Dear Editor,
It is the belief, at least for most, that women should be celebrated not only for being ‘women’ (their inherent identity) but also for what they contribute to the world of work (their function).
This year on March 8, the world observed International Women’s Day by the United Nations calling on the world of humanity to educate and empower women and girls in order to achieve gender equality in the workplace. This year’s fitting theme, ‘Women in the changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030’ seems to suggest a call for equal numbers of women in the workforce by 2030. The theme is directly linked to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Number Five (gender equality). But what if by 2030 a situation develops where women outnumber men in the work environment, but they still continue to be poor and earn less than men? This phenomenon has already presented itself and is manifested strongly, especially in the private security sector.
There is no doubt that women have been entering the labour market in great numbers ever since the end of World War Two, and the establishment of the United Nations in 1945 to replace the ineffective League of Nations, in order to promote cooperation instead of war. As it is seen this elaborate intergovernmental organisation was established to provide human services to the world’s people by presenting a general framework through which nations can achieve cooperation and development, especially after the devastation of the two wars. Yet, this organisation does not necessarily provide a model in a practical sense of practising what it preaches.
Sometime last year the United Nations with an aim of promoting gender equality at a planned conference for youths from all over the world, showcased a team of presenters with only one woman present. According to one participant present at that event, the men dominated the presentations with the lone woman sporadically being given a chance to speak. This was highlighted to pinpoint that if the United Nations is the model through which nations of the world are to achieve gender equality, then the world of humanity has no hope.
This is because gender equality is much more than talk. One can talk from now until 2030 or at least as long as is wished, about educating and empowering women and girls towards gender equality. However, if the mechanisms are not developed to change the current social, political and economic structures to facilitate those changes, then it would be very difficult to achieve gender equality.
In order for the world to achieve gender equality, there must be deliberate and intentional efforts to ensure that gender equality is at the top of the agenda. This is important because in a world of ideological sexism, gender equality cannot be achieved by just the mere development of strong and passionate themes, as seen practised by the UN. It is a matter of going beyond the historical, instrumental hypothesis and initiating a change cycle that will surely dismantle the oppression that sexism brings. Only then can there truly be a change and women will experience what they were created to be in the first place. Has anyone ever wondered why women are almost never picked to become finance ministers, although they are touted as better managers of family finances? Only the decision-makers really can answer this question.
In winding down, attention is drawn to the opening statement in order to reinforce all that is being said. As far back as research would allow one to go, women have been struggling to find themselves as equal partners with men in the world of work. Initially this was and is true because of a lack of formal training; but with formal training the position has not changed much. Women’s equality with men in the workforce can only be changed when the edifice of ideological sexism is dismantled.
Ideological sexism normalises women’s marginalisation in the work environment and serves as a contributory factor to gender inequality. Studies have shown that when women operate in sexist environments they are treated as objects and not as human beings. As someone once said, turning a human being into a ‘thing’ is the first step in justifying wrongdoing against that person. Society often fails to acknowledge that gender inequality, or the disparity in status and power between men and women in the workforce today is just as strong as it has ever been. According to a United Nations Development Programme 2014 report women remain significantly under-represented in higher-level executive professions in the workforce, such as large corporations and government offices. Very often such disparities are attributed to individual-level factors, such as the difference between what a male and female employee is willing to contribute to the situation. However, recent work suggests that environmental factors, such as systemic oppression as a result of ideological sexism which advantages men and disadvantages women, may provide a more valuable understanding of the inequalities that exist today in the workforce.
With this I congratulate women for not becoming frustrated and giving up, but staying their ground and working towards change.
Yours faithfully,
Audrey Benn
