(Author: Pearl Malhotra is an FPM student in IIM Ahmedabad)
Gender Discrimination and Gender Inequality – Substantial words underlying the world of feminism & women activism, surrounding the essence of modern & traditional womanhood alike, sparking debates on gender issues and fashioning mind-sets globally. However, the real question is not what they broadly signify but what do they essentially entail?
“Discrimination and inequality” - are words that are used interchangeably and loosely to depict the predicament of women across the globe. In a common world, full of stereotypes, these words kindle the images of domestic abuse, of newly wedded brides being burnt alive, women being relegated to the confines of housework or even of women representatives being unaccounted for in leadership positions in the corporate world. All of this could be a result of discrimination.
Inequality is the state of being unequal; that could lead to discrimination or just a state of difference with either of the two genders bearing the wrong end of the rope.
One major example of this inequality can be seen in the skewed male to female ratios in the corporate sector. And as we move up the hierarchy, the ratios tend to get even more distorted. Though at an entry level, a firm might hire equal number of males & females, the percentage of women as we move to senior management & leadership roles, gets more emaciated in most companies across the globe. And even when a woman is able to break this glass ceiling and reach a credible senior position, she is first treated as a women manager or a women leader rather than just a leader.
Why is there such discrimination or inequality?
Usually when the question of gender inequality / discrimination is raised, the fingers of accusation are mostly pointed at the men, with the women taking up a righteous stand of being a victim. However the first question that pops into my mind is that “Is gender inequality actually discrimination?” and if it is then, “who is responsible for this discrimination?”
Let me answer it from a particular point of view. Of course this view might only be applicable to a certain set of women and not to all of them.
It is comfortable to blame the man, since he is on the benefitting side. We can blame the society that forces us to mould our actions as per its norms, because it is the easiest thing to do. However, what if for once we stop blaming, stop demanding and stop reprimanding the society or the men. We, as women need to take a step back and actually reflect on why we are first considered women and then doctors, professors or parents? Why do we tolerate this inequality that is clearly not allowing us to be projected as who we actually are?
The most glaring impression that comes to my mind is that we want it!
Women not only cherish (yes, cherish) but have absorbed inequality into their embodiment. We desire to be ‘unequals’, as long as it grants us privileges. Some women use their gender for favours, and to get out of sticky situations. None of these women minded that there is inequality, that their gender is being used as a fulcrum to leverage the situation in their favour. However, the old adage – “no pain, no gain” menacingly infolds the temperament of the woman. She starts feeling that she is a woman first; bound to an orthodox set of values.
Usually when a woman’s or man’s career is at the brink of expected growth; there is a possibility that a spouse, a family and other such domestic considerations have also encircled their lives. How the man or the woman then reacts determines the course of their respective careers. For example (illustrative and might not be the norm), when a couple has a child, the discussions are usually centred on whether the mother should continue with her career or not, and not which one of the parents should leave his/her job to care for the child. If the husband agrees with his wife to continue her career, he is considered supportive. The woman usually feels obliged that her husband concurs with her in her decision to forward her career. When a child suffers because of two working parents the guilt commonly resides within the mother.
Further, some women feel heroic, if they sacrifice their careers for their family and some feel suppressed; whatever the feeling, the fact is that it emanates from the fact that they think of themselves as women first and then as working professionals. All their lives they have felt that they gained certain privileges for being female and now is the time to give back to this identity of theirs. It is this attitude that makes them either quit their jobs or let their careers take a backseat. When a large portion of the women in the corporate world start thinking of themselves as women who have to “choose” between such alternatives, it transcends into the statistics that usually depict the poor representation of women as senior managers and consequently leaders in the corporate world.
Therefore, we can say that in a number of cases, the inequality that a woman preferred becomes the noose of discrimination later in her course of life.
So how do we pull ourselves out of this mess?
A quote by Vera Nazarian from The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration sums up the entire solution that rests in our hand.
“A woman is human. She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less. Equality is a given. A woman is human.”
But, it is more easily said than done. Every woman needs a dose of self-determination that will allow her to understand her strengths and limitations and use them to mould her circumstances in the best possible way. Though it can be argued that men and women are different biologically and certain life roles are linked to the biology rather than societal pressure. However it is this barrier that a women needs to break first. A women needs to start thinking right from the beginning as an equal. If a woman decides to take a certain alternative it should be because she “wants” to and because she is competent at it. It is because it is serving the best of her human abilities. As women, we should stop saying “no” to ourselves every time we want to use our gender in our own favour and also fight the pressure when others use our gender to put us at a disadvantage.
It cannot be done in a day. It might not even be done in a century. However, “Rome was not built in a day” and with every single woman changing her mind-set towards this attitude will add to the sea of change she can trigger. This thought is just a catalyst that will hopefully allow us to create more actionable deliberations which will enable us to see more women as “equals”, and as “leaders”.
