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academic discourse—also serves to increase the credibility of these essays. Academic discourse  has a great deal of ethos. For many, academic discourse holds high esteem because it is the  language of schooling, and so it suggests a high level of scholarly discipline and scholarly rigor.  Academic discourse, for many, suggests that the writer has taken all the necessary steps to  ensure that the argument is valid. While the language applied is no indicator that the argument  is true, or valid, or valuable, the language does provide some added believability to the work,  as culturally, readers tend to associate academic discourse with truth, validity, and value. 

Sample Research-based Academic Essay – APA Style 

A sample research-based academic essay written by a UB student is presented for your review. 

Gender Inequality: The Disparity of Women in the Bahamian Society 

Jacqueline Paul  

This world is constantly displaying bigotry against women. Whether the intolerance  derives from the primordial mindset that men are superior to women or simply the perversity  of mankind, the overall inequitable treatment of women is demeaning and totally irrational.  Why should a woman be underestimated and deprived of certain things simply because she is a  woman? Rothenberg (1995) asserts that “gender is a socially imposed division of the sexes. . .  Men and women are of course, different. But they are not as different as day and night, earth  and sky, yin and yang, life and death” (p. 9). Rothenberg is highlighting the misunderstanding  that some men have about themselves being superior to women. This misconception is also a  prevailing phenomenon in The Bahamas, as demonstrated in the workplace, in the laws that  determine citizenship, and in the dower rights. However, these disparities must be corrected if  this country is to continue to view itself as a democratic nation.  

Gender discrimination against women in the workplace in The Bahamas should be  terminated because it is totally irrational. Rothenberg (1995) describes the struggles of women  in the business sector as facing glass walls as well as glass ceilings. She claims that the glass  walls were the first tools used to hinder women from ascending the corporate ladder; the  impediment known as the glass ceiling followed. She probably uses this philosophy to describe  the vertical obstructions that women endure in life. This theory demonstrates that one’s goals  can be close and transparent, yet difficult to accomplish, because people can be hindered by  human-related obstacles. Rothenberg (1995) asserts, “if the ceiling doesn’t stop today’s working  women then the walls will” (p. 151). Additionally, she states that consistent lateral movement  deprives women of the experience of advancing vertically in the business sector. This is a  common phenomenon in The Bahamas, where women in the workplace are treated unfairly  simply because of their gender.  

An example of disparity in the business sector includes comparable worth, also known  as pay equity. Lowe and Hubbard (1983) state that some women are deprived of equitable pay  with men not because women do not work as hard as men do, or because they are less effective, 

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but because it is normal for women to be paid less than men. Is there any reason to think that  this is not the reason why most women get paid less than men in The Bahamas as well? Some  Bahamians have the misconception that it is not acceptable for women to be paid equal or more  than men, thus, wage inequality transpires. Why should a woman be subjected to wage  inequality and her work underestimated simply because she is a woman? The Department of  Statistics (2007) Appendix A shows a comparison between various male and female  occupational groups in New Providence in 2007, and the particular wages they earned. The  male senior officials and managers and the female senior officials and managers received an  average annual wage of $49,098 and $40,014, respectively. Therefore, women are deprived of  approximately $9,084 per annum, when compared with men. According to the statistics, male  employees are generally paid more than women employees of the same occupational groups;  these include jobs as senior officials and managers, professionals, technicians and associate  professionals, service workers and shop and market sales workers. However, there are a few  occupational groups where females are paid more than males. For example, in the clerk  occupational group, females and males who work a total of 38 average normal hours per week  are paid $14.00 and $12.00, respectively. Nonetheless, the average weekly wage of males and  females in The Bahamas is $533.00 to $458.00, respectively, and the average annual salary of  males and females in The Bahamas is $27,732.00 to $23,811.00, respectively.  

Therefore, while the average hourly wage for males is only $2.00 less than that for  females in the clerk occupational group, the average weekly wage and the average annual wage  indicate that wage inequality against women is a prevailing phenomenon in The Bahamas; this  bigotry against women concerning wages should be discontinued. Proponents of wage inequity  against women sometimes argue that women should be paid less than men because of their  biological structure. Lowe and Hubbard (1983) asserts that “the ideology of woman’s nature  that is invoked at these times would have us believe that a woman’s capacity to become  pregnant leaves her at all times physically disabled by comparison with men” (p. 4). If this is the  case, then advocates of wage discrimination against women are insinuating that women are a  risk to companies that may hire them simply because they may become pregnant. This  argument is irrational and totally ludicrous, because there are women of child-bearing age who  have proved themselves to be competent in performing high ranking duties, such as Melanie  Griffin, the Minister of Social Services and Community Development and Glenys Hanna  Martin, M.P. for the Englerston constituency. Therefore, the so-called innate frailty of a woman  is only a mythical tool used to impede women’s progression and advancement in this world.  Moreover, the pregnancy of women is important for establishing a family, so this should not  disqualify women from obtaining a well-paying job. At all jobs, workers should be  compensated equally, no matter what gender the employees are.  

