Women Are Poorer Than Men

Women Are Poorer Than Men In recent years, focus has been on discovering if poverty is gendered, that is to say to what extent women may be more at threat of poverty than men. In this essay I shall be discussing how women are affected by poverty and what factors lead to women being poorer than men. Peter Townsend et al (1987) have argued that there has been a feminisation of poverty, this term may be understood in various ways, it may refer to the increased risk of poverty or the increased visibility of womens poverty it may also refer to the reconstruction of poverty from a womans viewpoint. It is difficult to compare the poverty of men and women because statistics are usually based on households and this suggests that household incomes are shared evenly between adult members. Glendinning and Millar (1987 maintain that men get a larger share in most cases and this may echo their higher earning ability and the fact that in many households men still make the decisions of how money is spent. It has been shown that women are more likely to be poorer than men, although their poverty has often been masked behind studies that focused on male-headed households Ruspini (2000). Townsend acknowledges four groups which make up the majority of the female poor, these consist of women who take care of children and other dependents they are unpaid and are unable to take up employment. There are also lone women with children who dip in and out of employment. Then there are elderly women like pensioners who live alone. There are also women with low earnings where the incomes of others in the household do not contribute towards the total household income to enable the womens income to go over the poverty line. Women unquestionably tend to experience more poverty than men because their labour both unpaid and paid is undervalued, in addition women have always experienced work in a different way from men. A private and public split has always existed where women were seen as belonging in the private sphere of hearth and home and the ideologically constructed family, whereas men were seen as belonging in the public sphere of the market and the state. In terms of work, three main reasons for why womens poverty continues have been identified, the first is because a third of all women of working age still remain outside the labour market almost twice the proportion for men, they do not have equal access to the core of the labour market and they are disproportionately represented within part-time and lower paid jobs and on average women are paid less than men. The New Labour government has aimed to maximize labour force involvement by supporting (the idea of work-life balance) and trying to make it easier for people to merge paid work and family life. In-work benefits and tax credits were introduced as incentives however the working families tax credit has been more beneficial to women earners than those whose main income comes through male partners since it is more likely to be paid through the pay packet. The development of a National Childcare Strategy was also introduced but it does not measure up to the levels of childcare provi sion to be found in most other European countries. The second reason involves the responsibility women have for most of the tasks associated with social reproduction in the way of unpaid care work and domestic labour. The third reason is the sharing of income and resources within families, in the majority of cases this does not benefit women. Individuals can be poor in households with adequate incomes. This finding has important implications for policy initiatives aimed at the relief of poverty (Pahl 1989; Kempson 1996). Other forms of inequality have persisted within the public sphere, Gillian Pascall (1997) and others have argued that while women now make up a high proportion of the public sector workforce in healthcare, social work and education, they remain under represented in senior and management positions. This is characteristic of the sticky floor where women are concentrated in specific occupations with low pay and status and what they do at work is often similar to what they do at home, although the introduction of the minimum wage in April 1999 has been beneficial to women who are dependent on low paid work but not to other wage groups. Though most health service workers are women, most of the surgeons are men and it is largely men who control health and social services including services that concern women, for instance reproductive healthcare, as well as support for informal carers and the education system. This is typical of the glass ceiling where women are less likely to hold senior positions and when they do hold senior positions they have to work harder and for longer hours in jobs that are classed as mens work. In the 1970s 70 percent of managers were men and today 90 percent of judges are men. Anti discrimination legislation has sought to outlaw all forms of sex discrimination but this has mostly brought about advances for individual women but has not benefited all women although it has improved the practices of most employers as well as raising public awareness. While the education system no longer just prepares girls for domesticity, it is tending to equip them for sub- servient occupations especially in the public sector on the other hand it has also expanded