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Introduction For centuries, unequal position of people has been an important and unchanging phenomenon, even in a prosperous society. Of course, these differences do not rely on direct violence and legislation, as it has been in the caste system of privileges, or status society.However, in addition to more serious divisions on the size of property and income, prestige and power, our society is characterized by a set of rank distinctions. These distinctionsare so subtle, and at the same time, so deeply rooted in peoples consciousness that the statements about the disappearance of all forms of inequality as a result of equalization processes can be perceived, but very skeptically (Calasanti, T. M. &Slevin, K. F., 2001). Inequality is an essential element of any society. Social inequality is reproduced in very stable forms, as a reflection of the political, economic, cultural, and normative structures of society. Numerous anthropological studies suggest that social inequality has existed even in primitive societies, and has been determined by strength, dexterity, courage, religious awareness, etc. The inequality stems from natural differences between people; but most profoundly it manifests itself as a result of social factors (Lorber, J., 2005). The existence of social inequality can be taken for granted. However, the explanation of its nature, the foundations of its historical evolution, and the relationships between the specific forms of inequality, remain the key problems of any sociological survey (Macionis, J. J., 2009). Even today, almost every person faces different forms of social inequality: gender inequality, racial inequality, age inequality, caste inequality, etc.

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Racial inequality is the result of hierarchical social distinctions between raceswithin a society. Even in modern society, some races are frequently considered to be superior to others; so, some people have unequal rights, treatment, and opportunities (Bem, S. L., 1994). Age discrimination is treating a person, or persons differently on the basis of age. However, I would like to write about gender inequality. It is a characteristic of the social order, according to which, different social groups (in this case - men and women) have stable differences resulting in unequal opportunities in society (McCall, L., 2001). The purpose of this paper is to consider the issue of gender inequality in modern society; and find out its reasons. Gender Inequalities in Different Spheres of Social Life No society in the world treats a woman in the same way as it treats a man. The UN Men like to talk about women, but not about their rights. For example, the word combination women and politics causes a violent backlash among men. In fact, the idea that womens place is in the kitchen has firmly rootedin manyminds. However, it should be noted that womens role is gradually increasing in modern society. In all countries of the world womens role is steadily increasingin the sphere of economy, politics, culture, and public life(Calasanti, T. M. &Slevin, K. F., 2001). The second half of the XX centurieswas marked by a rethinking of womens role in the world culture. Thus, there emergeda new phenomenonin the political life - the womens breakthrough into the echelons of power.The process of womens influx into politics hasthoroughly shaken the stereotype that politics is exclusively a mens issue, while family and children are exclusively for women. Nevertheless, even today this stereotype is not

completely broken, as the proportion of women in decision-making processes remains low, or even impossiblein many countries (e. g. Muslim countries) (Ore, T., 2008).

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The issue of gender inequality stems fromthe ancient times. Therefore, this factemphasizes the urgency of the problem. Only at the beginning of the XXI century women achieved considerable results in their emancipation: women won the right to vote,and equal rights with men in economic and social spheres. The emancipation of women is a crucial question, especially in todays society. In order to achieve equilibrium in society,it is important to balance two components: a man and a woman (Lorber, J., 2005). Gender stereotypes, just like any other social stereotypes, play a significant role in a personsevaluation of the world and himself/herself, allowing him/her to categorizeand simplify the social environment very quickly, easily, and reliably. However, stereotypes often arise under the conditions of limited information about the perceived object; thus, they are often false, and create a false identity, and knowledge of people, distorting the process of interpersonal interaction(Bem, S. L., 1994). Numerous sociological research studies have shown that in most countries, womens average wage is by 40-65 percent less than mens average earnings. The most anti-feministic countries in in this regard are the Islamic states - Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Libya, Belize, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Algeria, etc., as well as some Latin American countries - Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Argentina, etc. In all these countries, the womens average earningsfall short to 35% of mens wages (Lorber, J., 2005). However, there is a reverse trend in the Third World countries. In the poorest countries, womens remuneration of labor is very close to the payment of the male labor (e.g. so-called the Fourth World). Basing on these research data, one can conclude that there is a strong difference between males and female rights in the Islamic countries. By the way, a woman has to do

