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The Patriarchy serves no one

The document argues that the patriarchy benefits men by providing them with greater access to education, higher-paying jobs, and societal privileges, while simultaneously imposing mental health burdens on them. It highlights statistics showing the disparity in educational and employment opportunities between men and women, as well as the pay gap. Ultimately, the author contends that the patriarchy serves men despite its negative impacts on their mental well-being.

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48 views3 pages

The Patriarchy serves no one

The document argues that the patriarchy benefits men by providing them with greater access to education, higher-paying jobs, and societal privileges, while simultaneously imposing mental health burdens on them. It highlights statistics showing the disparity in educational and employment opportunities between men and women, as well as the pay gap. Ultimately, the author contends that the patriarchy serves men despite its negative impacts on their mental well-being.

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vpv8h668zm
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The Patriarchy serves no one

I disagree that the patriarchy serves no one. I believe men benefit from the
patriarchy even in today’s society.

The term ‘patriarchy’ is derived from a Greek word patriakhēs, which translates to
‘the rule of the father’ (Mahtani, 2023). The patriarchy is a social construct which
permits the dominance of men in society. For many years, men have always had the
upper hand in society, from being sole providers and ‘breadwinners’ in their families,
to being CEO’s and successful businessmen.

Over many decades, men have been more favoured an privileged than women,
especially in institutions such as universities an even primary and high schools and,
in modern times, workplaces. We see this effect in numerous statistic, for example,
according to UNwomen.org, women make up more than two thirds of the world’s 796
million illiterate people, and only 39% of rural girls attend secondary school globally,
which is fewer than boys at 45%. Urban girls at 59% and boys at 60%. (UNwomen,
2012). My point is that in most of these instances, women and girls were not – and
still aren’t – seen as intellectually valuable beings, and in most cases were not
allowed to attend school. Women are commonly viewed as caretakers , cleaners and
babysitters, where as men commonly have opportunities to go to school and
universities, work and earn their own money.

The patriarchy was built as a tool for men to be dominate. According StatsSA.gov.za,
women accounted for 43.4% of total employment in 2021 and 30.1% of all people
with jobs were employed in Elementary & Domestic work occupations, only 5.5%
being men (SA, 2021). According to the Department of Employment and Labour,
26.5% of women in general are in top management positions and 73.5% are men in
South Africa. The patriarchy is most evident in workplaces and employment. Men
are favoured for higher thinking jobs, such as Engineering or Compute Science- or
any STEM jobs, which further proves that the patriarchy is highly beneficial to men.
In 2021, a study conducted proved that women earn 78 cents for every R1 earns.
Pay gaps are also a clear indication of patriarchal benefits for men globally.

Although men benefit from the patriarchy with education, jobs and salaries, the
patriarchy leaves no room for men to take care of their mental well-being. Men have
higher suicide rates than women, which links to the fact that men are taught to be
unemotional, domineering, and hardworking which causes exhaustion, mentally and
physically and results in untreated depression, anxiety and other serious mental
disorders. Although it is important to acknowledge the privileges society has given to
men, it is important to acknowledge the mental strain being hardworking
‘breadwinner’ can cause.
To conclude, I believe that the patriarchy definitely serves men and has always
served men, despite having its cons. The patriarchy is highly impactful and has
shaped society as a whole, influencing the way we think and behave over the years,
and therefore I disagree that the patriarchy serves no one.
Works Cited
Mahtani, E. A. a. M., 2023. What is patriarchy? What does it mean and why is everyone talking about it?.
[Online]
Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/03/world/what-is-patriarchy-explainer-as-equals-intl-
cmd/index.html#:~:text=Derived%20from%20the%20Greek%20word,passes%20down%20the%20male
%20line.
[Accessed 7 June 2024].

UNwomen, 2012. Facts and figures. [Online]


Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/commission-on-the-status-of-women-
2012/facts-and-figures
[Accessed 7 June 2024].

SA, S., 2021. South AFrican Labour market is more favourable to men. [Online]
Available at: https://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=14606
[Accessed 7 June 2024].

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