A Resounding Yes: Why Sexism is Far From Over
Let’s get straight to the point: does sexism still exist today? The answer, in no uncertain terms, is a resounding yes. However, it might not always look like the blatant, legally-sanctioned discrimination our grandmothers and great-grandmothers faced. The beast has evolved. While overt acts of sexism certainly haven’t vanished, the most pervasive forms of gender inequality in the 21st century are often more subtle, deeply embedded in our systems, and disguised as tradition, preference, or even protection. Understanding modern sexism requires us to look beyond the obvious and unmask the complex, often invisible, ways it continues to shape our lives, impacting everything from our paychecks and career progression to our mental health and personal relationships. This article delves deep into the multifaceted nature of contemporary sexism, exploring where it hides, how it operates, and why it affects every single one of us.
From Overt to Covert: The Evolution of Modern Sexism
To truly grasp why sexism is still a potent force, we have to understand its transformation. In many parts of the world, decades of activism have led to crucial legal victories. Women can vote, own property, and are legally protected against workplace discrimination. These are monumental achievements, but they haven’t eradicated the underlying biases. Instead, sexism has often shifted from a loud roar to a persistent whisper, manifesting in ways that are harder to pinpoint and challenge.
Hostile vs. Benevolent Sexism: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Psychologists often categorize modern sexism into two distinct but related types. Recognizing them is the first step to identifying them in our daily lives.
- Hostile Sexism: This is the form we most readily recognize. It’s the overtly antagonistic belief that women are inferior, manipulative, or trying to usurp men’s power. It’s expressed through derogatory comments, sexual harassment, punishing women who step outside traditional gender roles, and objectification. For instance, a manager who believes a female employee is “too emotional” for a leadership role is exhibiting hostile sexism.
- Benevolent Sexism: This one is far trickier and, in some ways, more insidious. Benevolent sexism appears positive on the surface but is rooted in the same patriarchal belief that women are the “weaker” sex. It casts women as delicate, pure creatures who need to be protected, cherished, and provided for by men. While it sounds nice, it’s profoundly limiting. It reinforces the idea that women are not as competent or capable as men and belong in a supportive, rather than a leading, role.
“Oh, don’t you worry about lifting that heavy box, let a man get it for you.”
“A woman’s touch is exactly what this team needs to smooth things over.”
“You’re too pretty to be working on something so complicated.”
These are classic examples of benevolent sexism. They seem like compliments or acts of chivalry, but they subtly undermine a woman’s strength, intelligence, and agency. The danger lies in its seemingly harmless nature, making it difficult to call out without appearing “ungrateful” or “oversensitive.” In reality, both hostile and benevolent sexism work together to keep traditional gender hierarchies in place. One punishes women for stepping out of line, while the other rewards them for staying within it.
The Glass Ceiling and Sticky Floors: Workplace Sexism in the 21st Century
Perhaps nowhere is the persistence of sexism more measurable and debated than in the professional world. While women have entered the workforce in record numbers, the structures they’ve entered were largely built by and for men, and the biases remain deeply ingrained.
The Persistent Gender Pay Gap
The gender pay gap is one of the most stubborn indicators that sexism still exists today. It’s crucial to understand that this isn’t just about a man and a woman in the exact same job being paid differently (though that does happen). The overall pay gap is a broader measure that reflects a host of systemic issues:
- Occupational Segregation: Fields dominated by women (like teaching, nursing, and social work) have historically been and continue to be paid less than fields dominated by men (like engineering and finance), even when they require similar levels of education and skill.
- The “Motherhood Penalty”: Women’s earnings often take a significant and long-lasting hit after they have children, an effect not seen for fathers. They may be perceived as less committed, passed over for promotions, or steered toward less demanding (and lower-paying) roles. Conversely, fathers sometimes experience a “fatherhood bonus,” as they are seen as more stable and committed.
- Lack of Pay Transparency: When salaries are kept secret, it’s much easier for inequitable pay practices to continue unchecked.
- Unconscious Bias in Promotions: Men are often promoted based on potential, while women are more likely to be promoted based on proven performance. This “prove it again” bias means women must work harder to reach the same levels.
Illustrative Gender Pay Gap Analysis
The following table provides a simplified look at how these factors contribute to pay disparities across different sectors. The figures are illustrative but reflect well-documented trends.
| Sector | Illustrative Pay Gap | Common Contributing Factors to Sexism |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | Moderate to High | Male-dominated culture, unconscious bias in hiring for technical roles, “prove it again” bias for promotions. |
| Healthcare | Varies Widely | High pay for male-dominated specialities (e.g., surgery) vs. lower pay for female-dominated roles (e.g., nursing). Women in medicine often face benevolent sexism. |
| Education | Low (at same level) | Female-dominated field, leading to overall lower pay scales compared to other professions with similar education requirements. Fewer women in top administrative/university president roles. |
| Corporate/Finance | High | Strong “old boys’ club” networks, high penalties for taking time off for family, bias in high-stakes negotiations and client assignments. |
Microaggressions and Unconscious Bias
Much of modern workplace sexism isn’t found in company policy but in daily interactions. Gender-based microaggressions are the small, seemingly minor slights, comments, and insults that communicate hostile or derogatory messages about a person’s gender. They may be unintentional, but their cumulative effect is draining and demoralizing.
Here are some common examples of sexism in the workplace in the form of microaggressions:
- Manterrupting: The unnecessary interruption of a woman by a man.
- Mansplaining: When a man explains something to a woman in a condescending or patronizing manner, often on a topic she knows more about than he does.
