Battle of Raymond in the Civil War

I Am A Professional Critical Thinker - 818 Words

There are many choices that are made in order to make a good decision. Decisions are made up everyday lives and depending on what decision is made can lead to a positive, negative or neutral outcome. There are low consequence and high consequences varying with the degree of decision that is being made. I have personally made a tough decision for myself recently, which has had a positive influence on my life. I have recently decided to go back to school to get my masters degree even though there have been many barriers standing in my way. While I am not a professional critical thinker, I believe that I do have skills when it comes to critically thinking and making an informed decision. The webpage Skills You Need suggests that, the skills that we need in order to be able to think critically are varied and include observation, analysis, interpretation, reflection, evaluation, inference, explanation, problem solving, and decision-making. There are also many outside factors in the decision maker’s viewpoint, which has a lot of effect on the outcome of a decision. Decision fitness can assist the decision maker to filter through options and deciding factors when coming to a whole-hearted decision. As Mooz stated, a good decision is applying informed judgment based on relevant facts (the head factor) and quality ethics (the heart factor) to select an alternative and to act on it. (Mooz 16-17) According to Discover Business, there are 5 steps of the critical thinking process:Show MoreRelatedCritical Analysis On Critical Thinking1311 Words   |  6 Pages Critical Self Reflection Essay Critical thinking has been defined as the ability to be a disciplined thinker by using clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence. Critical thinking is a skill that takes years of practice to master. In this essay I will reflect on my personal stage of critical thinking and what strengths and weaknesses I currently have. This personal reflection will include what challenges I will face to advance my critical thinking skills and what requirements a criticalRead MoreCritical Thinking Reflection686 Words   |  3 PagesReflection Upon Critical Thinking Critical thinking has several formal definitions, yet it is a skill that must be practiced and should function on the practical, everyday level. Critical thinking is a skill set that involves approaching a subject or a question with vigor, curiosity, awareness, and an open mind. Critical thinking in a way, is a kind of thinking that demands that we think about thinking. That is to say, critical thinking includes that the thinker generates and sustains awarenessRead MoreI Am From Saudi Arabia And My Native Language Essay1524 Words   |  7 Pagesexample, I am from Saudi Arabia and my native language is Arabic: if I was asked to write a formal essay in Arabic I would not be able to write it. The reason that I don’t have the eagerness because I feel it is my first language and I don’t need to learn about my language’s grammar or writing skills. This applies to many native speakers. However, I am very interested in English language since I was 16 years old. Coming t o the United Stated pursuing a bachelor degree requires very professional EnglishRead MoreWhy My Leadership Style Is The Application Of Critical Thinking757 Words   |  4 PagesThe APA section surprised me, because I did not think I had retain as much information about APA formatting. I had use MLA formatting style for three previous degrees and to begin using APA formatting style was quite challenging for me. I know this will be a section that I will refer back to for future courses. I was relieved to know my leadership style aligned with my purpose. I believe in being an example for others to follow and inspiring others to reach their goals. The most powerful learningRead MoreCritical Note On Critical Thinking1137 Words   |  5 PagesKristen Hofner Final Assignment on Critical Thinking The key variable in determining the quality of what I learn in college is due to my thinking. My professors have played a role in my learning, with some of them helping me learn more than others, but even the best professors will be very little help to me if I’m deficient in the critical intellectual skills essential for learning. Over the semester I have seen significant improvement in my time management skills and reasoning and writing skillsRead MoreCase Study on a Client with Verbal Aggression Brought on by Dementia1085 Words   |  4 Pagesinfluence the nurse would be experience, critical thinking and the ability to use effective communication with Ellen. The nurse was calm and composed upon entering the room. The nurse was conscientious of her tone, she maintained eye contact with Ellen and offered numerous options in order to make Ellen comfortable. â€Å"Dementia patients may not be able to fully process the verbal information but they can interpret tone. A friendly approach is vital† (Bos, I. v. H, 2011.). The nurse listened to Ellen’sRead MoreWhat Did Surprise Me?1368 Words   |  6 Pagesorganization. This will mark the third time in my career I have done this test, the first two were in Navy leadership schools. I have always found these tests beneficial in helping me deal with subordinates and peers alike. According to (Jung, N.D.) I am an ESTJ, this is not a surprise as I have been that before twice. What did surprise me is that I am now older and with a 6 year gap since my last test I am less of an ESTJ now. So in the next few pages I will discuss each portion, extravert, sensing, thinkingRead MoreEssay on Week 3 NR351 Discussion697 Words   |  3 Pagesin our daily roles. 