Gender inequality has long been a societal problem ever since we traced back to hundreds of years ago. But at that time, people were too conservative to make a change and women were not powerful enough to speak for themselves. Most of the time, we define the right and the wrong by the social norm. For example, for people who were living one hundred years ago, women working in hospitals was considered as an inferior and humiliating job. However, that is not the case anymore. Norms change as times change. Thus, it is not surprising to see that women start to step on stages on business and political stages. Even though men still outnumber women in these fields, women have been taking initiatives to advance their careers.
However, the bias towards gender roles is still a problem in the society. When people think about a woman, people usually easily associate her with "family" rather than her own hobbits and job. In some conservative eastern countries, lots of people consider a women's job as a good wife and mother. Working outside and pursuing career success is even seen as inappropriate at times. Because of this bias towards women, women are often criticized for not being family-oriented. In my opinion, there are a lot of women out there that consider their families rather than careers as their priorities. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, it is unfair to consider a woman's willingness to care about the family as granted. Before we consider a woman a wife and mother, we should first consider her as an independent individual who has the rights to pursue for her dreams. And even though family could be a big part of one's life, it should not be the reason or barrier to keep one from achieving success in her career.
Another point to make is that in the business world, people often assume men perform better women. This is also a biased belief. People believed that men performed far better than women back to decades of years ago, because at that time women were less educated and they did not have as many opportunities as today to show their talents. However, history does not tell us that women are less smart or competent than men. Nowadays, women tend to perform better than men at school and usually have higher scores. Even in some computer science classes, which is usually considered as the male-dominated field, women outnumber men. Maybe it's time for us to change our attitudes and rethink what defines a woman and a man.
However, the bias towards gender roles is still a problem in the society. When people think about a woman, people usually easily associate her with "family" rather than her own hobbits and job. In some conservative eastern countries, lots of people consider a women's job as a good wife and mother. Working outside and pursuing career success is even seen as inappropriate at times. Because of this bias towards women, women are often criticized for not being family-oriented. In my opinion, there are a lot of women out there that consider their families rather than careers as their priorities. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, it is unfair to consider a woman's willingness to care about the family as granted. Before we consider a woman a wife and mother, we should first consider her as an independent individual who has the rights to pursue for her dreams. And even though family could be a big part of one's life, it should not be the reason or barrier to keep one from achieving success in her career.
Another point to make is that in the business world, people often assume men perform better women. This is also a biased belief. People believed that men performed far better than women back to decades of years ago, because at that time women were less educated and they did not have as many opportunities as today to show their talents. However, history does not tell us that women are less smart or competent than men. Nowadays, women tend to perform better than men at school and usually have higher scores. Even in some computer science classes, which is usually considered as the male-dominated field, women outnumber men. Maybe it's time for us to change our attitudes and rethink what defines a woman and a man.