Many countries discriminate against women in the laws that they implement. For  example, gender disparity is evident in Taiwan. Chen (2009) states that, “discrimination against  women functions not according to the old-fashioned mandatory commands but rather by the  creation of a regulatory or disciplinary regime that compels a woman to adopt a husband's  nationality and children to adopt their father's nationality.” Like Taiwan, The Bahamas has laws  that unfairly discriminate against women, as indicated in The Constitution (1973), citizenship  chapter two, which states, “A person born outside The Bahamas after 9th July 1973 shall become 

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a citizen of The Bahamas at the date of his birth if at that date his father is a citizen of The  Bahamas otherwise than by virtue of this Article or Article 3(2) of this Constitution” (article 8).  However, this law does not apply to the mother of a child born outside of The Bahamas. Small  (2008) asserts that whether or not the Bahamian father of a child is married, his child  automatically obtains his citizenship; however, this law does not apply to an unmarried  Bahamian woman. This is one of the worst forms of bigotry that a woman can endure, seeing  that she, being the mother of her child, cannot determine her child’s nationality. This is totally  absurd because, whereas one’s biological father can be easily mistaken, one can almost always  determine precisely who one’s mother is. Small (2008) also reports that Erin Greene and Clint  Kemp point out that “the majority of Bahamians voted against full gender equality in the 2002  referendum which, among other things, sought to give Bahamian women who marry foreign  men the same rights as Bahamian men who marry foreign women” (A4). This is a sad  indictment against Bahamian people because this proves that some Bahamians still have an  inflexible or intolerant attitude about gender equality. The Bahamian people should endeavor  to terminate this example of gender inequality that is flowing rampantly in the Bahamian  society; this condescending attitude displayed towards women, as expressed in the laws of the  country, should be demolished. 

Advocates of gender discrimination may argue that The Bahamas is governed by  patriarchal standards, where men are generally the leaders in the home or in the political arena.  Therefore, they may argue that a child’s citizenship should automatically be determined by the  father so that they can continue his family lineage. However, this theory is unfair and illogical  because, in The Bahamas, it is more likely for a father to abandon his child than for a mother to  do the same thing. In situations where some fathers do abandon their children, a child may  encounter difficulties in life, simply because he or she may need documentation from his or her  father but he is not present in the child’s life. Therefore, the laws of the Bahamas should not  deny women the right to pass on their nationality to their children.  

According to Griffin (2005), “in 2002, The Bahamas enacted new inheritance legislation  so that men and women would receive equal inheritance.” She also asserts that “the old  inheritance law had not permitted women to inherit from a person who died intestate until, or  unless, the entire male line of the family had been exhausted” (para. 3). While it is true that  there has been some progress made with respect to gender equality and inheritance laws in The  Bahamas, Dower rights is another category in The Bahamas where bigotry against women  transpires. For example, the wife of a Bahamian male is only “entitled to 1/3 of all his estate.  This is called Dower rights” (Archives p. 1). Dower rights are the rights that a non-owner  spouse has with respect to the real property of his or her spouse. It was initially set up when  the husband was the only real property owner. Its purpose was to ensure that a non-owner  spouse of the property would retain ownership if the husband decided to sell the house without  her permission; that is, she would still have some protection with respect to the value of the  property. However, this is not fully advantageous to a woman because, if her partner dies, she  is only entitled to one third of the property value. Therefore, Dower rights discriminate against  women.  

There is a substantial amount of gender discrimination against women in The Bahamas.  Whether discrimination against women occurs in the workplace, the laws of citizenship in a 

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country, or in the dowry right, they all reflect gender inequality in a nation and this problem  must be rectified. The government can attempt to solve this problem by placing anti-gender  discrimination laws in every arena of potential discrimination against women. However, this  attempt may be futile simply because the laws of this country sometimes discriminate against  women. Therefore, the government of this nation must amend certain laws before it can totally  eradicate gender inequality in various areas in The Bahamas.  

References 

Bahamas. The Constitution of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. (1973). Citizenship.  Persons born outside The Bahamas after July 9th 1973. Retrieved from 

http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/bahamasweb2/home.nsf/vContentW/GOV--About+the+ Government--Articles+of+the+Constitution/$FILE/Citizenship.PDF  

Bahamas. The Department of Statistics. (2007). Statistics for business. Retrieved from http://statistics.bahamas.gov.bs/download/045942800.pdf  

Griffin, M. (2016). Press release. Griffin address UN panel on women’s rights. Bahamas information services. Retrieved from http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/bahamasweb2/ home.nsf/a2adf3d1baf5cc6e06256f03005ed59c/672a3757c968eb4685256fbf004a829d Lowe, M., & Hubbard, R. (Eds.). (1983). Woman’s nature: Rationalizations of inequality. New York: Pergamon Press.  

Rothenberg S.P. (1995). Race, class, and gender in the United States: An integrated study. (3rd ed.).  New York: St Martin’s Press.  

Small, M. (2008, February 18). Renewed call for gender equality. Nassau Guardian, p. A 4.  Retrieved Oct. 28 2009, Retrieved from http://archive. 

nassauguardian.net/pubfiles/nas/archive/images_pages/02182008_A04.pdf  

Writing a Summary 

The purpose of summarising is to take something you have read and re-state it more briefly and  in your own words. Since a summary must retain the meaning of the original work being  summarised, make sure that you understand what you are reading before you begin to write.  Since the summary is NOT a discussion of your opinion, do not use “I” and do not include your  own opinions in your summary. Here are some guidelines you should follow when writing a  summary: 

∙ Begin with the author’s thesis and be sure to state the name of the author and the title of  the work you are summarizing. Example: 

In his essay, “The Haitian Question in the Bahamas,” Alfred Sears argues that  Haitian citizens living in the Bahamas have made and continue to make positive  contributions to the society and that a more sensitive, humane response to the  issue of illegal immigration is needed. 

Remember: The first time you refer to the author, use his or her full name. After the  first reference, you may refer to the author as “the author” or as “he” or “she” 

After reading the sample argument about gender inequality in the Bahamas (pg. 43,120 booklet), make an original post to this forum explaining whether or not you believe that the student has written a convincing argument. Your post must be at least 150 words long and must provide 2 reasons to support your opinion.