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Analysis of KFC Financial Statements Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Analysis of KFC Financial Statements. Answer: Introduction: KFC was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, its abbreviation was adopted in 1991. In the year 1952 Kentucky Fried Chicken had the new corporate brand programs along with restaurants. In 2007 KFC initiated its original title for signage, packaging and advertising in United States (Jealous Farhat,2016). Born and raised in Henryville Sander was passed through several professions in his lifetime, where he also served in the middle of the Great Depression at gas station where he was owner. It happen in 1930 that the first fried chicken started to cook, later on upgrading to pressure fryer resulted compatible to deep frying Sanders Chicken. Earlier chicken used to get cook in iron skillet with 30 minutes too cook in his own restaurant in North Corbin. All KFC franchise operations sold $2 million USD across US and Canada, with more than 600 numbers franchise. Now renamed to Yum! Brands Colonels nephew, Lee Cummings took the Kentucky fried Chicken franchises along with chicken recipe, converting to own spin off Lees famous Recipe Chicken Tricon Global Restaurants division as a part of PepsiCo which started off in 1997. Its products had samples of each 11herbs and spices Kentuckys origin handwritten recipe, which is locked away at KFC corporate headquarters in Louisville. Multiple suppliers are provided with the final ingredients, two executives are allowed for maintaining. John Y after few year in 1971, from Hublien Inc. of Hartford Connecticut acquired the company. Colonel died in 1980 post travelling 250,000 miles annually and visiting different restaurants around the world (Leo Paul Dana, 2016). Collins Foods which had169 operational stores of YUM! had 160 outlet in Australia and largest of 53 independent franchises in Australia. Major food suppliers in Australia consisited of Steggles, Inghams and Turi. Australian chicken production were hitting 38 percent creating a major impact in 1968 in Guilford, the first Australian KFC on a suburb of Sydney was opened by Canadian entrepreneur called Bob Laponite. Later between 1970 and 1971, 75 outlets were added with good market place. KFC thus emerged to be the most popular fast food company in the whole world. Cultural and critical approaches for the analysis of Australian Company: Primary reason for the creation of culture is Socialization. Specific culture definition as both dominant and minority cultures are in permanent evolution, as Unger and Schwartz (2012) cited believes that there has been stress for the definition the fact that there is no precise definition of culture (Kagwa Singer, 2012 cited on Alfredo Moorabia, Michael C. Costanza). Culture is not unitary specially within organization, characterized by multitude of subcultures and often ambiguous hence culture encompasses title for being complicated to define emergent (Collins Foods, 2017). Analysis with the cultural approaches Values integral part of culture followed influences in making their decisions with basic values by a society. Culture within a company encompasses ways in which a company operates, regarding how its owners and employees feel, think and act, resulting in direct companys vision application. Elements of culture are languages, attitude, values, aesthetics, customs, manner, education, social institutions language and religion (Jealous Farhat ). KFC Companys staff are different across different countries. As in US, India, China, Nepal, UK and so on come from different cultures, norms and values not only follows organizational cultural norms and values at work. Australia is the country with diversity, where lots of people come from different countries. When KFC started in the country, KFCs slogan and recognized word with So Good catchy phrase to proclaim massage that the taste of Colonel Sanders. A customer at the store complained to manager Ken Harbough that Harman was licking his fingers, to which Mr Harbough replied him well its finger lickin good. Analysis with critical approaches: KFC depended on competitors strategy as market was highly competitive. Companies develop their own strategy for long term following their long term goals, as for example Mc Donald investment in risky market X and took advantage but failed. KFC took advantage of Mc Donald competitive strategy which is a strong competitor for KFC, which allowed the company to plat safe. Products of KFC was linked to obesity with its environmental impact and concerned for this matter was showed by Eric Schlossers book Fast Food Nation (2002) and Morgan Spurlocks film Super Size Me (2004). In 21st