The World of Women

Corinne Knowles

October 31, 2010

4:30 pm

This article is about recent reports from the United Nations about women around the world. Unfortunately, where there is good new there is also bad news. The good news is that women seem to be catching up to men in areas of work, education, poverty, and life expectancy. The bad news is that women are still falling behind in these areas and issues of sexual abuse are described as a “universal phenomenon.” This may seem depressing but there is a positive side. The fact that people are recognizing world-wide sexual violence against women means more and more people are seeing it as a problem. Something that we have learned in class is that we cannot begin to figure out how to solve a problem until we see it as a problem. Something else the reports show is that education is related to many of these issues. The article says, “Where girls have the greatest access to education, they marry later, have fewer children and more economic opportunity.” Like in the United States, women around the world often face a kind of “glass ceiling” but for now the world is making progress by offering more education opportunities for girls everywhere.

It seems that many of the issues that sociologists discuss lead back to education. A country as a whole is much more likely to thrive and be economically successful if they invest in schools and see that not only boys but girls too can enroll and learn. I like seeing the United Nations focus their efforts on women. There are obviously still many problems that need to be resolved when it comes to women’s rights but I think getting girls around the world enrolled in schools is a step in the right direction.

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