We live in a country that lays claims to lead out in the ideals and beliefs in freedom. We have been told that we’re all equal, but is this something we truly believe? Can we say that we believe in equality when we marginalize an entire gender? We tell young girls and women they can do anything they set their minds to, but then in the same breath we say they can’t. How can we lay claim to the ideals of freedom when we continue to live under the archaic mindsets of previous generations? Our country’s hiring practices have been backwards since its inception, and we as a generation have been subliminally taught these ideas from birth. We have been taught that men are to be businessmen or presidents, while women are meant to be in the kitchen or to be nurses, almost assuredly negating the belief that girls can do anything. We are governed by ideas that we truly do not agree with, and at times we don’t even realize we are just falling into line. Isn’t it time for a change? Shouldn’t the same opportunities that are extended to men be extended to women?
This signals a deeper problem: many don’t realize that grave injustices like this occur every day; jobs being awarded to men over women based on seemingly made up criteria.
It all mounts on this point: we are taught from a young age to operate within a selective social blindness. As long as it doesn’t affect us directly, does it really matter? It’s also important that we discuss the idea that the titles women hold should not be a reason for more or less respect. Most often the reasoning women hear is that because they are someone’s mother, sister or aunt, that is the reason they deserve respect. The question I’ve always had is why can’t we just respect women because they are people? This argument’s fullest meaning is that a woman’s value is found in who supports her or who she birthed, which is belittling and demeaning.
According to a study that was published earlier this year by the World Economic Forum, among 144 countries, America is 49th when it pertains to the gender gap. While these numbers are entirely unacceptable, and ultimately we cannot do a great deal to effect the whole, what we can do is start small. We must start by first valuing the perspective of women around us, because women deserve a much higher level of respect than what they are currently receiving.
These numbers do not have to be the standard, but with the way this world looks at women, it will be a long time before we see a true change on this issue of equality. We need to discuss the fact that as Christians there seems to be a desire to stand up and fight against or for causes that will be rectified whether or not you protest. But when it comes to the standing for equality, whether it be gender or racial, the church is silent. Can the church really say that love is the mission if these issues continue to be ignored? No, I am not strictly speaking about women’s ordination. What I’m speaking about is the fact that the church has never come out with a unified stance on a need to see women with the value that each and every one of them possesses.
To be honest, this comes from a realization I had that the way things are set up are backwards. We are taught the devaluing of others, whether it be because they look different from us or their gender.
The issue of equality is one I knew I had to speak up on. I have two sisters and a host of friends who are women. I’ve heard each of them say at one time or another is this, “No matter what I do or how great I do it, I’ll always be a woman, and that seems to be the one fact that keeps me from reaching where I want to go. Someone is always looking down on me.”
It’s true a great deal of us men posses this stringent superiority complex, one that many won’t admit is there because of its subtlety. In the past I have been guilty of this, and it was something I had to work on within myself. I am not greater than anyone else, and I must stand up for those who are marginalized everyday. I know the world as a whole will not be changed overnight, nor will the views of the many suddenly be swayed, but my hope is that this begins a discussion and that we as a community can begin to be more conscious of how we treat and approach women. Let’s work together to make the world a better place for each and every young girl or woman with whom we come into contact.