womens options in the labour market. Despite the fact that women have been allowed to vote and participate in the democratic process on the same terms as men since 1928, in 2000 only 20 percent of Westminster Members of Parliament were women and in 2001 only 28 percent of local government councillors were women (EOC 2001). Although there has been a feminisation of the labour market, the increase in womens workforce participation can have disastrous effects on their health because of the double burden they have to shoulder, at home they take care of children and perform domestic tasks which are unpaid as well as doing their paid job. The General Household Survey of 1998 showed that the majority of carers were women who provided more than a hundred hours of care per week which was far more than any paid worker would do. It has been shown that caring is costly in various ways, for one there is loss of earnings and the rate of adults providing care who are in paid employment is low, the effect is even greater for women than men and greatest of all in the case of a mother providing care for a disabled child Arber and Ginn(1995): Baldwin (1985). In addition costs that are associated with disability like house adaptations to accommodate special equipment and higher transport costs. There is also the cost to the carer in terms of the stress and strain (Glendinning and Millar1992; Pahl 2006). Social policy is beginning to acknowledge the contribution of carers, one way was the introduction of the Carers Act 1985 which imposed an obligation on local authorities, however the support that carers receive is still limited. Financial support is also provided by the social security system with benefits like carers allowance and disabled persons tax credit for low paid disabled workers. There are also many ways in which care can be paid for Ungerson (2000); see also Ungerson (2006). The way social security is arranged and its effects on women can be attributed to the architects of the welfare system who were so used to patriarchal assumptions about respective roles of male breadwinners and female homemakers that the National Insurance system for example was founded on the idea that married women would mainly be financially dependent on their husbands and although obvious biased elements have since been removed, the inheritance of the assumptions on which the system was founded remains. Lewis and Piachaud (1992) demonstrated that women have always been poorer than men by showing the proportion of women amongst adults in receipt of poor relief or social assistance was at around 60 percent and was the same at the end of the 20th century. Women are the main recipients of most benefits and rely more on means tested benefits even though it means greater personal scrutiny, rather than contribution based benefits like jobseekers allowance, incapacity benefit and industrial injury benefit because these types of benefit rely on the recipient having been employed, and for women their work patterns are sometimes interrupted when they take time out to raise children and therefore their national insurance contributions are affected. Women are also in some cases hidden claimants because they receive benefits as dependents of male breadwinners, and for this reason, the welfare state may also function directly to make women dependent on men, although housing and social security provision has provided at least some measure of independence to women like those escaping from violent or dysfunctional relationships. Donzelot (1979) has observed that families seem to have extended functions and are subject by the welfare state to greater levels of surveillance and control for example womens performance as mothers and informal carers may be subject to supervision by healthcare and social service professionals. The family has not lost its functions, but it has lost control. It is still the major arena for the care of dependents, but traditional female tasks are now defined and managed outside the family and by men. Pascall (1997: 23). This is seen in the cases of lone parents 90 percent of whom are women who will have social assistance benefits withdrawn if they should cohabit and they can be compelled to cooperate with the making of child support assessments against the father(s) of their child(ren). In terms of work the, mother -as-work policy ignores that child care is also work and lone mothers stand little chance of becoming equal stakeholders because they must be both breadwinners and carers, and the position at present is that lone mothers are likely to be praised for the paid work they do and condemned as welfare dependent for the unpaid work they do and the eradication of the Lone Parent Premium to income support which directly disadvantaged many lone parents most of whom are women. In recent years studies have shown that pensioners are far more likely than the working population to experience ongoing poverty, between 1998 and 2001, 18 percent of pensioners experienced persistent poverty as compared to 7 percent of the working population. Studies have also found that in recent decades older women and those from ethnic minorities are more likely to experience poverty than other pensioners. Findings from these studies led Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown to state in 2002: Our aim is to end pensioner poverty in our country. the