Why There are Few Women in Politics and the Benefits of Parental Leaves
Assignment Details
Review the scenario, and then use the following to create a journal entry. Journal entries provide the writer with an opportunity to collect their thoughts and reflect in a less formal way than they would in a traditional essay. Although a journal is not a traditional essay in format or tone, all of the elements necessary for good writing still apply, including attention to grammar, thorough proofreading and spelling checks, and presenting views in an organized paragraph structure.
Scenario
You have been asked by your company to talk to a group of political leaders here in the United States. As you scan the crowd, you see only a few women in the audience. One week later, you give the same talk in Sweden and find there are a lot more women in the crowd. You ask yourself why.
Review the following statistics for women in government:
In the United States in 2015, women held 20% of the seats in Congress (Rutgers, n.d.).
In 2014, women held 43.6% of the seats in the Swedish Parliament (Sweden, 2021).
Parental leave was a hot topic in the United States during the recent election. Parental leave policies may affect the representation of women in politics. Review the following statistics on parental leave (Popovich, 2014):
The United States currently offers 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave to working mothers.
Sweden offers 60 weeks of paid leave, which can be split between both mothers and fathers.
The following chart provides a visual comparison of paid maternal leave as of 2015 of several countries including the United States and Sweden (Popovich, 2014):
Comparison of Parental Leave Chart
Journal Entry
Write a journal entry which is 1-2 double-spaced pages in length that addresses the following questions. You are not required to include a cover page, but if you refer to information from other sources, be sure you provide in-text citations in accordance with APA requirements. Make sure you refer to the rubric to ensure you address all the requirements for the paper.
Description: Do social policies such as parental leave affect how many women serve in government and other jobs? How?
Interpretation and reflection: What are the benefits of paid parental leave for society, for the population, and for health? What types of changes, if any, do you think the United States should make to its current parental leave policy?
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Gender disparity still exists and is prevalent. Men are still dominant, and women are still treated lowly. Gender disparity has created different opportunities, circumstances, and privileges for men and women.
The United States and Sweden have differences concerning gender disparity and policies. The data regarding the women in the government revealed that in the United States in 2015, women held 20% of the seats in Congress (Rutgers, 2017). Furthermore, in 2014, women held 43.6% of the seats in the Swedish Parliament (Sweden, 2017). The data suggest that gender disparity is lesser in Sweden. Regarding parental leave, the United States currently offers 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave to working mothers. Sweden offers 60 weeks of paid leave, which can be split between mothers and fathers (Popovich, 2014). As we can see, there is a big difference in the two countries’ policies. The policies may suggest that Sweden gives more importance to women than the United States. These two aspects may be why there are few women in politics. From the information above, we can see the comparison between the United States and Sweden.
Social policies affect how many women serve in the government. Many factors affect the participation of women in the government. These include stereotypes, norms, and even social policies. Social policies are sometimes unequal for men and women. Some policies are biased toward men. Some policies are against women. Furthermore, because some social policies are disadvantageous, women opt not to serve in the government. However, women should have the right to participate in the government. Women have also proved that, just like men, they can lead too.
Paid parental leaves are essential and beneficial in variou...