Gender Equality: The Social Change and What it Means

Working is something many men enjoy - it gives them an identity; it tells them what they do.  In the American social culture, it often times allows the males to obtain a sort of pride in the idea that they bring in a sum of money that can pay for things they would like to have, or pay for bills on what they already have.  Men have been ruling the workplace for quite some time, as the social role of women has been to keep watch over the children, and maintain the home.

However, as the modern workplace begins to integrate women, and the men begin to compete with women over similar jobs based on education, the stats show that women are on the rise... meaning men are on the decline.  I think this is a good thing overall, in that women can truly find an equal place in the socio-economic world of the West.  It means that the feminist movement has raised awareness across the board.

The studies done on gender inequality work to show the various reasons why men and women are treated different in the social settings of life and work.  They note that many times, especially in the past, women have been regarded in relation to their husbands and their husbands' economic status.  Yet, as the modern age continues its progression, more and more women are finding roles in the workplace, and enjoying their jobs as much as they would being at home with their children.

In addition to the workplace, at home, women are quickly becoming single mothers and being the sole breadwinner of the family due to divorce/partner separation, having children outside of wedlock, or the decrease in traditionally male dominated workforces (i.e. manufacturing, construction, manual labor).  The numbers still are not at an equivalent rate, as many women who do have careers find themselves in the lower wage positions, but women in the management positions are increasing.

What does this mean for us as a society?  What does this mean for the family unit that has been traditionally viewed as the male dominated patriarchy?  What will feminine equality bring?

For one thing, the breadwinner complex has begun, as men have lost their jobs, or are working from home on their own projects and dreams, and women have come to be relied upon for the sole income of the family.  While some men take small part-time jobs to bridge the gap between one job and the next, the women remain constant in their career-fields.  Regardless of why, the fact of the matter remains that a social revolution is quietly occurring and changes are going to need to be made to successfully go from the old traditional view of the social scene to the new world of equal pay, equal rights, and equal treatment.

Politically: I would argue for a new amendment restricting the respect of gender from laws, however there are key differences between men and women that might prohibit such.  Integrating prisons would not lead to welcome change, and may, in fact, cause more problems than solutions, for one example.  However, until we get equal pay and equal treatment under the law for both men and women, the true equality for which people have been fighting the last century and more will not be won.  In this case, it is my opinion that the political scene must be the last step instead of the first step towards the gender equality.  An Equal Pay Act would be a good first step - but after that, the movement must rely on social change instead of the political.

The biggest hurdle in the fight for equality is the social stigma and social perceptions of each gender.  While women have been getting more jobs in educated fields of work, they continue to take on the traditional roles in the household and have more share of the workload.  In order to combat this, men and women must be raised with equal values placed on both parts of the household tasks - both within and outside the home.  

Men: For men, this means accepting the tasks at home that are traditionally seen as 'the woman's work.'  It means not being afraid of the laundry; sweeping and mopping the floors; vacuuming the carpets and dusting the furniture; cleaning up after the kids and taking them to and from school and extra-curricular activities.  It means being the house-husband in a society that still has yet to accept the image.  It means doing the dishes and cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner without complaint.  It means studying the work the traditional wife has been doing for the last few thousand years of civilization, while not feeling emasculated by other males who cannot accept the social change, or by the woman who holds her paycheck over your head.  It is a hard road, but women have been doing it for thousands of years, and things are starting to change.  As men in the new society, you must be willing to see the house-work as a job equally as important as the one that pays.

Women:  The important factor for women is patience and understanding for the men at home, while also dealing with the stress of being the breadwinner.  Men have had the load of monetary stress on their shoulders for some time.  Many times, women make fun of, or emasculate men who do not have jobs.  This has to change.  For every woman in the workplace, there is a man without a job because the number of jobs does not change to accommodate the addition of women into the working social strata.  Women will have to help the men just as much as men will have to help the women deal with the social change within their household.  This can be hard because of the way we typically view stronger, more assertive women in the workplace.  It flies in the face of tradition.  However, in order to be successful in marriage and career, the goal of the woman who is flying in the face of tradition must be the financial rock of the family as well as the helper for the man at home.  Do not do the house-work he is supposed to do - tell him how to do it, and let him go to work on it.  Maybe you've had experience doing the work - aid him with patient instruction.  Enforce your role by not performing his.  

In essence, the social change means that traditional roles of men and women will have to be mutable within the new modern household.  This also means that parents raising both boys and girls will have to start treating each equally, as well as training men to do something other than finding a job and earning money to support the home.  Men will have to start being raised with the importance of maintaining a clean home, the knowledge of how to care for children, the knowledge of how to cook, and the acceptance of doing those tasks as equal to earning money for the family.  Women, likewise, will have to be raised to understand the importance of earning money for their own family, and the willingness to undergo that stress for the good of their family.  While many women have already learned that through experience, the very same women also have been raised with the traditional view of women, and often times look for the first male breadwinner they can find to take away their stress and allow them to dip back into the traditional female role.

Equality is a two way street.

Where is the art in this opinion or image?  Simple: The image of the man wearing the apron and doing dishes with a baby in the crook of his arm and a casserole in the oven.  The image of the strong woman going into her job and making her family money so they can go one more day without worrying - power suit and blue-tooth donned for business.

Maybe equality is a myth.  Maybe, deep down, every woman wants to be taken care of, and every man wants to be the one caring for the family - I refuse to believe this.  I think the roles are simply the super-enforced gender roles our society creates.  But until the roles can attain mutability in the social atmosphere, we will never know.  Until the house-husband is seen in a similar light as the house-wife, and the woman breadwinner is seen in the same light as the top earning man, we will continue to have social inequality.