- Hepeating: When a woman suggests an idea that is ignored, only for a man to suggest the same idea later and receive praise for it.
- Office Housework: Expecting female employees to take on administrative or social tasks not in their job description, like taking notes in a meeting, ordering lunch, or planning the office party.
- Comments on Appearance: Unsolicited comments about a woman’s clothing, makeup, or hair, which can shift the focus from her professional competence to her looks. Telling a woman she should “smile more” is a classic example.
Echoes in Society: How Sexism Permeates Daily Life
Sexism isn’t confined to boardrooms and office cubicles. It’s woven into the very fabric of our culture, media, and even our homes, shaping our expectations and behaviors from a young age.
In Media and Culture
The media is a powerful mirror and shaper of societal norms. For decades, it has perpetuated harmful gender stereotypes. Think of the “male gaze” in cinema, where the camera consistently frames women from a masculine, heterosexual perspective, often objectifying them. While there’s been progress with more female directors and stronger female protagonists, stereotypes persist. Women are still more likely to be portrayed in domestic roles, hyper-sexualized, or as secondary characters in a man’s story. Social media, too, is a double-edged sword. It has given a powerful platform to feminist voices, but it has also become a breeding ground for misogynistic trolling and the amplification of sexist content.
At Home: The Unpaid Labor Divide
Even in households where both partners work full-time, women still perform a disproportionate amount of unpaid labor. This includes not just physical chores like cooking and cleaning (the “second shift”), but also the immense and often invisible “mental load.”
The mental load is the cognitive effort of managing a household and family. It’s the “worry work”—the constant, background hum of planning, organizing, and anticipating needs. It’s remembering:
- The dentist appointments and school permission slips.
- What’s needed from the grocery store.
- When to buy the next size up in children’s shoes.
- To schedule the car’s maintenance.
- To buy a gift for a child’s birthday party this weekend.
This relentless emotional and cognitive labor is a significant contributor to burnout and stress, particularly for working mothers. It’s a prime example of how deeply ingrained gender roles—the expectation that women are the natural “managers” of the home—persist even in seemingly egalitarian relationships.
The Cage of Masculinity: The Impact of Sexism on Men
A crucial and often overlooked point in discussions about whether sexism still exists today is that it absolutely harms men, too. Patriarchy isn’t just a system of male privilege; it’s a system of rigid gender roles that polices everyone’s behavior. The same set of expectations that limits women also puts men in a restrictive “man box.”
How does sexism affect men? It enforces a narrow and often toxic version of masculinity that dictates men must be:
- Stoic and Unemotional: The phrase “boys don’t cry” teaches young men to suppress vulnerability, sadness, and fear. This emotional constipation is a major barrier to seeking mental health support, contributing to higher rates of suicide and substance abuse among men.
- Aggressive and Dominant: Men are often socialized to equate masculinity with power, control, and aggression, which can manifest in unhealthy ways in relationships and contribute to violence.
- The Primary Breadwinner: The immense pressure to be the main financial provider can cause extreme stress and anxiety. It can also devalue men who choose to be stay-at-home fathers or work in less lucrative, care-oriented professions.
Sexism limits men’s choices just as it limits women’s. It discourages them from pursuing careers in female-dominated fields, stigmatizes them for taking paternity leave, and restricts their ability to form deep, emotionally intimate friendships with other men. Dismantling sexism, therefore, is not a “women’s issue”—it’s a human issue. It’s about liberating everyone from the constraints of outdated and harmful gender roles.
A Compounded Struggle: Understanding Intersectional Sexism
Finally, no deep analysis of modern sexism is complete without acknowledging intersectionality. Coined by scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, intersectionality is the understanding that different aspects of a person’s identity—such as race, class, sexual orientation, disability, and gender identity—can overlap and create compounded experiences of discrimination.
Sexism doesn’t affect all women in the same way. A Black woman, for example, experiences a unique form of prejudice that is a combination of both racism and sexism (“misogynoir”). Her experiences in the workplace will be different from those of a white woman. Similarly, a transgender woman faces transphobia in addition to sexism, and a disabled woman faces a combination of ableism and sexism. Ignoring these intersections leads to an incomplete and exclusionary understanding of the problem. To effectively challenge gender inequality, we must listen to and elevate the voices of the most marginalized among us, as their experiences reveal the deepest and most complex layers of the system.
Moving Forward: Acknowledging the Problem is the First Step
So, does sexism still exist today? Without a shadow of a doubt. It has shape-shifted, becoming more subtle, more systemic, and in many ways, more challenging to fight than the overt discrimination of the past. It lives in our unconscious biases, our cultural norms, our workplace structures, and our family dynamics.
The path forward requires a multi-pronged approach. It involves:
- Education: Teaching ourselves and others to recognize both hostile and benevolent sexism.
- Self-Reflection: Interrogating our own unconscious biases and the ways we might inadvertently perpetuate gender stereotypes.
- Advocacy for Systemic Change: Pushing for policies like pay transparency, subsidized childcare, and extended parental leave for all genders.
- Amplifying Diverse Voices: Actively listening to the experiences of women from all backgrounds, especially those at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities.
- Calling It Out: When it’s safe to do so, challenging microaggressions and sexist jokes, turning them into teachable moments rather than letting them slide.
The fight against sexism is far from over. Acknowledging its continued existence in all its complex and covert forms is not an act of pessimism but a necessary act of realism. It is the critical first step toward building a world where everyone, regardless of gender, is free to reach their full potential, unburdened by the weight of prejudice and expectation. The work is hard, but a more just and equitable future is worth the effort.