With newly elected president Barrack Obama promising change for the American people and its plummeting economy, women around the world in particular are also asking for another type of change. Women are hoping to put a stop to gender discrimination in the work force.
Despite change in equal rights for men and women, discrimination of race and color, unfortunately there are still underlying discrimination towards women. Even though women can now work and perform certain jobs, there are still some generalizations.
Anthropology major, Maggie Slater said that the problem of sexual discrimination in the work force still exists. Slater thinks that the media does a good job of hiding the truth, but reality cannot be hidden due to the simple fact that the discrimination is obvious and very visible.
“Oh yeah, it definitely exists,” Slater said. “The problem now is as worse as it ever was. The media just makes people think that it is not there.”
Slater, 43, also said that the discrimination in the work force are still in existence because the women are perceived as “house moms” and should “take care of the kids.”
“It exists because women have the role of “comforter” and a lot of them are stay-at-home moms who leave it up to the fathers to work,” Slater said. “We shouldn’t put up with that. We should also be working and prove that we are as capable as other men out there.”
Even if a man and a woman were both applying for a certain job and have the same level of education and experience, Nursing student Faith Mabo thinks that men have an advantage because they are perceived as the stronger gender.
Mabo, 23, has a sister who is a Licensed vocational nurse and was turned down for a job at a hospital because she wasn’t strong enough or didn’t seem capable to do the job because she is a woman.
“They told her flat out, that she wasn’t strong enough,” Mabo explained. “It is because men are perceived as the superior gender because they are stronger and tougher. That is not really accurate because I know a lot of girls that are tough and strong as well.”
Mabo wishes that somehow, discrimination in the work force would come to an end but she thinks that it is unlikely to happen.
“I doubt that people’s minds will be changed because that is how the world has been for many centuries now where women are inferior,” Mabo said. “I wish people would just have an open mind and not judge another person because of their skin color and gender.”
Since it took such a long time to have an African-American as president of this country, English student, Martha Hagen thinks that it will be nearly impossible to have a woman in the white house or just be treated fairly in the workforce.
“Oh, never, impossible,” Hagen, 37 said when asked if women will ever be treated fairly in the work force and if one day there will ever be a woman as president. “Drastic changes are going to have to be made if women want to be treated fairly in the workforce much more becoming president because I just do not see it happening.”
Hagen thinks that a lot of the discrimination in the work force has to do with the society. She thinks that women are kept under a glass ceiling and are not given the same opportunity as other men because of their gender.
“Women are kept in a glass ceiling,” Hagen said. “Even if you have two people, a man and a woman applying for a job, and they both are qualified, most of the time the man will get the job because the misconception is men are stronger, and are more able than women.”
Just because men are perceived as physically stronger and are able to do certain jobs better than women, Hagen thinks that our society needs to stop discriminating women because she knows many women who are physically and mentally stronger than some men.
“I know a lot of women that are stronger than most men physically and mentally,” Hagen said. “But then again, they don’t get the jobs, or are not given the same opportunity because of their gender. It is wrong and it needs to be stopped.”
Another aspect that Hagen thinks women bring to the forefront is their ability to multitask and also to be mentally tougher than most men.
“Even if you are 6-feet-2 and weigh 250 pounds, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have any brains,” Hagen said. “Then you’re pretty much useless. Women can also multitask a lot better than men since it’s a normal thing for us at home”
Although some women think that the gender discrimination in the workforce will never be put to a stop, Philosophy and former Feminist theory instructor Dr. Elizabeth Shadish, thinks there is hope for women seeking equality in the workforce but will have to fight for it.
“There is hope,” Shadish said. “Women have to keep fighting.and cannot give up during the battle.”
Shadish also thinks that parents in this generation will have an important task of teaching their children both boys and girls, to treat everybody equal. And to also teach girls out there to love themselves and to never think anything less of themselves than what they are.
“The way parents teach their children now will play an important role in the future,” Shadish said. “They have to be taught to treat everyone fair and not think of anyone being inferior than them whether it be gender or race.”
In the meantime, Shadish said that women will just have to stay patient and keep fighting. She also said that women should make the battles fun instead of thinking of them as a drag because it is worth fighting for something that they believe in. Instead of whining and complaining that they are being treated unfairly, it is time to act and fight back.
“Women should not lose hope,” Shadish said. “Make these battles fun. Just because you are fighting for something that you believe in and even though it may seem like a tough battle, it doesn’t mean that it cannot be fun. Stay patient and optimistic.”
