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Inequality // Prejudice and Discrimination (Gender Inequality (Workforce …
Inequality // Prejudice and Discrimination
Gender Inequality
Workforce
balanced perspective from females is vital in organisations and diverse views can enhance success
"glass ceiling effect": women are not offered top positions
challenge social norm that men are inherently more capable in certain jobs and in leadership positions
political arena and business fields are dominated by males
women have their skills undermined and are seen to be less intelligent and capable than men, often as though their sole purpose was to be displayed
skewed gender equality balance means women have relatively less authority and influenced than their male counterparts --> entails a tendency to abuse or neglect women's rights as there are not enough powerful women to defend these rights in politics/workplace
COUNTER
lack of females in these areas can be due to choice, as they are restricted by constraints such as marriage and childbirth, which they give higher priority to
recent policies such as paternal leave allow men and women to hold similar responsibilities in childcare --> allows women to further maximise their potential in their workplace and to scale to greater heights
WORKFORCE
Out of the 500 largest corporations in US, only 23 have a female chief executive officer (4.6%)
Actress Emma-Stone, who starred in The Amazing Spider-Men, argued in an interview for Vogue in 2013 that while her male co-actor, Andrew Garfield, got interesting questions like who inspired him as an actor, she received questions about that colour was her favourite and how she kept in shape
When former South Korean PM Park Geun-Hye was elected, many questioned her leadership ability and cited pre-menstrual stress as a cause for concern
COUNTER
The E-careers Financial Gender Diversity Survey found that 8/10 workers found absolutely no gender discrimination in their workplace
Social: vulnerability to abuse
developing countries: societal attitudes legitimise violence towards women
"rape culture"
Govt officials shift blame for sexual assault to dressing influenced by 'western values' instead of addressing the root of this insidious behaviour from young Indian men
ineffective police who reportedly dismiss claims of sexual assault, as the legal system is predominantly biased against females
Witness protection system has yet to kick in, leaving rape survivors and witnesses, esp those from poor and marginalised communities, vulnerable to coercion
Lacking implementation of criminal justice system due to resistance from masses
Liberty accorded to men based on the existing gender stereotypes serves to offer unfair privileges over women
In some third-world countries eg Syria, women are considered unnatural and are derivatives of men + stripping of rights to one's body
COUNTER
Widespread media coverage of such incidences trigger global outrage and prompts the country's parliament to pass stricter laws on sexual violence + led to an increased awareness of the issue of violence against women in Indian society
Response of civil society empowers women and they have been increasingly forthcoming in reporting crimes against them
Social stigma associated with rape is being reduced
Measures are taken to educate the masses, esp men, on the issues of violence and the pervasive and negative impact of patriarchy + enable women to know their rights
developed countries: media objectification of women
Media has actively embedded the normalisation of the objectification of women
Advertisements that focus on certain parts of a women's body encourages society to view a women's body as a unity of separate entities
Women are obliged to obey society's ideals of beauty, esp so as the media edits and airbrushed celebrity photos to suit existing notions of beautiful women
Media fosters a culture of women beauty standards which pressure women to conform to and which celebrities face a losing battle in protesting against
developing countries
Govt statistics show that a woman is raped every 20 minutes in India
Globally, thousands of 'honour killlings' take place annually, where men are allowed to murder women who have been accused of having illicit affairs, which threaten men's dominance over them
Bolivia: men are cleared of rape charges if they marry the victim
Genital mutilation of girls is at 91% in Egypt --> horrific and unnecessary medical complications but Egyptian women are still made to endure the process without painkillers
In Syria, women are properties of the family, who chooses who they should get married to
COUNTER
developed countries
Kate Winslet voiced her protest against the media's promotion of misguided ideas of women's beauty standards --> issued a public statement that "I do not look like that and I do not desire to look like that. I tell you they have reduced by legs by about a third"
Inequality for Men
Lack of protection of men's money, rights and property arises from gender stereotypes, protecting women at the expense of men
Both the states and independent organisations offer less protection for men, making them more susceptible to being taken advantage of --> based on the assumption that men are more assertive and dominant
Reported cases of men being raped are few --> cases are not taken as seriously by society
Men are deprived of their rights to look after their children: women are more likely to be accorded custodial rights in divorces as they are perceived to be more sensitive and nurturing than men
SG: sex between an under-aged male and female is considered rape of the female, even if its consensual sex --> men gets the shorter end of the stick in such situations
Laws in alimony fees: men are obliged to pay his divorced wife a sum to cover her living expenses, as they are stereotypically more dominant and presumably able to earn more
Education and Technology
Rising education standards and improvements in tech have empowered women today: provides a platform to voice their opinions on an unprecedented scale & elevates a literate audience of women raring to hear their ideas
Novel industry: female authors are gaining ground eg E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey), Suzanna Collins' (Hunger Games trilogy) --> immense popularity of their works are made possible by the evolution of tech and media
LGBT community
Increasing actions taken that promote understanding and acceptance for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community
Singapore
Pink Dot, an event to support the LGBT community, has seen increasing attendance from 2.5K people in 2009 to an estimated 28K by 2015 --> the event has gained resonance with some members of Singapore society, even though we are still conservative in our views on homosexuality
COUNTER
An Institute of Policy Studies survey conducted in 2013 with more than 4K respondents found that more than 7 in 10 felt that sexual relations between 2 adults of the same sex and gay marriage were always wrong or almost always wrong
Singapore
Pink Dot: religious conservatives have come out to campaign against it online eg Wear White movement which received support from segments of the Christian community
