Women In A Man’s World

These days, women do loads of things that only men used to do. In fact, we’ve been challenging the stereotypes of women as solely being home makers and mothers for decades now, it’s nothing new. However, despite the fact that millions of women around the world now successfully hold managerial positions and have impressive careers (sometimes whilst still managing to run a household), it’s still been particularly hard to break down some of the barriers when it comes to the type of work they are doing. Let’s be clear – it’s not because they are less capable, or even less suited. It’s often because they are victims of systemic oppression which starts from childhood, impressing gender roles onto little girls about what their interests should be.

Tradies

When was the last time you saw a female tradie? It might be hard to remember, because typically, tradespeople are male. At the moment, statistics show that only 2% of tradespeople are female, but thankfully this is on the rise. Often, women have been made to feel intimidated in that kind of environment, and as a result, they choose a different path in the world of work. However, action is being undertaken to make a difference, as reported in an article by HiPages which gives tips to women wishing to enter a trade. Positive steps include workshops ran by other women to look up to as role models, such as She Skills. The article points out that a lot of women just don’t know their potential – or what they could earn! Women tend to naturally have a lot of strengths which should be embraced in this line of work; for example, their communication skills can allow them to engage better with clients and leave less room for error. Thankfully, this is being recognised and female tradies are on the rise!

“Teen scientist Alexa Dantzler in the lab” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by  IntelFreePress 

Science

It’s not just the trades that are male dominated. STEM (Science, Tech, Mathematics and Engineering) subjects are typically undertaken to high levels by a majority of male students. This is really sad – women do show aptitude and talent in the scientific field, but very few actually continue their studies, dropping out instead. There are several organisations which aim to promote inclusiveness in the field, and which acknowledge the very real issues that gender inequality in these areas actually causes. According to Census data around the world, less than one quarter of all people working in STEM are women. Plus, when they actually do have these jobs, they are paid less.

Sport

Finally, look at the world of sport. This is yet another area which has traditionally been highly gendered. Whilst the first Olympic Games took place in 1896, women were not invited until 1900, and even then, they only played ‘delicate’ sports. Athletics for women weren’t introduced until 1928. These days, you have the Williams sisters in tennis, Simone Biles in gymnastics, and Simone Manuel in swimming, to name but few incredibly talented women. Disappointingly, however, the media coverage of these women highlights the fact that we still have a long way to go before reaching equality, as shown at the 2016 Olympic Games.

“Serena Williams” (CC BY 2.0) by  Doha Stadium Plus 

Women have traditionally faced barriers in a lot of areas, but just look how far we have come! The modern way is to continue smashing the patriarchy and emerging victorious because of – and not in spite of – the fact that we are women.