Blog Four
Blog Four
Watching
the video, “Women and the World of Work,” was quite eye-opening and raised
several questions for me. This video assessed how far our world has come for
gender equality and women empowerment in the workplace over the past 20 years,
and although much has been accomplished, the video describes how many barriers remain.
For example, present day, the number of women working is still much lower than
men- 77% of working-aged men around the world have jobs compared to only 50% of
women. One woman asks, “What is society doing for us? If we want to work, we should be able to!” And
she’s right. Why should women be any less likely to be able to work and have a
decent job than men? While we have seen growth, one major setback we’ve seen in the past 20 years is that more young men and
women (aged 15-24) are out of work than they were two decades ago. The global economy
is improving, yet young people are less
likely to have a job. Why is this? Are there fewer jobs available?
Are people working longer/retiring later in life? Are more young people
realizing how important education is for their career and going back to school/college?
Are job requirements becoming more insistent and demanding? That statistic certainly
raises a lot of questions, especially when that’s the age bracket the majority
of young adults are entering the workforce.
Another
alarming statistic the video included is that today, women head up only 5% of
the Fortune 500 companies. Sure, this is progress (20 years ago there were none); but it’s such a small improvement
(only 5%?!) that it (again) makes you question, “Why?”- especially when, as one
woman in the video mentions, that businesses with women in top positions do
better and are more profitable than those without. I confirmed her statement
with research from CNBC and The Pearson Institute for International Economics,
which verifies that there’s substantial evidence that gender diversity at the
management level enhances a company’s performance and significantly increases
net margins (Blumberg, 2018). So… enhanced performance and higher profits… yet
only 5% of Fortune 500 companies are headed up by women? That definitely raises
some questions.
A
main discussion the women in this video have revolves around what we can do to
improve the work-life balance. As a stay-at-home mom and soon-to-be college
graduate, this is something I frequently stress about. Women often take on so
much of the workload at home (housekeeping, caring for the children, caring for
their elderly parents, meals, etc.) that there is little time or energy from
this unpaid work to channel into a
decent job. The more care a woman has to provide, the less positive their
employment prospects become. I stay home to care for our two toddlers, and my
husband’s job is quite demanding and he travels often- so I’m often wondering
how we’ll make it work when I take on a full-time career or if I’ll need to put
it off until our children reach the age where they enter school. In no way do I
regret staying home with my children or making a career sacrifice for my children
right now, but I do feel the pressure- as a woman and as a mother- that it’s “my
job” to take on more of the load of our ‘family life’ versus having a ‘work
life.’ Is that because of what society tells us? Does society depict our roles in
life as a man versus a woman?
Women
still earn on average 23% less than men. At the current rate of change, that
wage gap won’t close for another 70 years. As a woman with a 4-year-old
daughter, that honestly hurts my heart to hear. At 4 years old, she already
exhibits the traits of a strong, confident leader, and there’s no reason she
couldn’t run a successful company one day. She’s extremely smart and
headstrong, and I would never want the fact that she’s female to hold her back
from achieving every goal she’d like to achieve. Nothing should hold her back- especially something she can’t change
and didn’t choose, like her gender. As one woman in the video exclaims, “If
money talks, this isn’t what we want
to hear!” Seventy more years to close the wage gap between men and women?! At
30 years old, that’s not even in my lifetime! Change not only has to happen, it
has to happen now, and I know that the
power we hold as women is enough to make that change happen.
- Mallorie Anderson
References:
Blumberg,
Y. (2018, March 02). Companies with More Female Executives Make More Money-
Here's Why. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/02/why-companies-with-female-managers-make-more-money.html
International
Labour Organization. (2015, March 09). Women and the World of Work. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=85&v=FxBA7cAlil4
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ReplyDeleteHello Mallorie,
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting and informative reading your blog, everyone knows about the problems women face in the workplace but I didn't know the statistics. I was shocked to read that only 50% of women are working around the world in compared to men 77%. The company I work for , it is better to keep it nameless, we are only 3 women compared to 8 on my team and all of the managers and high ranking personals are men. I still see the gender inequality on a daily basis despite us being in the 21st century. I love that you mentioned that us, women, have higher workload at home. This is completely true, it is expected of us to cook clean and take care of the kids, honestly, my husband thinks that men shouldn't be in the kitchen and do the dishes. which is crazy!! I always try to prove him wrong and insist on him helping me. I hate how it is always expected for us to do that is without other responsibilities we have like work or even school. God created both , men and women, so we do have the power to change whats happening.
I have been torn between this topic. As a fairly new mom, who works full time, comes home, and cares for my family It hurts me to know that I could potentially have a baby girl who would be put into a work place where she is not identified as equal. While my husband is a helpful hand with what I need, at times the mother is required to provide much more. After giving birth to my child, I was still required to be who I was before, "a Provider".
ReplyDeleteThe number of women to men in the workforce is understandable. I get that some women choose to stay home for their children. But, in this day and age, there should not be a gap in salary. It should be unlawful for employers to pay wages based on gender.
ReplyDeleteHello Mallorie, I was surprised to find out that women still earn 23% less than men. I think its unfair that women are still being underpaid in this time period. Women should be able to make as much money as men for the same job.
ReplyDelete