The Courts and Gender Discrimination

One of the most fascinating aspects of gender discrimination cases in the courts is how fighting for men’s rights has often paved the way for women’s rights. Ruth Bader Ginsburg understood this well and I was fascinated to learn about her past before she was a Supreme Court justice. As a lawyer, she strategically took on cases where men were disadvantaged by gender laws, knowing that eliminating gender-based legal distinctions would ultimately benefit women as well. For instance, one of her landmark cases, Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld (1975), involved a male widower who was denied Social Security survivor benefits that a female widow in his position would have received. By proving that gender-based laws harmed men in many of her cases, Ginsburg was able to deconstruct the pillars that upheld discrimination against women too.

The shifting of gender roles has also played a major role in breaking down legal precedents, such as the male-only draft. Traditionally, men were expected to serve in the military while women were exempt, reinforcing outdated notions of men as protectors and women as dependents. However, as women have taken on more roles in the workforce and military, the justification for a male-only draft has weakened.

I found it somewhat ironic, yet significant, that men were the ones to file the lawsuit to end the male-only draft, after reading the writ of certiorari in National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System. As a female who is almost of legal age, I personally would not want to be forced to register for the draft when I turn 18. However, the lawsuit highlights how gender equality works both ways; if women want equal rights, they must also face equal responsibilities. The courts continue to play a crucial role in defining what true gender equality looks like, and it is interesting to see society challenge our lawmakers to rethink outdated gender bias.

Gender Discrimination in the Court

    Before class on Wednesday, we read a Supreme Court petition for a writ of certiorari, the National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System. Despite my worries that it would be too dense and complicated to understand, I actually found it quite interesting. The basis of this petition is that the selective service system violates the due process clause for liberty as well as the equal protection clause in the 14th amendment. The selective service system was implemented a very long time ago, and as time has progressed, so have the traditional American gender roles it was built on. In class, Mr. Satow referred to this effect as a "stool". The base of the stool is the male only selective service system, and the legs that hold it up are the reasons that it was implemented as men only. These reasons consist of women not being allowed combat roles, the idea of traditional American family, among other factors, caused by restrictive gender roles at the time. The National Coalition for Men's argument is that these legs holding up the Selective Service System are now gone. Recently, the change has been made where women are now allowed to serve in combat roles within the military. The idea that women shouldn't be drafted becuase they need to take care of the family is a discriminatory and archaic stereotype and "the court ultimately justified one sex-based discrimination by reference to another"(5). They claim that the change to an all gender draft would promote equality and fairness.

    However, in Mr. Satow's presentation, we learned that the government is allowed to discriminate if certain conditions are met. These conditions are known as intermediate and strict scrutiny. Strict scrutiny applies to demographics such as age, sex, etc. An example of a federal law that adheres to these conditions is no purchasing alcohol under the age of 21. Under intermediate scrutiny, the government must be able to prove that the law in question directly relates to an important governmental interest. An important concept we discussed was how in order to promote equality, there must be some discrimination. At first glance, this concept makes no sense, however, the example of abolishing slavery provides understandable context. Through this criteria used by the court to promote equality and fairness, gender discrimination is minimized. However, that is not to say that it is not still an important issue in our society.

Courts and Gender discrimination

 

The 14th Amendment covers how people are born and naturalized in the US where they reside. That means they are citizens of the United States and have the privileges of being citizens. This means that no law should deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. National Coalition for Men's James Lesmeister and Anthony Davis, damaged by the policy that only relates to the male species, claim that this unfairly discriminates against females. This surprised and caught my attention because you wouldn't think men would push for this, given the world scenario at the time. 

The Rostker v. Goldberg court upheld the Military Selective Service Act, pushing that men, but not women, are required to register for the draft. In 2013, the Department of Defense lifted the ban on women in combat, except the obligation to register remains limited to men. The argument that the 5th amendment violated the right to equal protection showed that the classifications have different bases affecting the US and its people in various different ways, some positive, some negative, and some with no effect.

Classifications give the ability for laws to push for one group more than another; this is another surprise of my thought process because it doesn't fit the criteria of the 14th Amendment in my eyes, as it can put others at a different disadvantage while others are benefiting. This thought that the government can knowingly and willingly write laws to affect others in a positive or negative way questions the topic of equality that is the baseline of the United States. The 14th amendment targeted blacks mostly while the 19th amendment counters the polarization of equality by allowing women to vote, This was a big step up for Gender Discrimination.

These three levels of discrimination target the US and can target other specifics such as a certain race. Strict scrutiny is the highest level of protection with law, Intermediate scrutiny is that the government can discriminate on a certain classification, and rational basis review is the law being rationally related to a legitimate government interest. These are different and important because they protect individuals' rights, keep the government in check, and create equality for the people. People in the US should be excited and grateful that this is a part of our government, while other countries have it much harder.

Micheal M had violated the law by sleeping with an underage female; the female, however, did not violate the law because she was younger. We were asked if this is illegal discrimination based on gender. The conclusion and moral justice is that the government's purpose does not tie into the relationship that the male can't sleep with someone of that age but the female can. The female is more likely to be exploited under age 18 instead of a male so it brings me to the consensus that this protects the female gender for the better.

