Every time I discuss this topic with other women in the women empowerment arena, I wonder whether I have it all wrong or they have it all wrong! I have to admit, it feels a little frustrating.
When we force the idea of 50-50 representation of women in any arena, we ignore the basic differences that exist between women and men (as a group, speaking statistically and based on various psychological researches).
Here is my logic for why we should NOT force or push for an equal representation in corporates (or any other field for that matter).
- Men and women are intrinsically different as a group. Each group has different physical, mental, AND personality traits. The physical and emotional differences are very obvious to us and research has shown how women (as a group) are more agreeable and more conscientious. This means that intrinsically they are likely to be attracted to different kinds of tasks that they would like to perform.
- Our reality does not reflect the desire for an equal representation in all boardrooms. The starting base of the population available to specific industries is different. Engineering colleges do not have a 50% representation of women. Helping areas like counseling, coaching, nursing also do not have a 50% representation of women. How then can the sample taken from this starting group have a 50% representation of each gender?
I have heard arguments being made about how the gender ratio in engineering colleges is becoming more equal. This may definitely be the case. However, I wonder whether that is because more and more women are choosing the STEM field on their own or whether they are being pushed to choose those areas because of better pay and more earning potential in the future. If the latter is the case, then it is not empowerment but enslavement of a different kind!
With an extremely high focus on material gains, wealth, and power, parents are very keen that their children should pursue education in an area that will culminate in a job that pays well. With technology being the driving force today, this translates into a career related to technology, software, web/app development, biotechnology, data science; something that invariably requires one to study STEM.
What about Gender Pay Gap?
Another very pressing issue with regards to equality and empowerment of women is the gender pay gap and how women are paid less than men despite having the same qualifications and the same role in the organization.
Firstly, I wonder whether performance at that role is being taken into consideration while arriving at these benchmarks. If a female actor is paid less than a male lead role, is the female actor spending as much time in the movie, and is she responsible for as much of a pull-factor? Is the woman getting paid less because she is a woman or that her team brings in less revenue?
I am not saying that gender bias does not exists and I am ALL for changing mindsets and eradicating the ‘boyz club’.
But the manner in which we are trying to reverse the past is creating more issues for us. The resentment among the men towards excessive privileges being offered to the small proportion of women who do join is increasing rapidly!
Achieving True Women Empowerment
Empowerment is defined as the ‘process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one’s life and claiming one’s rights.’
Currently, we are empowering women by forcing them to adopt more male traits in order to survive, grow, and thrive in this society that is supposedly fueled mainly by the more male traits of aggression and extroversion.
I say ‘supposedly’ because somewhere we all know that it is actually not the case. There have been enough and more videos circulated in social media about the financial contribution of a homemaker, the immense requirement of mental health care professional, the importance of dedicated nurses, the significance of teachers, and the contribution of nutritionists.
To bring about true empowerment we will need to change in the mindset of the society at large where industries that nurture and value female traits are regarded as highly as those that require male traits. Simplistically speaking, design, psychologists, homemakers, and nurses have equal regards from their work as doctors, software programmers, and engineers.
For this to happen, there is much work to be done in providing new perspectives to parents, educators, and leaders at large.
True women empowerment will happen when women have a real and truly independent choice to decide how they want to run their life, be it working in the area of STEM, choosing to be a homemaker, teaching, helping, or leading a team of environmentalists, without having to deal with lopsided significance and regard attached to male-trait-oriented arenas.
Measuring Women Empowerment
It has often been said that what gets measured, gets done. And in my discussion with others, I have almost always been stumped at this stage because I have been trying to figure out how we can measure that women are empowered and feel free to choose the life that they want to live. I propose we develop and use a psychological testing tool that captures aspects such as happiness, satisfaction, the culture of the environment, and equal opportunities and index them among women to track whether they feel valued and free to pursue what their heart’s desire is. In addition to that, we will know how the overall society is changing as we start to see more pay parity among professions.
“Equality is a consequence of a developed and equitable society”
Want to see what measures you can take to change mindsets and bring about a more equitable society? Get in touch for a women empowerment program that truly empowers women.
Feature image credits: Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay
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