Women have it easier then men.

I will present my opening arguments and begin rebuttals next round. There are countless physiological, mental, and social differences between the genders. Some of these are irrelevant, others minor nuisances. There are many, however, that are undeniable examples of discrimination, disadvantage, or outright hate. This latter group of differences tend to favor men, creating a gender superiority felt the world over, and it is this group that I will focus on here. I do not have the space or resources to describe every possible issue women face, so I will condense my arguments into the three most damaging and widespread categories. 1. Financial InequalitiesWhen it comes to raw employment figures, women are outnumbered and underpaid. 60% of the world’s workforce are men [1, see: Main Findings], with this rate increasing by nearly 50% in certain African and Asian regions [2, see: Key Findings]. Women also earns significantly less than their male colleagues, regardless of profession [3]. In the U. S. , this gap averages a stunning 81 cents on the dollar [4]. This discrepancy tends to grow overseas; Multiple studies have found salary gaps in over 60 countries, some of which reaching over 30% in favor of men [5][6]. Women also suffer when it comes to job availability. They are more likely than men to depend on unstable working conditions (e. g. limited benefits, informal arrangements, limited employee support) [1, see: Female Employment]. Women are less likely to reach the most prestigious or desired job positions, due largely to negative cultural gender roles guiding hiring processes. In the U. S. , for example, only 12 Fortune 500 companies are run by women [7]. Other countries avoid the pretense altogether and flat out ban women from working certain jobs [8]. What does all this tell us? The global economic market favors men in almost every sense. This leaves women underrepresented, underutilized, and overwhelmingly more susceptible to poorer living conditions. Roughly half of all working-age women in the world are unemployed [1, see: Main Findings], and 70% of all those living in poverty are women [9]. 2. Relationship InequalitiesRelationships are no kinder to the fairer sex, with women facing unique and significant disadvantages. I’ll start with the obvious: women get pregnant. This tedious and delicate process involves dozens of painful and uncomfortable bodily changes, some of which can be life-threatening or have permanent ramifications [10][11]. Once a child is born, women are primarily tasked with their care and upbringing (a 24/7 responsibility). Throughout this time, women are necessarily handicapped in terms of education, employment, and personal well-being [12, see: Why are women living in poverty? ]. In all, the financial, social, physical, and emotional implications of any decision made concerning child birth impact women to a degree no man will or can ever experience. Women also suffer rates of domestic violence far exceeding that of men. In the U. S. , 85% of all domestic victims are women [13], with abuse and rape rates showing marked increases in recent years [14]. Worldwide, a staggering 1 in 3 women has or will suffer physical or emotional abuse from a loved one at some point during their lives [15]. Rates for men are a fraction of this amount. As gender roles tend to designate women as responsible for household and familial responsibilities, many believe that relationships allow women the freedom to work less and relax more than their male partners. This is not the case. Indeed, when hours spent working inside and outside the home are combined, women are found to still work more hours each week than men [16]. This is true even when both partners have full-time jobs [17]. 3. Societal InequalitiesOne explanation for the far-reaching inequality and discrimination faced by women is the fact that the governments of the world are male-dominated entities. The United States, for example, has never had a female president and less than 20% of its current congress is made up of women (which is a landmark figure, by the way) [18]. The political situation around the world is equally bleak, with only 20 women currently acting as world leaders [19]. Keep in mind that these political imbalances exist despite the fact that over half the world's population is female. Given the lopsided nature of lawmakers, it should come as no surprise that women’s rights lag behind those of men. Here are some highlights. In the Middle East, girls as young as 8 years old are routinely married off at their parents’ discretion [20]; honor killings claim thousands of Asian girls every year, often for reasons such as losing one's virginity or spurning unwanted male advances [21]; men in some Middle Eastern and African countries enjoy automatic custody and property rights in relationships, respectively [22][23]. All this is just a drop in the global bucket, but the common theme across all such laws is that women are worth less than men and thus free to be abused, ignored, and owned as property. Legal restrictions and cultural demonizing have made female babies so unwanted that certain countries have made infanticide and female-only abortions a common practice. China and India are primary offenders; By 2007, roughly 60 million children in Asia were either killed or selectively aborted because they were female [24]. 60 million. Closing When it comes to which gender has it worse off, there is no debate. It’s not even close. There are of course minor inconveniences women suffer and stereotypes they must put up with, but there is also global subjugation and discrimination the likes of which men have never faced. So many significant gender inequalities exist that I literally could not list them all if I used bullet points. I have yet to rebut my opponent's arguments but even now, the facts speak for themselves. It’s a man’s world. Women just live in it. References1. . http://www.ilo.org...2. . http://www.ilo.org...3. . http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com...4. . http://www.bloomberg.com...5. . http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com...6. . http://www.ituc-csi.org...7. . http://money.cnn.com...8. . http://www.pri.org...9. . http://www.globalpovertyproject.com...10. . http://www.webmd.com...11. . http://www.medicinenet.com...12. . http://www.americanprogress.org...13. . http://www.dvrc-or.org...14. . http://www.hrw.org...15. . http://domesticviolencestatistics.org...16. . http://ipsnews.net...17. . http://www.nsf.gov...18. . http://thisnation.com...19. . http://www.filibustercartoons.com...20. . http://www.hrw.org...21. . http://mondediplo.com...22. . http://www.irinnews.org...23. . http://web.archive.org...24. . http://www.foxnews.com...