It’s time that all of us see gender as a spectrum as an alternative of two units of opposing beliefs.” – Emma Watson
Let’s close gender gaps in all spheres and dimensions-Social, Cultural, Political, Economic Education, Workforce, Promotion & Position, Leadership, Pay & Wages, Division of Labour, Health, Domestic Responsibilities, Safety & Security- create equal opportunities everywhere.
#GenderEquality is key to accelerate sustainable development in a progressive society. Having a balanced view always yields greater results- be it home, society, or workplace which comes from having perspectives from male and female leaders to ensure that men and women have an equal chance to contribute both at home and in the workplace, thereby enhancing their well-being and that of society.
A beautiful landlocked Balkan country Republic of North Macedonia since its independence has kept equal opportunity for both men and women at the forefront of the government agenda the country has adopted several laws and mechanisms to advance gender equality the law of equal opportunity for men and women oblige public institutions to ensure equal rights and opportunities for both genders so according to UN reports the Republic of Macedonia showed that only 12 percent of women in rural areas are landowners and less than 10 percent have decision-making roles related to land. While women in agriculture work on average 11.06 hours per day, 41.7% of the total workload belongs to unpaid work (Source: https://eca.unwomen.org/pt/news/stories/2019/02/making-agriculture-and-rural-development-policies-respond-to-womens-needs-in-fyr-macedonia). so there’s a huge difference joined us a wonderful woman from North Macedonia. Joined us, Daniela Antonovska on #WahWoman (www.wahwoman.in), a gender equality expert as well as a consultant in North Macedonia. Watch it:
Closing the gender pay gap, Iceland with Vidir Ragnarsson & Rajni Vohra (www.wahwoman.in) Equal pay for equal work of equal value.
According to the reports, worldwide women only make 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, which results in lifetime income inequality between men & women (Source:https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2014/05/19/90039/explaining-the-gender-wage-gap/) since the number of women in the workforce increased significantly during the second half of the 20th century that led to multiple discussions around gender equality in the workplace. The gender pay gap is one of the most discussed, yet rampant phenomena across the World. The gender pay gap is the result of many factors. To discuss more of it, Vidir Ragnarsson, Equality advocate joined us on #wahwoman( www.wahwoman.in)
Lockdown has shown the true colors of the human psyche. It has brought out both the Best and the Worst in people. On one hand, people are upgrading their skills online workshops or trying to evolve new modes of business online trying to match up with new practices in the current scenario. On the other hand, we see “working” women struggling to strike balance in work and personal front, juggling between the unending loop of professional work and Housework without any domestic help and even from the other halves! It has been repeatedly mentioned over and over that gender equality only comes when children are inculcated with those set of values, that both boys and girls must do all chores.
Today, the majority of well-educated males do agree that women are as talented as them, but in reality how many of them help their wives in their own homes? If they do the dishes one time they think they have done their bit and it must be appreciated as if they have done something which must be kept in the hall of fame! And, if by chance, it gets to the ears of their mother or mother-in-law then no less of TV saga ensues. Only Aarti and garlanding is left when they get to know that the man of the house is helping at home.
This write up comes after endless stories of my friends who have suffered during this time period.
Saga1: An IT professional doing great professionally had to resign from a decent designation and well-paid job. The reason being who will do the chores, serve hot food to in-laws, and how the child will log on to online classes. And the absence of household help took a toll over her physical and emotional well being. Without thinking about the option of sabbatical, she directly resigned and got backing from the family that comes first. Resignation day was celebrated with a sweet being prepared by her mother-in-law, saying this is the REAL homecoming for their daughter-in-law. Mind you, this is the same person who used to gush over how well her daughter-in-law is doing professionally that she had gifted her with diamond earrings on her first Diwali after the wedding.
Saga2: A COVID warrior couple working full time – what husband does is zilch in comparison to the wife who has to clean, do the dishes along with cooking according to the fancy of the rest of the family members! She is eternally exhausted and finds it hard to go on but no one in the so-called family looks after her. And at the end of the day after doing everything she also gets to hear dialogues like you don’t understand anything! Outside the house, she is no less than God to the women who deliver their babies but at home, her value is lesser than a doormat.
The above examples are the depiction of the dark side of the so-called well educated middle-class families. In public, they are happy to show off their pride for their daughters and daughters-in-law who are doing great in their respective careers but behind the closed doors, they expect the same women to toil like they did years back for their in-laws in the name of sanskar and heritage. Even Indra Nooyi admitted of feeling guilty of not giving enough time family, but I have not seen any Male CEOs/directors across the globe making similar statements!
Countless talented and highly educated girls are now so-called “Happy Homemakers” and irony is even their own parents support this attitude due to societal pressures.
Unfortunately, most of people think gender equality is the female fight but in fact, it is the fight of entire humanity! Bitter truth is that it is rooted so deep in upbringing and even daily life.
A massive attitudinal shift is required to change it altogether but the positive sign is that the shift has definitely started even if it is slow, with a glimmer of hope is seen as mothers are bringing up their sons who equally contribute to household chores as daughters.
In hope that this shift happens soon with fathers leading by example and helping their wives, otherwise, the history shall go on repeating with more women leaving the workforce….
Montenegro, an enchanting Balkan country according to the UN, is committed to ensuring that women and girls have equal rights and opportunities in all spheres of life and live free of violence. To understand the impact on gender equality and women issues of #Montenegro, complex economic, social and political environment, Aleksandra Gligorovic, joined us from Montenegro, on #WahWoman ( www.wahwoman.in) who has been handling various such projects. Watch it:
According to #UNDP, Moldova’s rural women are four times more prone to absolute poverty and more vulnerable to climate change,( source: https://www.md.undp.org/content/moldova/en/home/projects/sustainable-resilient-communities-through-women-empowerment.html) thus, efforts are being made to build a sustainable & inclusive resilient community. To know more about the women related issues and gender empowerment and endeavors in the country, Olga Bitca, joined us from Moldova on #WahWoman (www.wahwoman.in), who is a member of the board for gender-equality for a platform from #Moldova, a consultant project manager resources center for human rights at, Resource Center for Human Rights at #CReDO, Moldova.
The consequences of wars, conflicts, affect all, however, the impact of any humanitarian disaster, in general, is disproportionate on women and children and that leaves scars on their souls for a lifetime. The case in point is the Bosnian war that displaced and affected thousands of women and children. To know the deep-rooted impact on the contemporary population women, in particular, we invited a guest on #wahwoman(www.wahwoman.in) to share her perspective and offer us more insight into the current plight of women in the country, Neive Heskin, a human rights activist at #OSCE, Watch it https://lnkd.in/ey6wEuP
The word violence often triggers visuals of physical aggression, hurt, or damage, but violence is just not physical, but it can be mental, emotional, financial, sexual, or in other forms. When we especially point to Gender-based violence (GBV) is violence that is directed at an individual based on his or her biological sex OR gender identity. Patriarchal attitude coupled with stereotyping gets manifested in many ways. Our guest, Asia Guerreschi, who joined us from Italy on zoom for #WahWoman channel(www.wahwoman.in), she is co-founder of an organization ‘Bon’t Worry INGO’, that takes care of gender-based violence, spoke to us more about it. She is also associated with the European Parliament in Editorial Communication Unit Internal policy. Watch it, link below
