Dear Editor,
It’s another year when women from all over the globe are expected to observe International Women’s Day (IWD) under the theme ‘Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality.’
Even the theme for this year’s observance does not speak to gender equality because 50-50 speaks to equal halves and not whole. We, men and women, were created whole and complete. Neverthe-less it is what it is.
It is noteworthy, however, that after many decades of increasing political and social activism around women’s issues, real discrimination and inequality continue to exist in every sphere of life ‒ social, political as well as educational. In order to achieve gender equality societal/cultural attitudes towards women and girls must change from being business as usual. For social inequalities reduce women’s opportunities for self-development.
Gender inequality can either be overt or covert, and is exacerbated by the fact that women themselves do discriminate against each other. They become guilty of reinforcing stereotypical attitudes which contribute to the same discriminatory practices women’s activism fought to eliminate in the first place. As one author puts it, when women think and act on the discrimination they face they have internalised the discrimination. This is the best tool to keep the oppressed from becoming free. This is indeed a tragedy that has plagued the women’s movement for many years.
Therefore the best way to bring about permanent change is to internalise the desirable values and belief systems and make them personal.
Social discrimination and oppression have their genesis in the home and are based on the manner in which relationships are formed in the home. The socialisation of men to take charge of women begins very early in the childhood experience and becomes manifest in real terms in adulthood. The difference in socialisation between girls and boys resulting in sex-role stereotypes leaves adult women acting or appearing dependent while adult men appear to be independent. Such cultural practices undermine women and reinforce the sexist conditioning of boys. And, might I add, this is the main culprit in the perpetuation of violence against women which is one of the ills the women’s movement advocates against, and which societies are still battling to eliminate.
Unpicking images of acceptable sex-role stereotypes reveals the many strands of cultural belief that make exposure even more difficult, and change appear elusive.
Discrimination in education may seem a misnomer since girls stay longer in schools than boys and more women are graduating at the tertiary level than men. Furthermore there are fewer overt pressures on the younger generation of women to conform to societal norms. However part of the old expectations which remain are that women should stay within the domain of the soft sciences. Hence it takes a lot of confidence and effort for a young woman to enter a field like engineering, which is still a male preserve. Historically girls were counselled away from careers that were seen as men’s work.
As a matter of fact oftentimes women and girls may have mixed feelings about career success, since the issue of how to manage being a good mother and a successful worker seems ongoing. Owing to the fact that the older generation of women has had to struggle through this period of their lives, much thought and effort are not put into this aspect of girls’ education.
A younger colleague shared her experience during an on-the-job training session as a new recruit while being the mother of a young baby. She reported that she had no one to keep her baby so she opted to take him along with her rather than staying away from the training. However, she was given the shock of her life when her baby cried out during the session, and if I remember correctly, she was asked to quiet him or leave, and she opted for the latter. This serves as a clear indication that our society is far removed from the real issues women face, not only in accessing training but in acquiring jobs as child-bearing women. In the above instance the entity did not provide day-care facilities for women who had young children, nor is there anything to suggest that they even considered the option.
Finally I wish to turn the focus on political discrimination which is perpetuated by successive regimes. The same concept of women being better suited for the soft sciences seems to prevail. Is it by chance that a woman has never been appointed to the position of finance minister or head of the central bank? Or is it by design? How is it that a woman seems to be always best suited to head the social services? Can none of our qualified men lead the social services? I am sure they can.
I salute all the women of Guyana on International Women’s Day 2016.
Yours faithfully,
Audrey Benn
