Men Have an Easier Life Than Women

¶ … Men Have an Easier Life Than Women

The last forty years in history have brought on social and political change that has affected the individual lives of women. However, despite the progress that society sees as apparent, men still have an easier life. The realm has not changed. Although women have advanced, women still do not have it as easy because men still have an easier life in politics, in the family, and in employment. Actions and responsibilities are viewed differently depending on which gender they are being referenced to.

Every political system in place right now has been designed by men, giving men an advantage and therefore an easier path. Politics is a "man's world" (Noveck 2007), one where men can get away with a lot more things than women can. While women have certainly revolutionized what it means to be a political figure in power, men still have it easier because they do not get scrutinized over every action that they do. Men can cry and show emotion because it is seen as their being in touch with their feelings, while women who do the same will be seen as being weak (Noveck 2007). Hilary Clinton notoriously cried during a campaign speech in 2008 and was criticized as not being "tough' enough to be President of the United States. Meanwhile Bill Clinton did the same during his term as President and was not criticized in any manner for doing so (Noveck 2007). This further proves how much more pressure women have, and how much easier it is for a man.

A woman has the responsibility of running a household, being a wife, and being a mother, while men do not have to worry as much about this. Men have an easier life in the family. While men may still share some of the responsibilities of the household more so now than they did in previous decades, it is still up to the woman to tell her husband exactly how to get things done in the home. As one article states, "That inequality in responsibility, more than actual work hours, needs to be acknowledged..." (Park et al. 2011). Whether a woman works or not, the responsibility of assuring that everything is running smoothly still falls on the woman. Men have it easier in being told and guided in what to do. If men do not get something done correctly, they do not even have to worry because the woman will pick up right where the man left off. This makes life so much easier for men than it is for women.

Equal work should mean equal pay, but men get paid more money for doing the exact same job that a woman does. Women have to work twice as hard to earn the same wages that men do, making it easier for men to make more money. In higher power jobs, such as being head of a business, women are still getting paid at least 16% less than men are (Kavoussi 2012). This gender wage gap does not seem to be getting narrower and causes more strain on women. Men do not ever have to worry about outperforming his female counterpart, because she is still going to be making less money than he, making it easier on him.