century, KFC was criticized for its animal welfare record for the choice of poultry suppliers worldwide by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). In 2003, KFCs was protested, mischaracterized as a poultry producer instead of purchases of chicken, President of KFCs US division Gregg Dedrick had to call PETA. For influencing the way animals supplied to the Company, they were treated in the year 2008 Yum! was held with the opportunity and responsibility, for racism over television. In 2010, KFC faced another criticism to serve a drumming, dancing and singing group of black west indies supporters. The criticism was on television where the Australian arm of KFC was accused showing, the white cricket fan, who was handed out pieces of fried chicken. The black people in the once segregated south, which was criticised in US, where in the video it shown that the fries chicken closely related with the age-old racist stereotypes. Remuneration: A large portion of the association faces Remuneration is one of the significant challenges. In bookkeeping it is depicted as an official issue. between organization's administration and the organization's stockholders The CEO and manager are assuming part of a specialist, such as to gain more advantages along with better compensation The administrator by ways and means wants to expand shareholder's riches. This is dependably an issue to each association providing services that KFC restaurants have a good history. It has additionally it has been confronted with numerous issues. In the timeframe most recent couple of years there is variance after some time Taking after its share price of KFC. Even after a substantial period of time, the organization did not appear to be ready to bring the share price up in market. The organization share cost sharply fell between 2012 to 2014. However, organization's share price post 2015 was slightly high (Collins Foods, 2017). The Company remunerated its CEO $22 million in 2013 according to YUM! report (Proprietor of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut). In absolute remuneration Chipotle's CEO brought home $13.8 million and McDonald's CEO remuneration totalled to $7.7 million. Pay incorporates compensation, reward and the estimation of practiced alternatives of fast-food CEOs has quadrupled since 2000 was at par with normal remuneration. Standard and Poor's Executive database and organization intermediary statements. Named Executive Officers ("NEOs") for 2016 financial year with accompanying tables and given data on the remuneration. Amongst other most very remunerated official officers for our 2016 monetary year decided as per SEC standards and two previous official officers who were at no time in the future filling in as official officers as of the finish of the year. The Company's NEOs are Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer(s). In order to concede receipt of compensation into the Executive Income Deferral, the above sums indicated did not diminished to mirror. The NEOs' races, assuming any sign-on reward included $500,000 and, for Mr. Russell, a maintenance instalment $180,000. Apart from sums appeared in this section speak for Mr. Kesselman 2015 and 2014. Amounts that came in this part speak, give date reasonable qualities for execution share units (PSUs) allowed in 2016. The "Gifts of Plan-Based Awards" and Additional data with respect to the 2016 honors is incorporated into. Later in the intermediary proclamation "Extraordinary Equity Awards at Year-End" tables. In this segment is the objective payout in light of the likely result of the execution condition, Decision was made to allow date, a reasonable estimation of the PSUs reflected. PSUs is 200% of focus on, the most extreme estimation of the November 2016 honours is 100% of target. The greatest potential estimations of the February 2016, at give date reasonable esteem would be $7,000,116 as per Annual Report, 2016. For 2016, Mr. Statement of faith's PSU received most extreme incentive. In future the eateries there have ventured extend arrangements to expand the inner effectiveness and competency of the eateries in understanding to the request of the market. Whether the activities are really for the improvement of the organization or a simple way for the officials to snatch the motivation benefits notwithstanding, shareholders of the organization are worry. As per the Annual Report of 2016, such speculation arranges and are uncertain. Recommendation: KFC needs to focus on equality and proper power as well for both male and female. Most of the front desk of KFC have higher number of female in their customer service in every branches of the Australian KFC company, they are not focused on racism at their work. They changed their food standards to better for less oily food and food with less cholesterol. They can work on healthy food as in todays date everyone conscious about their diet and food as KFC food are still oily. They can also increase their trading hours as they dont serve for 24 hours. They are a worldwide popular company and too many loyal customers. Its no use if they take too long to serve in that as well and they can even use e-commerce like online-ordering. Apart from the drive