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The Gender Gap in the United States Presidential Elections
The Gender Gap in the United States Presidential Elections
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The Gender Gap in the United States Presidential Elections
In voting, gender gap refers to the difference in the percentage of mean and the percentage of women who take part in voting for a particular candidate. Emerging gender gap in the United States is not only caused by differences between men and women in voting, but also by their policies and attitudes. Over the years, men and women have been depicted to hold different views on a number of foreign and democratic policies matters and it is because of the same differences that they derive their ideologies to influence their preference for an elected individual. Moreover, statistics show that very few women show interest in elective positions compared to men though the number of women who vie has taken an exponential rise since women were given the rights to vote upon adoption and subsequent implementation of the 9th amendment of the constitution back in 1920.
After women were granted the right to vote, several politicians feared that women voters would only offer their support for candidates who showed their support in policies that were not paternalistic in nature such as hours and protective wages laws, expensive housing and housing policies, and other types of social necessities for indigent families and women. According to data from National Election Studies for presidential and other elections held in the United States between 1952 and 1992, and data from Voters News Service for the US elections held in 1996, gender gap is not a new concept in the United States political scene.
Gender gap dates to the 1980 elections when the Republican Party’s presidential flag bearer Reagan ran a campaign throughout the US declaring his strong opposition to abortion and Equal Rights Amendment while showing his unwavering support for a Soviet-Style communism aggressive policy for military commitment and traditional family values. These policies, which have characterized the Republican Party since Reagan, have significantly led to the alienation of women who have since then sorted never to return to the party. As a result, many women in the US are members of the Democratic Party and this is clearly depicted by the immense support they give the Democratic Party candidates in recent presidential elections.
Other forms of gender gap in the United States include policy attitudes, turnout rates, evaluation of holders of political offices, and rates of office holding. Recent US presidential elections have revealed a significantly widening gap in women’s and men’s voting preferences. The elections have been marked by the Republican Party’s highly conservative stance regarding reproductive issues together with the ignorant and offensive use of foul language such as legitimate, forcible and “gift of God” rape, many Americans attributed this to the obviously polarized political parties in regard to social issues. High on the agenda too were the reproductive rights, both in the in the improved Republican legislative activity aimed at restricting funding and access to abortion, and the rhetorical realm. The elections have witnessed proliferation of women issues that have greatly taken center stage during the campaigns and consequently influenced the outcome of the elections.
Gender socialization plays a crucial role in shaping the political orientation, behavior and core-values amongst men and women voters. Gender-centered social psychology identifies childhood socialization and adulthood socialization to have special impact in shaping the political behavior of an individual. Gender differences in the political behavior of a person persists throughout his or her life time provided they are a product of certain moral values inculcated in him or her during his upbringing. The effects of childhood differences in the upbringing of an individual are later meditated by adult roles in adulthood, for example the experience women undergo in motherhood. Secondly, the rise in women’s autonomy as a result of changes in the structure of families that have greatly lowered the importance of marriage has played a critical role in widening the gender gap. Married women who used to follow the political affiliations and behaviors of their spouses no longer do so because many women have opted to be independent.
Feminism consciousness has also contributed significantly to the voting preference and pattern amongst women. Although gender identification tends to appear as having miniscule influence on the political attitude of individuals, feminist characteristics may have serious influence on policy attitudes as well as political behavior. Feminism identification can be gauged by how strongly women identify themselves with other women, by egalitarian attitudes towards gender-based roles and through women liberation movements. Lastly, the rising women’s labor forces participation. Employment has boosted women’s overall support for feminist’s political activism and goals through provision of life experiences that have continuously questioned traditional gender roles imposed on women. In addition, paid employment has directly made women to encounter several cases of gender inequality that they otherwise could not have experienced if they remained just home makers. As a result, many women feel galvanized to venture into the political arena and make a difference, both as candidates and as voters.
The gender gap remained in the focus in within the United States political scene since 1980 with the media giving it exclusive coverage during electioneering periods. Although the term is widely used, the significance and size of the gender gap has remained contested. Many critics allude to more prominent racial gaps whereby there seems to be a significantly high support for Democratic candidates between black and white voters and this has had significant implications on the voting patterns exhibited by men and women. However, taking in to account the sheer number of the female voters and the slight margin that elections are usually decided, no party would ever want to go to the ballot without the women’s support. Statistics show that the number of women who turn out to cast their votes has continued to exceed the number of males who vote since the 1967 elections. In addition, the number of women who are eligible to vote has exceeded the number of males who are eligible to vote since 1980. Therefore, it is generally assumed that the prevalence in gender gap became more prominent immediately after women voters became good decision makers in presidential elections. Within the Republican Party, these aforementioned developments have caused more havoc than reprieve since the mainstream media have consistently linked the widening gap to increased importance of women’s issues and abortion rights, and promotion of involvement of more women in party leadership capacities. In a bid to find out whether such solutions can work in regaining grounds among women, the Republican Party has been compelled to take into serious cognizance various aspects of the gender gap in regard to mass politics.
