Today, most women in the society are faced with numerous challenges and problems. Some of the major challenges that women face in the society today include gender discrimination and marginalization. Despite various calls by human rights activists and non-governmental organizations to abolish and eliminate discrimination and marginalization of women, there are still numerous reports that indicate that women are highly marginalized in the present society.
This essay will look into details the various ways in which women have been marginalized in the society. It also looks at the negative impacts that marginalization has caused on the victims. The last paragraph gives personal views and suggestions on how marginalization of women may be reduced within the society. It postulates that various approaches and measures that may be taken to prevent further marginalization and discrimination of women.
Marginality in the Society
Marginalization refers to the act of perceiving or assuming that a particular individual or a group of individuals do not have certain characteristics, qualities or traits that would make them equal to other people in the society. A person who do not have certain traits that the society considers desirable may be marginalized from receiving certain benefits in the society or may be excluded from being involved in certain social activities within the society, for example, employment or getting access to quality education. Individuals who are marginalized in the society often live desperately lives as a result of the discriminations and maltreatments that they receive.
Through marginalization, the society often sets certain limits which an individual can reach or achieve, for example in the workplace, women have been marginalized towards top managerial positions or executives positions in most large organizations. The society believes that men can serve well as senior managers or chief executive officers than women. Due to this assumption, women who might be more qualified than their male counterparts may not be recruited for executive positions in most large organizations because they are viewed as poor managers or inferior beings.
In February 2010, Oprah Winfrey stated in her television talk-show, The Oprah Winfrey Show that approximately one hundred thousand women in United States of America have been marginalized from various white-collar jobs and executive positions in most large organizations, including state corporations. Marginalization of women in the workplace has resulted into increased discrimination of women in the workplace.
Gender Discriminations in the Workplace
Moreover, marginalization of women has also resulted into dominance of men in the workplace. Today, many powerful positions in most large organizations are dominated by men due to marginalization of women from holding such positions. In my opinion, this has resulted into gender discriminations in the workplace, inadequate utilization of the abilities and capabilities of women and gender imbalance at the workplace. Additionally, most women who get discriminated at the workplace based on their gender often get demoralized and discouraged from working.
Consequently, they develop low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence and lack of intrinsic motivation, hence may perform poorly at the workplace. This finally results into reduced productivity at the workplace which negatively affects the society as a whole. Marginalization of women in the society has also resulted into reduced number of female role models within our communities. In extreme cases, women who are leadership positions may also be demoted or dismissed from their employments without any solid reason.
In certain communities, especially in Africa and India, women have been marginalized towards educational opportunities, for example, girls are rarely awarded scholarships and educational grants. This has resulted into reduced numbers of educated women in those communities. Most traditional societies view women as housewives who should neither get education nor go to work.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would argue that marginalization of person often results from various stereotypes and other preconceived notions that people develop in the society. Therefore, it is important for the society to avoid such destructive stereotypes and assumption about its members. As Oprah Winfrey states in her television talk-show The Oprah Winfrey Show, marginalization of women depicts serious flaws in assumptions that the society has developed towards women. I would suggest that the society should take the sole responsibility to ensure that women are not marginalized within the society in any way or manner whatsoever.
It is the responsibility of members of the society to guarantee and provide women with adequate support they may require in relation to employment, education, policy formulation activities among other roles. The society should make certain that the needs and concerns of women are fully addressed. Gender discrimination and other maltreatments that might be directed towards women should be highly discouraged, condemned and stopped.
Additionally, women should be empowered by providing them with adequate resources such as finances that would enable them start their own business. This would reduce over-dependence of women in the society. Women should also form professional groups where they can share their experiences on leadership and learn from one another.