through, sometimes customers have to wait for long time as they are on drive through waiting for quick service. Conclusion: KFC share cost has sharp fall in 2012 to 2014, even after that the organization was not appear ready to bring the share price up in market. It is competitive market everywhere so fast food company has to take their strategy in comparison to their competitors. The market being full of competitors, every company in the industry should think and do beyond their competitors. Multiple customers complaints regarding service process as well with the packing orders and waiting in lines. References Paul Dana, L. 1999, "Kentucky Fried Chicken",British Food Journal,vol. 101, no. 5/6, pp. 493-496.Link "Kentucky Fried Chicken", 2013,Nation's Restaurant News,vol. 47, no. 12, pp. 24.Link Stone, N. 2003, "Kentucky Fried Chicken and communism. (Life)",Student BMJ,vol. 11, pp. 198.Link Apte, U.M. Reynolds, C.C. 1995, "Quality Management at Kentucky Fried Chicken",Interfaces,vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 6-21.Link Marketing: Kentucky Fried Chicken2006, , Centaur Communications Limited.Link Warshaw, H.S. 2002,Kentucky: fried chicken. (fast food restaurant fare), American Diabetes Association, Alexandria.Link Farhat, J. 2016, A Brief History of KFC, Scribd, viewed 19 april,2016, https://www.scribd.com/doc/39507717/A-Brief-History-of-Kfc Dixon, J. 1999, "Reflexive Accumulation and Global Restructuring: Retailers and Cultural Processes in the Australian Poultry Industry",Rural Sociology,vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 320-333.Link Schrder, M.J.A. McEachern, M.G. 2005, "Fast foods and ethical consumer value: a focus on McDonald's and KFC",British Food Journal,vol. 107, no. 4, pp. 212-224.Link Morabia, A. Costanza, M.C. 2012, "Culture(s)", Preventive Medicine, vol. 55, no. 5, pp. 351-352 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC#Controversies_and_criticism Collins foods, 2017. Retrieved From: https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/company/Collins-Foods-Group-CKF-6531883 Yum Annual Report, 2016. Retrieved From: https://www.yum.com/annualreport/pdf/2016-Yum-AR.pdf

Gender Inequality Essay Example

Gender Inequality Essay In this essay this writer will look at the sociological perspectives on gender inequality in society. The theories of gender include: Functionalist, Feminist and Conflict Theories. One will look at these individually later. Following on from that one will examine what sociology has revealed about gender relations in Irish society. One will look at this in relation to education in detail and will also take a short look at employment and politics. Firstly one will look at what gender is.Gender is the word used to describe social and personality differences between women and men. It refers to that which society defines as masculine and feminine. While sex refers to the biological differences between male and female, gender refers to the socially constructed and variable categories of masculine and feminine. Smith (1979) has argued that the notions of what femininity is and what masculinity is are used as the basis for interacting with girls/women and boys/men both in terms of expectatio ns and the behaviour that is encouraged or discouraged and punished.Boys/men are expected to be domineering, aggressive, noisy and active, whereas girls/women are expected to be caring, quiet and less assertive. These very characteristics are then those that are seen to differentiate men and women in terms of employment. ( Payne 2006:66) R Connell reveals the gender order of contemporary society: Men are the world leaders, policemen, private security and military, women are the housekeepers and child caregivers. They are lower paid and work as repairers of the consequences of violence as nurses, psychologists and social workers.He challenges us to overturn our assumptions that gender distinction is natural, unchanging and fixed. He also points to the prevalence of gender ambiguity in society; masculine women, feminine men, homosexuality, women who are heads of households, men who bring up children, women soldiers, male nurses. He argues that sustaining the gender categories also sus tains the inequalities e. g. income inequalities, wealth and power in the hands of men and unequal respect. The following are the sociological perspectives on gender inequality in society: Functionalist TheoryFunctionalists believe that society is held together by social consensus or cohesion, in which members of the society agree upon and work together to achieve what is best for society as a whole. Each aspect of society is interdependent and contributes to society’s functioning as a whole e. g. The government or state provides education for the children of the family, who in turn pay taxes on which the state depends to keep itself functioning. This approach concentrates on the roles within the family.Women by their very nature play a central role in the rearing of children. The male would be viewed as the breadwinner and the female viewed as the carer/nurturer. Talcott Parsons, a leading functionalist thinker held the view that the family operates most efficiently with a c lear-cut sexual division of labour