Can I end up writing about HOW WE PERCEIVE A WOMEN IN THE WORLD TODAY, in just a blog with limited words?
It’s a big NO……..
Even so, I just want to convey some of my naive impressions about how a woman is perceived in today’s world.
Let’s begin with Brigham Young’s quote who rightly figured out that,
You educate a man; you educate a man.
You educate a woman; you educate a generation.
We all know that women are not only powerful as men in a society, but they are far more than that.
They are the backbone of a society.
They are privileged to have equal social standing and rights.
Although full and equal involvement of women in all aspects of society is a basic human right. But, they are frequently devalued in several areas around the world, ranging from politics to entertainment to any other workplace.
Natural differences between men and women are very phenomenal in physical diversity such as reproduction, where the process of Menstruation and Pregnancy has shaped and determined women’s roles in society throughout history.
In many ways, a woman’s worth was determined by her potential to carry children, and many women’s lives revolved around raising children.
Apparent changes in the thought process toward women are visible in the 21st century.
Women’s perspectives in society are as different as the different people who make up society. Perceptions of women and gender differences vary from culture to culture.
However, advancements in modern-day culture and the concept of contraception changed the lives of women all over the world by giving them control over when and how often they had children.
Gradually, these reforms resulted in a shift in mentality. Women are considered valuable members of the workforce and are gaining parallelism with men.
Evidently, in recent years, there has been a significant movement worldwide regarding attitudes towards women in society considering the role that women should play and their value.
Thus, women acquired significant respect in the workplace and greater involvement in education.
Today attitudes towards women in the workplace are becoming more similar to those toward men.
We have seen how women today excel profoundly in every professional field — medical, law, government, technology, engineering, and scientific research with much proficiency and respect.
Every measure has been taken so that no one should be left behind in the competition for an endurable future for everybody.
The greatest changes are evident as we see girls or women are heard, valued, and celebrated throughout society for their ideas and choices to be reflected for their own and humanity’s sake.
Now, let us see how a woman is perceived in today’s world in various regards.
1. Gender equality
Gender roles these days are changing at a great pace.
Women are now playing an equal role as men in owning and leading large corporations, being very active in their families and communities, owning personal businesses, managing large organizations, leading political groups, and earning higher academic degrees from all sectors, as compared to the early centuries.
Equal involvement by women is important for peace, conflict prevention, and long-term, extensive growth. Gender equality is a necessary condition for a better world to exist.
Gender equality has a huge positive impact on relationships. Men who share caregiving responsibilities and spend more time with their families are happy, and their children are happier as well.
2. Sports
Both sexes actively participate in sporting events, bars, and other outdoor activities that were previously dominated by men.
Women are somewhat more visible in sports today than before.
Olympic winter games have already become the most gender-balanced games in history.
For the first time in Olympic history, the Tokyo 2022 Olympics are expected to have nearly equal representation of men and women competing. Out of 15 disciplines, 10 were gender-balanced.
It is reported to be the highest number of women’s events ever. In its opening ceremony, 45 per cent of flag bearers were women.
3. DOMESTIC CHORES
In comparison to earlier centuries, where women were kept behind by being responsible for domestic chores, the 21st century shows equal participation of both genders in many activities.
Equal participation is becoming mandatory.
4. Marriage
Initially, marriage proposals were made by men to women, but in the twenty-first century, women are standing up and proposing to men as they get down on their knees. They have boldly come up with men’s initiative concepts that can no longer wait for men to offer.
5. Dress code
Dress rules vary from culture to culture, religion to religion, tribe to tribe, and some people utilize various dress codes for different gender contexts (marriage parties, church/mosque, offices, etc.). For example, the most easily recognizable clothing code is that men wear trousers and shirts while women wear skirts and blouses.
In the twenty-first century, however, both genders wear trousers. Women wear pants, shirts, and neckties like men, whereas males are seen wearing women’s dresses, skirts, and blouses, though not as frequently in public.
6. Politics
In the previous 25 years, women’s political representation has doubled over the world.
However, women currently hold about 1 in every 4 parliamentary seats.
Women continue to be underrepresented in the highest levels of government.
Today we see 10 women Heads of State and 13 women Heads of Government in 22 nations in October 2019, compared to four Heads of State and eight Prime Ministers in 12 countries in 1995.
7. Work
June 2019 gave the highest number of female CEOs everywhere: 7% of these 500 CEOs headed the world’s most profitable companies.
Improved female education contributed a slight change that ingrained occupational segregation as women continue to perform a disproportionate amount of unpaid domestic and care work.
8. Science and culture
Among 900 Nobel Prize winners in history, 53 women have won awards, with 19 in the physics, chemistry, fiction, and physiology or medicine categories.
Marie Curie for physics to Maria Ressa for peace became female laureates of the Nobel Prize in 1903. and 2021
Marie Curie was also granted the Chemistry Prize eight years later, making her the first woman in history to win the Nobel Prize twice.
9. Media
The progress made by women in organizing against media marginalization is commendable. Women who requested media attention were initially labelled as outcasts or deranged because they were seen as straying from their customary household roles.
Women’s issues reportage and leaders were biased against women. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, women in various nations were driven to start their periodicals, newspapers, and book publishing houses as a result of such treatment.
In recent decades, funding for women’s news and feature services has opened the door to media professions for many women around the world.
And we see today many female journalists covering the Ukraine conflict fearlessly, like BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet…Olga Tokariuk is a Ukrainian journalist who works independently.
Equal leadership and involvement for women are essential.
Bringing more women into leadership roles is one of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-top moon’s priorities. With 90 women and 90 men in full-time senior leadership positions, the UN has reached gender parity for the first time in history. They’ve mapped out a strategy for achieving parity across the board in the coming years.
If we are to develop fair globalization that works for everyone, we must ensure that women have equal economic rights and opportunities.
ALL MEN ARE COMMITTED TO WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND Gender EQUITY.
I am grateful to Generation Z, which includes many of you, for advocating for gender equality.
Undoubtedly in every sphere, women have paralleled or excelled over males.
It is high time to stop attempting to reform women and empower structures that have steadily evolved.
Let’s put another step forward towards a long-overdue priority on women’s equality in the twenty-first century.
Let us all do our share to make that happen.