This conventional wisdom however suffers from some few distinct letdowns. Many media houses and scholarly articles have developed a tendency of putting a lot of focus on questioning why most women tend to vote democratically than men. Such concepts assume that men’s voting pattern is constant while women’s behavior and attitudes towards voting keeps changing with time. This is a skewed and highly polarized concept since men have consistently become more conservatives in terms of their party identifications and voting patterns whereas the behavior of women has remained fairly constant over time. Therefore, the gender gap has mainly been as a result of men’s behavior and not women.
The prominence of gender gap keeps gaining ground by the day based on statistics of every election held in the US. It has brought a different view and meaning to the politics and governance of the United States. Since the influence of women cannot be wished away, the Republican Party has a lot to do in terms of modifying its policies to cater for the various issues pertaining to social welfare that appear to be appealing to many women while at the same tome alienating its make members.
Project 5 Problem analysis and critical thinking
Project 5: Problem analysis and critical thinking
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Workplace safety is critical in any organization because it protects all employees from harm. Companies that prioritize employee safety and well-being create a more productive work environment. Many organizations exist to assist businesses in developing procedures because it is such an important practice in the workplace. One of the most well-known government agencies is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Organizations such as OSHA help to monitor businesses and provide safety regulations to ensure that they are in compliance.
In its shop, Truss Construction Shop recently performed a quality assurance load test. The truss under test fractured along a horizontal axis during the truss load test. As a result, a large section of the truss snapped and fell on the hoist operator who was assisting with the test. As a result of the failed load test, a number of incidents have occurred, prompting an investigation into the incidents.
Explanation of the Issue
The hoist operator’s head injury has put him into a medically induced coma. Because of this, it is unclear why the operator was allowed to go under the truss while conducting a load test, despite a statement issued by the Truss Construction Shop. As a result of a lack of information and accountability, the company is at risk of being held liable and potentially putting its employees at risk in this case.
An engineer from Truss Construction Shop’s engineering department confirmed that the truss had passed its load-bearing high threshold during testing, indicating that it was strong enough to carry out the project. The test was allowed because it was assumed that the truss would hold up. Because no one expected the roof to collapse, there were insufficient safeguards in place to protect the workers from harm. One of the most important reasons why businesses should always err on the side of caution when making business decisions is because of this.
As a result of poor performance, Faruch Habib, a production line worker at Truss Construction Shop, was terminated. In an effort to limit the company’s liability and order cancellations, the public relations department released a statement about the incident. Nevertheless, despite this, Truss Construction Shop has urged its employees to maintain a level of focus on production and testing. It’s still not clear whether Truss Construction Shop’s operations are safe despite the company’s efforts to keep damages under control. Confidence in safety is a concern for workers in the Truss Construction Shop. In order for employees to feel safe and confident while doing their jobs, they must have the impression that their workplace is secure.
Analysis of the Information
There are a few points that must be evaluated in order to get a clearer perspective on the incident in order to prevent it from occurring again. The lack of safety precautions in place is the first thing that stands out at Truss Construction Shop. On the surface, the incident appears to be an anomaly, and this is what many people thought when they heard about it.
Human error, specifically the misjudgment of those responsible for making decisions about the safety of others, is one of the most common causes of workplace accidents (Reason, 2013). This creates concern for those who work under the auspicious of someone else’s judgment in relation to their day-to-day tasks. There are times when the judgment of others does not play out as anticipated and causes other employees to be at risk for injury. When such times prevail, it increases risks for lawsuits.
When an employee is terminated for revealing information about an accident, the company reduces its legal liability for appearing guilty. The company reaps the benefits of determining whether or not to terminate the employee at the right time.. A leak of confidential information is more likely than poor performance to account for the dismissal. One could suggest that if Faruch Habib had such poor performance than he should have been terminated prior to the leaking of information. Legally speaking, this makes Truss Construction Shop seem guilty. Furthermore, it makes Truss Construction Shop seem as if they are punishing him for the information being leaked rather than poor performance. This could potentially leave Truss Construction Shop open for a lawsuit for terminating him after the information was leaked.
Lastly, the sales department’s focus on preventing customers from canceling their orders shows a lack of concern for the incident. They appear to be more concerned with making money than keeping people safe at the Truss Construction Shop. In this case, Truss Construction Shop should be concerned about the safety of their employees as much as they are concerned about sales. Though a company with a high level of business must sustain sales in order to continue, there must be a balance of importance with regard to these issues.
Alternate Viewpoints
In order to come to a sound conclusion and conduct a thorough investigation, it is possible to examine multiple perspectives on any given incident. The viewpoints that should also be considered are of those involved; the injured hoist operator, the engineers and the QA manager. The injured hoist operator had to have a level of confidence in those working alongside him in order to trust them to do the test. He also must have trusted the equipment to put his self in the situation, especially standing right under the truss. If there was any doubt in his mind about those he was working with or the equipment he would have taken more safety measures to ensure that he would not get hurt. Though his trust led him the wrong way, he obviously was confident in his team and the equipment. It is also suspected that this was not his first time in this situation.