in which females act in expressive roles, providing care and security to children and offering them emotional support. Men should perform instrumental roles – namely being the breadwinner in the family.Parsons referred to the roles of men and women as instrumental roles and expressive roles respectively. Functionalists like Durkheim believed that for a society to survive, its various social processes, must net smoothly together to meet the system’s needs. (McDonald 2006:20) Functionalists have been criticised for interpreting gender as a fixed role in society, however, this theory presumed that the arrangement where men filled instrumental roles in society and women filled expressive roles worked to the benefit of society.Feminist Theory Feminism can be defined as being a critique of society based on the inequalities that exist through gender roles and assumptions. (McDonald 2006:24) Feminism has many meanings, but essentially it refe rs to beliefs and actions that support justice, fairness and equality for all women, regardless of their race, age or class. In contrast to the functionalist theory, feminists view limiting women’s role to expressive functions and men’s to instrumental functions as dysfunctional for both men and women.According to Ahmed et al. (cited in Marsh 2002:257), ‘Feminism is not one set of struggles: it has mobilised different women in different times and places, who are all seeking transformations, but who are not necessarily seeking the same thing, nor even responding to the same situation. ’ (McDonald 2006:24) The five feminist theories are: Radical feminism – Patriarchy is the basis for women’s powerlessness Marxist/Socialist feminism – gender inequality stems from class relationsLiberal feminism – inequality is the result of formal barriers to equal opportunity Black feminism – oppression is due to gender, race and class Psyc hoanalytic – gender inequality comes from early childhood experiences I will now look at two of these theories in more detail. I have chosen Radical feminism and Liberal feminism. Radical feminism Radical feminist theory contends that men physically, sexually and psychologically victimise women mainly because they desire to control them.Radical feminists see male control of all women through patriarchy as the main problem. They argue that women must struggle to free themselves from the control of male institutions. (Share, Tovey , Corcoran 2007:248) â€Å" For Walby, patriarchy is ‘a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women†. (Giddens 2009:618) She identified two distinct forms of patriarchy: Private and public patriarchy. Private patriarchy is the domination of the woman in the home while excluding her from society.Public patriarchy, on the other hand (4) is allowing women to become involved in public life, such as employment and politics but not letting them reach the same standards as their male counterparts by keeping them segregated from wealth power and status. Radical feminism argues that patriarchy is very difficult to eradicate because its root (the belief that women are different and inferior) is deeply embedded in most men’s consciousness. The theory contends that men physically, sexually and psychologically victimise women mainly because they desire to control them.While on the whole it may have shifted focus from the private to the public realm it is still a thorn in society. â€Å"As Walby has stated ‘Liberated from the home, women now have the whole of society in which to be exploited†. (Giddens 2009:618) Liberal feminism Liberal feminism claims that gender differences are not based in biology and therefore that women and men are not all that different. Their argument is if women and men are not all that different then they should not be treated differently under the law. Women should have the same rights as men and the same educational and work opportunities.Liberal feminists are concerned to uncover the immediate forms of discrimination against women and to fight for legal and other reforms to overcome them. They tend to focus on mainstream methods of bringing about social change, such as political lobbying, use of the media and working through existing political business and bureaucratic structures. (Share, Tovey, Corcoran 2007:246) This movement is motivated by the fact that society, characterised by male domination in all spheres of life, undermines the value of equal rights by positioning women in the workplace according to traits associated with feminine personalities i. . nursing, teaching and clerical work. Women are often deemed as incapable of other jobs, which are linked with masculine personality. They are more often paid less even though they perform the same job. Liberal feminists contend that women are discriminated ag ainst on the basis of their sex, so they are denied access to the same political, financial and personal opportunities as men. The argument is that if women are given the same opportunity as men and freedom of choice, they can maintain equality with men. Conflict TheoryThis theory concentrates on ‘the structure of society and explains individual actions in terms of the social structure in which they are located’. This approach is based on division or