Diversity Week 7-1 Assignment

Analyzing Diversity Through Natural and Applied Sciences and Social Sciences

IDS400 Diversity

SNHU

Terrell Mcghee

10/10/2021

Analyzing Diversity Through Natural and Applied Sciences and Social Sciences

In our modern world, the issue of gender equality is among the most critical social topics concerned with the extent to which societal cultures support equal growth and development irrespective of gender. This topic is a multidisciplinary concept that covers all aspects of our lives, even though there has been an evolving perspective in which men and women are regarded in society. Integrating several lenses in explaining the changing perspectives can help create solutions to gender inequality across social, political, and economic spheres. This paper looks at the issue of gender equality through social sciences, natural, and applied sciences.

Social Sciences

Social science analyses society and how people relate to each other. There are many angles through which the issue of gender equality can be analyzed. We begin by looking at the issue of gender equality in the aspect of work-family balance. Studies show that a person’s gender ideologies concerning the roles alleged to be for men and women are a crucial factor to their support of gender equality (Lomazzi et at., 2019). For example, looking at this in the context of couples, balancing professional obligations and family responsibilities needs a combined effort and defined strategies. Most importantly, we note that many elements are at play in balancing such different responsibilities which include the availability of resources, cultural norms and values, and personal preferences. An analysis of this perspective establishes that attitudes towards gender roles and tasks determine the state of gender equality in society.

Participation and recognition of all genders in political activities is an indicator of analyzing gender equality. Countries with adequate policing on gender equality and democracy have accorded equal rights to both men and women. Same as men, women are allowed to vote, vie for political seats, and take positions as members of electoral bodies. However, due to the slow rate of acceptance that women have a similar professional capacity to men, women continue to be underrepresented in political positions. This is evidenced by the few numbers of female heads of state across the globe. The problem of underrepresentation is considered an equality issue, raising concerns in political institutions. It is argued that these institutions overlook the interests of women since men are in charge of major decision-making positions. This male domination the political decision-making promotes a systematic failure of the governments to promote the well-being of the entire society.

In the workplace, gender inequality continues to be evidenced. This ranges from the nature of jobs assumed to be suitable for men and women. Since ancient days sectors, such as engineering, manufacturing, technology, and other c-suite potions were assumed to be best suited for men. There was always more male applicant for positions in these fields making it automatic that more males will be hired and eventually get promoted to managerial roles. Even though things have changed in the contemporary world, there continues to be an unconscious bias in ensuring workplace equality. Men will be assumed to be more assertive than women (Johnson et al., 2018), hence their requests for promotion get approved faster than women. Women will be in turn denied leadership positions out of the assumption that they are emotional and over-sensitive, making it difficult to handle pressure.

Natural and Applied Sciences

Through this lens, we get to understand ourselves and our place in the universe, alongside how nature plays a role in shaping humans. Biologically, there exists a cognitive difference between men and women. This can be attributed to the differences in human behavior between men and women. For instance, women will excel better in tasks that require verbal ability compared to men. This is the reason why women will be better suited for roles such as customer service agents, switchboard technicians, and sales representatives, among others. Women’s ability in writing and reading comprehension exceeds that of men, and they also do better in multitasking and coordination. Women are also good at recalling information compared to men. Men on the other hand are good at visualization and accurate determination of angles and tracking mobile objects. These qualities explain the reason why men do better in fields such as engineering and construction. Understanding these biological factors provides an understanding as to why gender inequality especially in the workplace exists.

The cognitive differences in men and women extend beyond behavioral implications to neuro​psychiatric conditions. Research shows that men are highly likely to experience clinical depression and post-traumatic stress compared to women (Husky et al, 2018). Additionally, men are also susceptible to conditions such as drug abuse, autism, and schizophrenia among others. This explains why men are not suited to positions that need patience and emotions of sympathy such as human relations and family therapists. This also explains why most cultures perceive women as caregivers and deny them taking up aggressive roles in society. Institutions will also consider these biological perspectives when recruiting candidates for various roles within the organization.

References

Husky, M. M., Mazure, C. M., & Kovess-Masfety, V. (2018). Gender differences in psychiatric and medical comorbidity with post-traumatic stress disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 84, 75-81

Johnson, S. K., & Lacerenza, C. N. (2018). Leadership is male-centric: Gender issues in the study of leadership. In What’s Wrong with Leadership? (pp. 121-137). Routledge.

Lomazzi, V., Israel, S., & Crespi, I. (2019). Gender equality in Europe and the effect of work-family balance policies on gender-role attitudes. Social Sciences, 8(1), 5. ; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8010005.