What Are The Barriers Of Gender Equality

Today, the world is not doing as well as people would like: gender equality has yet to be achieved, climate change is putting millions at risk, two–hundred million people are unemployed, and people are more stressed than ever. Trying to solve these world challenges, people are working more and more hours, yet little progress is being made. The solution is rather simple: work less.

Women around the world are under–represented in the workforce, making up less than 20% of CEO positions, and, in America, fewer than 20% of Congressional positions are filled by women. Reasons for this lack of representation may be due to prejudice, but it is important to recognize that women are viewed as the primary child caregiver in most families. For this reason, many women take off work for several months after childbirth and are often thwarted from higher positions because they take leave. If both males and females had shorter work weeks, then both genders would be able to devote more time to child care, allowing women to continue to work sooner and progress in their fields. In addition, studies have shown that men who take paternity leave are more devoted to their families and are 50% more likely to help their wives with domestic labor, such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Thus, the shorter work week would lead to both equal representation in the work place and at home, subsequently, breaking the barriers ofgender inequality.

Shorter work weeks will not only benefit parents, but they

Get more content