Gender Equality Interest Groups Education

Gender Equality Interest Groups Education

The role that democracy plays in heightening the overall productivity state of a nation is crucial to progressive growth and development, both locally and globally. In the United States, for example, democracy is the written and unwritten way of life that allows citizens to co-exist peacefully and mutually. Conversely, this democracy can be subject to prejudice through the prevalence of discriminatory issues like gender inequality, racial segregation, sexism, and religious separation. When this happens, the citizens naturally drift into small isolated demographic groups and ethnic parties, an aspect that stifles the objectives of democracy in any nation. For this reason, several gender equality interest groups have been formed across the globe to enlighten the world about the merits of embracing fairness and moderation in all fields of life including and not limited to politics, education, healthcare as well as business. To a particular stretch, there is no doubt that these interest groups deserve the influence they receive because everyone has to be accepted for who they are, despite their gender identities. Most importantly, gender equality interest groups push for the elimination of gender stereotypes that undermine the prospects that democracy has to offer (Carlson, 2018). In this essay, the relevance of gender equality interest groups education on advancing democracy in the United States will be highlighted, explained, and illustrated with real-life examples.

Gender Equality Interest Groups Education Foster Gender Awareness in the World

For ages now, gender inequality has been a great source of concern in society more so, when it comes to matters of local and global socio-economic growth. Women have been on the receiving end for a while now, and sectors like employment and political involvement are making it worse. Despite all the informed, peer-reviewed, and straight forward gender equality strategies that have been raised, it is still evident that gender equality in the United States is still rife (Gutmann & Ben-Porath, 2014). Further reliable research proves that the recent intense involvement of women political empowerment in the quest for democracy is the single reasonable initiative set forth by the education from gender equality interest groups (Carothers, 2016).

Higher learning students and women representatives within the same circle are among the forefront supporters of women empowerment and their pro-activeness in several fields of life. As such, the Europeans Students’ Forum (AEGEE) formed a gender equality interest group to enlighten society about the benefits of gender equality on contributing significantly to the success of democracy not only in the United States but also in the rest of the world (Lai, 2016). One of the core goals of the group was to raise awareness about sexism from one country to the other (Lai, 2016). Additional research suggests that interest groups such as the AEGEE Gender Equality Interest Group can influence public opinion based on the type of arguments embedded in their initiatives (Bur, 2018). Through the use of the media, gender interest groups can create an education system that seeks not to mitigate the implications of gender equality but to share with the world the benefits of allowing women to participate in politics, educations, business, and other influential fields of life. This is a clear indication that gender equality groups have a positive impact on the prevalence of democracy from one country to the other.

Gender Equality Interest Groups Enhance Gender Identity in the United States

The education theories that gender identity groups offer not only to higher learning students in the United States but also to the rest of the world revolves around accepting who everyone is, regardless of their gender identity. In light of an individual’s biological gender, their choice, and the opinion of society regarding gender, associating gender identity with democracy is as relatable as it is with democratic values about fairness and equality ion all socio-economic and political platforms of life. In the professional and experienced opinions of Salahodjaev and Azam (2015), the disparity that exists between developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom and still developing nations is the level of intelligence on matters regarding gender equality and inequality. The source continues to explain that gender identity in still advancing countries is a significant economic barrier because of the limited adamant options in gender identities, as well as the existence of stereotypes (Salahodjaev & Azam, 2015). The value embedded in accepting individuals for the choice of gender orientation is written between the lines of democratic principles. An economy, or society for that matter, that has liberal-minded people is more productive than one whose citizens have no right to select their respective gender preferences.

Gender equality interest groups are naturally concerned with the democratic principle of creating a level playground for all stakeholders within society. These groups understand that advocacy in political, social, cultural, and economic bureaucracy furthers the adherence of gender equality concepts in major sectors of life (Nielsen & Moynihan, 2017). Equally vital, when pushing for democratic values within society, political discussions matter for the welfare of both men and women, on an identical measure (Stoker, 2016). The politics associated with gender identity differ in developed countries as opposed to developed countries because of the contrast in flexibility when adapting to changes. While developed nations quickly adjust to changes that promise good socio-economic and political progress, developed nations are still rigid with the old principles that limit economic prosperity (Salahodjaev & Azam, 2015).

Gender Equality Interest Groups Eliminate Gender Stereotypes

As long as gender inequality continues to prevail, stereotypes will never cease to sprout. These mentalities are worse in third world countries because they are deeply embedded within their ways of life from a cultural, religious, and social perspective. Evidence from peer-reviewed sources indicates that gender equality interest groups provide education to higher learning students and the rest of the world about the value of suppressing gender stereotypes in the world today (Lai, 2016). Subsequent evidence proves that gender stereotypes are far too spread to the extent of an individual not knowing that they no one, or are under one for the matter (Lai, 2016). For this and other democratic reasons, gender equality groups have combined efforts to share with the world what it takes to foster a free and fair society. Furthermore, Gutmann and Ben-Porath (2014) firmly believe that for a community to exhibit the highest standards of democratic values, the people need to conversant with democratic education. An aspect that gender equality interest groups aim to achieve is a situation where people will not be placed into boxes for certain gender stereotypes.

Conclusion

To this point in the study, it is without a doubt that the gender equality interest groups education plays a significant role in the adherence of democratic values in society. The part that an individual plays in facilitating or mitigating the prevalence of particular gender stereotypes are too substantial to be avoided. According to Zhao and Wry (2016), while there exist several types of inequalities in society, none of them are equal. This is broken down to meaning that gender inequality may be what it seems on top, but there is more to it than what meets the typical eye. Finally, anyone can promote an effective democratic society. All that you need to do is keep an open mind, be willing to learn and adapt to new changes that promise to deliver positive growth within you and your immediate society.

References

Carlson, D. (2018). Power/Knowledge/Pedagogy: The Meaning of Democratic Education in Unsettling Times. Routledge.

Carothers, T. (2016). Democracy support strategies: Leading with women’s political empowerment. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved from https://carnegieendowment.org/2016/09/14/democracy-support-strategies-leading-with-women-s-political-empowerment-pub-64534

Bur, A. (2018). How interest groups influence public opinion: Arguments matter more than sources. European Journal of Political Research. Retrieved from https://ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1475-6765.12298

Gutmann, A., & Ben‐Porath, S. (2014). Democratic education. The Encyclopedia of Political Thought, 863-875.

Lai, M. (2016). The Gender Equality Interest Group. European Bodies. Retrieved from https://www.zeus.aegee.org/magazine/2016/06/29/the-gender-equality-interest-group/

Nielsen, P. A., & Moynihan, D. P. (2017). How do politicians attribute bureaucratic responsibility for performance? Negativity bias and interest group advocacy. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 27(2), 269-283. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/jpart/article/27/2/269/2345717

Salahodjaev, R., & Azam, S. (2015). Intelligence and gender (in) equality: Empirical evidence from developing countries. Intelligence, 52, 97-103. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289615001026

Stoker, G. (2016). Why Politics Matters: Making Democracy Work. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Zhao, E. Y., & Wry, T. (2016). Not all inequality is equal: Deconstructing the societal logic of patriarchy to understand microfinance lending to women. Academy of Management Journal, 59(6), 1994-2020.