Free Custom «Changing Gender Rules in Education, Employment, and Social Class» Essay Paper

Are today’s women taking the dominance role over men? Men seem to lose their grip on core social and economic functions which they have dominated in for centuries. The current century brings forth a new dawn of alpha females who seem to perform better in different fields as compared to men. Due to major shifts in gender rules, ascribed factors, and status attainment, more women than men today are taking key positions in education, employment, and social class which can be seen by women’s dominance in top professions and economic positions, increased number of degrees qualifications awarded to them, and elevated self dependency rates in the face of males.

There has been a silent gradual shift in strengths of women over men over the past few decades. Natural and economic positions previously dominated by men are now being controlled by women. Female empowerment campaigns across the globe have started bearing fruits. This is because today’s women are becoming stronger financially, and intellectually. The recent generation of women has become more liberated, highly motivated, and full of self confidence. They are ready to show that they are able to perform better in all tasks traditionally perceived to be for men. Parents of girl children are ready to invest more in their children’s education. It is one of the best strategies of reducing poverty levels in a society.

The changes in natural rules of women have facilitated a rise in alpha females. These females show excellence in almost all fields of occupations. They also offer stiff competition to men in fighting for the best economic positions across the globe. This will disrupt the roles of males in various social places, workplace, and even at home. Scientific research has proven that, in today’s education background, there are more girls in colleges than boys. Consequently, in academic performance, girls in colleges portray immaculate results. In American schools, for example, women have proven to perform better than men (Lind A. and Brzuzy S. Pp. 134).

College performance levels by male students keeps on going down. Various academic fields which were previously dominated by the boy child are currently being excelled by girls. A survey conducted by Pew research center indicates the rate of women enrollment in colleges is higher than that of men (Wiseman). According to research conducted in the U.S. education department, the projected number of bachelor degrees awarded to women by 2050 will be more than that of men. This is from a research conducted using statistical data from the year 1970 up to 2003. The first evidence of emergence of this trend started in the mid 1980’s where more girls started receiving more academic recognitions in colleges than boys. “In a few years, the population of United States will have more living female graduates than men college graduates.” (Gary C. Cullen R. and Lislie B. Pp. 622).

Amid this change in education excellence, not all boys will be faced with academic failures. Nevertheless, boys with high academic qualifications will face stiff competition from the larger fraction of excelling girls for the available positions in the workforce. Many women will obtain the most desirable and rather challenging positions in the employment sector. This does not mean that all academic excellences portrayed by women in the past decades have come at the expense of the males. Nevertheless, if the trend continues, the male generation will have to accept the fact that women will dominate in the employment sector with vast numbers.

The fortune 500 companies top job positions are headed by individuals with good academic excellence. Statistically, in year 2050, if 10 job positions will be available in these best performing companies, 7 will be taken by women. This will not be a simple gender role equation. Women, who have in the past been considered to be the weaker sex, will turn to be the superior sex. The reversed trend in academic excellence continues to widen the advanced degrees gap between men and women. In a decade, the number of degrees awarded to men for advanced degrees will increase by about 16 percent. On the other hand, the number of advanced degrees, which will be awarded to females, will increase by 26 percent.

Top professions like medicine, theological professions, law, and dentistry among others will be headed by women. What is startling, doctorate degrees which will be rewarded to men in year 2050 will fall far below those that were awarded in year 2000. Nevertheless, the number of similar degrees which will be awarded to women will continue to rise sharply. Even in different racial and ethnic groupings, the increased in degree gap continues to be manifested. In the future, black, Asian, and Latina women will hold more college certificates than men in the same regions. Below, is a chart showing the total Number of all Bachelor degrees awarded by gender and Ethnicity in 2004 and 2025- projected (Kindlon, Pp. 152)

Ethnic groups	Year	Male	Female	Ratio of Female: Male
Whites	2004	405,409	533,899	1.3
	2025	438,492	692,740	1.6
Blacks	2004	39,256	76,379	1.9
	2025	438,492	692,740	2.4
Hispanic	2004	39,256	49,423	1.5
	2005	65,339	113,844	1.6
Asian	2004	37,073	44,955	1.2
	2025	59,557	107,541	1.8

As it was the case in past decades, women especially in the 3^rd world nations mainly of Asian, Hispanic, and African origins depended wholly on their men for financial support. Over the years, the economic developments of 3^rd world nations have created numerous economic positions for both men and women. This has created pressure among women in these regions to obtain higher education qualifications. After attaining employment, these women are able to raise their social classes and standards in life.

