We still have a role for the feminist

I have just read a comment that describes feminists as “loud and obnoxious”. Sure, some are as are an element of any group. Another comment describes a feminist as “someone who attacks men”. Men feel disempowered by feminism. “Wow” is my reaction, really. I talk with many women who shun the title of being a feminist but within 10 minutes of talking to them they reveal that that’s exactly what they are. So it’s all in the title of ‘feminist’.

I guess I grew up in a household where the old attitudes were pretty strong. Why would a woman aspire to being different? Hairdressing, shop assistant, secretary, typist, nurse, or teacher were the post-school job opportunities women should aspire to. It was expected I would give up work when I married. It was at home I first encountered the situation where a more intelligent woman often hid her superior intelligence and knowledge from a male. The old dating advice was strong on that message and for years as a consequence, men’s egos were stroked, and they appeared smarter.

Very few people would still say a woman can’t be almost anything she wants, and women are now in all sorts of fields previously closed off to them. Yet still, if you ask a class of children to draw a pilot, firefighter, or police officer, they overwhelmingly draw men, and when introduced to females in those roles they tend to disbelieve the evidence before their eyes. We still need an active feminist movement, not to disempower or attack men, but to work towards changing entrenched attitudes.

Equal pay came in when I was in the army back in the 1970s. In the army then so many areas were closed to women and they were never going to earn the same as their male counterparts, as they were not permitted to enter the fields that would have earned them skills based allowances. The military is one area that has changed vastly to allow women into almost all those once closed off roles. How their male colleagues often treat them however is still not as good.

The comments I read were in response to an article that suggested 40% of positions should be mandated for women. Most suggested it should be the best person for the job regardless of gender, or that women will reach the top and get the jobs if they have the required skills. The evidence however in many areas show this is completely untrue. Men hold most of the top positions and in some cases actively discriminate against women. I have heard of instances where a ‘team building’ exercise is held where many work related topics are covered, but it is only open to male participants. Consequently, when the next round of promotions are undertaken the women are deliberately disadvantaged. The only way to remedy these situations is perhaps to look at legislation mandating change.

If a company or business’s workforce is, or could be more inclusive of women at all levels, unless evidence can be shown that in its case it shouldn’t apply, maybe they should have to change. Demonstrating women don’t apply for jobs or women opt out of the corporate climb to take jobs with a better work-life balance could exclude them or set a lower percentage. If an organisation recruits or promotes wisely there will be no ‘token’ women there just because of gender, but a more diverse workplace. Evidence has shown that if a person or panel sit down and review applications, prejudice around, sex, ethnicity, and age creeps in no matter how much they aim to prevent it. Organisations who remove name, gender and age from applications before forwarding it to a selection panel have reported a more diverse group of people is selected for the next stage of recruitment, and CEOs reported a benefit to their company from the broader mix.

In many areas there is no widespread discrimination in pay or opportunities, but it is not universal. Careers attracting more women than men are often less well paid despite tertiary qualifications being a requirement. Aged care and child care are an example.

Another common whinge from the anti-feminists is that feminists do nothing for oppressed women in other cultures. Well, that’s not entirely true; a change has to come from their society and feminists in the west can’t force change on them. They can help enable that change and do through many measures; the education of girls and loans to women to start up businesses are just two, among many measures.

So, from my perspective we still have a role for the feminist. If men feel threatened, that is not the fault of the feminist but the men themselves.