Introduction
The problem of women’s empowerment belongs to the most significant issues of the modern world. In fact, men have long had social dominance over women despite the great importance of females’ role of child-bearers. The situation was envisaged with the status of men as earners and hence, their economic power. According to Women across Cultures by S. Burn, in trade-based societies, women were underestimated because the unpaid labor of wives was oriented mainly on the household and family. At the same time, men got a reward for their work which had public use. During the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, impressive efforts were taken to eliminate the problem.
Women received voting rights and the same opportunities for studying and working as men. However, Burn states that in spite of the great achievements made, the society of the 21st century still sees an irrespective attitude towards women and cases of gender and employment discrimination. An example of such discrimination when females’ work and results are underrated is the recent U.S. Soccer Federation’s derogative comments on the performance of the Women’s National Team. It was stated that the Men’s Team is more skillful and responsible.
The case discussion
The case has been covered and discussed by many media sources. U.S. Soccer Apologizes For Saying Male Players Have ‘More Responsibility’ Than Women, an article published on NPR-website on March 11, 2020, gives a summary of the situation. It also cites athletes and a representative of Coca-Cola, the U.S. Soccer Federation major sponsor, who have publically expressed their opinions on the insulting remarks of the organization.
In fact, a discrimination lawsuit was filed by members of the team, and the Federation wants the court to dismiss the case. The President of the U.S. Soccer apologized for the offense and stated that the Federation would defend against the lawsuit with respect towards women. However, female football players do not believe that he was sincere. For example, Megan Rapinoe, a star of the football team, claims that the statement was made not for the women insulted but for everybody else. Heather O’Reilly, a former player, strongly disapproved of the comments. As for Coca-Cola, the company has a strong position in the issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment; therefore, it was disappointed with the incident.
Conclusion
The case was analyzed with the use of the descriptive and review methods because the situation requires examination on the base of the information available. After studying the appropriate material, the following finding is to be reported: the situation was not ignored by society and received a large number of backlashes. The reason is that the case does not correspond with the USA ruling ideas of equal opportunities, the absence of discrimination and the promotion of females’ rights. The finding is important because it shows that today people are not going to put up with employment and gender discrimination.
Besides, the fact that the football team members brought an action against their employer demonstrates the progress that society achieved in the promotion of gender equality. Nowadays, women are ready to defend their rights and prove their competence. If other females are treated unfairly in their professional field, it does not fall flat on others. Even those people who are not directly affected by such situations support victims of discrimination. In conclusion, many aspects of gender and employment discrimination have been eliminated, and the public attitude towards the prejudicial treatment of women has changed but more effort is required for women’s empowerment.