There is an obvious inequality between men and women in the workforce that became more apparent to me after watching the videos at the end of this article. There's an inequality in leadership positions, an inequality in wages, and an inequality in expectations. In "Why Women are Paid Less," Hillary Clinton talks about an article about how men in an office should have pictures of their family because it shows he's a provider, but women shouldn't because it can be seen as a distraction.
There is no obvious single solution that will close the gender wage gap or the amount of women in top leadership positions; however, I think there are 3 strategies that should be implemented to close these inequalities. We need to allow and promote better education in young girls worldwide, require a percentage of leaders in government positions to be women, and require both maternity and paternity leave after having a child.
My favorite quote from Oprah's speech at Women in Power was "when you change a girls life you change a community's life." In the video, Oprah discussed how she opened a school in South Africa for girls. Better education leads to both better career opportunities and potential wages in women. This is especially important in poor, underdeveloped countries where there is an education gap between girls and boys because it can help eliminate poverty. "We know that just freeing the potential of women that is the fastest multiplier that we have in terms of our growth. That is such an accelerator in eradicating poverty" ("Why Women are Paid Less).
The second change that needs to be made is requiring a percentage of leaders in government position to be women. In "What if Women Ruled," former Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, says change needs to be forced at first. After centuries of being silenced or unequal rights, women need to be given preferential treatment to help break barriers. In Rwanda, women originally entered the workforce and held government positions out of need; however, they saw great change. The new Rwandan constitution includes a clause that 30% of positions need to be held by women. Today, 61% of Rwanda's Parliament is women. They also created a Gender Monitoring Office to help ensure equality in the workplace. This change can help accelerate the number of women in leadership positions until it is something that is considered "the norm."
Finally, both men and women should be required to take paid leave after having a baby. The biggest cause of the gender wage gap is women being seen as the primary caregiver for her children. Moms are much more likely to take time off of work after having kids for maternity leave, doctor visits, a babysitter cancelling, etc. than dads. The gender wage gap is less men vs women and more about workers vs moms. Requiring men to take paternity leave would help shift societal views to men and women being equally responsible for taking care of their children. It would also help eliminate any qualification or experience gaps that might occur if just women were to take maternity leave. Having the same qualifications will help ensure women get equal opportunities at leadership positions.
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