In February 2015, the well-known actor Patricia Arquette during her Oscars acceptance speech focused upon the need to have no difference in the wages of all the genders in all industries. The audience appreciated her, and she also earned respect from others for her bold attitude. However, the question that arises in my mind is why did she have to say all this. Why does she need to raise her voice against such issues when the United Nations Human Rights Council demands equal rights of men and women and emphasises that protecting the rights of women is the responsibility of the states? All the genders should enjoy the same opportunities for their individual development, and providing fewer opportunities for women is a direct violation of Human Rights.
So now, coming straight to some facts. A report by the World Bank shows that only six countries of the world give women and men equal work rights, the countries being Belgium, Denmark, France, Latvia, Luxembourg and, Sweden. Women are half the world's population, and for a prosperous world, equal rights should be there; if laws hold back women, then hardly can one expect economic growth. So, the top issues where women face fewer opportunities at the workplace are unequal pay and less promotion at work. By being promoted less than men, I mean is that women make less than 5 per cent of the CEOs, and less than 10 per cent of women are top earners. Despite being more educated than men and being a part of 50 per cent of the workforce, the wage gap between men and women is vast. Women always have faced fewer opportunities for ages.
Earlier the difference was just that women themselves were not allowed at the workplace. In her very famous writing 'Shakespeare's Sister', Virginia Wolf quite clearly questions the fact that had there been a woman in Shakespeare's life, suppose her sister and had she received the same opportunities, would Shakespeare be so famous? When we have both women and men at the workplace in today's world, why are there no geniuses like Shakespeare arising amongst us? Is the reason behind Shakespeare's success the fact that women did not enjoy the same opportunities? Even from Rabindranath Tagore's famous writings say The Exercise Book, we come to know that even women of our country faced gender inequality. So earlier, women did not get the opportunity to be a part of the workforce, and now even being in the force, there are fewer opportunities. It is not that nowhere women are getting equal representation. Considering the example of Finland, where the present Prime Minister Sanna Marin has become the world's youngest prime minister at 34 and what she is doing is quite unusual for women of her age to do. Finland is a leader when it comes to women's representation in politics. Marin is leading a coalition government formed of five parties, all led by women.
So, what should be done, well the only thing that can occur is that we treat both men and women the same. We should not treat women any less by not respecting their opinions in important decisions. They also don't need to be treated as superior like the special coupon offers for the females out of sympathy on Women's Day. There should be a balance between all genders. Presently there is no gender equality at the workplace all across the globe, so the initiative should be a better representation of females at the workplace is what is required.
And who knows that with this initiative, the world becomes a better place for women to work and prosper?
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