Gender Discrimination in the Courts and Draft

 Since the US court system was established and decisions ruling the fate of US citizens were created, there has been discrimination. I don't mean blatant, obvious discrimination, but smaller hidden discriminatory rulings that may hurt one party more than others. As Mr. Satow put it, in order to undo discrimination, you need to discriminate. Take for example salvery, to abolish the discrimination of rights and liberty for black people, you had to discriminate against other races and backgrounds in the constitution. In a different lens, for decades now women have faced discrimination in regards to enlisting and participating in way, particularly the front lines, allowing them to be ineligible to be drafted. Eventually the National Coalition for Men felt that women not being eligible for the draft was not just and in some ways reverse sexism, so they went to the courts.

Through the whole process of (National Coalition for Men) James Lesmerister, Anthony Davis vs. the Selective Service System, we see how the fate of these decisions is determined on the levels and interests of the national government and its importance. As these men went to the courts, they felt that since there was no law prohibited women from enlisting, there is no legal sex discrimination and felt that they should uphold the same amount of responsibility to be drafted as men. Whether issues may or may not violate the equal protection clause or not, it is dependent upon how big the interest is with the federal or state government. This is where you predominantly see the most discrimination between genders because there has to be a compelling state interest for them to intervene, not just if something isn't equal in the world. This leads us to the debate of whether something is illegal or legal sex discrimination which can then tell us whether something can be appealed or changed.

Fast forward to now, being my 18 year old self, I have had my encounter with signing up for the draft and not exactly knowing what that could entail in the future. Women in my grade don't get to experience this feeling because well, simply put, they don't get asked the question. Do I personally think this needs to be changed, my answer would be yes and no. If women want equal opportunity I believe that comes with equal obligation however I want to mention that still includes a choice in what roll you do as well as with men. Serving does not always mean the front lines so I think that is something to be considered and should be taken into account if there were ever a change to be made. On the counter, I was raised in a way where I would not want to see my sister having to fight in a war and would want to keep her from it, but maybe she feels the same as me. This is a complicated debate because there is just so many angles to take and opinions to include. Aside from opinions there is something to be said about equality in the law revolving around genders and if that is the case then both men and women should be eligible for the draft.

Gender Discrimination

     On Wednesday, we had Mr. Sato come in to talk about gender discrimination and what it is. Before his presentation, we read through a petition to the court about a gender discrimination case, which was the National Coalition for Men. The National Coalition for Men is a nonprofit group committed to ending gender stereotypes for men. In the court case, they argue that women should have to register to be in the draft just like men do when they turn 18. They think the fact that women do not have to register to be in the draft is discriminatory towards men. 

    In class, we discussed the different levels of scrutiny, intermediate and strict, their differences, and the different types of cases that fit into each category. We also discussed if these cases are discriminating based on gender. Here is an example of a case we talked about: If a male under the age of 18 engages in sex with a female who is under 18, and California Law states that men cannot have sex with women under 18, but women can have sex with men under 18. Is this illegal discrimination based on gender? After discussing everyone's personal opinions on what they think, Mr. Sato explained to us that no, it is not discrimination based on gender. We talked about why. It is not discrimination based on gender because the Supreme Court says that young men and women are not similarly situated with respect to the problems and risks of sexual intercourse.

    Gender discrimination is an issue that has persisted in impacting individuals across different aspects of life, from education to workplaces and even legal systems. It occurs when someone is being treated unfairly because of their gender rather than their abilities to do things or their skills. Despite there being progress in gender equality in recent years, the issues still remain evident. For instance, in the case of the National Coalition for Men vs. the Selective Service System, they argued that the fact that women do not have to register for the draft when turning 18 is gender discrimination against men. The court ruled that this is, in fact, gender discriminatory toward men, but this is just one of many other cases where both men and women have been discriminated against based on their gender. 

Women and Unpaid Labor

 Women and Unpaid Labor have for decades now, gone hand in hand without addressing underlying issues with gender discrimination. A big word in class we have used is "traditionally" which is also the case in this week's topic as well. Traditionally women have been seen as the primary caretakers and not working as much as the men, or in other words, "full time". However, in the present day, with a new economy and a new way of life, you tend to see a lot more women working full-time while trying to hold up their end of being caretakers. They are now expected to not only work full time, but also carry the load of taking care of children and the home as well, which does not seem fair. 

In class, Ms. Kirschman addressed some prominent issues while also incorporating our personal stories, which moved mountains for me, kind of putting things in perspective. In Caroline Criado Perez's book Invisible Women, the data we looked at all pointed to the same issue, women being undervalued in data. Another key issue she mentioned was men's pay compared to women's pay in the job industry, which showed how men get paid more to do the same thing that a woman does. Research shows that women get paid 84 cents to the man's dollar, which is honestly absurd, this can all stem from the idea that women "dilute" an industry. Perez says, "industry attracts lower pay and loses 'prestige', suggesting that low-paid work chooses women rather than the other way around". This is a huge issue because if there is evidence showing women can't escape low pay, regardless of what industry they are in, it shows a failed capitalist society with equal opportunity.

