of office are comfortably seated the men.

Yet another reason – the labor market is distributed into male and female sector, where wages are often quite different. Women sectors (services, culture, education, health …) are less well paid than in sectors dominated by men (IT, transport, engineering …).

This is not because of the fact that women works would be different from the men works in terms of meaning, just there is a tendency, in that sector, where works more women, wages are going down, because women can be paid less.

It is enough difficult not to select traditionally female occupations, because from an early age girls are educated, prepared and encouraged to choose the traditional, gender-appropriate professional direction, so the labor market creates such “ghettos”.

Gender equality is not about physiological equality. When we say gender equality, we mean the social and societal equality. Therefore, it comes to the level of education, career opportunities, violence and sexual abuse problems, stereotyped images of women in the media, and so on.

After all that is a social problems. They are not natural – they are created by a patriarchal type of society which, under pressure of feminism and women’s courage, slowly is changing and becoming more modern. Today, gender equality is far more advanced forward than fifty years ago. And that means that we are moving forward.

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