Inequality Amongst Women

This upcoming Sunday will be International Women’s Day. This year’s International Women’s Day, the focus is about “Celebrating women’s achievements and increasing visibility, while calling out inequality.”

As I glanced back into the past, women had done so much and had achieved so much for us, modern women, to enjoy. Let’s talk about childbirth. It wasn’t until 1902 that midwifery laws appeared and improved the quality of care of mothers. Child birth was a dangerous part of life. Even in the present day with our advanced medical system, there were many different reasons for complications.

Inequality Amongst Women

International Women’s Day reminds us that inequality between men and women still exists. Sadly, this inequality and unfairness also happens among women ourselves. After speaking with numerous working mothers and stay-at-home mothers, I notice that they all have something is common. They speak of the feeling that they are inadequate at their jobs. Naturally, many of the comments are very subjective. However, their feelings are very genuine and real.

1) Outside The Home:

As a working mother outside of the home, women are expected to excel and to focus on their jobs. Ideally, the company will accommodate requests of maternity leaves, and sick days. Also, when the mother has to leave early for changes in child care situations. Because of the Human Rights Tribunal in British Columbia, women are protected from discrimination from these situations. However, there are resentments that may develop as the company may find the employee as “hassle” to the rest of the workers who do not have these requests. After awhile, this negativity towards this mother can negatively affect her emotional state. This emotionally stress adds on to the guilt of not able to keep the home in a “perfect” state.

2) Stay At Home:

Traditionally, before the World Wars, women stayed home to care for the children and all the household chores. The husband was the one who went out to work and to pay for all the bills.However, after having the chance to work in factories during the absence of the men during the war, more women preferred to work outside the home. This change gave more women a voice in society which ultimately led to the success of suffrage movement.

Staying home to care for the family still continues to be a choice for many women for different reasons. Unfortunately, there seems to be a misconception that staying at home is easy. The caring of a home is not a simple nor straightforward task, especially in the modern world. As mothers strive to more financially independent, some even begin to work at home. (There are many instances where they feel that they lack the freedom of even purchasing a lipstick with their husband’s bank card.)

Final Thoughts

We, as human beings, in this world, need to stand up for ourselves and for the disadvantaged. May each International Women’s Day remind us to be kind and understanding of the other people in our lives.