“The Impact of Gender Inequality on the Development of a Child”

GIVE SCENARIO:

Gender inequality can be seen in a variety of settings and contexts. I've witnessed it in my own

home, where my cousins, both boy and girl, are treated differently by their grandmother. In any

way she can, she expresses her preference for her grandson over her granddaughter. She makes

no attempt to conceal it. The grandmother tries to remind her on a daily basis that she dislikes

girl children and is relieved she doesn't have any for herself. Adults may believe they can say

whatever they want to say to us and everything will be fine, but they are mistaken! They must be

mindful of what they say and do to children because it can have a mental and academic impact

on them. My cousins, for example, are now acting out, particularly the female, who now argues

with authority figures, does things with bad influence, and fails all of her classes because she

"doesn't care anymore."

INTRODUCTION:

We see the consequences of inequality almost every day, but we give them no attention. Whether

in the workplace, the classroom, or even the home. With that said, I'm here to enlighten you

about the effects of gender inequality in the home on a child's development. Good morning

teachers and my name is Kestina Miller and I want to thank you for this opportunity to present to

you about the issue at hand. Have you ever sat and wondered what negatively influences a child's

development? The goal of this topic is to demonstrate how gender inequality affects children in

the long run. When parents or guardians discriminate against their children, the effects can be

seen in their education and behavior at home or even in public. You may disagree but once I
inform you about the effects and how it may happen you yourself will be shocked and reconsider

your attitude towards your children, nieces, nephews, and other children you come in contact

with.

BODY #1:

Firstly, what is gender inequality really? According to https://www.savethechildren.org/, it is

discrimination on the basis of sex or gender causing one sex or gender to be routinely privileged

or prioritized over another. It is said that the gender inequality begins in the childhood of people.

Also that “ From the moment they’re born, girls and boys face unequal gender norms regarding

expectations and access to resources and opportunities, with lifelong consequences – in their

homes, schools and communities” (Savethechildren, 2021). In countries such as Asia and Africa,

boys are treated better than girls in general, particularly when it comes to education. They

usually send the boys to school and keep the girls at home to do housework. This prevents girls

from receiving an education and forces them to rely on their husbands and their brothers to

provide for them.

BODY #2

Secondly, according to an article that was written by the publisher of plan-international.org

(2017), gender inequality can affect the development of both girls and boys especially in the

early stages of their lives. They also said that “In many communities, gender inequality is

one important root cause of children’s poor development in the early years,” This

statement is self-explanatory, but in case you don't get it, it basically says that gender

inequality is one of the main factors that negatively affects a child's early childhood
development in many countries. Boys receive preferential treatment as a result of

gender inequality, resulting in less attention and more hard work for girls. As a result,

they have low self-esteem both at home and in public. Most countries deny girls the

right to an education, and as a result, they are regarded as only useful for household

chores. From a young age, they are taught that girls, or better yet, women, are

supposed to do the housework.

BODY #3

Thirdly, Desiree Buitenbos, an author at Plan International, and a Human Rights Media Trainer,

spoke about gender inequality and how it can affect children at an early age in an article entitled

“Why Gender Inequality Often Starts at Home.”(2018) In this article she speaks about gender

inequality starting from the home and how it is done. She stated that “From the moment babies

are born, their assigned sex (male or female) immediately begins to shape how they should be

treated, what opportunities they should receive or how they should behave according to dominant

gender stereotypes in their society,” This basically means these gender roles will be instilled in

the minds of the children, and is going to be demonstrated in society and then passed down to the

next generation. According to Valerie Hudson, professor in the Department of International

Affairs at Texas A&M University, countries like Asia, Southeastern Europe, the Middle East and

some parts of Africa have sons rather than daughters. However, if done correctly setting gender

roles in the home can be positive towards children. Desiree stated that “fathers who take on an

active role in childcare and domestic labour positively influence their children by showing that

the adult male role can be nurturing. This positive role modelling helps boys become better

husbands, fathers, brothers and friends to girls and women. At the same time, it positively

impacts the self-esteem of young girls and reinforces that both genders are equal,” this is all
dependable on the parents and how they grow their children. This would be displayed in the

home and public, because it is said that “children live what they learn” (Dorothy Law

Nolte,1954)

EVALUATION 1:

The article, “Gender Discrimination Causes Inequality Between Girls and Boys Around the

World” (Save the Children Federation, Inc, 2021), speaks about gender inequality occurring at an

early age. This article was written by a trusted charity organization, that is also known as a

501(c)(3) organization. A 501(c)(3) organization is a nonprofit organization established

exclusively for one of the following purposes: charitable, religious, educational, scientific,

literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition,

or preventing cruelty to children or animals, according to https://www.investopedia.com/. They

are advocates of children, which causes them be supported by more than half of the world.

Seeing that this organization is represented by many influential persons such as Brad Irwin,

former President & CEO of Welch’s, Janti Soeripto President & Chief Executive Officer of Save

the Children US, and award-winning actress Jennifer Garner, they would not want to demolish

their reputation. This article's timeline is approximately one year, 2021-2022, indicating

that the information is current, fresh, and reliable. This article's information not only

speaks about children in the United States, but about nearly every child in the world,

which was relevant to me.

EVALUATION 2:

The article “Gender inequality and early childhood development” was written by the charity

organization, Plan International Canada, is a reliable organization that are used by

different Human Rights Journalists. This organization would have to make sure that the

information they are posting are factual in order to keep up their reputation, also all the

journalists’ work they use must a high standard and is highly rated. Plan International

Canada is a member of a global organization dedicated to advancing children’s rights

and equality for girls. Plan International has been building powerful partnerships for

children for over 80 years and is now active in more than 75 countries. With this

information, I can rightfully say that this source is capable of assisting me with this

exposition. This article spans approximately 5 years, from 2017 to 2022. This article's

information can be found in my other sources, indicating that it is replicable.

EVALUATION 3:

In the article “Why Gender Inequality Often Starts at Home” was written by a trust journalist

and was published on Plan International. The time span of this article is 4 years, 2018-2022.

Which makes it reliable which was stated in the secondevaluation.

CHALLENGES:

The difficulties I encountered while conducting this research were that it was difficult to find

information that could support my topic because it was broad, and the majority of the websites

were not reliable enough. I spent about 5 days looking for the right sources to use to support my

argument. Even when I found these artifacts, the websites were not as trustworthy, so I had to do

some additional research.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, parents and other adults must be mindful of what they say and do because you

never know what will happen. With that being said thank you.
https://stories.plancanada.ca/why-gender-inequality-starts-at-home/ -

DESIREE BUITENBOS
https://plan-international.org/publications/gender-inequality-and-early-childhood-development/

Works Cited
BRINK, SUSAN. “Selecting Boys over Girls Is a Trend in More and More Countries.” Npr.org,

2019, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/08/26/434616512/selecting-boys-over-

girls-is-a-trend-in-more-and-more-countries.

Buitenbos, Desiree. “Why Gender Inequality Often Starts at Home - Plan Canada.” Plan

Canada, 12 Feb. 2018, stories.plancanada.ca/why-gender-inequality-starts-at-home/.

Plan International. “Gender Inequality and Early Childhood Development.” Plan International, 8

June 2017, plan-international.org/publications/gender-inequality-and-early-childhood-

development/.

Save the Children Federation, Inc. “Gender Discrimination Causes Inequality between Girls and

Boys around the World.” Save the Children, 2021, www.savethechildren.org/us/charity-

stories/how-gender-discrimination-impacts-boys-and-girls.