Has the ‘construct of gender’ been more beneficial or more harmful to humanity throughout history?

The Construct of Gender
Student’s Name
Institution
The Construct of Gender
Gender refers to the roles bestowed on males and females by society. Gender is a socially constructed phenomenon since the roles, responsibilities, norms, and behaviors associated with either being male or female differ from community to community. They do change from time to time. The aspect of gender is intertwined in people's everyday lives within a society since it determines aspects such as access to factors of production or resources, division of labor in the workplace or the organization, and education, to mention a few. This issue of gender, though it differs from one community to the next, has played a significant role in classifying what roles are acceptable and which ones are not for each sex. The classification of these roles has been in existence since time immemorial but has been very rigid. The social construct of gender has indeed been more harmful to the human race than beneficial. It led to the increase in the burden of poverty on women, inequality in education and training, inequality in economic structures and policies, discrimination against the girl child, inequality between men and women in the decision-making table, and violence against women.
The burden of poverty on women has increased due to the gender construct promoted by the society around them. This burden is due to the women's lack of access to production factors such as land and resources such as credit facilities, education, or farm inputs. Society has always considered men as the breadwinners in their families, and in this regard, income-generating opportunities have been readily available for men than for women. Prejudice in income-generating activities has led the women to settle for menial jobs that offer very little payment, such as domestic work. In contrast, the men get priority for all the well-paying jobs. This prejudice has seen the wage gap widen even further, with most people occupying the lower spectrum being women (UN Women, 2017). The ability of women to compete for well-paying opportunities has significantly been hindered by their low uptake of education, unlike the male in their respective societies. With the role of home keeper squarely vested on the women, they have to depend on their men for income entirely. This low uptake of education contributed to the women's lack of money, placing them at the center of the never-ending poverty cycle. In this regard, therefore, as women are confined to their homes handling majorly domestic chores, it becomes hard for them to advance economically. Given the role gender construct plays in keeping women poor, it is conclusive to say it has been more harmful than beneficial.
The social construct of gender contributed majorly to inequality in education and training opportunities for males and females. Education and training opportunities include accessing education at the primary, secondary, or tertiary levels. As set by the society, the males have the priority to attend school to the highest level uninterrupted, after which they are required to look for jobs and turn providers for their families. These priorities are at the expense of females who are not a must to be educated (BIIP & USDS, 2012). In...