A survey by the Pew Research Center finds Republicans and Democrats are divided on whether the country has gone far enough in giving women equal rights. (Ikon Images/Getty Images)
Do men have it easier than women these days? This is a question that has been circulating throughout the country more prevalently since the election of our new president, Donald Trump. Recent polls have made it increasingly clear there is a very obvious split between those who think America has done enough work to bring about gender equality and those who think we still have a long way to go.
A new report by Pew Research Center looks at views of changing gender roles in the United States. Kim Parker, Pew’s director of social trends, said a broad consensus across most demographic groups came back saying that women deserved to have equal rights with men. It is interesting that while a broad consensus seems to be in almost full agreement that women deserve to have equal rights, 54 percent of Republicans say America has done exactly the right amount of work to bring about gender equality. It is even more shocking to see that 18 percent of Republicans think we have gone too far with our movements to bring about equality for women in the workplace, general life and politics.
It must be hard for some people to understand what they have never experienced. America, for women, is a place of opportunity and promise, but it is also a place filled with “catcalls on the street, disrespect at work and unbalanced responsibilities at home”. It is a place where dolls are given to us as presents, whether we want them or not, and we are expected to dream that one day we will marry our Prince Charming and live “happily ever after.” Republicans had a less than favorable view than Democrats when gender equality began to shift, especially when more women began working outside the home and more men were taking an active role in child care and household responsibilities.
The most recent generation has not kept their opinions quiet with on the matter. Millennials were much more likely than older generations to say men enjoyed more advantages than women. The millennial women “inherited a workplace that’s much different from their mothers’ and grandmothers’ generations,” but are just as likely as older generations to notice the inequalities between men and women in the workplace and everywhere else. It shouldn’t be so difficult for people to understand that despite some of the huge changes that have occurred rendering women able to make a career for themselves outside of the home, the scale is still tipped in men’s favor. Women stand by while “positions of power go to men,” as they are taught “to aspire to marriage,”
Some women are saying now, with Donald Trump as president, they are less tolerant of the inequalities they face. In addition to this, almost 50 percent of parent respondents to a survey conducted by PerryUndem said they have taken this election as a push to teach their children about sexual assault and consent. This is the best way to see the results we want come about sooner. We need to educate people that do not understand this gender inequality and make them see it is something that needs to change. We, as women, need to be less tolerant when we are treated unfairly and speak up for ourselves more. This needs to be a constant, loud fight until we are heard and get the equality we deserve.
Kaitlyn Pierce is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached be reached via email at kaitlyn.pierce@ucon.edu.
