Abstract
This research will focus on the key areas where women experience gender inequality. Discrimination could be seen in government, top-level jobs, access to labor and productive resources, urban poverty and gender-based violence. The most appropriate method of analysis to use would be observation, which involves continuous study of the activities taking place in Indonesian homes or communities. Additionally, holding interviews is necessary and it will require a selected number of people, both male and female, including literate and illiterate, to be interviewed in order to collect answers on the asked questions. Questionnaires will also have value in this research and will involve a selected number of people filling in some structured questions.
After this research, it is expected to find out all the possible areas that women experience gender inequality and the extent, to which this situation affects them directly and also their communities, families or the country as a whole. This project should also determine whether it is the women who allow themselves to get in to this situation, or whether their male counterparts through male chauvinism force these opinions on them. Since it has been the status quo in most countries that women get unequal treatment, the research will try to verify whether women in Indonesia have accepted the situation as it is or axperience discomfort and are planning to fight for equility.
Introduction
The previous study has its focus on the effects of gender inequality on women, which is the impact that the various acts of discrimination have on women. The findings included the feeling of anger and dissatisfaction among those, who were exposed to various levels of inequality. This was contrary to those, whose focus has only been on levels of equality, which makes them feel satisfied. The focus on the previous study was culture, which mainly determines how women from different cultures perceive issues of gender inequality.
This study will try to uncover all the areas, in which women face discrimination. During the study it will be easier to find out the level of discrimination in each area, its psychological effect on women at that point and ways to curb the resultant situation. This is beneficial and more productive in terms of results, as it is a systematic process. It first focuses on the place of discrimination or inequality, the psychological effect it has on women at that particular point, and finally measures to be taken to change or improve the situation.
It is necessary to do this, so that the different measures taken to improve the situation are appropriate to each level of inequality. Therefore, this approach would prevent cases of forced solutions. For instance, a woman experiencing political inequality might feel angered by the situation, hence taking a cause of action that will deter the situation. This would be different to one who is facing some form of religious discrimination, who might have to be submissive to the religious authority, hence opting for silence.
The previous study did not follow this thinking; its main focus was on the culture and its effect on gender equality. It revolves around cultural implications on women’s reaction to the cases of inequality. It does not, however, outline the various areas where this takes place. This study is particularly oriented on taking this direction, so that it is possible to figure out the most appropriate measures to take in correcting the situation at hand (Bem, 1993).
Literature Review
Secondary sources of data show that women experience discrimination in different decision-making levels in the society. These discriminative actions start from their homes, to the community and include national levels. There is a common belief that women are the weaker sex, thus unable to make appropriate decisions. The argument is that they rely on their emotions more than their minds. Society has placed them in the productive and reproductive activities at home, such as cleaning and cooking food, taking care of families and home maintenance in general. Society does not trust them in major political, community and economic decisions.
Results from previous studies bring out certain degrees of inequality at different levels, as we shall see. To start with, women are at a disadvantage in accessing labor markets and productive resource. This is an economic disadvantage to women, who experience a hindrance in participating in the growth of the economy, which would also boost their livelihoods in the process. Most of the productive resources are in the ownership of men, who are their husbands or fathers. They do not believe that women’s economic decisions are viable. The result is that women remain poor and dependent on their male counterparts, hence leaving them frustrated and unable to tap on their productive potential (Rhode, 1997).
Women have been disempowered at the household, community and national levels. Their duty is to listen to instructions and follow orders given to them. At the household level, the husband acts as the head, making decisions without consulting their wives. This is similar to what occurs at the community level, where men are in power of various aspects of the community, such as the religious institutions, educational and health institutions among others. This goes on to the national level, where women have little say in matters concerning the society as a whole. This leaves women feeling deprived of their right to express themselves as equal members of society. They feel caged in, intimidated and less valuable in a place where decisions made still affect them directly or indirectly (McCall, 2001).
They are under-represented at all significant decision-making levels in government. That is, they have a limited number of opportunities in the top-level jobs such as ambassadors, heads of government institutions, heads of committees and tribunals among others. Their positions are mostly at smaller or non-influential job groups such as secretarial positions, assistants or acting as subordinate staff to carry out minor duties such as cleaning offices.
The variables in this case would be the population going through the sampling process, that is, the women holding some leadership positions and the others being ruled. How each feels about the level of inequality and how they react to it in their capacity is also crucial to the understanding of the issue.
Methodology
The goal in this study is to find out the extent of gender inequality in the different spheres of society. It aims at finding out or uncovering the roots of gender inequality in the society. The study will be carried out among Indonesian families and organizations. It will try to find out how gender inequality has its effects on these different categories of women, and the way each handles or deals with it.
Data collection will include the use of questionnaires, interviews and direct observations. Structured questionnaires will be given out to randomly chosen people to fill them. The questions will mainly focus on issues such as the highest level of leadership position one has ever held in their lives, the ability to access resources, and whether one is able to voice their issues in the public realm. One-on-one interviews will be held so that the interviewer can study the reactions of the interviewees on the matters concerning gender inequality. This is especially important to those, who face direct discrimination. There is also the need for direct observation of the activities of the Indonesian people in all the societal spheres, which includes political, social and economic aspects. It requires a constant study of their daily activities, routines and especially in regards to social relationships (Ridgeway, 2011).
There will be the use of random and stratified sampling. Random sampling requires that any person, young or old, male or female, will be chosen for questioning. This will promote dynamism, so that the problem can be viewed from all angles or perspectives. Stratified sampling divides samples into stratus or classes. This will give feedback on how women in different social classes in society are affected by gender inequality and how they manage this situation. Quantitative methods are the best in this situation as they give precise data in numbers.
Limitations
The number of limitations affects this undertaken research. The process is time consuming in general, it takes a lot of time to study people, giving out questionnaires and expecting response. Furthermore, this project is costly and requires many funds. Some women may also be too intimidated to open up, hence creating bias, since the focus will be on the liberal few who can speak up. English may be a form of a barrier for those who are not well versed with it, hence there is the need for interpreters, which are more costly and can lead to the loss of valuable data.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that gender inequality is prevalent in the Indonesian society. This is, however, in different capacities or levels. The study should focus on the degree of inequality at each level and its impact on the women’s psychological state at that level. This will assist in coming up with appropriate measures necessary or suitable for each level. For instance, creation of policies and by-laws in government that specifies the representation of women, by giving out a particular percentage or ratio for them. It is also necessary to create gender equality awareness that outlines the need for both genders representatives in any part of life. This can further be emphasized by encouraging women empowerment. This will help them understand their rights as women and how they can attain equality in society.