Gender Inequality Introduced

Virtually as early the beginning of "man kind," men have been considered to be superior to women. The rugged, fearless cave man ventures out into the dangerous wild, while the cave women stays inside and.. makes him a sandwich? Some might say women are delicate, while others refer to women as incapable; regardless, they are both wrong. Women have come a long way in the fight against gender inequality and discrimination; however the amount of segregation that we still see in society and the workplace today is unbearable.

www.youtube.com: Instructional Film for Women

Canada is known as a country that appreciates diversity in every aspect such as ethnicity, faiths, beliefs, and even genders. Many people come to Canada in hopes of finding the equal treatment in which they deserve. And although Canada's equality rights have developed, they weren't always this way, and there is plenty of room for improvement.


Jessica Morrison explains in her book Canada Past, Present, Future. Women's Issues, how for a long time, women weren't even mentioned in Canada's constitution, which ultimately means that they were not considered to be Canadian citizens. This meant their lives were not protected in the same way as the lives of men because they were viewed as being the "weaker sex." With their uncontrollable inability to be seen as independent individuals, women were objectified as "property" of their families until marriage and then they became property of their husband.


According to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) equality can only be reached if the following is achieved:

• the promotion of equal participation of women and men in decision making. 
• supporting women and girls in order for them to exercise their rights to the fullest extent.
• reducing the gap between women's and men's access to and control of resources and benefits of development.

Women play irreplaceable and critical roles in society that are the same as the roles of men. Therefore, women are deserving of worth, respect, and ultimately equal treatment. However Canadian women continue to face obstacles in society that ultimately degrades their ability to succeed. Society is setting their women up to fail. For example, CIDA suggests that Canadian women have:

1. fewer rights
2. lower education
3. lower health status
4. less income
5. less access to resources
6. less decision making

Additionally, Canada's women are further segregated if they are women of color, aboriginal, disabled, too young, or too old. The Canadian Labor Congress pointed out that in the 1950's, job ads listed men's pay rates and women's pay rates. Men and women working the exact same job, were paid different wages; those of men being higher. Even today, women are largely excluded from higher paying "blue collar" jobs, especially in the skilled trades and the women who are in the professional jobs, continue to be paid less than men. 

The Women's Housing Equality Network (WHEN) explains how gender discrimination and segregation has forced women into the "feminization of poverty." Statistics show that in Canada, women are poorer than they have been in two decades, leaving women to be the majority of social assistance recipients and to hold most of the lowest paying and least secure jobs. It is undeniable that women's rights have improved dramatically in the past years; however the issues that continue to circulate society are keeping women from their own success. The inability for women to compete with men in an equal environment has pushed them farther down into cycle of discrimination and segregation. In order for complete equality to be achieved, women's status must be improved, respected, and recognized. It's absolutely necessary for the world to understand that we must demolish "man kind." This is the "human race," and humans come in all different shapes, sizes, colors, ages, beliefs, and genders with equal capability if given equal opportunity.