Today is International Women’s Day. I honestly didn’t even know it was until I went on social media this morning. I started thinking about it driving my kids to school, and I have a little different take on “my” day.
There are women’s movements and women’s marches and women’s liberation ideals. And simply because there are these groups and movements, it signifies that the world at large doesn’t view women as mens equals. Guess what…I don’t believe we are. Period.
I believe each sex has innate traits and characteristics that developed over time that suited the roles each had within society. Men developed a larger muscle mass and more strength with equal size muscles than women. Women developed the ability to organize various tasks and multiple children while harvesting and gathering and tending to the home.
I know this is going to rub some people the wrong way, so let me continue. In today’s world, innate strength is rarely useful for sitting at a computer in an office, and both men and women need to be able to multi-task and care for the home and kids. There are women firefighters {I’m an ER RN and know a few} but MOST women fall far short of being able to drag someone out of a burning building or carry 100lb packs. There are also stay at home Dads {my daughter’s best friend’s Dad manages everything and his wife works} but the majority of managing and organizing is still done by the woman- even if she also works.
What I think we should be focusing on instead of the inequity in pay or the invariable “glass ceilings” is how amazing women are every day. Its usually the woman who manages and organizes the kids’ schedules and makes sure everyone gets everywhere they need to be on time {even if the man is involved, the woman is usually the schedule keeper}. Its usually the woman who tends to scraped knees and helps with homework. Its usually the woman who packs lunches in the morning, and makes dinner at night for the family {sometimes even if she isn’t there because of work or another meeting or commitment}. Its usually the woman who keeps the house running- laundry, dishwasher, grocery shopping. Even if she works.
Women ARE the backbone of families, and always will be. Its what we have been doing for centuries. Now, I’m not one to say women shouldn’t be paid equally, or that women shouldn’t have access to upper management job or promotions, and there are still workplace discriminations {try breastfeeding for a year or more at any work place and see what kind of snide comments are made both by women and men when you go to pump and demand breaks}. Women should be able to work without feeling like they’re not doing their “motherly duty”, and Dads should be able to stay at home and manage the house and kids without snickers or feelings of inadequacy.
What I’m saying is that women ARE already doing amazing things and we need to focus on what we already doing and not on the shortcomings of some workplaces. Women are the glue of society and that should be celebrated. We shouldn’t be aiming for equal because we innately aren’t. We should celebrate our differences and value the DIFFERENT contributions each sex brings to the table.
Holistic Living RN 