Several product-related questions were put forth by the engineers, which suggests that they were somewhat skeptical of the apparatus. Their lack of trust in the product’s manufacture suggests that they believed it lacked a track record of successful use. There were many questions, but few answers for the engineers. This can be a problem when it comes to testing equipment. Besides that, the Truss Construction Shop sent out memos asking for tests to be done at lower limits as well. It is the job of the engineers to make sure the product is error-free at all times.
Finally, the QA manager’s viewpoint should also be examined. There are several probing questions that should be employed. The questions are as follows: Was the QA manager made aware of the test being conducted? Did the QA manager give any safety instructions to the employees conducting the test? The truss exceeded the load limits, but did the QA manager know the test was still going on? Because the QA manager was confident in the load limits, he or she gave the test the green light. The unassuming employee stood beneath the truss for no apparent reason. There are two ways to look at this: either he didn’t notice an employee standing under one of the trusses during the test, or he was unconcerned because this happens during tests all the time. These are some of the perspectives that should be considered as part of the investigation into how an employee was injured during testing.
Recommendations and Conclusion
Truss Construction Shop failed a load test two weeks ago(truss brokedown during the test), which was caused by several occurrences in the organization. Despite the fact that Truss Construction Shop had invested heavily in new engineering and manufacturing processes, the accident occurred. According to authorities, the hoist operator was seriously injured and is currently in a medically induced coma. The testing procedure made the workplace unsafe for all employees, not just the one who was injured as a result of the procedure. The injured employee is inconvenienced, but it also causes fear among the other employees who work in the same building as him or her. The accident also jeopardizes the safety of all employees who participated in the test. These are significant liabilities for a company because they expose the company to a high level of lawsuits and insurance-related issues.
There should be some concentration placed on Truss Construction Shop’s previous incident reports in order to discover if there are other safety-related issues that have occurred. Additionally, an employee survey would be useful in determining whether or not employees believe that their workplace is a safe environment for them to work. The desire of this Truss Construction Shop moving forward should be to reduce its exposure to such risks and create a safe environment for all employees. Furthermore, it should examine its system of responding to such incidents as they occur and how to properly execute damage control to eliminate potential information leaking. It’s also important to keep in mind that firing employees after certain events, such as leaking information, can raise questions about the true reason for the dismissal.
REFERENCES
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. (2022). Federal OSHA coverage.Professional Development Conference and Exposition.Retrieved February 26, 2018, from HYPERLINK "https://www.osha.gov/oshstats/commonstats.html" https://www.osha.gov/oshstats/commonstats.html
Truss (2018). PRO600 Project 5, Winter 2018: Truss Construction Shop, retrieved from HYPERLINK "https://content.umuc.edu/file/e47bc737-daef43488e990f4d5a027315/1/ApplyCriticalThinking_Transcript.pdf" https://content.umuc.edu/file/e47bc737-daef43488e990f4d5a027315/1/ApplyCriticalThinking_Transcript.pdf
Workplace Accidents and Human Error. (2013, August 02). Retrieved February 26, 2018, from HYPERLINK "https://safetygator.wordpress.com/2013/08/02/workplace-accidents-and-human-error/" https://safetygator.wordpress.com/2013/08/02/workplace-accidents-and-human-error/
The Gay-Marriage Conundrum
The Gay-Marriage Conundrum
The issue is a sticky one and for some time has been a source for heated debate and divided the American society right in the middle.People who choose gay marriage have according to this editorial article attained tremendous success in court cases. With supreme ruling in favour of gay marriage the stage is set for our society to inevitably head for nationwide situation where gay couples will demand their rights. In making their ruling cases from Idaho and Nevada, the Supreme Court judges said “when same-sex couples are married, just as when opposite couples are married, they serve as models of loving commitment to all” (The Washington times).Indeed what gay individuals want is an affirmation by society that their predilections are just as correct as those who are straight. Such a kind of honor the article noted that it cannot be conferred by judges.
Nevertheless,to me this editorial article takes a libertarian freedom based argument that seems to favour the choices of individuals against the greater societal moral fabric. It is true that every individual has a constitutional right to freedom and privacy but I believe individuals should at least conform to the society’s moral standards. This kind of marriage is against family institution where marriage involves the union of a man and a woman with the intention of raising a family. What the gays and lesbians get in the court triumphs is recognition and acceptance but their choices remain to be unethical.
I am therefore against gay marriage for a number of reasons. Firstly the union between a man and woman is supported by religion and is deeply rooted in the fabric of life. God created the woman as the man’s helper and that why a family is headed by a father who is assisted by the mother and the two raise children together. Marriage between individuals of the same sex is thus against the moral standards of society, religious teachings traditions & secular and for a long time the law. Gay persons may win court battles therefore, but a war will continue; that of protecting the institution of marriage.
Works Ciited
Editorial. “The Gay-Mariage Conundrum: The Rebels Win a Battle, But Still Must Confront ‘The Ick Factor.’” The Washington Times: October 8, 2014. Available at: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/8/editorial-the-gay-marriage-conundrum/