Globalization and Gender Equality

1 Globalization and Gender Equality Introduction Globalization has caused the world to become more integrated. Advancements and changes in technology are changing the way people communicate, learn and work. The rate of globalization has accelerated as a result of people’s greater access to information, the spread of technology across the globe and the integration through the expansion of economic integration. Across the globe, states, cultures, populations and economies are increasingly becoming interdependent as a result of globalization.

In the context of studying the relation between gender equality and globalization, gender can be defined as the social, cultural, economic and political resources and opportunities that accrue from being male or female. Thus, gender is the social norms, values and expectations that communities attach to being either male or female. Gender equality is the state where both genders have equal access to resources and opportunities. It is also the state where there is no gender disparity in issues of decision making, employment, economic participation and protection. Gender inequality is a complex issue; it not only affects one gender, but also affects the ability of countries and their economies to progress. When gender inequality exists, it is generally women who are disadvantaged.

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Gender equality is strongly tied to the preservation and protection of women’s rights and gender identities that exist outside the gender binary. According to UNICEF, gender equality does not mean that genders should be treated the same, it means that they should be granted the same level of access to protections, opportunities, and resources. Being that gender equality is crucial to the social and economic wellbeing of communities, there are various means of accelerating the rate at which it is achieved. Globalization is one of the most effective means The impact of globalization on gender inequality is an important research area because it facilitates the assessment of the gender disparities, and provides methods of eliminating them in order to ensure that both men and women, boys and girls, have equal rights and opportunities to enjoy the benefits of globalization. *Theory* Background The relation between globalization and gender equality is a heavily debated and intriguing topic.

Gender inequality, that is, disparities between individuals due to gender has been defined differently by different studies. According to (author) gender inequality is a multi-faceted phenomenon that comprises interlinked and dissimilar problems. These problems include access to education for girls, unequal access to employment opportunities, inequality in the ability to acquire assets between men and women, and inequality in household division of labor.

As argued by (author), gender inequality particularly in educational and professional opportunities persist because men have more flexibility and less commitments than women. If resources and opportunities could be designed in a manner that considered the fact that women have a wider range of responsibilities than men.

As globalization continues to occur at a rapid rate and gender inequality gradually reduces, there has been significant research into the role that globalization plays supporting gender equality.

The KOF Globalization Index and the Global Gender Gap Index, for instance, are instrumental in establishing the extent and significance of the relationship between the two variables. (author name) states that there are different types of globalization. These are; sociological, financial, economic, cultural, technological, sociological and political globalization. Each of these globalization types has a different effect on gender equality; however, research has proven that sociocultural globalization bears the most significant impact.

Gender Equality and Globalization Over the years, various researchers have attempted to examine why and to what extent globalization influences gender equality. In the analysis of the relationship between the two variables, it is important to pay particular attention to gender disparity in the labor market, pay

3 gaps between men and women, and the difference in the rates of unemployment between the two genders.

In a majority of countries and communities across the world, gender plays a significant role in the allocation of household labor, employment opportunities, access to resources, educstion outcomes and wage parity. Regardless of the type of globalization, gender biases exist that put girls and women at a disadvantage compared to their male counterparts. For instance, political globalization tends to allocate positions of power and influence to men, while economic globalization fails to effectively address the issue of discrepancies between male and female wages, and employment opportunities.

There are two contrasting schools of thought on the relationship between globalization and gender equality. The first school states that globalization facilitates gender equality because it causes labor to be less reliant on brawn and more reliant on brain, and also opens up trade and learning opportunities to women who would otherwise have had little access to them, for instance, in developing nations. The second school of thought is of the opinion that globalization widens the gap between the genders because a larger percentage of the opportunities it creates are allocated to men, leaving women to low paying and low-status jobs.

This paper explores two research questions; firstly, is there is a direct relation between globalization and gender equality? Secondly, how do the different types of globalization impact gender equality?

Research into the link between these two variables is crucial because gender inequality has remained pervasive even in countries that are perceived to be gender sensitive such as the Nordic states. Gender equality benefits everyone and it is recognized as the key to sustainable development; studies reveal that when girls and women have greater access to education, employment and a lower household labor burden, economies perform better, and children’s health and mortality rates improve. As such, gender equality is one of the goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. Inequality between genders is a critical issue because it does not just affect individuals, it affects families, communities and economies.

Despite the rapid pace of globalization, there is ample evidence to the fact that gender inequality is still a pervasive issue. Gender inequality is demonstrated by the fact that women work longer hours than men but are paid less, approximately 65% of the illiterate and semi-literate people in the world are women, there are fewer women than men in managerial and executive positions in companies, and the percentage of women in political leadership positions around the world is less than 10%.