Gender Inequality

A. To which gender are these jobs usually associated to? football player. reporter. waiter. nurse. electrician. teacher. painter. housekeeper. surgeon. mechanic. soldier. scientist. farmer. police officer. engineer. architect Female Male B. Find the correspondant female job in the right column. actor actress barman barmaid waiter waitress landlord landlady policeman policewoman headmaster headmistress steward stewardess barber hairdresser milkman milkmaid salesman saleswoman fisherman fisherwoman C. Read the text carefully. Women in the Workforce and Gender Equality Although the overall situation of women has improved in the past decades they still are discriminated against when it comes to work. They get paid less than men for the same work that they do and in some cases do not have the same opportunities as men to reach high-ranking positions. However this is starting to change.Especially organizations, like the United Nations or UNESCO are giving women better opportunities. Many European Union countries have introduced quotas for women in high-ranking positions. But in other areas they are still second-class citizens.In industrial countries of the developed world they have become more than equal to males. In the past four decades the proportion of women who have paid jobs has gone up from below half to 64 %.The role of women has changed drastically during the 20th century. In the early 1900s female workers were employed mainly in factories or worked as servants. In the course of time they got more educated and started working as nurses, teachers, even doctors and lawyers.In the 1960s, women, for the first time, were able to actively plan their families. Birth control pills and other contraceptives made it possible for women to have a career, family or even both. Many went to high school and college and sought a job. In the 1970s women in developed countries started to become a major part of the workforce.According to a new survey about one billion women are expected to enter the workforce in the next decade. This should not only contribute to economic growth but also improve gender equality.Even though women should be treated equally, they still get, on average, about 18% less pay for the same work. Females suffer from inequalities in other areas too.Many women wish to start a career and search for fulfillment outside family life. However, in most cases it is harder for them to get to the absolute top than it is for men. Only about 3% of the top CEOs are women. While the situation of women in developed countries may have come to a standstill, females in Asian countries, like China, Singapore or South Korea are experiencing a boom in good job offers. More and more of them are reaching top positions.One of the issues that still are hard for a woman to manage is child care. Not only do they spend more on education and baby sitters, especially single mothers who raise a child alone find it nearly impossible to reach a top position at the same time. Even if a woman has a working husband, men are not keen on taking leave to care for the baby. Most men still consider this a woman’s job.Nevertheless, there are countries where women and men lead equal lives and also find equal opportunity. Among Scandinavian countries, which generally offer many opportunities for women, Iceland ranks first. At the bottom of the list are developing countries like Yemen and Pakistan. (abridged) In the past few years many women have become CEO's in European countries. True False Not stated in the text Females are having trouble finding the right jobs, especially in developing countries True False Not stated in the text Only a very small percentage of women have top positions. True False Not stared in the text Asian countries are offering women better jobs and higher positions. True False Not stated 1. Why are women considered "second class citizens"? 2. Identify 2 important events in the last century that influenced women's role in the workforce. 3. In which countries are women treated as equal to men? 4. In your opinion, is gender inequality fair? Justify your answer.