introduction of a pension credit in October 2003 which guaranteed a minimum income of half of those people in this age group in the UK attempted to meet this goal but the success of this policy depends on all those entitled to claiming the benefit actually doing so Flaherty et al (2004). The majority of people over state pension age do retire from the labour market, but as longevity has increased the labour markets have tightened and retirement has become in Townsends words a kind of mass redundancy (1991:6). As a group, old peoples vulnerability to poverty is not as great as it was in the post second world war period, but this should not mask the fact that there is now greater inequality between older people than before. Since the number of old people both as a proportion of the total population and in absolute terms has grown this means that pensioner poverty is still a major issue. The employment of older people can be sensitive to changes in the labour market conditions and they may be shut out of jobs when the demand for labour falls. Age concern (see McEwan 1990), argue that older people are frequently subject to discrimination if they choose to re-enter the labour market often on mistaken assumptions about their reliability and adaptability. Additionally when older people do eventually become frail they suffer the same problems associated with disability. The lack of provision of universal pension in this country is out of sync with most industrialised countries, although the introduction of stakeholder pensions for people with no access to private pensions and the introduction of free eye tests has gone some way in helping pensioners at a disadvantage. Feminists tend to view welfare state provision as being important for improving womens lives but it also reinforces female dependency on men and the sexual division of labour. Some strands of feminism stress that women are closer to nature and are naturally more caring and less aggressive and they address the world in a different voice Gilligan (1982). Other strands of feminism discard this view and assert that the gendered nature of society is the exact product of power relations and patriarchy. It is a result of the dominance of men over women and can be rejected. So in conclusion, having assessed and considered all the evidence and studies on gender and poverty, it is clear that although successive governments have through legislation and policies attempted to lessen the poverty of women, the gap between the sexes still exists and women are still very disadvantaged and are poorer than men and a major reason is the structure of the welfare state which contributes to and reinforces the differences.

Most important aspect of education Essay

Education is one of the important aspects of one’s life. †learning creativity, creativity leads to thinking, thinking giving knowledge, knowledge to make you great† (Abdul Kalam, 2015). This clearly shows that education creates creative and inventive person because if one thinks then a new idea is born, †Education is not a factual learning, but a thought-thinking education† (Albert Einstein, 2015) .so everybody needs to support and encourage the younger generation to pursue their studies to university level. Furthermore, in a free market, higher education would become the preserve of wealthy families who can afford to send their children to university. Therefore there is a strong case for the government providing higher education free at the point of use. In my opinion, the government has to give free education to attract students to further their studies. Education has positive benefits for the rest of society. There also have some country provides fre e university education for the student for example, in, Nordic nations Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden all offer opportunities to study free or at low-cost: In Norway, university study is available free of charge to all students, regardless of study level or nationality. My first point is equality. There is also a strong argument that university education should be free to ensure equal opportunities. If a student has to pay university education, this can prevent them. Theoretically, students can borrow or work part-time, but this may be enough to prevent students from learning and otherwise can enter the early job market. (Pettinger, 2017) Equality plays an important role in university-level education. †Education is the strongest weapon you can use to transform the world† (Mandela, 2017). University education is very important for an individual to improve his / her standard of living and to advance the nation. If everyone gets a full university education then negligence can be avoided and they know what needs to be done for their bright future. For example, if medical education is given free then many doctors in the country are born and can help the community by providing free medical services with this reduced rate of death and illness. Governments have to stress more profoundly to give birth to many graduates. Besides, the enhancement of the specialization of work. There are many specializations of which are specialization by professional, specialization by a process, specialization by region and international specialization. The global economy has forced countries, such as the UK to specialize in higher value-added products and higher-end products