Human Rights

     Hello! This is my first project for my SDGs and You class! It's been a lot of fun so far, and I'm excited for whoever is reading this intro to read my paper. It has been a lot of work for me personally, getting everything set up, but I think it was well worth the effort! I chose SDG 7 for my project because it hit the closest for me personally. Again, hopefully whoever is reading this enjoys my paper! Enough with the introduction, here it is! 

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    You’ve heard of gender equality before. Everyone has. Anywhere you go, gender equality posts and videos are everywhere. Things like, “women want better paying jobs!” or something of the sort.    It's been a hot topic ever since it was introduced to the mass public. Every time I hear it in modern media, however, I felt like it wasn’t truly equal. That is why I think gender equality should be a human right. Not only would this help multiple men and women in different aspects of life, but it would also help reform the court system.

My first point: men, regardless of orientation, should have access to more facilities and help for mental problems. In 2018, it was estimated that over 6 million men in the U.S alone struggle with depression each year. Even more staggering, ever since 2000, male suicide has been on rise. In 2011, male suicides accounted for 2.2% of all deaths that year. If we don’t give men the mental health care they should have access to, these numbers can and will go up significantly. It could ruin the world as we know it. 

My second point is: women should be given a lot more opportunities in the workplace. Did you know in 2019, there were only 21% women in C-Suite jobs? Also, 1 out of 4 women thought that their gender had something to do with them not getting a promotion. If we were to fix this issue, however, not only would women benefit from it, but everyone would. It’s predicted that with even slightly more women in the workforce, it could lead to meaningful work, more satisfaction with one’s job, and even more. Not only that, we can have even more female CEOs and women in power if we can change this. 

My third point: the court of law should be changed so it’s not only fair to the people on trial, but the people doing the trials. In mock trials simulating a sex discrimination case and a divorce case, the woman got the better verdict than the man. In the divorce case, it was even stated that the man could equal care of the child. On the flipside, female lawyers are often discriminated against due to people thinking that they would use their feminine emotions to win the case. For the male discrimination in cases, we should make so judges should go through a course or two about how to be impartial in cases, due to the fact that many men have lost cases because of this discrimination. For the female lawyers, we need the general public to understand that every lawyer will use only their skill, and nothing else, to win a case for them. Just because you think that they’re going to do something to tip the court in their favor doesn’t mean they are.

In conclusion, gender equality should be a right because it can help multiple men and women in different aspects in life. It can also help reform the court system for not only male victims, but female lawyers as well. All of these should how gender equality is important to our modern word and why it should be a right. 

My sources:

America, Mental Health. “Infographic: Mental Health for Men.” Mental Health America, 2018, www.mhanational.org/infographic-mental-health-men. 

Campbell, Leah. “How Mental Health Stigma Affects Men.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 30 June 2019, www.healthline.com/health-news/how-can-we-reduce-mens-mental-health-stigma. 

Cohut, Maria. “Men's Mental Health: What Affects It, and How to Improve Support.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 21 June 2020, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/mens-mental-health-man-up-is-not-the-answer. 

Clerkin, Cathleen. “Women in the Workplace: What Women Want & Benefits of Women in Leadership: CCL.” Center for Creative Leadership, 2019, www.ccl.org/articles/white-papers/7-reasons-want-women-workplace/.

Donadio, Rachel. “The Coming Setback for Women in the Workplace.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 28 May 2020, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/05/france-women-workplace-coronavirus-pandemic/612136/.

In, Lean. “Women in the Workplace 2019: The State of Women in Corporate America.” Lean In, 2019, leanin.org/women-in-the-workplace-2019. 

Society for Personality and Social Psychology. "Gender roles highlight gender bias in judicial decisions." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 April 2018.

Bazelon, Lara. “What It Takes to Be a Trial Lawyer If You're Not a Man.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 3 June 2019, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/09/female-lawyers-sexism-courtroom/565778/.

Ruiz, Vanessa. The Role of Women Judges and a Gender Perspective in Ensuring Judicial Independence and Integrity, 2019, www.unodc.org/dohadeclaration/en/news/2019/01/the-role-of-women-judges-and-a-gender-perspective-in-ensuring-judicial-independence-and-integrity.html.