Why is gender equality taking so long?

by Hannah Persson Friberg

IN THIS DAY and age, “gender equality” is one of the more mainstream—not to mention
provoking—concepts you can possible come across, yet few actually know what it symbolizes
and why it’s essential to our progression as a community. Female rights made a
breakthrough in the United Kingdom after a successful movement actively fought for
women’s right to vote. That was a hundred years ago. I can’t help but feel like we should’ve
made huge strides for better improvement during the past century, but somewhere along the
way the development just faltered completely. I don’t believe that the circumstances for
women at the workplace are changing nearly as fast as they should, and here’s why.
It’s impossible to look at words and not read them, even if you try really hard—really,
try it. Likewise, it’s impossible to meet someone and make zero internal judgments about
them. Of course, many judgments are benign, but others can be cancerous. Unconscious bias
is one of them, although not necessarily established—it’s still there, and it’s one of the many
reasons why women are considered less capable than men.
Unconscious biases are social stereotypes, in this case about women, that individuals
form outside their own conscious awareness. Many of these gendered preconceptions are
often that women are very emotional, men are more assertive and make better leaders. It’s
like we’re unconsciously bred to believe that men are held to some kind of standard a woman
could never reach.
In an article about unconscious bias, author and behavioural scientist Dr. Pragya
Agarwal mentioned how “Women also suffer from the "double-bind" bias. Women are often
socially and culturally expected to be nurturing and likeable, which in turn restricts their
consideration for a leadership position, while, on the other hand, if they are assertive and
forthright, they are deemed to be unlikable, and too bossy to be good leaders. A no-win
situation really.”
Have you ever tried to help someone who doesn’t want help? It’s kind of like that.
One of the bigger issues with gender equality and the most prominent reason why it’s caused
to be so delayed is because people don’t acknowledge the problem nearly as much as they
should. You can’t get an answer to a question you don’t ask. And you also can’t fix a problem
you don’t see.
A survey made by Fortune in 2016 shows that “67% of men believe that in most
workplaces, ‘men and women have equal opportunities’. Yet only 38% of women say that’s
the case.” Overall, women continue to earn 15 to 20% less than men—a gap that continues to
grow the longer women remain working outside their home. 46% of men believe the problem
of equal pay and gender equality has been “made up to serve a political purpose” and is not a
“legitimate issue,” according to a survey conducted in March by SurveyMonkey. These
numbers alone should be enough for people to realise gender equality isn’t a “women” or
“men” issue. It’s a human issue.
Earlier this year Riot Games, an American video game developer settled a
class-action suit with female employees who alleged sexism and discrimination. In
November last year, plaintiffs Melanie McCracken and Jessica Negron filed suit against Riot,
claiming that the workplace was brimming with sexism, harassment and retaliation against
those who complained. Male employees, according to the article, declared a sort of “bro
culture” where unsolicited pictures of genitalia were sent around, as well as rankings of
female employees by their attractiveness.
The sexistic culture within the techonology industry isn’t exactly scarce, with more
than a third of tech industry employees claiming they’ve been subjected to or witnessed
sexism at the workplace. Gender discrimination comes in many different forms, but usually
manifests through being treated as incompetent and earning less than male counterparts
with the same employment.
So what does this mean for women? Well, they’re more likely to experience an incline
in physical and mental health, including choosing to leave the industry because of the toxic
environment. By forcing women out of their profession through a middle-school bullying
tactic, women continue to succumb to gender discrimination.
“Women and men are not the same, and will never be.” Sounds familiar? It’s one of
the most textbook answers to why gender equality exists, and to many people a reason why
it’ll never go away. Because we’re different. However, that doesn’t mean women should be
treated unfairly. There are multiple factors that would determine a woman less suited for
having a career, one of them being the fact that they can carry babies, if they so choose. Not
all women want children, but the chance—or more like risk, according to employers—of
pregnancy hinders employment among young women.
First of all, this argument doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. A majority of women
with children under the age of five are employed. Second, pay equity is per definition “based
on the levels of skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions involved in doing the
work.” Not by the the amount of time someone has put into the work. This means that if a
woman decides to take more time off, pay equity looks at pay for the job, not for individual
workers.
In conclusion? Women have it hard. But there’s no reason for people to make it even
harder for them. Challenge gender norms; share the stories of the women scientists and
engineers, of the stay at home dads, of every single person who has dared to lead a different
path. Encourage women to stray from the traditional vocations, support one another and
most importantly; get involved! You don’t have to be a woman to fight for women. Know
your rights.