Gender equality paradox: what it is and how it is embodied in society

A curious paradox: why do some gender differences intensify in egalitarian countries?

Our society has advanced in recent decades towards equality of rights and obligations between the sexes.

However, phenomena have emerged that researchers are still trying to explain. One of them is the paradox of gender equality. In this article we will try to better understand what it means and what are some of the bases that would explain its existence.

What is the gender equality paradox?

The paradox of gender equality is a phenomenon detected when analyzing the relationship between the degree of equality of rights and freedoms implemented in a given society together with the statistics regarding the behaviors of the population according to gender. The paradox occurs because it has been observed that, the more egalitarian a society is, the more a series of differences between men and women become entrenched in certain ways of making choices.

Why is this phenomenon surprising? Because, apparently, the more similar the opportunities that both genders have in all areas of life, we might think that the behavioral differences between them would tend to become more and more diluted until they practically disappear. But the paradox of gender equality shows us that this is not always the case.

And it is not only that it does not happen, but in certain aspects, the differences between men and women become much more visible in those countries or societies that are apparently advanced in gender equality than in those where the indicators show that gender equality is not always the case. than in those where the indicators show that they are in a much more pronounced state of inequality.

How is it possible, then, that the more effort a society devotes to removing the barriers that differentiate men and women, the more accentuated some of these divergences become? We will try to shed more light on this question by exploring more facets of the gender equality paradox below.

The gender equality paradox in the field of education

One of the areas where the paradox of gender equality has gained most strength is precisely in the educational sphere and in the choices made by men and women. in the choices made by men and women to build their respective careers.. In this sense, there are more than obvious differences between the behaviors performed by the different genders in more traditional (and therefore less egalitarian) societies and those in more modern countries.

It is not a matter of opinion, but of data: countries such as Saudi Arabia, which score much higher on inequality indices than others such as Sweden, show an overwhelmingly higher proportion of female graduates in engineering and other technological careers. Specifically, in Saudi Arabia, almost half of those graduating in these disciplines (45%) are women, compared to just 15% observed in Sweden.

However, it is clear that much more has been legislated and fought for equal opportunities for women and men in Sweden than in Saudi Arabia. Then, why does this obvious paradox of gender equality appear when we analyze the rates of students in technical careers? Shouldn't the indicators be closer to 50% in each gender the more equality there is in the country?

Although this is true in many other areas, it seems that career choice is an issue that escapes this logic, as shown by the indicators. Of the countries that, according to different organizations, are at the top in terms of gender equality, women account for only 20% of the total number of graduates in the so-called STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

In contrast, in the most unequal countries between men and women, the percentage of women in STEM faculties soars. We have already seen the figure for Saudi Arabia, but in other countries, such as Iran, this rate rises to 70%. Why?

How is this reflected in the labor market?

Another scenario in which the paradox of gender equality has also been observed is that of entrepreneurship.. In 2021, Steinmetz and his team conducted a meta-analysis of 119 other studies analyzing this phenomenon in more than 36 countries, accumulating a total sample of more than 260,000 people.

This work offered results similar to those we have already reviewed regarding the choice of university careers. In this case, women in less egalitarian countries were more likely to be entrepreneurs and start their own businesses than those in societies where legislative progress toward gender equality had been made. Another example of the paradox of gender equality.

Why does this happen?

Obviously, the question that assails anyone's mind when faced with this approach is, why does the paradox of gender equality occur? The first thing to bear in mind is that this question has two segments to be taken into account because on the one hand, it is necessary to understand why in unequal countries there is greater equality in the area of careers, but also why in more equal countries there is greater inequality in the area of careers..

In other words, if this index were to hold steady in both egalitarian and non-egalitarian countries, either indicating a majority of women in science careers, a majority of men in science careers, or equality between them, we would only have to study why the predictions are not fulfilled in one of the two cases.

But the paradox of gender equality makes the question counter-intuitive in both cases: the more equality in society, the more inequality in that area, but also, the less equality, the less inequality in the choice of scientific disciplines. We will therefore need hypotheses that explain both problems, or one for each situation, so that they explain the paradox in a complementary way.

One of the ideas that some researchers have put forward to try to give an explanatory basis to this question is the economic one. In this sense, it is obvious that technical disciplines tend to bring higher salaries in the future than other types of careers. Therefore, the approach would be that, in the most unequal countries, women tend to enroll more in these careers in order to improve their economic position..

This hypothesis could explain part of the paradox of gender equality, but there is a problem, and that is that it would be valid for the situation of countries with gender inequality in which there is a low GDP, as is the case of many of them, but it would not shed light on the casuistry of Saudi Arabia, for example, a country with gender inequalities but rich.

Similarly, the hypothesis would focus on the cases of unequal countries. But what about those where great equality between women and men has been achieved? One of the proposals for this case has proved controversial because it conflicts with the very foundations of gender equality. It refers to the innate preferences of one or the other.

What if the question simply had to do with what men like to do best and what women are most attracted to, always in statistical terms? If this were so, it would seem that, once similar equality of rights and freedoms for men and women has been achieved, both men and women are freer to decide on issues such as the discipline to study, without other variables being involved.

If such a hypothesis were correct, it would imply that men innately have a greater preference for technological careers while women are more often inclined toward humanities disciplines, medicine, psychology, and other careers. In that case, it would seem that aiming for 50% of each gender in each and every field would be far removed from people's own preferences.

This case raises an interesting dilemma: which society is freer and more egalitarian, the one that imposes restrictions so that half of those enrolled in each career are of one gender and the other half of the other, or the one that allows each individual to freely choose his or her future, with everyone having exactly the same options to decide on?

This is a really complex issue to which experts do not yet have an answer, so these hypotheses remain just that, hypotheses. Much research is still needed to understand the to be able to understand the paradox of gender equality and thus explain the differences observed in all the cases presented.

Bibliographical references:

• Ahl, H., Nelson, T., Bourne, K.A. (2010). The paradox of gender equality: an entrepreneurial case study from Sweden. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship.
• Haus, I., Steinmetz, H., Isidor, R., Kabst, R. (2013). Gender effects on entrepreneurial intention: A meta-analytical structural equation model. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship.
• Steinmetz, H., Isidor, R., Bauer, C. (2021). Gender Differences in the Intention to Start a Business. An Updated and Extended Meta-Analysis. Zeitschrift für Psychologie.
• Stoet, G., Geary, D.C. (2018). The gender-equality paradox in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Psychological science.