The Year of the Woman

1959 is calling. Are we heading backward? Women empowerment

Why do we have a year of the woman? Wasn’t last year the year of the woman? Why do we even need a year to celebrate women or a day? We shouldn’t have to point out “the first woman to _____”fill in the blank. We shouldn’t have to empower women, but we do. We need to.

Workforce- gender equality

Women make up 51% of the population. We are the fastest growing segment of the workforce. Yet in every way and every day we are told we are less. Less important, less worthy. Look at professional sports. The few that have a woman’s league only basket ball will have an occasional game televised. They get paid far less than their male counterparts and have far fewer opportunities for sponsorship. It’s also reinforced daily as men are promoted over women for fear women take too much time off work for family. Women make far less than men in the same positions.

Everyday objects

Furniture, cabinets, pant pockets and cars, all are made for the average 6’1″ 220 pound man. Cars particularly, even the smaller ones, are built for men. Cabinets are placed high on the wall. Pockets in menswear are larger (if women’s clothes even have pockets). Men being the ‘Default’ design. Women pay more for razors and deodorant and other products. But no more material or chemicals are used in manufacturing them. Its called gender pricing.

Role models

Where are the strong female role models? What do girls see? A bank president, CEO, congressman? You think of a man. How about Dr., lawyer, police officer or astronaut? Again men. You can add mechanic and pilot. Tell a girl she can do anything and she will grow up doing just that!

Where does it start?

Where does it all start? In school, at home? Certainly carried over into business environments. Soften your edges, act like you don’t know as much as a man, make the man feel like he is important. Play along to get along. WHY? This is so counter productive to teach young girls, but it still is. We can talk all we want, girls will see our behavior.

2019

It’s 2019 and this is the first year a woman was nominated for a musician of the year award, an industry dominated by men. (She won, BTW! Jenee Fleenor) For every 10 songs on country radio, you will hear only one by a female. The rest sound like the same old worn out boy singing about his beer on the back of his truck with a babe in tight jeans (in his dreams)! It just does not make sense to me we still have to celebrate differences yet, much like other things, self segregating is not helping.

Startling statistics!

Here are just a few of the startling statistics I came across doing research..

• 23% of members of the United States Congress are women.
• 20 states have never had a female Governor!
• 14% of active military personal are women.
• 11.9% of police officers are women!
• 1/4 of the members of the United States senate are women. Since 1789, when the senate began, there have only been 56 women hold that office! I have many more but you get the point.

What you can do

Women have only had the right to vote now for 100 years. Passed by congress after more than an 80 year fight. Women like my personal heros, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton traveled the country fighting for Equal rights for ALL. Born with inalienable rights..We still have so far to go. If you take away one thing from this, you can change the odds. VOTE. Vote in the small, local elections. It is in the seemingly minor school board, or fire district elections that you make the most difference, because those are the people who usually go on to run for higher office. Consider running for and elected office yourself. Most importantly, be a public servant to show your children it can be done.

Girls will be girls

And PLEASE do not ever say “boys will be boys”!! What on earth is that about?! Ugh. I digress. I will leave the rant for the podcast! It’ll be a hot one! What are some of the things you have seen that you feel need to change? How will you teach your boys to respect women? Add in the comments. Subscribe for more, less in your face..ha not normal.