inequality in society. Marx’s work looked at conflict in society ( McDonald 2006:21) The conflict perspective, which originated primarily out of Karl Marx’s writings on class struggles focuses on the negative, conflicted and ever changing nature of society. Conflict theorists challenge the status quo, encourage social change and believe powerful people force social order on the poor and weak.The dominance of the most advantaged group even extends to the point of shaping the beliefs of others, by controlling pu blic information and influencing institutions such as education and religion, where beliefs and ideas are produced. (Anderson, Taylor 2006:21) They note that unequal groups usually have conflicting values and agendas, causing them to compete against one another. The constant competition between groups forms the basis for the ever changing nature of society. This theory focuses on why gender inequality persists even though men and women are not tied to traditional roles as they might have been the case in earlier times.It suggests that men continue to dominate women because of their greater control over economic, political and social resources. Gender relations and education Gender is central to the experience of education. People’s experiences of ‘being a boy’ or ‘being a girl’ are shaped in many ways by the experience of schooling. (Share, Tovey, Corcoran 2007:221). Children’s experience in education is paramount to shaping their concepts of gender roles and their comprehension of the choices and roles available to them in a wider social context. This is why it is important to expose them to both female and male educators and peers.Children spend a lot of time in school so they require the practical witnessing of gender roles. The school needs to reflect the social world in which men and women play their part. As is the case in Ireland, primary school teaching is primarily a female profession although there has been a move to entice more males into the profession also. ‘In January 2006, Minister Mary Hanafin launched the Men as teachers and educators campaign (MATE). She maintained that increasing the number of male primary teachers would be good for pupils, schools, the teaching profession and society generally’. Department of Education and Skills 2006) Increasing feminisation of the profession leads to the isolation of male teachers. â€Å"Other disincentives to Primary teaching for males were thought to be the sense of isolation in schools and the fact of working with mainly females†. (National Conference Report 2004:7) However even though males don’t hold many teaching posts in comparison to their female counterparts it is men who make up the majority of senior and higher paying posts at all levels of education. When we look at schooling itself, the question is which benefits students more.Is it single sex school or coeducation? There has been considerable debate about the merits of coeducation in terms of its ‘overall’ benefits and whether it favours boys or girls or both. (Share, Tovey, Corcoran 2007:224). One would have to reason that students would benefit more from coeducation as the exposure to both males and females will help them learn more about gender relations. It enables them to get to know each other better earlier and hopefully help to avoid or eliminate any prejudices about the opposite sex.In the interest of society coeducation makes more sense as it promotes the concept of equality between the two sexes and it leaves students better prepared for the real world. â€Å"In Ireland today about 70% of primary level and 62% of post primary students are educated in coeducational environments†. ( Share, Tovey, Corcoran, 2007:224) â€Å"When it comes to school leavers, the male rate for 2007, in the age group, 18-24 was 14. 2%, which was much higher than their female counterparts at 8. 7%†. Central Statistics Office 2010) It seems that boys from working class backgrounds are the most likely to leave school early. While in school boys are more inclined to opt for ‘masculine subjects’ such as mathematics, science and technology while girls opt for more care related or ‘feminine subjects’ like home economics. There had been the belief that girls weren’t capable of undertaking or achieving high grades in the so called masculine subjects but of course it is becoming increasingly obv ious that they are more than capable of doing so.There has been no extensive analysis of the relationship between masculinity and education. Perhaps ironically this has only now started to occur as girls have begun to significantly outperform boys in public examinations. ( Share, Tovey, Corcoran 2007:222) Girls scored more top grades in almost all subjects at higher level in the Leaving Cert, according to a gender breakdown of the 2010 results from the State Examinations Commission. The superior results from female exam students is an international phenomenon, but nonetheless one that raises concerns about boy’s performance.As well as getting more top grades, girls are less likely than boys to fail to get an exam. (Irish Independent 2010) When it came to third level, men accounted for around 84% of graduates in Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction and 60% of graduates in Science. Women accounted for 79% of graduates in Health and Welfare, 76% in education and 65% in Ar ts and Humanities. Women are more likely to have a third level qualification, with 51% of women aged 25-34 having a third level qualification compared with 38. 