“Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education,
preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015,” states
Goal 3 of the Millennium Development Goals to promote gender equality and
specifically empower women worldwide. Currently, living in the year 2012…we
could say there is still a long way to go. Being a Canadian we must first focus
on the gender equalities we face now here in Canada. Canada is a
world leader in the promotion and protection of women’s rights and gender
equality. These issues are central to Canada’s foreign and domestic policies. According
to these policies, Canada is entrusted through their views on gender equality
not only as a human right but also a key element to sustainable development,
social justice, peace and security within our communities. This is protected
through the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination
against Women as well as the Universal declaration of Human Rights. Canada was
one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women, which set international standards for eliminating gender
discrimination. However, why is it that the gap in income between men and women
in Canada is 21 per cent? Personally, I believe it is because of the stereotypes
our society as had on women for decades. These stereotypes do not only cause
dampers on women physically getting a respected job in society but also cause
mental self-esteem issues on women of actually feeling accepted in society. This
is not an issue that each gender can figure out by themselves but rather an
issue that both genders need to work together to build equal grounds.
You're right that gender inequality is still a problem in Canada, but it is not even close to as prevalent in our nation as in many developing countries. For this reason I believe we should put our focus internationally on helping women in developing nations achieve the equality they deserve. This can be done through the United Nations and the creation of international standards that must be abided by all nations
ReplyDeleteI knew there was gender inequality in our country, however, I did not know that the pay gap was that large. 21% is too large of a gap to say men and women are "equal." The Millenium Development Goals have aided this problem, but there is still a long way to go in establishing gender equality. I like Sam's idea by creating international standards that nations across the world must abide by. Once there is an international legislation that is applicable and mandated to all countries across the world, gender inequality can be decreased and equality can be achieved.
ReplyDeleteIt's an unfortunate reality that gender prejudices still exist in a country and developed and looked up to as Canada. And even more unfortunate that places like Saudi Arabia can still get away with not even letting their woman drive, or talk to other men simply because they are women. This goal can be tricky because we need to change peoples ideals about gender that could have been instilled in them from a very young age. You're very right that stereotypes still play a huge role in gener discrimination, you can see it almost every day.
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