Women in the World Today

What Are the Biggest Problems Women Face Today? Critical Resource Response

Do you ever feel like you must face specific problems just because you are a woman? Women today do face many problems solely because of their gender. When talking problems women face in an article by Politico Magazine the author states, “the extremely potent combination of sexism, racism and economic inequality—this may seem like too broad an answer but it pretty much covers it on both a domestic and global front. All of the individual challenges we may be tempted to rank are symptomatic of these massive systemic power imbalances, working in tandem” (Politico Magazine). In this essay, I will argue that using examples of sexism, racism, and economic inequality would strengthen the author’s article and make a bigger impact.

Sexism is discrimination of a person based on their sex. I believe that including examples of sexism would make the argument feel more real. In an article titled Us Too by Tavia Grant and Dawn Calleja, eight women share stories of how sexism has specifically affected them. One example of this is when Christine Laperriere states, “I was so worried about how I would be perceived. I wanted to be tough enough to handle this environment. I kept thinking, I'm such a freaking stereotype.” This example gives some insight into how it actually hurts people.

Racism is discrimination of a person based on their sex. In an article called Your Stories of Racism, the author states,

…when I was 13 years old, I wanted to go to a comic bookstore in a section of Brooklyn called Canarsie… Canarsie was ethnic white working class. I got off at the bus stop and started walking to the comic bookstore. A car stopped and a man got out and yelled at me to get out of his neighborhood. I distinctly remember him telling me, ‘If I came to your neighborhood I would be jumped’” (The Atlantic).

Not only does this quote show the effects of racism, but it also shows how deep it can run.

Economic inequality is the unequal distribution of income and opportunity between different groups in society. In an article by Katherine Schaeffer, she states that “the wealth gap between America’s richest and poorer families more than doubled from 1989 to 2016” (Schaeffer). Giving this statistic really shows people the perspective of how much of an issue it can be.

In conclusion, I believe people are more likely to do something about a problem if they have a connection. Giving these specific examples and statistics would give them this connection and makes an argument stronger and more compelling. It is important to stand up for human rights and this article with more examples could give people the motivation they need to take a stand. Standing up for human rights is important. Had this article provided more examples, it could possibly give people the motivation to take a stand.

Word Count: 479

Works Cited

Editors, T. (2015, August 03). Stories of Racism. Retrieved September 14, 2020, from https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/07/your-stories-of-racism/398117/

Magazine, P., White, J., Sitrin, S., & Gerstein, B. (2019, March 08). What Are the Biggest Problems Women Face Today? Retrieved from https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/03/08/women-biggest-problems-international-womens-day-225698

Schaeffer, K. (2020, May 31). 6 facts about economic inequality in the U.S. Retrieved September 14, 2020, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/07/6-facts-about-economic-inequality-in-the-u-s/

Us Too: Eight women share their stories of sexism, harassment and assault at work. (2018, May 24). Retrieved September 14, 2020, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/article-us-too-eight-women-share-their-stories-of-sexism-harassment-and/