introduction to Gender Equality

In a society, everyone has the right to lead his/her life accordingly without any discrimination. When this state is
achieved where all individuals are considered to be equal irrespective of their caste, gender, colour, profession,
and status, we call it equality. Equality can also be defined as the situation where every individual has the same
rights and equal opportunity to grow and prosper.

Every individual of society dreams for equal rights and access to resources available at their disposal, but there
is a lot of discrimination. This discrimination can be due to cultural differences, geographical differences, the
colour of the individual, social status and even gender. The most prevalent discrimination is gender inequality. It
is not a localised issue and is limited to only certain spheres of life but is prevalent across the globe. Even in
progressive societies and top organisations, we can see many examples of gender bias.

Gender equality can only be achieved when both male and female individuals are treated similarly. But
discrimination is a social menace that creates division. We stop being together and stand together to tackle our
problems. This social stigma has been creeping into the underbelly of all of society for many centuries. This has
also been witnessed in gender-based cases. Gender inequality is the thing of the past as both men and women
are creating history in all segments together.

Gender Equality builds a Nation

In this century, women and men enjoy the same privileges. The perception is changing slowly but steadily.
People are now becoming more aware of their rights and what they can do in a free society. It has been found
that when women and men hold the same position and participate equally, society progresses exclusively and
creates a landmark. When a community reaches gender equality, everyone enjoys the same privileges and gets
similar scopes in education, health, occupation, and political aspect. Even in the family, when both male and
female members are treated in the same way, it is the best place to grow, learn, and add great value.

A nation needs to value every gender equally to progress at the right place. A society attains better
development in all aspects when both genders are entitled to similar opportunities. Equal rights in decision
making, health, politics, infrastructure, profession, etc will surely advance our society to a new level. The social
stigma of women staying inside the house has changed. Nowadays, girls are equally competing with boys in
school. They are also creating landmark development in their respective profession. Women are now seeking
economic independence before they get married. It gives them the confidence to stand against oppression and
make better decisions for themselves.

The age-old social structure dictated that women need to stay inside the home taking care of all when men go
out to earn bread and butter. This has been practised for ages when the world outside was not safe. Now that
the time has changed and we have successfully made our environment quite safer, women can step forward,
get educated, pursue their passion, bring economic balance in their families, and share the weight of a family
with men. This, in a cumulative way, will also make a country’s economy progress faster and better.

Methods to measure Gender Equality

Gender equality can be measured and a country’s growth can be traced by using the following methods.
  Gender Development Index (GDI) is a gender-based calculation done similar to the Human
Development Index.
 Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) is a detailed calculation method of the percentage of female
members in decision-making roles.
 Gender Equity Index (GEI) considers economic participation, education, and empowerment.
 Global Gender Gap Index assesses the level of gender inequality present on the basis of four criteria:
economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, health and
survival.

According to the Gender Gap Index (GGI), India ranks 140 among 156 participating countries. This denotes that
the performance of India has fallen from the previous years, denoting negative growth in terms of closing the
gender gap. In the current environment where equality and equal opportunities are considered supreme, this
makes India be at a significant disadvantage.

Roadblocks to Gender Equality

Indian society is still wrecked by such stigmas that dictate that women are meant to manage the home and stay
indoors. This is being done for ages, leading to neglect of women in areas like education, health, wealth, and
socio-economic fields.

In addition to that, the dowry system is further crippling society. This ill practice had led to numerous female
feticides. It has created a notion that girls are a burden on a family, which is one of the primary reasons a girl
child cannot continue her education. Even if they excel in education and become independent, most of them
are forced to quit their job as their income is considered a backup source, which is not fair. New-age women
are not only independent, but they are confident too. The only thing they demand from society is support,
which we should provide them.

Along with dowry, there is one more burning issue that has a profound impact on women's growth. It is
prevalent in all kinds of society and is known as violence. Violence against women is present in one or another
form in public and private spaces. Sometimes, violence is accompanied by other burning issues such as
exploitation, harassment, and trafficking, making the world unsafe for women. We must take steps to stop this
and ensure a safe and healthy place for women.

Poverty is also one of the major roadblocks towards gender equality. It has led to other malpractices such as
child marriage, sale of children, trafficking and child labour, to name a few. Providing equal job opportunities
and upliftment of people below the poverty line can help bring some checks onto this.

Initiative Towards Gender Equality

Any kind of discrimination acts as a roadblock in any nation’s growth, and a nation can only prosper when all its
citizens have equal rights. Most of the developed countries has comparatively less gender discrimination and
provide equal opportunity to both genders. Even the Indian government is taking multiple initiatives to cut
down gender discrimination.

They have initiated a social campaign called “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana” to encourage the education of
girl children. Besides this, the government runs multiple other schemes, such as the Women Helpline Scheme,
UJJAWALA, National Mission for Empowerment of Women, etc., to generate awareness among the people.
Moreover, as responsible citizens, it is our responsibility to spread knowledge on gender discrimination to
create a beautiful world for women .[1] [2]

Conclusion

Once all these menaces will be eradicated, every family will understand the value of a woman and our country
will achieve gender equality in a real sense. Women are creating examples everywhere and we all
should highlight them to change the scenario and give them equal rights. In the end, the performance of India
in the Olympics 2021 is the current example where India has won seven medals. Out of those seven medals, six
came in individual events and out of those six medals, female athletes won three. It shows that even after
facing such hardship, their performance is at par with male athletes. With so much potential, it is only a matter
of time when women will overtake men and have all their abilities on display for the world to see!

FAQs on Gender Equality Essay

1. What Makes Women Unequal to Men?

The social stigmas and beliefs that have been running deeply in the veins of all families make women unequal

to men. Women are considered to be a burden by many families and are not provided with the same rights

men enjoy in society. We are ill-informed regarding women’s rights and tend to continue age-old practices. This

is made worse with social menaces such as the dowry system, child labor, child marriage, etc. Women can

gather knowledge, get educated, and compete with men. This is sometimes quite threatening to the false

patriarchal society.

2. How can We Promote Gender Equality?

Education is the prime measure to be taken to make society free from such
menaces. When we teach our new generation regarding the best social practices
and gender equal rights, we can eradicate such menaces aptly. Our society is ill-
informed regarding gender equality and rights. Many policies have been designed
and implemented by the government. As our country holds the second position in
terms of population, it is hard to tackle these gender-based problems. It can only be
erased from the deepest point by using education as the prime weapon.

3. Why should Women be Equal to Men?

Women might not be similar to men in terms of physical strength and physiological
traits. Both are differently built biologically but they have the same brain and
organs to function. Women these days are creating milestones that are changing
society. They have traveled to space, running companies, creating history, and
making everyone proud. Women are showing their capabilities in every phase and
hence, they should be equal to men in all aspects.

Gender equality – which becomes reality when all genders are treated fairly
and allowed equal opportunities – is a complicated human rights issue for
every country in the world. Recent statistics are sobering. According to the
World Economic Forum, it will take 108 years to achieve gender parity. The biggest
gaps are found in political empowerment and economics. Also, there are
currently just six countries that give women and men equal legal work rights.
Generally, women are only given ¾ of the rights given to men. To learn more
about how gender equality is measured, how it affects both women and men,
and what can be done, here are five essays making a fair point.

Our goal
To accelerate progress toward a more gender-equal world by addressing the
barriers that keep women and girls from being fully active in their homes,
economies, and societies.