Gender Discrimination in Rural America: A Sociological Investigation

This report examines gender discrimination in rural America. It begins with an introduction to the topic, highlighting the historical context of male dominance. A literature review explores existing research on gender inequality, focusing on the decline of discrimination in urban areas versus the persistence in rural settings, and the gender gap in the workforce. The report references key studies and articles, examining factors such as working hours, occupational segregation, and the undervaluation of women's work. A survey was conducted with 50 participants using probability random sampling. The report concludes that gender discrimination remains prevalent, necessitating societal reform to improve the position of women. References and a questionnaire are included. The assignment is a response to a brief requesting a research proposal on a sociological topic, a specific research question, and the methodology to be used. The student identified gender discrimination as the topic and proposed a survey method, along with at least six scholarly articles to support the research.

Running head: GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN RURAL AMERICA
Gender discrimination in rural America
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN RURAL AMERICA
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review............................................................................................................................2
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................3
References:......................................................................................................................................4

2GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN RURAL AMERICA
Introduction
The issue of gender discrimination has always occupied a concerning position within the
human civilization. Since times immemorial, the male gender has assumed a dominating position
over the female gender by the way of their apparent physical superiority. The purpose of this
paper is to understand the issue of male dominance and the extent of its prevalence within the
rural regions of the United States of America.
The research would be carried out by the way of a survey interview where fifty
participants would be chosen with the aid of probability random sampling. The responses
gathered from the survey would be analyzed with the aid of qualitative data analysis in order to
gain a subjective and comprehensive insight in to the research study under scrutiny.
Literature Review
According to Snipp and Cheung (2016), gender discrimination refers to the situation
whereby the male dominance on the society is more than the presence of women. The rights and
liberties of the female population is subdued to the extent that their male counterpart has
considerable say on the kind of life that would be led by their females.
As opined by Conroy (2014), it can be observed that the aspect of gender discrimination
started to decline in the light of the contemporary world order. In the words of Assari and
Lankarani (2017), the age of enlightenment and the spread of western ideals of liberty and
equality have ensured that both the genders would be accorded an identical position in the
society where both of them would be treated equally.
However, as argued by Conroy (2014), it can be observed that such an idealistic situation

3GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN RURAL AMERICA
is yet to be achieved. The male members of the society wield considerable power in all spheres
of life. While in the urban areas of the world, the women have started to participate in the public
spheres, undertaking opportunities of employment, this is not so in the rural regions. There exists
the gender gap in overall workforce of rural America that points out to the discrimination
prevailing in the society (Heilman & Caleo, 2018). There exists the differences in the working
hours along with the occupational segregation that have acted like a barrier in the path of
progress of the women in the rural areas (Andrews et al., 2018). The work of the women of the
colour are undervalued and their job as the home care workers are looked down upon by the
people in the society.
According to Brody et al. (2015), the condition of women is quite poor and deplorable in
the rural regions of the world even within a modernized country of the world like that of the
United States of America. Such rural women do not have the freedom to participate in the
political process of the society. Furthermore, they are also often denied any proper education as
the male members are of the view that the women should belong in the private sphere of life. In
this regard, it can be seen that even with the ideals of equality and freedom, an egalitarian society
has been denied to the women population of the world.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be observed that gender discrimination is still prevalent in many
parts of the world. In spite of being one of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of
enlightenment and education, gender discrimination is still existing in America. This signifies
that there is a need to bring about imminent reformation in the society so that the position of the
women can be uplifted.

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5GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN RURAL AMERICA
References:
Andrews, N.C., Santos, C.E., Cook, R.E. & Martin, C.L., 2018. Gender discrimination hinders
other-gender friendship formation in diverse youth. Journal of Applied Developmental
Psychology, 59, pp.16-25.
Assari, S., & Lankarani, M. M. (2017). Discrimination and psychological distress: gender
differences among Arab Americans. Frontiers in psychiatry, 8, 23.
Brody, G. H., Yu, T., Miller, G. E., & Chen, E. (2015). Discrimination, racial identity, and
cytokine levels among African-American adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health,
56(5), 496-501.
Conroy, A. A. (2014). Gender, power, and intimate partner violence: a study on couples from
rural Malawi. Journal of interpersonal violence, 29(5), 866-888.
Heilman, M. E., & Caleo, S. (2018). Combatting gender discrimination: A lack of fit
framework. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 21(5), 725-744.
Snipp, C. M., & Cheung, S. Y. (2016). Changes in racial and gender inequality since 1970. The
ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 663(1), 80-98.

6GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN RURAL AMERICA
Appendix
Questionnaire
Demographic Questions
 Gender
Male
Female
Others
 Age
21-40 years
41-60 years
61 years and above
 Occupation
Student
Business person
Employed in a service
Housewife
Objective Question
1 - Strongly agree; 2 - Agree; 3 - Neutral, 4 - Disagree, 5 - Strongly disagree

7GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN RURAL AMERICA
 Do you have the freedom to pursue your education?
 Do you have the liberty to make your life choices with regard to employment?
 Do you have the right to choose your own life partner?
 Are you dominated by the male members of your household?
 Are you dissatisfied with the discrimination that exists between the two genders?
Research Question
1 - Strongly agree; 2 - Agree; 3 - Neutral, 4 - Disagree, 5 - Strongly disagree
 Do you think your life choices are affected adversely as a result of prevailing gender
discrimination?