Gender issue is an issue concerning human rights. Gender equality basically means that the men and women participate in all corners of the society as equal partners regardless of socio-economic conditions. If you refer to the Preamble of the UN Charter, it is clearly mentioned that the peoples of the United Nations are committed towards the fundamental human rights, the dignity and worth of the human person and the equal rights of men and women. No matter whether it is a big country or small, it must ensure that the men and the women both have a fundamental right to lead a dignified life.
Imbalance in the society is no good
Imbalance is not good in any sphere of life. We can divide the society in various ways. It could be on the basis of income, that is, the upper, middle or the lower class. If there exists too much of class disparity, it is not good for a society. Again, we can divide society as comprising of people employed in agriculture, industry and services sector. In a country like us, if the average wages earned by people employed in the primary sector are low then it is going to be a limiting factor on how far and how much the industry and services sector may grow. Same is the case of imbalance in the growth rate of growth of the rich and poor countries or regions within a country.
Similarly, if we look upon the society as comprising of men and women, imbalance is not good as they work or live together. The reason is that men and women both belong to the same human species. They are the manifestation of the same spiritual energy and so it is logical and quite natural that they be treated equal in families, organizations and society at large. However, if there is discrimination between men and women in terms of wages, allocation of work, participation in the decision making at the highest levels and the way their performance is evaluated, it may only create unhealthy work environment which may lead to sub-optimal performance.
Gender equality issue is about seeking balance in society
It is important to understand that men and women complement each other. Women have the qualities of love, affection, caring and mentoring. They are generally considered as multidimensional and emotionally mature as they constantly try to strive balance in conflicting interests of those who surround her in her family and workplace. Men are generally considered as stronger physically and have aggression that helps them perform the role of principal bread winner and protector of the family or revenue earner for the organization that they work in. But these are general notions. Even women can be strong physically and men can be emotionally mature. However, considering the general notions, we may regard men and women as complementing one another and not as competing with each other. Gender equality thus means getting fair treatment for men and women who work in similar capacity. It may also mean equal responsibility to be shared as parents in family and equal wages for similar work at their respective places of employment. Besides, men and women both should get equal chance to participate in the decision making be it family or workplace.
An imbalance in the society manifested in the form of gender disparity leads to frustration in either gender and often results into aggression, abuse of power, avoidance or even depression and all of these reactions generally cause friction at homes and work places.
Need for women to invest in education
When we talk about gender equality, that too around the occasion of the International Women’s Day, it generally focusses upon the unfavorable outcomes for women as they are the more vulnerable of the two. At homes, the domestic chores are unequally shared by men and the women. Women are regarded as a burden rather than a productive resource in many homes who may have to get married by parents and looked after by their husbands once they get married. There is little planning or budget allocation for higher education for a girl child and so when they enter into the job market, they are absorbed at relatively low-paid jobs. Even when some of the more fortunate ones get professionally qualified, many a times, they have to face discrimination at the work places in terms of the allocation of work or evaluation of performance. Gender equality calls forth equal pay for equal work and the same criteria for performance evaluation as are used for men.
Women, if they have to improve their lot, have to invest in their education and training. They need to be financially independent. This requires having an independent source of income even as they continue to fulfil their primary responsibility towards their families. Organizations, on the other hand, should create flexible work environment for women who need to balance their priorities with their family and the work. Women have the in-built traits for creating and mentoring. They may bring diversity to organization’s workforce and even contribute at making decisions that often require balancing the conflicting interests of their stakeholders.
Significance of International Women’s Day
Women’s fight for their rights is believed to have begun in the year 1908 when a group of 15,000 women raised their demand for shorter working hours, equal pay, and voting rights in New York. It took a formal shape in 1975 when the United Nations declared March 8 of every year to be observed as International Women’s Day. Since then, every year, the cultural, political and socio-economic advancement of women is talked about and celebrated on this day. International Women’s Day celebrates a different theme every year, and in this year the United Nations is highlighting the direct impact of climate change on the lives of women, and women leaders who are dealing with it through their sustainable initiatives.
The UN’s initiative is indicative of the role that gender equality can play to deal with the impending climate crisis. Gender equality is a must for ensuring a sustainable and equal future for the mankind. Climate crisis has put women, especially those who belong to the financially weaker or vulnerable sections of the society at greater health and safety risks when sanitation systems become compromised as a part of the disappearing resources. When the catastrophic events like droughts and floods destroy crops and cause food scarcity it is likely to affect the health of the women, who are still the last members in the family to eat. This worsens the situation for women and young girls who are already in fragile living conditions.
Women are proving themselves in all spheres
All over the world women coming from various sections of the society are shredding misconstrued notions such as women can’t be good drivers and so they better use public transport, women can’t be good managers so they better stay back home; women can’t manage funds so better they operate joint accounts and refrain from making investment decisions; women are not as strong and so they can’t travel alone; women are not as productive and so they may as well be paid less or women can’t take independent decisions and so they can’t be promoted to higher positions and so on and so forth. Contrary to such common notions, more and more woman are striving for gender equality as driver of social change by leading some of the most dynamic, large and impactful organizations and institutions as sarpanch of village panchayats, chairperson of local governments, heads of states and even nations, presidents of international organizations, CEO or MD of business organizations, founders of start-ups and so on and so forth.
Women can as well be change makers
Even as in most societies, women are vulnerable, yet they can be the effective change-makers both at grassroots levels and in power positions to tackle the climate crisis and create awareness about sustainability. The Climate crisis has affected the women more as they hold greater responsibility to procure agricultural produce, water or fuel, and require safer sanitation methods. There is a need to increase women’s representation and leadership at the policy making levels at corporate, institutional and legislative levels to enable them find ways to tackle environmental concerns at both the national and local levels.
Women, may be more inclined to take decisions with due concern about how they are going to affect the families and communities they come from which will help striking a balance between the business, government and the societal goals as regards the agriculture, conservation, and natural resource management.