Women's Rights and Equality
I was born in the 50's, a child of the 60's, and a steadfast supporter of women's rights. Women work as hard, or harder, than many men, and deserve to be treated as fairly as men. Unfortunately, when women's liberation hit the scene in the 60's I don't think we had any idea of what some of the repercussions or sacrifices would be.
Although there have been great strides in women's issues, there still is a need and opportunity for improvement. Women's pay has not yet risen to the level of their male counterparts in the workplace. The "good old boy" network remains in many corporate environments, which women have had to try and break through. Women deserve the same level of respect as men, but that has been slow to come in many circumstances, and women are often still viewed as objects.
There are also the sacrifices that women have had to make that men have not. When we left our homes to have the opportunity to enrich our lives and earn our own money, I don't think we had any idea of what would follow. Our lives have become more difficult in many ways. Women have had to choose between putting their energy into motherhood, or into climbing the proverbial ladder at work, and sometimes made to feel guilty no matter which role they choose. Or they try to do both as well as they can. Women still do the majority of child rearing and household tasks that they did before joining the workforce. Where men once believed that their role was to "take care of" and "provide" for a family, the need to be the provider is no longer an expectation of theirs now that the role is shared with the women in their lives.
We may have thought that when we went to work our husbands and partners would assume some of the duties we had been doing. That perhaps we would share equally in the daily tasks of child rearing and household chores. I think we all know how that has turned out. I am not saying that all men have neglected to engage and help out. But a large number of men still see themselves in a traditional "male" role, and that women's work is just that - women's work.
I guess the reality is that nobody can have it all even though we would like to some days. Women should be respected and treated as equals, child rearing and household tasks should be shared, perhaps teaching our children what those who came before them did not see. That women and men should respect one another, and see the value each of us can bring to a relationship, family and society. It is not us against them, and continuing to battle one another will not solve any of the issues at hand. If we are going to pass on a lesson to our children, let it be that equality is possible in their lifetime.
Although there have been great strides in women's issues, there still is a need and opportunity for improvement. Women's pay has not yet risen to the level of their male counterparts in the workplace. The "good old boy" network remains in many corporate environments, which women have had to try and break through. Women deserve the same level of respect as men, but that has been slow to come in many circumstances, and women are often still viewed as objects.
There are also the sacrifices that women have had to make that men have not. When we left our homes to have the opportunity to enrich our lives and earn our own money, I don't think we had any idea of what would follow. Our lives have become more difficult in many ways. Women have had to choose between putting their energy into motherhood, or into climbing the proverbial ladder at work, and sometimes made to feel guilty no matter which role they choose. Or they try to do both as well as they can. Women still do the majority of child rearing and household tasks that they did before joining the workforce. Where men once believed that their role was to "take care of" and "provide" for a family, the need to be the provider is no longer an expectation of theirs now that the role is shared with the women in their lives.
We may have thought that when we went to work our husbands and partners would assume some of the duties we had been doing. That perhaps we would share equally in the daily tasks of child rearing and household chores. I think we all know how that has turned out. I am not saying that all men have neglected to engage and help out. But a large number of men still see themselves in a traditional "male" role, and that women's work is just that - women's work.
I guess the reality is that nobody can have it all even though we would like to some days. Women should be respected and treated as equals, child rearing and household tasks should be shared, perhaps teaching our children what those who came before them did not see. That women and men should respect one another, and see the value each of us can bring to a relationship, family and society. It is not us against them, and continuing to battle one another will not solve any of the issues at hand. If we are going to pass on a lesson to our children, let it be that equality is possible in their lifetime.
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