Monday, April 29, 2024
March has been designated National Women’s History Month. It’s a month to celebrate the contributions of women throughout our nation’s history, and those contributions are numerous. We all know the stories of Betsy Ross, Susan B. Anthony, Sally Ride, Rosa Parks and many other women who broke barriers, overcame hardships and faced challenges to create turning points in the path of our country.
What we often fail to realize, and by “we” I am referring to men like me, is the significance to women that this month holds. As a husband of one woman and father of another, my perspective has drastically shifted when it comes to the significance of the accomplishments of women in our history.
As a man, growing up in a male-dominated world in the late ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, I saw the world through the male perspective. My own efforts, intelligence, and dedication were the only things that held me back in society. All doors were open to me, provided I could meet the minimum qualifications. The curriculum for my history classes was dominated by the accomplishments of men and the failures of other men.
Women are, in a historical sense, relatively new to the workforce, new to the voting booth, and new in political offices. Despite the accomplishments of some women, many women still face the male-centric viewpoint in television shows, movies, school curriculum, and policies within the workplace and other organizations.
In the workplace, women are paid roughly 84% of what their male counterparts are making, according to the National Women’s Law Center. The NWLC also states that mothers working full time are paid roughly 74% of what fathers make.
Suffice to say, women still face battles for equality in all arenas. While laws have changed to reflect their equality, standard practices and belief systems have been slow to embrace these changes. It is way past time for our society to truly treat women as the equals they are in our world.
Yes, we have made strides in our society. A woman sits as vice president of the United States. We have women in the Senate, House of Representatives, State legislatures, county commissioners courts, city councils, and school boards. We have women judges at every level of our court system. Women are excelling as CEOs, board members, entrepreneurs and in many other fields.
One of the struggles many women face is the expectation to be more like men in the workplace. Our various workplace cultures have unwritten rules that dictate the behavior of employees. These cultural guidelines tend to be more masculine in nature. Many businesses and corporations could benefit from a feminine influence in the boardroom, breakroom and showroom.
Throughout my lifetime, I have seen many women with different personalities excel in the workplace. They have been powerful leaders, compassionate coworkers, and highly-productive members of their respective organizations. I have admired many of my female supervisors for their natural leadership skills, but I have also seen them admonished for not being “tough enough.”
We must even the playing field to the plethora of ideas, notions, and styles that we welcome in the workforce. After all, there is a lot of diversity among American and Texan consumers. When businesses recognize their customer base is diverse and seek to serve those customers in their diversity, they will only find increased success.
