No Freedom Until We're Equal

“Feminism is a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.”

       -Pat Robertson

I doubt any of us here would agree with Mr. Robertson. But many Americans – both young and old, in and out of this classroom – avoid, perhaps even fear, associating themselves with the F-word – Feminism.

I imagine that for a fair number of us the word “feminist” conjures up images of a hairy, man-hating woman. Our culture and media have taught us that feminism is not only women's advancement, but also men's suffering. And what's the point of feminism today anyway? Women can vote and have jobs, own property and get divorces and get an education. Surely, all necessary progress has already been made.

But feminism isn't about man-hating, it's not a “war of the sexes.” And it hasn't run its course. Though the most obvious violations have ended, women still have to fight systematic discrimination that creates unreasonable obstacles to success and self-fulfillment. Feminism is not just a movement about women. Feminism is about equality, about giving everyone – woman or man – the opportunity to live their life as they want to live it.

What are these obstacles? Let's take a look at the workplace. In 1960, the four most common jobs for women were: secretary, “domestic help,” teacher, and cashier. Today, they are: secretary, registered nurse, teacher, and cashier. Those jobs employ forty-three percent of all working women and are each over 70% female. Only registered nurses have a median salary greater than $60,000. Census data shows that, of the highest paid jobs in 2008, only one of them – physicians assistant – was 50% or more female, and it was only the 30th highest. Of the 31 lowest paid jobs of 2008, however, 22 of those were majority female. Today, with the days of gender-segregated classified ads and blatant sexual discrimination in almost every workplace behind us, women are still pigeon-holed into low-paying, “pink-collar” jobs.

The inequity doesn't stop there. Of the four highest paid jobs – Doctor, Dentist, CEO, and Lawyer – all were less than 32% female, and women in those professions made less than 75% of what men in those professions earned. So, not only are women pigeon-holed into low-paying “female” jobs – they are largely excluded from high-paying ones, and when they finally get them, they're paid less!

The evidence is pretty clear here – women aren't as successful in the workplace, because they're told to enter low-paying jobs and because they're not given the same pay for the same work. That's despite women being equally as qualified, if not more qualified, than men for the working world. In 2011, for the first time, the number of women in college surpassed the number of men by more than a million – a complete reverse from 2000. Female graduates are increasing faster than male graduates in all areas of education. And yet the American Association of University Women found that female graduates in 2008 were already making only 82% of what their male peers made one year after graduation.

Often motherhood is used as an excuse for this unfair situation. Women with children can't afford to work as hard because they have to care for their family. So they take lower paying jobs, with fewer hours or less required dedication. But those income statistics were gathered from full-time workers, meaning that women aren't earning less because they're working fewer hours. Furthermore, women without children still make only about 77 cents on the male dollar.

You may say, “Look at X company! They have a female CEO!” Probably several of you in here would like to tell me all about how your mom actually makes more than your dad. But anecdotal counterexamples aren't proof of a post-sexist society. The fact that some women have achieved high positions, or may be paid more than some men does not eradicate obstacles to these achievements, Women still have to struggle unreasonably to achieve these spectacular goals. To quote Newsweek on their analysis of women's progress: “Just as the first black president hasn't wiped out racism, a female at the top of a company doesn't eradicate sexism.”

There's also another type of gender discrimination that we need to discuss. This is the discrimination that exists in our political system.

After the 2012 elections, we have a record number of women in Congress – nearly 20 percent. Sounds like quite an achievement, doesn't it? Most of you also know that the US population is about 50:50 male to female. You might also recall that our government is a representative democracy. One that aims to, well, represent its citizens. Why, then, is there such a discrepancy between the number of women in office and the number of women in America?

There are a few problems here. First, women are overwhelmingly likely to perceive that the electoral system is biased against them. A study this year found that potential woman candidates were more likely than potential male candidates to view women running for office as less successful than similarly situated men. This isn't paranoid suspicion – its grounded in experience, most recently the treatment of Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin in the 2008 presidential campaign. A majority of female potential candidates polled believed both Clinton and Palin faced sexist opposition, both from the media and from voters.

Whether you agree with these women or not, the effect still exists: women are deterred from running for office by what they perceive as a hostile political environment. Women also seem to have a sexist bias towards themselves. A study found that women are much more likely than similarly-qualified men to consider themselves qualified for office. In fact, barely half of potential female candidates considered themselves qualified or very qualified, in comparison to three quarters of men. Of those who thought themselves unqualified, fewer women even considered running for the position, 39% to 55% of men. Not only are women more likely to consider the odds stacked against them, but they also hold themselves to a higher standard for office then men do.

As a result, under a quarter of state legislators are female. Small wonder that such a small percentage of women in America reach national office. The standards are different for women. Much more attention is paid to female candidates' appearances than men's – a perception not only confirmed by the study but by women in Congress. Pat Schroeder, the first ever Congresswoman from Colorado, once commented that “The day [she] wore a pants suit onto the floor you'd have thought [she] asked for a land base for China.”

The other half of you are probably wondering “How do this affect men?” How are men worse off due to gender inequality, and how will they benefit if it ends? To understand that, we have to understand why all these obstacles to women's success exist.

As it turns out, there's no grand conspiracy against women. Sometimes it certainly seems that way, but few men plot in the back halls of power to make womens' lives worse. Rather, society, and the people who make the decisions that cause these obstacles are conforming to an anachronistic conception of gender roles. They see men as “naturally” more capable in the traditionally male realms of business and politics. Women are still expected to keep an eye toward the home, and to defer to men whenever possible, though not necessarily to avoid work entirely, as they once were. Men are perceived as naturally more aggressive. But when women try to assert themselves, they're characterized as shrill, nagging, “bitchy.” They are taught not to act “masculine.”

But that crap sandwich is burnt on both sides. Men also suffer from gender roles. Perhaps those roles don't keep them out of high-paying jobs or the presidency, but they affect men nonetheless. Many men, for instance, are justifiably concerned that divorce proceedings involving children unfairly favor the mother. This is no conspiracy against men, but the result of society's expectations of gender – that women are the “nurturing” and “motherly” gender, and men conversely are the harsh, disconnected, “fatherly” gender - resulting in numerous examples of unfair cases where easily more qualified fathers have been separated from their children in custody arrangements.

Women's achievement benefits men too. If we hope to live in a society where those with the most responsibilities are those with the greatest capabilities, why would we put obstacles in the way of perfectly qualified women? Men and women benefit when they share the burden of success as well. While women take more control over their life and their income, men gain the opportunity to participate more in the raising of children, and less time worrying about bringing home the bacon.

As doors open for women into traditionally “male” roles, men too may pass through those doors into traditionally “female” roles. Feminism is not a movement that seeks to pull some up and others down – it is not trying to redistribute pieces of the pie to only benefit women. Rather, feminism seeks to elevate everyone, so that we can pick whichever part of the pie we choose.

I've only scratched the surface of feminism's importance. Women and men alike face a myriad of gender-based challenges. We are so far from achieving full equality. What can we do to fix that?

Much of this change must come from within. We must be willing to stand up for gender equality. As older generations fade away, we'll supplant them. We will bear the responsibility of creating a world free of gender roles.

If you want to do something now, something more immediate and tangible: Look into the National Organization for Women. Understand what they're fighting for, and participate in their efforts to fight for gender equality. Contact and join the Bluegrass chapter. When you hear about or witness gender discrimination make a fuss about it! Let those in charge know you won't stand for this, that equality is worth fighting for.

We don't have to be a generation that continues unfair traditions. We can create a world that is fair to all. We can do it as feminists, because that's what feminism stands for – no freedom until we're equal.