Even now, in the year 2007, I am encountered with sexism and assumptions that I am not adequate because I am a woman.
Work is a common location for said encounters. As a cashier at a home improvement store I am often passed over in favour of the male associate standing next to me. It doesn't matter if they have an "I'm in training badge" and I have a "1 year" badge. They will still ask the man standing next to me where the nails/air filters/door knobs are (aisles 12, 27 and 10 thank you very much). At my old job, a grocery store, and I was stocking the shelves I would be asked, "why aren't you up front with all the other girls" and some customers offered the help me carry the oh-so-heavy crates of milk I was lifting.
Gender inequality is still present in the Western world in spite of advancements over the past decades. Gender inequality means that women will be more susceptible to living in poverty because they will not be paid as much and be passed over for jobs in favour for men.
According to Women Against Poverty Collective (a group of women and trans people who are working together to advocate for safe, affordable and accessible housing for women experiencing violence) the following are stats about Canadian women:
- 1 in 7 women in Canada lives in poverty. They are most likely to be immigrants, Aboriginals, disabled, young mothers or elderly.
- Poverty makes it hard for women to leave an abusive relationship when they depend economically on their partner.
- 1/3 of women go back into abusive relationships because welfare does not give them enough money to survive.
WAPC has a blog that outlines their actions in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It serves mostly to update people on the groups activities and successes. It is a fairly good blog in terms of informing but could be more engaging with personal stories.
Much has been done to advance the status of women. Policies such as Affirmative Action have been implemented in hopes of hiring more women (and other minorities), improving wages and to encourage public institutions to be more representative of the population. Affirmative Action comes with it's own problems though. Are people being hired because they're a minority? Are they going to be given special attention? Will they be seen as just as competent as everyone else? It can make you wonder...
Support the equal status of women. Celebrate International Women's Day March 8th. Treat everyone equally. Volunteer at a women's shelter. Learn about amazing women. Make sure that women, a sex that is not a minority yet is marginalized, are not treated unequally.
“It is hardly surprising that women concentrate on the way they look instead of what was in their minds since not much has been put in their minds to begin with”
-Mary Wollstonecraft
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It's ridiculous that people in the Western world think that we have achieved gender equality. All you have to do is turn on the tv, watch a movie, or open a magazine to be slapped in the face with gender stereotypes. And the sad thing is, little girls are *still* being brought up with role models like The Pussycat Dolls (who claim they "Don't Need a Man," yet still seem to have issues when it comes to dressing themselves.)
It's 2007. Why are scenarios like the subconscious stereotyping in your workplace still happening??
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