Even in some societies where boys were preferred more than girls, the ratio of educated women to that of educated men manifests an upward trend. In China, male babies have been considered the more preferable pregnancy than female babies. Chinese families favor their sons more than their daughters. The one-child policy passed on in the county in year 1979 was a disadvantage for the girl child. Female pregnancies were aborted, and young girls became subjected to medical neglect. An amendment to the policy allowed couples to have 2 kids in the event that one is handicapped or had medical complications. “Some parents took advantage of the loophole in law which allowed parents to have a second child if the first was disabled or female.” (Gary C. Cullen R. and Lislie B. Pp. 622). Girls in this society born in these circumstances have proven that they can perform better academically than boys in the same circumstances.

Today, securing employment is viewed to be a good way to take control of an individual’s life. Women today feel that securing employment enables them to be self dependent rather than depending on men. In 1950’s, many American wives were solely dependent on their spouses especially for financial support. Majority of them lacked any employment skills. They remained in a powerlessness state in the face of their males who had financial power and control. Nevertheless, between 1960s and 1970s, many women recognized the importance of education for self empowerment. Women in the society went back to school and they were also keened of educating their daughters. This way, many women attained education and they were able to share in the power and control previously enjoyed by men.

Women are also joining highly paying professions. This outcome is generated by reason that their husbands earn less than them. In today economic setting, out of every four women, one earns more than the husband. This trend is projected to change by the year 2050 where 2 women out of 4 will be making more money than their spouses. Women feel that if they make more than men to support themselves, or if they attain good skills from education, they will be able to grasp the situation and obtain control of their lives. In the event of a divorce, they will not be on the merciful end of their husband’s goodwill. Today, women consider having a good education and financial security as a good way to become self dependent. This is a trait that many women in the 1950s did not have.

The biological differences between men and women such as the body strength as well as the size have seen men triumph in some professions more than women. Over the years, men have reaped heavy gains from industries dealing with real estates, architecture, cement production, heavy machinery truck transport among others. Females, on the other hand, dominate in healthcare supporting industries, and retail jobs, which have a slightly lower earning potential. Nevertheless, global economic changes such as the great recession which caused economic crisis in the U.S. have reversed the earning abilities.

The recent housing bubble in United States saw the loss of jobs for many men whereas other professions dominated by women were not adversely affected. The economic crisis in the nation saw many men than females lose their jobs. In another instance, the great depression of 1933 saw more than fifteen million Americans lose their jobs. This was mainly in industries which were approximately 75 percent dominated by men. These occurrences challenged the men’s positions as the bread winners in their families. In the past, men intimidated their wives by compelling them to stay at home. However, increased women empowerment has seen women taking more powerful positions in the job markets. Typical house wives have almost become obsolete (Yolich). Women have become intensely involved in the working environment where some take fulltime careers.

Various hypotheses by U.S. elites argue that future economic projects will return males to their original economic positions as the economic dominating gender. This is through commencement of massive infrastructure projects, such as creation of high speed railway lines and other projects which are male dominated. Nevertheless, this hypothesis may not come to pass since most of the economy funds are channeled towards education, social services, and healthcare sectors. This phenomenon seems to favor the women. Already in U.S., three quarters of the health industries workers are women.

President Barack Obama commented in the New York Times that the setback of economic crisis in the manufacturing and construction does not mean that careers in the fields will be depleted. His exact words were, “They will constitute a smaller percentage in the total economy” (Gary C. Cullen R. and Lislie B. Pp. 632). This will make female professionals more likely to act as the bread winners in their families due to their higher income levels. This occurrence may affect men who face long unemployment periods. Consequently, men may indulge in unnecessary social practices leading to inevitable self destruction.

The reversed rules in men and women have made males participate in chores that were socially approved to be for females. Various surveys indicate that boys are ready to participate in various child rearing activities. 25 percent of boys aspire to be home staying parents at a point during their lives. The coming world is perceived to be of the alpha generation. Men will be pressured by circumstances to confront core psychological characters of traditional masculinity. They will submit to responsibilities performed by women in the past.

In the oncoming years, men will adapt and embrace their female counterparts to be equal partners. They will absorb the new social sensibilities and participate in similar social activities with women. This way, a new version of manhood will be developed more so in highly learned individuals living in developed nations. The new adaptability of men will not only be in their family lives but also in the economic perspective. Men will concentrate more in education like women and even seek white collar employments rather than blue collar employments.

In conclusion, changing gender in education, social classes, and employment are inevitable. Female empowerment strategies such as education excellence and financial affluence have made today’s women more liberated than women of the past. Among renowned women in society who have done remarkably well for themselves include Oprah winfrey (Kendall, Pp. 20). She has used her success for noble courses including creating a girl’s school in South Africa. In the future, juicy positions in the economic environment will be attained by women rather than men. Men will have to submit to this ongoing trend and take up various obligations traditionally reserved for women.