Gender Roles Over The Centuries & Modern Women's Position In Different Countries

Gender role in society implies a set of behavior patterns (or norms), according to which men and women are expected to act, dress, speak and so on. The gender role and everything connected with it is a relatively new issue, and for the contemporary society, it remains somewhat obscure and not fully understood category.

In the modern world, the binary gender structure dominates - the division of people into two opposing groups of men and women. Interestingly, not in all cultures, gender is a significant social category. There are societies where three or more genders are distinguished, as well as many gender roles. Unfortunately, not every society supports gender equality, but people should take measures to change the situation and eliminate gender discrimination.

''Gender" is a social term which people regularly confuse with the term “sex.” Sex and gender are different concepts. "Sex is a biological concept, determined by individuals' primary sex characteristics. Gender, on the other hand, refers to the meanings, values, and characteristics that people ascribe to different sexes”. Separate individuals or groups of people ascribe specific features or qualities to other people purely because of their sex; however, these ascriptions differ across cultures and even within the same society. (Blackstone 2003).

For a long time, a man has been representing a hunter, leader, warrior with such traits as self-confidence, a tendency to risk, aggression, the speed of reaction. The woman was always distinguished by gentleness, compassion, care, and was engaged only in maintaining the home and bringing up the next generation. Naturally, time leaves its mark on the stereotypes of behavior, so it is rarely possible to find in a person a pure form of genuinely feminine or masculine behavior.

At present, the whole family system has changed, and in the gender roles, there are no longer the same duties and ways of fulfillment as they were before. There is no longer such a serious sex difference; each family member has less equal responsibilities. There is no monarchy in families, everyone lives together, makes decisions together, openly expresses his or her own opinion, criticizes or encourages each other, and together they are responsible for specific events. Societies which appropriate specific gender roles may cease to exist.

There has been a considerable change in understanding of the concept of family and gender roles. “From the 1960s onwards, in the era that some social theorists have termed the ‘second modernity’, the very notion of a ‘normal family’ has become redundant.” (Scott 2006). The problem of gender discrimination can arise in any country no matter how socially developed the state is. Approximately 42% of women in the United States have experienced discrimination at work because of their gender while the percentage of male discrimination at work is only 22%. One of the most significant gender gaps is in the sphere of wages: 25% of working women say they have received less pay than a man who performed the same job; 5% of working men say they have earned less than a female companion. (Parker 2017).

There are top-10 countries where men and women are not equal in society. Among such countries are Pakistan, India, Nepal, Peru and others, but Yemen is at the top of this shameful list. This is the worst state for women to live because the female representatives do not have the same privileges that men have. Access to education is severely limited for girls and women, and female representatives are often get married before they reach 18 years old without the right to choose their partner. “Women don’t have a choice in whom they will marry, how they are treated in their marriages, how their children are handled, or even where they will live.” (Gender Inequality and Families 2017).

There are countries where people accept patriarchy as the only proper family structure. One of such countries is Kenya. In that country patriarchal system dominates the entire nation. This patriarchal system encourages men to perform a culture of violence which traumatizes women experiences and makes females victims of their husbands. Women do not have the right to leave their husbands; otherwise, the community will deprive them of everything they gained throughout their life including personal items. Kenya suffers a severe gender inequality that is sustained by social patriarchal norms and laws that the country's leadership has to reform.

Gender roles evolved over the centuries. Many of them, especially in women, have undergone significant changes. Now this concept is very vague, and there is no longer such a clear definition of the female or male role. However, women have succeeded in becoming more independent of men, and this is a considerable advance. Overall, people should keep in mind that every modern person has the freedom to choose the reactions in which he or she does not lose his or her essence, remaining himself or herself, ignoring all sorts of stereotypes and imposed expectations.