In a different lens, maternity leave is very controversial and honestly a mess. I never quite understood the struggles of what comes with having a child and holding a job until I spoke with my mom. She described her situation as, "I had no option really. If I wanted to make money still, I needed to work, regardless of what I felt was the right amount of time to spend with you (her children)." Since she was on a commission-driven pay, she couldn't stop working really, which she felt took away from her time with her family. She brought up her friend who has four children, and regardless of wanting to work, unless she pays someone to watch her children,n she doesn’t have enough time to. Or at least work full-time. This ties into the idea of including women's unpaid labor into the GDP because of its importance in society as a whole. Women learn at a young age to take control of situations, especially around the house, because they feel like no one else will, which definitely has some truth in it. My sister was always on me about asking my mom to do things for me, when she would always do things for herself instead of seeking outside help. I think this just goes to show how undervalued women's work is, whether it is raising children or in the workforce, there needs to be more equality. 

Woman and Labor

Sitting in Class with Mrs. Kirschmann brought forth very valid points and depictions. The pictures I saw of males doing a duty that a woman would typically be known to do, like a man cleaning a house or doing chores, portrayed the usual cultural norms. Roles are flipped in this particular moment and throw off the narrative of the world, leaving most in disbelief. After this, Mrs. Kirchmann showed a female doing household duties during class. Except the pictures shown are very much true, and with a knowledgeable prediction, they can be proven. One of the photos is a mother asking, “How is the sink full again? Didn't we just wash the dishes?” I see this in the real world and have heard my mother say this like a strong,g independent woman. After long days of work, I can see it's tough to complete these tasks, and I definitely wouldn't want to do this. The other photos of sweeping the floor and taking the trash are also relatable, and these are the bare minimum that females take on as tasks. On top of the tough household roles women nowadays take on, they also have to do other activities like making food.

Women take on household and other responsibilities, however, women some of the time don't get paid for their work. This then leads to the thought of Mrs. Kirchmann and the article “Invisible Woman,” which shows that they make up a lot of the workforce. The workforce they participate in helps the world go around and benefits others around them. Women are just as important as the males, and it shows time and time again, and I'm getting the belief that they have it harder because of the cards they are given. 

Some factual and massive amount of statistics including my theory that women have it hard include, “Women are more than twice as likely as men to be providing intensive on-duty care for someone twenty-four hours a day.” This quote puts women at a financial disadvantage. “61% of housework is undertaken by women.” The quote brings forth the fact that women do the things males don't always want to partake in. “Female careers also tend to receive less support than male careers so they end up feeling more isolated and being more likely to suffer from depression-in itself a risk factor for dementia.”More health risks are at stake. “Us men manage to find over an hour more spare time per day to rest than their female counterparts” Less rest is given to females as their plates are full and, in other words, they are busier. Men also get more freedom when a child is around: “The unpaid work that enables him to have kids and easily work full time in paid employment” In the UK, 42% of women compared to 11% of men work part-time.” Women getting less opportunity to make money leads to another disadvantage fact that “women make up 75% of part-time workers. All of these real-world statistics prompt the theory of Women being underappreciated and hardworking and ending with the fact that they get paid less with tons of responsibilities. 

As a whole, Women are excluded from many essential areas of work. Women in today's society aren't as underappreciated as they used to be, but the world can still improve and give power and prosperity to all of them while they undergo different types of tough opportunities and tasks.

Bias in a world by and for men

 

      Data bias in representation when it comes to gender is commonly misunderstood and uncared for. Data bias in gender representation is a widespread issue that has been occurring for a long time, and it has affected different aspects of society, culture, and history. For decades now, it has been shown that datasets, as well as collection and analysis, have been focused on men and have neglected women. Women in the modern day typically take on full-time jobs while also providing as caretakers for their families. This is just one of many examples of how women's labor has been overlooked. 

    In the book The Long Friday, the author Caroline Criado Perez brings up many different points on examples of women's labor. Chapter 3 talks about an event in Iceland in the late 1970s, where almost 90% of Icelandic women went on strike. This highlighted the role of women's labor in society, leading to substantial changes, such as legislative and social reforms in Iceland. This includes the passage of the Gender Equality Act in 176 and the world's first elect, where it was a democratically elected female head of state in 1980. The author discusses how this issue has expanded globally and that 75% of unpaid care work averages 6-3 hours daily. At the same time, men continue to do the bare minimum, contributing by only half an hour to 2 hours every day. The lack of recognition for unpaid care work shows that there are also further implications connecting economically. Estimates show that unpaid care work could account for almost 50% of GDP in countries with higher incomer and up to 80% in countries with lower income. 

    Perez advocates for a comprehensive reevaluation of how societies value and measure work, emphasizing the need to close the gender data gap. By collecting and analyzing accurate data that reflects women's contributions, policymakers can design more sustainable and suitable social systems for the economy. 

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