and services. The largest export industries in the UK include pharmaceuticals, organic chemicals, optical and surgical instruments, and nuclear technology (Pettinger, 2017). Therefore, there is a greater opportunity for skilled graduates who can contribute to this high-tech industry. The world is now pointing towards technology, so all countries should produce IT graduates in large quantities. IT plays a big role in this capital world as an example human beings can stay on planet Mars, there is water on the planet Pluto, and so can be detected through NASA technology. Furthermore, Education is a virtue. One of the virtues is that people can underestimate the benefits of learning and undervalue of higher education. †Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts †(Churchill, 2017). This clearly shows that education is not merely a thought but a birth to a human being Experienced in education. Education creates good and high potential for self-development, society, and nation. If one is fully educated in the university then one has a lot of job opportunities in the state as well as international level. University education is not just for work but it can be used in everyday life. For example, a retail store trader has experience on product brands, prices, shortages and advantages of a product that can promote to the community can help improve the level of communication. In addition, Producing a Great Leader. Education to the people allows the nation to have a better and brighter leader. Indeed, our country desperately needs leaders who are knowledgeable and visionary in advancing the country. This is because,/ multiracial Malaysians need a wise and acceptable leader of all races. This knowledge-led leader will make a more rational consideration in implementing a program designed. In addition, knowledgeable people can also give ideas to national leaders in developing and developing countries. If the government provides free university education, young generation students will be attracted and focused on learning and able to produce authoritative leaders.†Education is not just about going to school and getting a degree. It’s about widening your knowledge and absorbing the truth about life†(Devi,2017).Higher education is very important for coming young generation to lead a country. on the other hand, the Opportunity Costs are worrying many people to give university education free of charge. If the authorities spend billions for free university education, there is an opportunity to raise taxes or reduce spending elsewhere. It can be said, there are greater social benefits than providing vocational training so people can be plumbers, electricians and so on. Often the actual lack of this skill in the economy. If governments spend a lot on university education, activities such as imports, exports and entrepreneurs will be disturbed and cause national development. Governments must divide spending properly to avoid bankruptcy. This is because higher education takes a high cost. On another hand, education makes people more appreciative of education. If people are forced to pay for a university, you can argue that they will appreciate more lessons. If higher education is free, Students will take it easy with the help provided. High education is free to give positive and negative impact. If given free, the student will set up and play to avoid the authorities should provide relevant terms and conditions to avoid such things this applies. In conclusion, I emphasize on my level that university education should be independent even if it has a negative impact. If we do not have public education, we will be underestimated and marginalized. †(Kalam, 2017), so in my opinion, the authorities need to provide higher education independently to the nation’s progress, the government should play a major role in such matters, must find the most effective and productive solution. the parties should look at the advantages and disadvantages of higher education independently to produce mature minded people and to develop the country rapidly. This can avoid and minimize negligence often occur.

Osama Bin Laden’s Strategy Essay

What were Osama bin Laden’s intended strategies in response to the â€Å"Arab Spring and why did he consider it a formidable event?† In response to the revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protest (both non-violent and violent) throughout the Arab world, Osama Bin Laden wanted to reevaluate how Al-Qaida as a whole conducted their operations within the Muslim world. Osama Bin Laden viewed Al Qaeda’s in ability to attract followers as a weakness, â€Å"He believed that a media campaign should be launched to incite people who have not yet revolted and exhort them to rebel against the rulers†, (Lahoud et al. 2012, 3). By avoiding joining political parties and focusing on combat operations, for example in Afghanistan the Taliban were â€Å"weakening† the United States which had a negative effect on the United States ability to assist leaders in the Muslim world with combating the Arab Spring, (Lahoud et al. 2012, 3). Osama Bin Laden viewed the Arab s pring, which was sweeping across the Muslim World causing riots and protest as a time filled with great opportunity because of the effect it was having on Governments such as Tunisia and Egypt. â€Å"At the time he was writing, the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt, Zein