Gender Inequality In The Caribbean

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According to the Global Education Digest, 2009 (in Reddock, 2009) the number of students undertaking tertiary education has over the past 37 years globally increased from 28.6 million in 1970 to 152,5 million in 2007 ; this was due not only by growth in sub-Saharan Africa but also by the expansion in women’s participation. Overall the number of women enrolled in tertiary institutions grew almost twice as fast as that of men – “While the number of male students quadrupled from 17.7 to 75.1 million, the number of female students rose six-fold from 10.8 million to 77,4 million” (Reddock, 2009). Globally, in 2007 female enrolment were 1.08 times higher than male, a significant change from 1970, where male enrolment was 1.6 times that of females…show more content…
Gender, as a social construct, refers to “a set of qualities and behaviours expected from males and females by society, which are socially constructed and subject to change” ( A gender analysis of the educational achievement of boys and girls in the Jamaican educational system, 2005). The implication of gender inequality is that means that males and females men and women do not have the same worth nor equal rights, responsibilities, access to resources and opportunities in by society. Gender inequality is often perpetuated by traditionally held gender stereotypes in our societies. These stereotypes about each gender, their roles and expected behaviours are mainly taught through gender socialization and the assignment of gender roles; and are mostly facilitated by social…show more content…
A double standard exist in most of the region’s societies where men are praised for having numerous women simultaneously while on the other hand, should a woman be known to have more than one sexual partner at a time she women are is viewed negatively, ridiculed and labeled as ‘whores’ and ‘sluts’. Males are also allowed, and often expected, to engage in sexual activity at an earlier age than females. Parents and family members help to encourage this attitude by closely monitoring their daughters but allow their sons greater autonomy in relation to sexual activity (Brown,

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