Human Rights of Women
As Napoleon Bonaparte once stated: “Women are nothing but machines for producing children”.
As ridiculous as this sentiment may be, it is unfortunately still one many men in this world share.
The fight for gender equality is a well-known one and many tend to roll their eyes whenever someone introduces this topic. But how many of us have actually considered the implications should we ever reach a point within society where women have equal opportunities and equal say?
The economic and social advantages in promoting the equality of women within the working environment as well as political arena are profound. But yet, it is one of the most vital issues many governments worldwide comfortably overlook. Little do they know that they could potentially save a floundering economy by simply tapping into the female labour market.
When taking the statistics into account we clearly see that gender equality is, in all honesty, just a Utopian term and still needs to be brought to reality. On the political front it is estimated that less than 20% of women globally serve in parliament or hold a ministerial position. And with only about 20 women worldwide serving as elected heads of state or governments the so-called gender gap is strikingly evident.
Closer to home, a recent study by the Business Women’s Association shows that a meagre 4.4% of South African women hold chief executive and managing director positions. Clearly, there is room for improvement.
In a report released by the Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum the dismal state of gender equality is frightfully clear.
In the report South Africa is ranked 14th out of 135 countries. To put this in perspective, consider this: Lesotho, not exactly the most economically stable country, is ranked 9th. The idea of being the 14th best country to live in as a women isn’t too dismal. But when looking at what this position truly entails, what the overall result is made up of, it is shocking to say the least.
On the economic front we are ranked 58th, being trumped by Israel (55) and barely scraping past Zimbabwe (66). Education and health access provides an even more horrifying display of how South African women are still regarded as the subordinate gender. With a female education attainment ranking of 86 and a health and survival position of 102, clearly much is still to be done with regards to gender equality policies.
Most of the top positions in the report have been claimed by the Nordic countries such as Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden. They have also proven to be the top countries in effectively closing the gender gap. They boast with the highest rate of female workers and are able to provide a working environment where most of these women have the opportunity to claim leadership roles as easily as men.
But despite all the statistics and various reports on women empowerment we are still faced with the daunting question: How do we make the promises and policies a reality? First, we need to acknowledge that the problem is not necessarily of a legislative nature nor does policy serve as the main contributing factor in gender inequality. Instead, it is largely a result of our attitudes which are so deeply entrenched within society that changing it seems close to impossible. Whether we (and this includes women as well) wish to admit it or not, men are still regarded as superior to women. And unless this mindset is changed policies will remain meaningless words on paper.
But assuming we do manage to rid ourselves of this mentality, the responsibility then falls upon world leaders’ shoulders. They need to create and maintain an economic and social environment wherein all citizens, both male and female, can flourish; where their skills can be developed and utilised to its greatest potential. The core growth factor of any country is after all its people.
The world population is growing and it recently surpassed the seven billion mark. And as intriguing as this number seems, it leaves us facing an entirely different problem. Our working-age population is shrinking – more people are reaching retirement age and leaving a gaping hole within our labour force. Therefore, at this present stage in our demographic transformation, we need to draw even more from the existing work force. Women are the most obvious option.
It is believed that women make up about half of the world’s potential workforce, and the rewards our world economy could reap from this part of the world population could be of great importance for generations to come. We need to invest more in our women. Women empowerment is not just a movement towards claiming a basic human right – the right to be regarded as equal – but also one towards promoting development in already unstable economies.
It is one thing to invest in the upliftment of women, but if the opportunities aren’t provided for them to excel and acquire influential positions within the workforce, then it is simply an investment with little or no return.
For too long women’s economic power has been undervalued and in many cases completely dismissed. But what governments need to realise is that when a country empowers its women then the talents and skills of its population are used more efficiently; a so-called ripple effect of unimaginable proportions.
As Daniel Defoe (The Education of Women) stated: “For I cannot think that God Almighty ever made them [women] so delicate, so glorious creatures; and furnished them with such charms, so agreeable and so delightful to mankind; with souls capable of the same accomplishments with men: and all, to be only stewards of our houses, cooks, and slaves”.