Income Inequality
Ensuring that education outcomes are the result of students' abilities, will and effort, and not the result of their personal circumstances, lies at the heart of advancing social justice and inclusion. Education remains the best way to ensure that all children, regardless of their family backgrounds, achieve their full potential
Unequal access to opportunities
education system is hailed as the platform to increase social mobility, yet the privileged often benefit more from it
those who have the means to maximise their potential would invariable have an advantage over their peers from lower socio-economic backgrounds --> hinders inter-generation social mobility
parents in lower income group are more concerned in earning a livelihood and hence less able to invest time and energy into their children: lack holistic development
inherent advantages afforded by financial and social support
the disadvantaged are stuck in a self-perpetuating cycle of life devoid of equal opportunities --> intrinsically disadvantaged, leading to the inability to secure well-paying jobs in the future
-quality education becomes increasingly restricted to the well-off when they can afford expensive quality resources (eg tuition classes) to improve academic performance in major standardised exams as the lessons beyond curriculum time ensures better retention of knowledge and concepts
COUNTER: govt measures are implemented to reduce income inequality by helping the less privileged groups
adopt a meritocracy system to level the playing field for individuals, regardless of their socio-economic background
provide financial assistance to enable universal access to education
In a study done by Stanford University in the US, the past decades have seen a growing correlation between parental income and children's SAT test scores: results get steadily better as the social ladder is climbed further up
On average, women earn 24% less than men
Billion-dollar tuition industry in SG (research)
SG
schools with strong alumni support have more resources for its students through their active involvement in fund raising
Meritocratic nature of our education system recognises mainly the outstanding grades of our students, yet grades are directly influenced by one's level of financial stability
COUNTER
Singapore
progressive tax system to moderate income dispartity: top 10% of income earners in SG contribute about 80% of our personal income tax revenue --> redistributed to lower-income Sgporeans through schemes such as Workfare Income Supplement, GST vouchers and higher subsidies for thelower-and middle-income households in education, healthcare and housing etc.
FAS provides comprehensive coverage for public school fees and miscellaneous items eg school uniforms and textbooks
availability of scholarships
A study by the Ministry of Finance showed that 14% of young Singaporeans in their 30s who were with parents in the lowest income quintile when they were growing up, managed to move up to the top quintile of income earners as adults in their early 30s
(tertiary level) availability of scholarships
Amongst students who live in 1 to 3-room HDB flats, more than half did move up to diploma or degree programmes
SkillsFuture: encourages lifelong learning ...
MOE has shifted good teachers around to ensure a fair mix in both elite and neighbourhood schools
Racial Inequality
Entrenched stereotypes and prejudice in society
compartmentalise others in to pre-existing stereotypes --> denying each other of equal opportunities
COUNTER
Diversity in fashion has made some headway this year, with models of colour gaining more opportunities and visibility.
Singapore:
In the area of housing, landlords often indicate they would prefer not to rent or sell to Indian expatriates and mainland Chinese --> such practices abound despite the govt's comprehensive efforts to promote equality
COUNTER
<inclusive makeup range> pop star Rihanna's make up collection, Fenty Beauty, includes colour matches for all types of skin colour and ethnicity, considering the needs of dark and extremely pale-skinned women, which the beauty industry has ignored for far too long. The brand's marketing campaign also features more models of colour than white models
In March 2017, The Fashion Spot, reported that every major New York Fashion Week presentation included at least one model of colour
3/4 models in the Saint Laurent campaigns were people of colour, a huge improvement from their campaigns in 2001 to 2015, which had none
Popularity of Adwoa Aboah, a British model who is partially of Ghanaian descent -- named Model of the Year at the prestigious British Fashion Awards in 2017
Singapore
The govt mandates that each Group Representaion Constituency must have a Member of parliament who is of a minority group
Cultural Inequality
Xenophobia
Foreigners might be perceived by locals for threatening their employment opportunities
increased competition for jobs and housing --> foreigners treated with suspicion in the workforce
obvious disdain showed towards foreigners --> puts pressure on govt to curb intake of foreigners
lack of action by govt to stop the escalation of anti-foreigner sentiments by locals
COUNTER
education measures are taken to stress the importance on harmony and eradicate prejudice by increasing awareness for other countries' cultures
changing mindsets to become more accepting
Singapore
a plan to build a hostel for construction workers at Serangoon Gardens was met with immense disapproval from residents
In UK, the foreign population (Indian/Pakistani population) remains disjointed from the rest of society
COUNTER
Singapore
community centres organise bonding activities for the locals and foreign immigrants to understand one another's cultures better and facilitate assimilation
(April 2014) Singapore Kindness Movement organised a campaign with helicopters sending cold Coca-Cola drinks to construction workers around Singapore with notes of gratitude attached
Media
exacerbates discrimination
bombards viewers with media that contribute to our perception of others and world around us
reinforce stereotypes
sharing of materials and opinions online: compounds and accelerates the process of formation of stereotypes, causing users to unsuspectingly discriminate others in reality --> breeds an undesirable culture
difficulty in clamping down of online discriminatory acts due to the fast pace and wide outreach of the Internet
Singapore:
2 students were arrested by the police for posting racist remarks
on Twitter, which received 92 retweets: social media poses a potential threat to the local social fabric which encompasses individuals of different races and religions
Disability
Government
Efforts by government policies to help the less privileged groups can help mitigate inequality
Meritocratic society: individuals are given the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential, regardless of their background
In education, greater availability of scholarships provided by different tertiary institutions allow students from lower income groups to pursue activities that they excel in, without worrying about expenses incurred
Counter: Less privileged are intrinsically disadvantaged, relative to their peers.