7% of men in this age group. Central Statistics Office 2010) Education has the potential to play a key role in gender formation and change. Schools and higher education institutions should be required to have equality policies that are regularly monitored and publicly appraised. (Gender and Education 2009). Although it must be noted that on the whole across Irish schools and universities there is much greater awareness of gender inequality as an educational issue than there has been in the past. Gender relations and employment The changes in participation in the labour market, especially amongst arried women, has been one of the major social changes to take place in Ireland in the last three decades. (Perry, 2010:9-8) It is great to see the integration of more women to the workforce. In 2009 the education and health sectors e mployed the highest proportion of women. In the health sector, 80% of employees are women. In primary education, 84% are women while at second level this figure is 62%. (Central Statistics Office 2010) While gender equality in the workplace is guaranteed by law, inequalities exist between the genders in areas such as pay and access to professional achievement.Unfortunately women are not well represented at senior level positions, only 33% of medical and dental consultants are women, while 52% of primary school managers and 39% of second-level school managers are women. Women’s income in 2007 was around two thirds of men’s income. After adjusting for the longer hours worked by men, women’s hourly earnings were around 87% of men’s. (Central Statistics Office 2010) In 2007 the Taoiseach launched the National Women’s Strategy.Its mission statement is to have: â€Å"An Ireland where all women enjoy equality with men and can achieve their full potential while enjoying a safe and fulfilling life†. In relation to employment it aims to increase the number of women at work, to tackle the gender pay gap and to advance women’s careers. (Department of Justice and Law Reform 2007) Gender relations and public life Unfortunately Ireland still has a male dominated political arena. It is also the case that women are under represented in decision making structures at both national and regional levels.In 2009, only 14% if TD’s in Dail Eireann were women, while they accounted for 34% of members of State Boards, 17% of members of local authorities and just 12% of members of regional authorities. (Central Statistics Office 2010) Why do women have a comparative lack of success in the public sphere? There could be a number of reasons for this, such as direct political party discrimination against female candidates, male political power and women’s lack of power in other fields that ‘produce’ politicians such as business, law and the unions.While women may not have been overly successful in Irish party politics they seem to have had more success within local and community based politics which has emerged as being an important part of the Irish political scene over the last decade. (Share, Tovey , Corcoran 2007:267) Of course it’s not all bad news on the female front. The election of Mary Robinson as president in 1990 was regarded as part of a wider liberalisation of Irish society. She wasn’t the only one as when she left office, she was replaced by another worthy female, Mary McAleese who still holds office today.President McAleese has written that: it must be a matter of concern that women’s participation rates in Irish politics remain so low. She reasons that we need the insights and experiences of women to inform our policy-formation and decision making processes. We also need to understand and seek to change the factors which discourage women from entering and re maining in politics. (Perry, 2010:9-10) In conclusion, one has looked at the sociological perspectives on gender inequality in society including functionalism, liberal feminism, radical feminism and conflict theory..One has learned what sociology has revealed about gender relations in Irish society, namely through one’s focus on education but also having a brief look at employment and public life. It has become apparent that women still have a way to go in this struggle for gender equality but things have certainly moved in the right direction since the time of Auguste Comte. Comte, being the founding father of sociology believed that women were physically and mentally inferior to men.He also believed that women should not work outside the home, own property, or hold political power. Thankfully we seem to have moved on from this way of thinking but we are far from being on a level footing; it seems we have moved on from a time when women were seen to be naturally weak, emotio nally unstable and believed to have smaller brains than men, but belief in a direct biological basis for gender difference and inequality persists. McDonald 2006:100) We need to work to eradicate this†¦ men and women are equal and should be treated accordingly.