al-`Abidin bin `Ali and Husni Mubarak had fallen. Bin Laden was convinced that their fall was bound to trigger a domino effect, and â€Å"the fall of the remaining tyrants in the region was inevitable†, (Lahoud et al. 2012, 48). Explain Osama bin Laden’s relationship with regional jihadi groups at the time of his death. Senior Al Qaeda leadership held mixed feelings in regards to how to deal with regional jihadi groups. These regional groups were likely attracted to Al Qaeda after its much successful attack on September 11, 2009. While some Al Qaeda leadership felt that regional Jihadis should not be accepted into Al Qaeda, other leadership felt that only be including regional insurgents could Al Qaeda grow it’s numbers. â€Å"Bin Laden represented a third position, as he wanted to maintain communication, through his own pen or that of his inner circle, with â€Å"brothers† everywhere, to urge restraint and provide advice, without granting them formal unity with al-Qa`ida†, (Lahoud et al. 2012, 11- 12). Explain how King and Taylor describe the radicalization process for the purposes of their study, and why their study focused on the radicalization of â€Å"homegrown† jihadists. King and Taylor describe the radicalization process as one, which requires more than point of view to  understand. This is why King and Taylor conducted analysis of all five radicalization models at one time in order to understand the process of radicalization. By comparing each method King and Taylor were able to note similarities and difference amongst the methods. The study focused on â€Å"homegrown Jihadists† because of the current threat towards the west as a result of radical ideology produced by terrorist organization such as Al Qaeda, (King and Taylor, 2011). Why do King and Taylor take the position that basing counter-terrorism or counter-radicalization strategies on models that have not been empirically validated can be misleading and risky? In addition, why do King and Taylor take the position that the narrative promoted by jihadists is amenable to empirical research? King and Taylor believe the understanding and process of radicalization cannot be narrowed down to one method because the reason behind one individuals path towards terrorism may differ from another, (King and Taylor 2011, 616). Also, King and Taylor believe insurgents use propaganda to their benefit. For example, by leading Muslims to believe the West is attacking not only Muslim countries but also Islam itself they are able to instill into Muslim that they must defend their fellow Muslim brothers and sisters. This is one method that is used in describing the early stages of the Radicalization, as described by the NYPD, (King and Taylor 2011, 617). What conclusions do King and Taylor reach, regarding their study of radicalization of homegrown jihadists and what recommendations do they make regarding future research? At the conclusion of their research, King and Taylor decided that each method provided important information in regards to their own respected method. â€Å"When brought together, however, the commonalities and discrepancies between these models offered even greater insights, which may be used as a guiding framework for future research concerning homegrown jihadi radicalization†, (King and Taylor 2011, 617). The conclusion primarily focused on three factors which King and Taylor label as â€Å"contributing factors† to the radicalization process, reaction to group relative deprivation, management of identities and lastly personality characteristics, (King and Taylor 2011, 617-618). Along with these three factors King and Taylor suggest further research also focused on the internet and how it leads to ra dicalization and also the Jihadi narrative and its ability to influence homegrown jihadists, (King and Taylor 2011, 618)

The Film Catch Me If You Can Accurately Show Frank...

Does the film Catch Me If You Can accurately show Frank Abagnale Jr’s crimes? I believe the movie glamorized Frank’s crimes and made them a little bit better than they actually were, of course you can expect this from Hollywood. Frank Abagnale Jr. made a lot of mistakes as a teenager. He was trying to make a life for himself out in the real world and be able to make money. Frank was determined too, he could think of amazing ways to make a buck. Which eventually led him to posing as a teacher, doctor, pilot on a commercial airline, CIA agent, and a lawyer. He also committed many different kinds of crimes including cashing fake checks at hundreds of different banks all across the world, printing fake checks, unlawfully obtaining private information and a plethora of other felonies. The list goes on and on, but comparing the events that took place in Catch Me If You Can to what actually happened in real life, the film made a numerous amount of mistakes in that aspect. They shot scenes that didn’t accurately show the details of his crimes but got the main idea. They do this to make the movie a lot more appealing to the viewers. Which isn’t a surprise, but knowing the true facts about this con man’s story is appealing enough. It is believed that Catch Me If You Can, as a whole, changed Frank’s story and the details about his crimes. There was a lot of uninformative and inaccurate information that was displayed as Frank Abagnale’s true story in the movie, the film makers