Only recently has sociology begun to explore the topic of gender. Prior to this, inequalities within society were primarily based on factors such as social class and status. This article will discuss gender itself: what makes us who we are and how we are represented. It will also explore discrimination against women throughout history, focusing primarily on women and the right to vote, inequalities between males and females in the workplace and how gender is represented in the media. The term "gender" was coined by John Money in 1955. : “Gender is used to mean all those things a person says or does to reveal that he or she has the status of boy or man, girl or woman, respectively” (Coleman and Money, 1991, 13). In sociological terms, gender is a division between men and women that has been clear in past society, for example in ancient Egypt, when it was thought that there was little point in teaching women to read and write. Gender inequalities can be observed in many different aspects of our daily lives: from the gender pay gap to gender discrimination in TV commercials. These inequalities are easily accepted in today's society and most fail to see that direct gender discrimination is still a problem. in today's society. In 1988, Bretl and Cantor conducted a study on gender representation in television programs and advertisements. It was found that women were more likely to be filmed in a domestic situation and portrayed as unemployed, working part-time or in low-paid jobs such as catering and sales. It was also found that 90% of the time a narrator would be a man and that women were more likely than men to be seen advertising household items (Furnham, A. Mak, T. 1999, 414). It is...... half of the document ...... eadmin/DU/Academics/course_material/hrge_04.pdf (accessed 10/19/11) Wright, O (2011). "Princess will have equality of succession", I.OECD journal (2002) "Women at work: who are they and how are they doing?" http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/28/58/18960381. pdf (Accessed 18/10/11) Arnst, C. (2007) 'Women and the Pay Gap' Bloomberg Businessweek http://www.businessweek.com/careers/workingparents/blog/archives/2007/04/working_women_a. html (Accessed 17/10/11)Carmen, D. (2007) 'Why do men earn more? Just because' Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_5735341 (accessed 10/17/11)Barclay, A. Clarke, G. Drew, A. Morrison, I. (2007) Course Notes of modern higher studies. Leckie and Leckie.Allen, K. (2010) 'Equal pay for women not likely until 2067, research says' The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/aug/ 19/equal-pay-women-2057 (Access 23/10/11)