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with lower status than a man. This is due to the strong influence of religion on the formation of stereotypes (Ore, T., 2008). In many rich countries there is still a stereotype of the housewives and male breadwinners; so the difference in their incomes is very high. For example, in the USA there are classes for Boys and Girls;male and female work; a purely male and purely feminine behavior. On the contrary,in the poorest countries, womens abilities are often equated with mens abilities(Calasanti, T. M. &Slevin, K. F., 2001). The influence of gender stereotypes is manifested in all spheres of public life. This applies to the division of responsibilities in the family, in advertising, and employment, etc. Gender Stereotypesin a Family Until now, gender differences in a family and society were often explained by some well-known psychological and biological characteristics of women and men, which rather conform to traditional gender stereotypes. When it comes to the notion a family, we usually fancy a husband, a wife, and their children. This form of family organization is calledmarriage, or nuclear family. It is based on a couple of people connected withmarital relations (McCall, L., 2001). The trend towards the establishment of equality in a family is positive in nature. At the same time, the bias towards the feminization of a family control associated with the growing economic independence of women, and their defining role in the upbringing of children is a violation of psychological comfort of a family (Bem, S. L., 1994). However, the disparity in intersexual groups is clearly manifested in conjugal relations of men and women. It is not only a matter of violence against women, which is quite common, but also, the point is that, there are frequent cases of discrimination against men in the infringement of their rightsas full-fledged fathers,breadwinners, heads of families, and theinfringement of mens rightsto be a man. However, gender inequality is manifested not

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only within the family,but also in the relationships between women and men in their true roles. This is largely because of the modern tendency to confuse social roles of men and women in our society (Macionis, J. J., 2009). It has been written much about discrimination against women within a family and outside it. There are a lot of community organizations that fight for the womens rights. Moreover, when talking about gender inequality, most people think only about discrimination against women. However, men are also frequently discriminated. Nowadays there are some movements and organizations that protect masculinity,and support the mens rightsto participate in the upbringing of their children(Nelson, R. L. & Bridges, W. P., 1999). Modern family relations are constantly changing and evolving. Todays families are becoming more equal:the notion of fathers authority is frequently replaced by the concept of parental authority; and fair distribution of household responsibilities is becoming one of the most important features of family well-being. The classic question: Who is the head of the family? is becoming replaced by the question: Whomakes major decisions(Ore, T., 2008). Nevertheless, men keep their need to differ from women. In general, to be a man means not to be feminine. However, this notion still influences, and intensifies some old stereotypes. For example, according to sociological survey, the vast majority of men believe that the notions of woman, career and family are incompatible.Thus, it is considered to be quite natural,whena man makes a career, and his wife creates conditions for this career making(Bem, S. L., 1994). Gender Inequality in Employment Gender stereotypes also affect the production division of responsibilities between men and women in the employment. In most countries, the female population is at least a half of the whole workforce. Numerous demographic studies show that the number of women, who have to make decisions

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of financial issues, is constantly increasing. Women play an important and growing role in the global economy. It is assumed that the increasing participation of the female population in the labor market contributes to economic growth potential (Ore, T., 2008). In September 2010, Research Center of a recruitment portal conducted a large-scale study on gender segregation in the various spheres of activity. 1800 respondents participated in the survey (economically active Americansover 18 years). They were asked to evaluate, who, in their opinion, manifests himself/herself better in one, or another activity: men or women. Most answers reflected the situation on the U. S. labor market.More than a half of Americans (58%)believe that an accountant is exclusively a female profession. This viewpoint is confirmed by statistics:only 5% of the stronger sex works in this area. The profession of programmer is considered to be a purely malecraft. According to the responders, women are more effective in public relations, personnel management, design, advertising, insurance, and tourism. Respondents believe that ladies are better at translating, ecology, economics, and teaching; while men have to work in business, project management, and logistics. Due to the respondents, the representatives of the stronger sex are much better employed as sales managers, sales representatives, and athletic trainers (Rhode, D. L., 1999). The existing models of labor market relationships are still strongly supported by gender stereotypes. Women are concentrated in certain sectors of economic activity: light, food, pharmaceutical, spinning, and sewing industries, education, health, etc.; while men are concentrated in heavy industry and mining, construction and installation works, transport, etc. There are still serious obstacles in full usage of one of the most untouched sources of labor. It is the role of working mothers. Onthe one hand, thereare fears that active womensparticipation in labor may have a negative effect on fertility. Academic research, however, has shown that, in contrast, there is a positive relationship between fertility and the rate of employment among women, at least in the developed countries.Nevertheless, this is

