Gender roles are behaviors and responsibilities an individual learns as appropriate to their gender. It includes how one is expected to dress, speak, act, groom and conduct themselves based on their assigned gender. Harmful gender roles and expectations may result in inequalities between men and women/boys and girls. While these gender-related imbalances may affect both genders, girls/women are disproportionately affected. This essay will analyze the effects of gender roles and gender expectations in workplaces, education, the domestic sphere, and the LGBTQIA community and how they can be remedied.
Effects of Gender Roles and Gender Expectations in Workplaces and Education
Gender roles and gender expectations affect opportunities in workplaces and education. Gender inequality in workplaces is a complex phenomenon in organizational processes, practices, and structures. It takes different forms, including disparities in promotions, unequal pay, sexual harassment, limited women in leadership, and the longer time required for women to advance their careers compared to men. Prescriptive and descriptive gender stereotypes tend to influence hiring processes. According to González et al. (2019), some descriptive stereotypes result from established knowledge of men’s and women’s specific abilities. Established gender stereotypes indicate that men have better capabilities than women, making them a preferred choice for some employers. It is also noted that they have conscious and unconscious preferences for male workers. Eaton et al. (2020) state that gender stereotypes on gender roles and expectations about what women are and what they can do mainly portray women as lesser capable than men. This results in higher job positions being preserved for men and low-ranking jobs for women. Workplace discrimination against women results in women’s lower social-economic status.
Gender expectations and roles affect their opportunities, capabilities, rights, and responsibilities, including one’s access to education and treatment in schools. For example, gender, in some cases, influences whether a child goes or remains in school. This affects girls more than boys since, in most cases, girls are more likely than boys to be out of school. This is significantly associated with socially constructed norms and social powers that define the gender expectations and roles that different genders should play. These socially constructed norms place women as domestic beings who should care for their homes and family. Additionally, gender stereotypes are noted in how teachers treat students. For example, according to Eaton et al. (2020), some teachers believe that boys have a natural talent in mathematics and sciences and thus expect them to perform better in the subjects than girls. This may influence the subjects that one chooses to study and their performance.
Effects of Gender Roles and Expectations in the Domestic Sphere
Gender roles and expectations affect men and women in the domestic sphere in various ways. Gender roles are behaviors and responsibilities an individual learns as appropriate to their gender. Different societies use them as the basis for the division of labor. They give defined duties and responsibilities expected from men and women. In most communities, in the domestic sphere, household chores are the responsibility of women, while men have the role of providing. According to Remsing (2022), if women are left to take care of the home and raise children, it promotes economic independence among women, who are thus entirely dependent on men for their financial needs. On top of this, it could have various impacts, such as conflicts at home. For example, someone may feel overworked and expect a man to help them. If this does not happen, disputes between the two may arise. It could also cause imbalances in house cores and work. One may be overwhelmed by the house chores and formal work and may need help to balance the two.
Effects of Gender Roles and Gender Expectations on the LGBTQIA Community
Various constellations of sexuality and gender go beyond the traditional gender norms. They include gay, lesbianism, queer, bisexual, transgender, and non-binary. This is where one’s gender expression, identity, and sexual orientation do not follow a linear/expected pattern. This group of people goes against the gender norms and expectations that society considers acceptable. For example, lesbians love women and are independent of men, while guys love men and are not aggressive. This group of people may be affected by societal gender roles and expectations. The traditional man and woman application may be confusing because one may ask who the man/woman is in the relationship. However, being a member of the LGBTQ group may imply that one does not live in the societal gender roles and expectations and has rejected the feminine and masculine roles designed by society. In societies dominated by sexist culture and where gender roles and expectations define people, it is not easy to live outside societal norms. LGBTQ thus face various challenges such as discrimination and marginalization, rejection by families, bullying and violence, and difficulties in assessing different social services.
How Gender Stratifications can be remedied
Gender stratification can be remedied in various ways. For instance, breaking the glass ceiling; artificial and invisible barriers hindering women from up the corporate ladder. Academic institutions, employers, state and federal governments, and women as well should work together to break the barrier (Guzman Garcia, 2018). For instance, business organizations should incorporate practices that identify and destroy rules incorporated on roots of gender discrimination due to cultural patterns. Giving equal opportunities in education and workplaces can help promote women’s economic success and stop economic dependence on men. Additionally, increasing public consciousness of the reasons and impacts of gender-based discrimination and promoting mentorship to help boost the number of women in leadership positions and other traditional man-dominated spheres and confronting negative gender stereotyping can also help promote gender equality. On top of this, increasing government funding for high-quality daycare options to give to parents, especially mothers who wish to work outside the domestic sphere, can help women balance their household chores and professional responsibilities.
Conclusion
Gender roles and gender expectations have adverse effects on various aspects of life, especially on women. Cultural gender roles and expectations give men more power and place girls/women in inferior workplace positions, education, and the domestic sphere. For example, gender expectations and roles affect women’s opportunities, capabilities, rights, and responsibilities, including one’s access to education and treatment in schools. Men are given priorities and are expected to perform better than girls. Additionally, women are given superior positions in workplaces, and when hiring, men have advantages over women since most hiring managers prefer men over women. On top of this, women are expected to stay at home and take care of their families, which significantly promotes economic independence among women. Individuals and governments must confront negative gender stereotyping and promote gender equality.
References
Eaton, A. A., Saunders, J. F., Jacobson, R. K., & West, K. (2020). How gender and race stereotypes impact the advancement of scholars in STEM: Professors’ biased evaluations of physics and biology post-doctoral candidates. Sex Roles, 82(3), 127-141. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-019-01052-w
González, M. J., Cortina, C., & Rodríguez, J. (2019). The role of gender stereotypes in hiring: a field experiment. European Sociological Review, 35(2), 187-204. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcy055
Guzman Garcia, I. (2018). Review of policies to stop gender discrimination in the healthcare workplace: Where should we go from here? (Doctoral dissertation, California State University, Northridge). https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/p2676z317
Remsing, S. (2022). The intersection of Class and Gender. https://our.oakland.edu/handle/10323/11463
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