Also known as gender egalitarianism or gender equality, gender equality is the view that every individual should be treated equally in all aspects of life (health, education, employment, leadership) without any discrimination on the basis of gender (Jayachandran, 2014). According to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, one of the key objectives is to strengthen gender equality in social and legal contexts. Such situations include democratic activities and ensuring equal pay for work for all genders. This can only be achieved when both men and women are afforded similar opportunities and rights in decision-making, economic participation, leadership opportunities and the appreciation and facilitation of the different needs and aspirations of both genders. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Practically, the main goal of gender equality is to help people achieve equal treatment in the entire society, not only in politics and the workplace but also in every other institution of life. However, across different countries, regions, social and religious groups, this is not the case since, as evident from the role representation of both genders, women are not afforded the same treatment as men. Specifically, this is a common trend in developing countries where the female gender is perceived as subordinate and therefore does not deserve to receive rights and opportunities for certain religious, political and social roles. This will be the main focus of this paper, to explore current key trends in gender gaps between groups, countries and regions. The key patterns of the gender gap that this paper will examine is the correlation between economic development and gender equality, as well as overall country development and gender equality. It will also analyze some arguments of other scholars such as Duflo and Jayachandran explaining some of the possible causes of these trends and providing an individual point of view regarding these gaps. Since time immemorial, gender bias has been an existing problem and particularly in favor of men, compromising women's rights and opportunities. In a few other cases, men's rights have also been compromised in situations where some professions such as nursing are considered exclusively female while there are men with the potential and ability to take on roles and other few similar circumstances. However, with the rise of gender equality movements such as the United Nations, strict legislation on gender rules and affirmative action, gender inequality has gradually decreased and currently: men actively and increasingly work in occupations previously deemed feminine, women can take on religious and political roles, women can take on their husband's surname soon after marriage, and both male and female can access equal educational and social opportunities. However, this trend is not uniform across the world as it is only evident in a good number of developed nations and very few developing countries. In most developing countries, as indicated by World Bank data (world development indicators), the ratio between the rate of enrollment in higher education by men and women is decreasing when compared to GDP per capita . The trend is also similar for secondary and primary education, where the school enrollment gap is negative. Even in the field of employment, as reported by the World Bank, theThe number of men involved in the workforce far exceeds that of women. Taking India as an example, a woman's chances of working are one third of those of a man, similar trends are also recorded in North African and Middle Eastern countries (Jayachandran, 2014). In marriages, a good number of individuals in developed countries accept the fact that women should have more decision-making power over decisions regarding child development, visits from friends and family, as well as other family-related activities. In contrast, most of their counterparts in developing countries believe that domestic decision-making should be a male matter with minimal involvement of women. At the origin of this thought, Jayachandran, (2014) argues that the main reason for this trend could be the need to improve a child's developmental outcomes and that women's internal decisions could be perceived only as an aspect of their well-being . From a personal perspective, this argument is valid given that in most cases where women's decisions are not tolerated, the obvious perception is that they are subordinated. Consequently, to raise a well-developed child, as Jayachandran (2014) argues, one needs the decisions of the “superior being, man.” For freedom of choice and life satisfaction, most women in developing countries believe they have very limited control over their lives compared to their female counterparts in developed countries. This is what emerges from data collected by the World Values Survey (WVS) in a study aimed at determining the level of freedom of choice and life satisfaction among women in developing countries. The data emerging from the survey also indicates that for women in the countries of North Africa, the Middle East and India, freedom of choice is more a dream than a reality (Jayachandran, 2012). This provides a key gender gap model in which there is a direct correlation between work participation of a given gender and the level of life satisfaction and freedom of choice. This is true since the regions and countries noted above are the same ones where men's labor participation is three times that of women, as seen in previous sections of this paper. Also from the previous sections of this paper, an apparent trend of the gender gap is the role of economic stability in strengthening or limiting gender equality. A clear fact is that gender inequality, where males are favored in enrollment in higher education, in primary and secondary school, in freedom of life, in freedom of choice and in decision-making power in marriages, is rampant only in countries less stable from an economic point of view. According to Jayachandran (2012), the more a country grows economically, the greater the chances of gender equality. Below are some of the ways in which level of development influences gender equality. Male-based production is the first topic that Jayachandran (2012) raises as one of the key links between economic stability and gender equality. Taking an example of agricultural production where the key factor is physical strength, he argues that the result here is lower labor participation of women compared to men who are well endowed with physical strength. This consequently results in gender inequality where men may appear to be more advantaged. However, if women were to perform exclusively mental jobs where physical strength is not taken into account, then as the country develops, more women than men are likely to be employed, resulting in another gender imbalance. However, ifdevelopment occurs at a relatively slow pace and both sexes can do both jobs, resulting in gender equality. Based on this argument, Jayachandran (2012) is apparently right as developing nations are apparently still predominantly oriented towards agriculture-based production. thus offering more job opportunities to men. In this state, women are jobless, they cannot look after themselves and what comes into play is the dependence on working men. As a result, this gives rise to limited freedom of life for women, compromised decision-making and gender-based violence. All this occurs because with women depending on them, men feel superior while women are forced into inferiority. Apparently, as Jayachandran (2012) argues, economic development is a key factor in achieving gender equality and it is indisputable that it is the key reason for gender inequality in developing countries. The key indicator of economic development is advanced technology, high family income and good infrastructure. With these factors in place, domestic production is likely to be more efficient with minimal labor requirements. This implies that women who play a key role in carrying out domestic productive activities will be saved more of their time and will consequently have enough time to devote to other work. The obvious result will be a greater absorption of women into the labor market. In developed countries, this is the case and is the root of gender balance in the regions. In underdeveloped countries, women are still forced to carry out productive tasks at home manually, thus limiting the time they can dedicate to other work. One of the main reasons for the gender imbalance in the regions. According to this argument, Jayachandran (2012) is partially right as there are some developing nations like India and Middle Eastern countries with relatively good infrastructure and better domestic production technologies, but there is still gender bias in terms of employment. This is the result of cultural barriers, customs beliefs and religious practices that prevent women from being absorbed into the job market. On the other hand, given enough time available and in the absence of other obstacles, women are likely to be absorbed into the labor market and can therefore provide for themselves. Once this is achieved, all other sources of gender imbalance are sealed. In summary, Jayachandran's (2012) arguments indicate that the majority of gender gaps in almost all sectors are largely found in developing countries compared to developed nations. This can be attributed in particular to low economic development, traditional production methods, cultural and religious beliefs that favor males. For this to change and achieve gender equality, these nations will need to shift from agriculture to technology-based manufacturing, advance in household technology to reduce time spent on household chores, and eliminate some limiting religious and cultural barriers. All these factors will serve to increase the chances of women participating in the labor market. Another key pattern of the gender gap is women's empowerment and economic development. According to Duflo (2012), there is a direct bidirectional link between women's empowerment and economic development. Women's empowerment in this case is improving women's access to earning opportunities, political participation, constitutional development, educational opportunities and.
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