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largely determined by the peculiarities of each country, such as income tax of the second working family member, benefits and subsidies for childcare, etc.For example, the Scandinavian countries show a high rate of full employment among women(Nelson, R. L. & Bridges, W. P., 1999). Womens decision to work may be explained by three factors: their economic situation, their preferences and cultural traditions, and institutional (organizational) structure of society. As cultural traditions varyquite slowly, the terms of the institutional structure may change rapidly, and they, in turn, can stimulate changes in traditions. Despite the fact that the ratio of working men and women is gradually becoming equal, the positions they occupy remain different. Hereby, women are still occupying less paid positions that involve very limited opportunities for advancement. In addition, these positions are usually controlled by men. According to statistics of the developed countries, about 90 percent of the most highly paid positions are occupied by men; and only 4 percent bywomen.Only 9 of1000 the largest corporations are held by women (Tomaskovic-Devey, D., 1993). Gender stratification in the workplace is obvious: nurses assist men-physicians; women-secretaries help male managers; female flight attendants aresubordinated to pilots,most of whom are also men.Moreover, the higher the payment and prestige of the profession is, themorepositions are occupied by men. For example, about 90 percent of secondary school teachers are women, but in high schools there are less than 50 percent of women with advanced degrees(Nelson, R. L. & Bridges, W. P., 1999). According to the UNs data, women do the two thirds of all the work in the world, and get only 10precent of total revenue for it. In the developed countries, women spend a third of their working timeon paid work, and two thirds on unpaid work: housekeeping, upbringing of children, etc.(Tomaskovic-Devey, D., 1993).

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The division of labor on the basis of sex is associated with notions of male and female work. Although, these differences (including the use of gender stereotypes) are created in society, and by society, they still continue to be based on the natural qualities, and abilities of sexes (Rhode, D. L., 1999). The Main Reasons of Gender Inequality There exist a lot of reasons of gender inequality. However, the major reasons are gender roles and sexual roles. Most sex differences lead to disparities in the economic environment.Women havemuch less possibilities to participate in the distribution of social goods. For example, in ancient Indiagirls were killed because they could not find a job. This is because of the sexual roles and stereotypes a mans place is at work, and a womans place is at home (Rhode, D. L., 1999). Some sociologists single out 2 main reasons of gender inequality. They are the following: Gender stereotypes

Cultural stereotypes are a possible explanation for gender inequality in general, and gender inequality in wages in particular. Women are traditionally viewed as caring mothers, and are intended for activities that require such skills. While these skills are vital, they are usually associated with home, as jobs requiring the same skills are not economically valued. Men are traditionally seen as workers and breadwinners; so, the jobs held by men have been historically and economically valuable (Ridgeway, C. L., 2011). Structural marginalization

Marginalization occurs on an individual level,when a person feels that he/she is on the margins of the society. For example, media advertisements show young girls that cook something (promoting being a housewife), or women, who change the diaper to their children (promoting being a mother) (Ridgeway, C. L., 2011).

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Sociological research studies have concluded that male and female roles are formed in the process of education, and then manifested in daily life: in family, at work, in advertising.In a broader sense, the causes of inequality between men and women are rooted in the very structure of capitalism.This leads to the emergence of ideas about male and female professions, the division of family responsibilities, etc. (Lorber, J., 2005). Conclusion In conclusion, I would like to note that today the role of women in society has increased in many times, both in terms of economic, social, and political spheres of public life. However, these changes are the result of a long and persistent struggle waged by women for several centuries, sacrificing everything: their family, well-being, or sometimes even their lives. Gender stereotypes determine the status characteristics of men and women, reinforcing the dominant position of men, and discriminatory practices against women. This phenomenon is reflected in all spheres of social life - from the relationship between husband and wife, to the scale of gender inequality in the media. Gender stereotypes are broadcasted throughout the whole human life,shaping gender roles. Gender roles are always linked to a specific regulatory system that absorbs and breaks the identity in peoples consciousness and behavior. Some of these rules are embedded in human consciousness through television and popular literature; while a number of others are received in a form of guidance, parental admonition, or disapproval from the community. Thus, gender stereotypes often function as social norms. As to the weaknesses of my application, I think that my paper does not contain enough information about discrimination against men, as gender inequality relates both to men and women. However, I have presented some evidences of discrimination against women, as their rights are infringed more frequently than mens rights.

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References Bem, Sandra Lipsitz. (1994). The Lenses of Gender: Transforming the Debate on Sexual Inequality. Yale University Press. Calasanti,Toni M. &Slevin, Kathleen F. (2001).Gender, Social Inequalities, and Aging.Altamira Press. Lorber, Judith. (2005). Gender Inequality: Feminist Theories and Politics, Third Edition. RoxburyPubCo. Macionis, John J. (2009). Social Problems (4th Edition).Prentice Hall. McCall, Leslie. (2001). Complex Inequality: Gender, Class and Race in the New Economy (Perspectives on Gender). Routledge. Nelson, Robert L.&Bridges, William P. (1999).Legalizing Gender Inequality: Courts, Markets and Unequal Pay for Women in America. Ore, Tracy. (2008). The Social Construction of Difference and Inequality: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages. Rhode, Deborah L. (1999). Speaking of Sex: The Denial of Gender Inequality.Harvard University Press. Ridgeway, Cecilia L. (2011). Framed by Gender: How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World.Oxford University Press. Tomaskovic-Devey, Donald. (1993). Gender and Racial Inequality at Work: The Sources and Consequences of Job Segregation. ILR Press.