Gender Discrimination and Gender Inequality – Substantial words underlying the world of feminism & women activism, surrounding the essence of modern & traditional womanhood alike, sparking debates on gender issues and fashioning mind-sets globally. However, the real question is not what they broadly signify but what do they essentially entail?
“Discrimination and inequality” - are words that are used interchangeably and loosely to depict the predicament of women across the globe. In a common world, full of stereotypes, these words kindle the images of domestic abuse, of newly wedded brides being burnt alive, women being relegated to the confines of housework or even of women representatives being unaccounted for in leadership positions in the corporate world. All of this could be a result of discrimination.
Inequality is the state of being unequal; that could lead to discrimination or just a state of difference with either of the two genders bearing the wrong end of the rope.
One major example of this inequality can be seen in the skewed male to female ratios in the corporate sector. And as we move up the hierarchy, the ratios tend to get even more distorted. Though at an entry level, a firm might hire equal number of males & females, the percentage of women as we move to senior management & leadership roles, gets more emaciated in most companies across the globe. And even when a woman is able to break this glass ceiling and reach a credible senior position, she is first treated as a women manager or a women leader rather than just a leader.
Why is there such discrimination or inequality?
Usually when the question of gender inequality / discrimination is raised, the fingers of accusation are mostly pointed at the men, with the women taking up a righteous stand of being a victim. However the first question that pops into my mind is that “Is gender inequality actually discrimination?” and if it is then, “who is responsible for this discrimination?”
Let me answer it from a particular point of view. Of course this view might only be applicable to a certain set of women and not to all of them.
It is comfortable to blame the man, since he is on the benefitting side. We can blame the society that forces us to mould our actions as per its norms, because it is the easiest thing to do. However, what if for once we stop blaming, stop demanding and stop reprimanding the society or the men. We, as women need to take a step back and actually reflect on why we are first considered women and then doctors, professors or parents? Why do we tolerate this inequality that is clearly not allowing us to be projected as who we actually are?
The most glaring impression that comes to my mind is that we want it!
Women not only cherish (yes, cherish) but have absorbed inequality into their embodiment. We desire to be ‘unequals’, as long as it grants us privileges. Some women use their gender for favours, and to get out of sticky situations. None of these women minded that there is inequality, that their gender is being used as a fulcrum to leverage the situation in their favour. However, the old adage – “no pain, no gain” menacingly infolds the temperament of the woman. She starts feeling that she is a woman first; bound to an orthodox set of values.
Usually when a woman’s or man’s career is at the brink of expected growth; there is a possibility that a spouse, a family and other such domestic considerations have also encircled their lives. How the man or the woman then reacts determines the course of their respective careers. For example (illustrative and might not be the norm), when a couple has a child, the discussions are usually centred on whether the mother should continue with her career or not, and not which one of the parents should leave his/her job to care for the child. If the husband agrees with his wife to continue her career, he is considered supportive. The woman usually feels obliged that her husband concurs with her in her decision to forward her career. When a child suffers because of two working parents the guilt commonly resides within the mother.
Further, some women feel heroic, if they sacrifice their careers for their family and some feel suppressed; whatever the feeling, the fact is that it emanates from the fact that they think of themselves as women first and then as working professionals. All their lives they have felt that they gained certain privileges for being female and now is the time to give back to this identity of theirs. It is this attitude that makes them either quit their jobs or let their careers take a backseat. When a large portion of the women in the corporate world start thinking of themselves as women who have to “choose” between such alternatives, it transcends into the statistics that usually depict the poor representation of women as senior managers and consequently leaders in the corporate world.
Therefore, we can say that in a number of cases, the inequality that a woman preferred becomes the noose of discrimination later in her course of life.
So how do we pull ourselves out of this mess?
A quote by Vera Nazarian from The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration sums up the entire solution that rests in our hand.
“A woman is human. She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less. Equality is a given. A woman is human.”
But, it is more easily said than done. Every woman needs a dose of self-determination that will allow her to understand her strengths and limitations and use them to mould her circumstances in the best possible way. Though it can be argued that men and women are different biologically and certain life roles are linked to the biology rather than societal pressure. However it is this barrier that a women needs to break first. A women needs to start thinking right from the beginning as an equal. If a woman decides to take a certain alternative it should be because she “wants” to and because she is competent at it. It is because it is serving the best of her human abilities. As women, we should stop saying “no” to ourselves every time we want to use our gender in our own favour and also fight the pressure when others use our gender to put us at a disadvantage.
It cannot be done in a day. It might not even be done in a century. However, “Rome was not built in a day” and with every single woman changing her mind-set towards this attitude will add to the sea of change she can trigger. This thought is just a catalyst that will hopefully allow us to create more actionable deliberations which will enable us to see more women as “equals”, and as “leaders”.